Tian Guo Marching Band Fahui: New Member Faces Repeated Exams

(Minghui.org)

Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

On the 20th anniversary of the Tian Guo Marching Band, I am honored to be able to participate in this Fa conference as a new member of the band.

The Tian Guo Marching Band is a project that assists Master in the Fa rectification and saves sentient beings. After coming to New Zealand, when I first saw the tidy and upright Tian Guo Marching Band cohort in a parade and heard the touching music, I felt as though I had been hit with a strong burst of energy and that I had been cleansed. I felt I had become a member of the cohort. At that moment, I had a strong wish in my heart to become a member of the Tian Guo Marching Band in the future.

My Journey Learning Music

I joined the RTC platform to raise awareness of the persecution through making phone calls to China. I came into contact with practitioners from many countries, and many of them were members of the Tian Guo Marching Band. They often talked about the band while I was present and shared their cultivation experiences in the band. Their wonderful experiences encouraged me to learn an instrument so that I could also assist Master in Fa rectification through this method.

Although I had this wish, I was still a bit scared to learn an instrument. Truly doing that would require determination and suffering hardship. Furthermore, the band is relatively professional, so it is not an easy matter and is not something that can be accomplished in one or two days. How much determination would it take? Some time after that, a practitioner said to me, “You'd better not try to learn how. By the time you grasp it, the Fa rectification will have ended. You’d better just concentrate and do well making phone calls.”

Despite hearing that and having some fear about learning an instrument, my steadfast wish to gravitate toward the Tian Guo Marching band was not deterred. I later met a music teacher, a practitioner, who taught me an instrument. She held the lessons online. I thus started on my path of learning music.

I Can Do It Because I Am a Dafa Practitioner

I chose to learn the clarinet, and just like a child who is just learning how to walk, everything started from zero. I did not know what difficulties would be ahead, but I was determined to learn it well. During the long and hard periods of practice, I got anxious, cried, and doubted if I could succeed so many times when I could not play the scale properly or attain the standards that the teacher requested. There was a time when I wanted to give up, but then I remembered I was a Dafa practitioner and my mission is here, so how can I not overcome this little difficulty?

I wanted to do to what Master said:

“... if you do decide to do it, then you definitely have to do it well and carry it through to the end.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume XI)

I strengthened my righteous thoughts. Since I am a Dafa practitioner, I definitely knew I’d be able to do it.

The Instrument Is Also a Living Being

I once practiced playing the high notes repeatedly, and the notes sounded very strange. The more I played, the further they deviated from the correct pitch. I started to become impatient instead of looking inward for the reason I was not playing well. I just thought that there was some problem with my clarinet. With that, I threw the instrument on my bed, venting my frustration on the clarinet, and stopped practicing.

Because of what I did, my clarinet broke during practice the next day. No sound could be made with it. That made me anxious, and I called my daughter to help me take it to an instrument shop to have it repaired. The owner told my daughter that the repair would take two weeks. I thought, “I will have to get it repaired even though it will take that long.” But I did not look within.

I talked to a practitioner about the situation. The practitioner said that the instrument is also a living being. It is my Fa instrument for saving lives. When I vented my anger and frustration about it, I knew of course it would be unhappy. I needed to look within myself for the reason, quickly send forth righteous thoughts, and apologize to it.

It was only then that I recalled that I was a cultivator and that I needed to abide by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I need to be compassionate to everyone. I said to my instrument in my heart, “I am sorry. You are my Fa instrument and I should not treat you that way. Please forgive me. You must cooperate well with me so that I can master the techniques and we can go and save sentient beings together in the future.” Two days later, my daughter called me and said that the shop owner told her that my instrument was in good condition and so she would pick it up for me the following day.

I was very happy, as this would not delay my practice. I thought that things had turned around because I looked within myself. Master saw that I had the wish to reach the standard, so he resolved everything for me and everything returned to normal. After getting the instrument back, I felt that the clarinet sounded very nice whenever I practiced it, and I no longer went off pitch. I changed myself and the instrument recovered.

I looked within myself. A thought that lacks compassion can harm the living beings around me. I am a cultivator so I need to hold myself to the standards of a cultivator. I should treat all the beings around me with compassion. After this incident, I no longer treated my instrument in that way. Every time I pick up and put down the instrument, I do it gently and ask it to cooperate with me so that we can validate the Fa and save people together in the future. I have not had any problems with my instrument since.

Cultivating My Xinxing Amid Band Exams

After more than two years of practice, it was time to test the results. My being able to learn an instrument in such a short time was totally because I cultivate Falun Dafa. Master opened my wisdom and everything was bestowed by Master. I am grateful to Master for this.

To pass the exam to join the band, I needed to play eight Dafa songs well. I needed to pass with all eight songs before I could join any parades. Initially, the exam went very successfully, and I passed six songs. A band practitioner praised me, saying that I was good to be able to pass so many songs. I replied that it was all because of Master’s empowerment. In my heart, I was also very happy because I just had to pass two more songs and I would be able to join parades. That was such a sacred matter.

After that, as the band was lacking members for one of the parades, the section leader allowed me to join the parade before passing the exam. I said that I still needed to pass two more songs and wondered if I could get that done before the parade. A practitioner replied, “You can. The section leader said that this was an encouragement for you to pass the last two songs quickly.”

I was very excited and could not believe that this was true. At the same time, I was also very ashamed of myself because I was joining a parade without passing the all the exam songs. Before the parade, a practitioner came to ask me if this was my first time joining a parade. I said it was, and he said, “In that case, let me take a photo for you.” I said, “Okay.” A local practitioner also came and congratulated me for joining the Tian Guo Marching Band. Because of my attachment to saving face, I did not dare tell her that I had yet to pass two more songs. My attachment to fame and face made me too afraid to tell the truth. This matter passed just like that.

After that, I prepared to take the exam on the last two songs. I thought that I must quickly pass these two songs and become a true Tian Guo Marching Band member. Actually, every exam was a test of my xinxing. I felt that the more exams I took, the more nervous I became. There was one exam where the practitioner said that she saw my hand shaking and wondered if I could play well.

After returning home, I asked myself why was I so nervous. Am I joining the Tian Guo Marching Band for fame or reputation? Or am I joining the band to validate the Fa and save people? I joined the band to validate the Fa and save people. I am here to fulfill my vows. In that case, why am I so nervous? I must be putting too much emphasis on the exam results. If I pass, I can relax and show off that I am a Tian Guo Marching Band member that everyone admires. Can I do well in the exams with such an attitude? When I made it clear to myself that these thoughts were not the true me, I sent forth righteous thoughts to get rid of the bad matter. Before every exam, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the matter that was making me nervous and scared. This was really useful. In this way, I passed another song. Thank you, Master, for giving me wisdom to learn the instrument and let me cultivate and elevate my xinxing and my realm.

The last song remained. I was no longer that anxious in my heart, and my movements also slowed down. However, I did not pass the exam despite trying a few times. Despite this, I participated in the July 20 march. After the march ended, we were resting when the conductor practitioner asked me in front of a few other practitioners, “Have you passed the last song?” I replied, “Not yet.” She then said, “In that case, let me tell you beforehand, if you cannot pass the exam, you will not be able to be in the next parade.” I said, “Okay.”

Hearing her words, on the surface I said okay, but in my heart I felt unbalanced: “You all let me be in the parade because you lack manpower. I did not ask to join it.” I started to look outwardly for reasons.

I'd lost face, and complaints started surging up. I started to look within and tried to think of the practitioner with righteous thoughts. That practitioner had said that for the good of the whole group and also to remind me that I needed to pass the test soon. This was a good thing. I should thank that practitioner. If she did not speak to me like that, how would I know where my problems were? Master was using this incident to help me improve my xinxing.

To take the exam, I had to get a ride that lasted more than four hours to reach my daughter’s home in another city and then wait for my daughter or her husband to drive me to the exam venue. Other practitioners sometimes gave me a ride. So every exam was a big deal for my family. Every time before and after the exam, I would hear my family and other practitioners’ encouragement, “Do well in the exam. Don’t be nervous. All the best!” “Did you pass the exam? Oh, do well the next time.” This was what I had to face before and after every exam.

I did not expect that I would not pass the exam despite trying the last song nine times. The xinxing tests came one after another. I felt very ashamed to face my husband, daughter, her husband, the examiner, and the clarinet section practitioners, because they had sacrificed a lot to help me pass the exams. When I did not do well, I was letting down Master, my family, and practitioners. I also lost face. I thought, that as a cultivator, I must be considerate when I do things. My family had sacrificed and suffered a lot for my exams.

Some practitioners helped me to analyze the reason I repeatedly failed the exams. I also kept looking within myself. After returning home, I started to spend more time practicing. I thought that practicing hard could bring results. Sometimes, I played a legato part more than 100 times. Sometimes, I practiced four to five hours a day. I kept practicing hard and improved somewhat, such that I could play the full song well. However, although I did quite well at home, I started making mistakes during the exam. This happened in a few exams, and I thought that there might be something wrong with my cultivation.

Through large amounts of Fa study, I discovered that I had taken a sentient person’s path by trying to succeed by going through hardship. A sentient being needs to go through hardship and put in a lot of effort in order to obtain the objective that he wants to reach. But things are not like that for a cultivator. We obtain when we have no desire. The result comes naturally when our xinxing reaches the mark, and we also have to be serious about our cultivation practice. My notions changed, and the worries that had been troubling me disappeared. I sent forth righteous thoughts to clear my dimensional field. Having attained the standard for my xinxing, I finally passed the last song exam. Thank you, Master! On the day of the exam, the examiner, who seldom smiles, actually smiled after listening to me complete the song. I thought that I would be able to pass the exam this time, and I really passed it.

Concluding Remarks

After the exam ended, I joined 10 Christmas parades. I walked in the Fa-validating cohort in an upright and dignified manner, and I no longer had the attachments to fame and showing off. What I thought about was playing the music well so that sentient beings could hear our wonderful pieces, which would awaken them and save them.

I feel so honored and thankful to be able to save people and assist Master in Fa rectification through different projects. I want to take every opportunity seriously, persist in doing well in every life-saving project, and do even better so I won't let Master down. Master has bestowed me with the once-in-an-eternity opportunity to join the Tian Guo Marching Band. Thank you, Master, for your vast benevolence. Thank you, all the practitioners who have helped and encouraged me in this process too.

Kindly correct me if there is any room for improvement.

(Selected submission for the 20th Tian Guo Marching Band Anniversary Fa Conference)