(Minghui.org) My wife and I visit the Minghui website every night after dinner, but our hearts felt heavy as we read “Notice to Stop Distributing All Mainland China-only Editions of Shen Yun DVDs.” We read it several times along with two previous notices from the Minghui Editorial Board, “Shen Yun Videos Are Strictly Prohibited from Being Taken Outside China” and “Shen Yun Performing Arts to Stop Providing DVDs to China this Year.”
We talked the issue over ourselves, and also with other practitioners in our area. It is clear that we must follow the requirements set forth on Minghui. We may need to look within after this announcement and improve our xinxing so that we can do better in the future.
As practitioners, we all know that we must have faith in Master and the Fa. But the actual outcome of things depends on what we do, not on what we say. That is, we have to follow Master's words without any preconditions.
There are some things that Master told us not to do and even emphasized many times, but some practitioners still acted according to their own will. This is related to poor Fa-study and a lack of self-discipline. The truth is, if we fail to follow Master's words perhaps we shouldn't be considered practitioners. Isn't it like following a path arranged by the old forces?
In “Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference” in 1999 Master said,
“Dafa is solemn and cultivation is serious.”
If we are not responsible for ourselves and end up ruining our cultivation, who should we blame for it? No complaints or regrets will help the situation, either.
We have to follow Master's words because they are our guidance. Any deviations could sidetrack us and render us unable to fulfill our prehistoric vows.
When Master has already given instructions on certain issues, we must follow his requirements, otherwise we could be undermining the Fa.
Master has mentioned the Shen Yun DVDs and videos many times in lectures. Notices from the Minghui Editorial Board have also specified what we can and cannot do. When some practitioners ignore these instructions and notices can they still be considered Dafa disciples?
On the other hand, although these practitioners need to learn from this lesson, the majority of us who did not directly participate should also examine ourselves: why did this happen? And what could we have done better to prevent it?
In fact, these careless actions could damage the Fa. Other kinds of improper behavior from practitioners could also bring negative consequences. We should be clear-minded and rectify ourselves according to the Fa.
Master said,
“...as Dafa disciples, you must have a positive view of Minghui, regardless of whatever ordinary people may think. There are some who don't see Minghui in a positive light, and I would say they've got a problem. At least that much is certain. Since Minghui directly reports on the cultivation state of the main body of Dafa disciples...”
(“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
Since Master has affirmed the role of Minghui, I think the notices from Minghui have been approved by Master, or that Master asked Minghui to post these notices. In any case, we should pay close attention to Minghui and messages from its editorial board.
My family has been following Minghui through the years. We have benefited so much from fellow practitioners' cultivation stories. The articles always make us more diligent in cultivation practice. We hope more practitioners could benefit in the same way.
There is no question that we have fallen short on the issue of Shen Yun DVDs. Below are some of our observations.
First of all, to reduce costs some practitioners purchased low-quality DVDs. As a result, some Shen Yun DVDs became stuck during replay or had other problems that impaired the video quality.
Secondly, because of fear, some practitioners did not directly hand Shen Yun DVDs to people, but instead distributed them in residential buildings or outside apartment doors. Sometimes we even saw Shen Yun DVDs left lying on the street. Distributing the DVDs in this manner goes against instructions from the Minghui website and has negatively affected this project—one led by Master.
Thirdly, practitioners had all kinds of mentalities as they handed out Shen Yun DVDs. Some could not let go of fear or were unable to treat people with compassion. Plus, due to poor righteous thoughts, some practitioners were arrested while they were handing out Shen Yun DVDs. There are many aspects that we could look inward about and do better going forward.
In “Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting” Master said,
“You know what I’m thinking? I am preparing for Shen Yun to perform in mainland China.”
We know it is only a matter of time before Shen Yun comes to China. If we could look within and improve ourselves through this issue of Shen Yun DVDs, we could then do better as one body saving sentient beings.
Let us really reflect on what we did and think about how we can do well in the future. After putting in concrete efforts to save people, we will be welcoming Shen Yun to mainland China.