(Minghui.org) Greetings Master, and fellow practitioners:
Looking back over my 20 years of cultivation, although I studied the Fa, did the exercises, sent forth righteous thoughts, and saved sentient beings, while involved in media projects, I recently experienced a few things that made me seriously reflect and have a new understanding about having faith in Master and the Fa. I realized that cultivation is all about having faith. One not only needs to have righteous thoughts, but also needs to improve ones faith in Master and the Fa.
Another practitioner recently experienced illness karma. She had strong righteous thoughts, and continued to work and save sentient beings. She once shared with us that she would do whatever Master asks her to do. She made rapid progress, especially when it comes to having faith in Master and the Fa. Her sharing moved me a lot. I asked myself if I could do whatever Master asked me to do, and the answer was positive.
I’ve heard a story about faith when I just started practicing Falun Dafa, and I still remember it clearly, as if it was today. In the story, a master asked three disciples to go to the forest to cultivate, and promised that he would come back later. A year passed, one disciple saw that the master didn’t come back. So he left. Another year passed, and another disciple left. The last disciple firmly had faith in his master’s words, and was determined to cultivate. At last, the master finally came back. He told the last disciple that he was watching them cultivating every day.
Another practitioner, who is involved in our media, also went through illness tribulation. I was determined to send forth righteous thoughts for her since I heard about her situation. From then on, every morning on the way to work, I sent forth righteous thoughts until the day she passed away.
Through the process of sending righteous thoughts and studying the Fa, I have a better understanding of Master’s Fa. The old forces are testing us all the time if we have faith in Master and the Fa. We must recognize the false appearance of illnesses and other forms that the old forces made up to interfere with our cultivation and saving sentient beings. For those of us who started cultivation before the persecution in 1999, Master already helped us achieve the required state. As long as we clearly understand the Fa principles, and have faith in Master and the Fa, we can deny and break through the old forces’ interference.
When I learned about the fellow practitioner’s illness tribulation about two months ago, I didn’t have enough faith in Master and the Fa. But through in depth communication with fellow practitioners, my faith in Master and the Fa has improved a lot. Now, I do not have any doubt when it comes to Dafa or Master.
Be Rid of Pursuit of Reputation
I always thought that I had little interest in reputation, and I resented flattering and bribing to obtain a promotion in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official circle. That’s why I left China to study in the United States.
I was assigned to manage the subscription and distribution of the English Epoch Times (EET) in 2018. EET has developed rapidly in the past year, playing a significant role in saving sentient beings.
Master said,
“You’re well aware that the media work you do is to save lives, to let the truth be known, and to stop the persecution. But what is the ultimate goal? Each of you involved in the media are in the process of cultivating yourselves, and this work that you are doing is part of it. That is for sure. And that’s the case regardless of what role you play at the company or what work you do. So if you want to travel this path well, you need to really be diligent and attentive about working on, or cultivating, yourself, and never let up, for what you aspire to ultimately is spiritual perfection, isn’t it?” (“2018 NTD and Epoch Times Fa Conference”, Team Yellow Translation)
Working is not cultivation, but our work reflects our cultivation state. Once, two team members were working on a project, but didn’t let me and another manager know. They thought they were doing a marketing project that didn’t involve me. I felt disrespected. How should I manage a team like this?
Another time, our company promoted online subscription services. I wasn’t invited to participate in the discussion about production promotion, customer service, and executive arrangement. After the online subscription was on the market, the manager came to ask me who was working on customer service. I was not happy at the time. How could a product be released to the market before setting up customer service? Later on, I found out that there were some miscommunication and managing problems. However, most importantly, I realized that I had strong attachment to reputation. I am the department manager, so I expected the team to communicate with me about customer service. I didn’t think about how to save sentient beings the best. If I wasn’t invited, I should cooperate well and supplement quietly. As long as we could do our project well, it doesn’t matter who works on it. I shouldn’t be too attached to being valued. Even if there are issues in communication and management, I should correct my attitude and cooperate as a whole with our team.
Master said, “Concern for reputation is a huge obstacle that prevents you from reaching Consummation.” (Teaching the Fa at the Assistants’ Fa Conference in Changchun)
I must get rid of the attachment to reputation. Master asks us to learn the spirit of Shen Yun, because Shen Yun performers save the sentient beings with their pure compassion. and the beauty of their art. We practitioners working in media should also have such pure hearts to save people.
Getting Rid of Ego and Cherishing the Opportunity of Saving People
I’ve worked for The Epoch Times since 2000. From community journalist, to newspaper arrangement, distribution, sales, marketing, and to management, I have experienced every stage of the development of The Epoch Times.
I always thought I didn’t have the attachment to ego, because I don’t like people who are arrogant, pretentious, and not humble. However, to my surprise, I discovered that I have a very strong ego. When I was talking about the issue of ego with a fellow practitioner, she told me that I had a very strong ego. I sincerely appreciated her being straight forward. Her words woke me up. Someone with a strong ego appears to be very stubborn, unwilling to change , always on the defense, not allowing critiques, and being unkind. For me, I also don’t allow practitioners outside of the media criticizing us.
Master said,
“Whichever kind of life form your thinking aligns with, that life form will immediately have an effect on you.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa – Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
A strong ego would make one think negatively, hold resentment and be indignant. If we can’t tell the difference between our true self and ego, and let our ego dominate ourselves, we will have lots of wrong thoughts. Too many human notions interfere when one is going through tribulations. When the tribulation got too big, I had thoughts of leaving the media, joining a different project, or find an ordinary job.
I’ve met some practitioners who had a strong ego. They would judge things, or be upset when their ideas were not accepted. Gradually, they stopped going to group Fa study. When they ran into difficulties, they lost hope in the media and left. A practitioner who left media told me that seeing our media having developed rapidly, he questioned himself why he was so stubborn, and he wished he had stayed. Fortunately, I’ve been studying the Fa diligently, and continued working on media projects. I truly hope fellow practitioners in our media can let go of their ego and cherish the opportunity to cultivate, and save people together.
In conclusion: Having faith in Master and the Fa is involved in everyday cultivation. It is the foundation of everything. We can only be a hundred percent faithful in Master and the Fa if we study the Fa well and cultivate solidly. Lets put down all our attachments, tell apart true self and ego, and truly do the three things well.
(Presented at the 2019 NTD and Epoch Times Fa Conference)
Category: Improving Oneself
