(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
I began practicing Falun Dafa in Toronto in 1997. After the persecution began in 1999, I actively participated in various projects to save people. Throughout the past 20 years, I have had many unforgettable experiences. Through studying Master’s lectures on the old forces, I began to see how they caused interference. I examined myself and eliminated the notions and behaviors that formed during my various reincarnations. Along the way, Master has always taken care of, enlightened, corrected, and encouraged me. I would like to share my story with you.
Producing Films
For many years, the “Truth Movie Group” in Canada has produced films that clarify the truth to save people on a large scale. Since the old forces do not want people to be saved, we’ve experienced incessant interference. First, it was lack funds and resources, because the old forces believed that only with these constraints could we demonstrate the mighty virtue of cultivators.
People who know about film production know that it is difficult to create films. In ordinary human society, movie making requires massive funding. Since we did not have enough money, we could not afford experienced actors. We only had the most basic equipment to work with, and each person had to take on various tasks usually performed by ten different people. With a team like this, it would be difficult for even the most experienced director to succeed. I think it’s a miracle that we succeeded, but we knew it was thanks to Dafa’s strengthening and our righteous thoughts.
During the first ten years of persecution, because there were few practitioners outside China, I participated in several projects. I’ve been a main coordinator, a journalist, an editor, a commentator, and a writer. I also wrote many poems and songs. Even though we did many things to help save people, they were all part of our cultivation. I feel that we should cherish this process, not brag about it, and that we shouldn’t be arrogant.
During the next ten years I gained a deeper understanding of how to truly step forward from humanness. I’ve been quietly doing low-profile jobs like cooking, cleaning, taking out garbage, cashier, sales, delivery, make-up artist, costume keeping, and back-end support. Many of the practitioners that I now work with are newly arrived from China. In order to form one body with them, I’ve experienced tests of my xinxing, and enlightened to the deeper meanings of Dafa and stricter cultivation standards.
I constantly thought about what I could do to save people. I enlightened that the miracles of Dafa can only manifest when practitioners form one body. We need to cooperate well and work with one another. Our team’s cultivation state is reflected in the films we produce and how effective they are.
New Century Film was established In 2017, and new movies came out one after another. Our films won many awards at various film festivals. The films spread to mainland China through Minghui and have become effective tools for the practitioners there to save people. Many young practitioners joined the marketing and production teams. Our selfless cohesion touched every team member. Even though the filming was intense, we could always hear the young practitioners’ heart-felt laughter. We veteran team members felt very inspired and gratified.
Due to the intensive nature of filming, I needed to put my whole heart into this job. Each year, we only had a few days off, and we had to work late into the night almost every day. Balancing my different roles has been part of my cultivation. I must always remind myself that my sole purpose in this world is to spread the truth and save people, and nothing should interfere with that. My time is limited, and I had only a few hours each day to take care of my children. My friends were all busy driving their children to after school activities, but I was not moved.
My Children are Interfered With
Whenever human thoughts tried to sway me, I reminded myself that my children were growing up under the guidance of a practitioner. They read Zhuan Falun, and were Master’s young disciples. They never had to see a doctor because they were under the protection and blessings of Dafa. I knew that I needed to focus on my mission, and believe in Master and Dafa. I provided my children with what they needed and treated them as fellow practitioners in my project. I understood that they had also made vows to become young Dafa disciples.
I knew that my participation in the film project must be important, because the old forces started interfering with my children. For example, my younger son, who was very cute, considerate, and smart at home, became a “special needs” kid once he began attending school. I had to visit his school every day to help his teacher take care of him, and this nightmarish situation went on for nearly three years.
I didn’t understand at first why this was happening, and tried to handle it by cultivating my own xinxing. I asked myself, am I conforming to the rules for human beings in this world? Do I have sentimentality towards my children? Do I still need to eliminate my attachment to anger and being impatient? In walking this cultivation path, I truly became patient, tolerant, and my heart expanded. I thought to myself, my own child created trouble for me day after day, but I would never give up on him. What about those people waiting to be saved? I realized that I needed to have the same determination, and never give up on anyone.
This cultivation test helped me gain a deeper sense of compassion and tolerance for all living beings. However, my child continued to be in an uncontrollable state. It became so serious that the school authorities forced me to take him to a psychiatrist. I enlightened that on the surface, the interference was helping me elevate my xinxing. The real reason was to distract me from the film project so people would not be saved.
Master said:
“Whenever a tribulation comes, you do not see it with the side of your original nature but view it completely with your human side. Evil demons then capitalize on this point and inflict endless interference and damage, leaving students in long-term tribulations. As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and have prevented them from doing Fa-rectification.” (“Expounding on the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I decided that my child’s fate was in Master’s hands. Whatever happened, I would face it calmly and not be attached. It would not stop me from saving sentient beings. I calmly sent forth righteous thoughts to negate the old forces’ interference on my child. As a result, the psychiatrist told the authorities that my son was fine and did not need any treatment. My child suddenly began acting normal in school too.
As soon as my other son entered adolescence he became difficult. He began playing games on the Internet and listening to corrupt music. The loose environment in school made teaching my kids increasingly difficult. I was worried that my children would be ruined in ordinary human society. I hoped he would attend Fei Tian Academy of the Arts. However, I knew that I should not be attached to wanting my children to escape society, because we need to save the people who live in it. The obvious solution is to lead society out of this deviated state, which we are doing with compassion.
When my son demonstrated incorrect and contaminated behavior, my thought was that I should watch over him well. I read Zhuan Falun with him every day. This June I noticed on the Minghui website that Fei Tian was accepting applications for new students. I thought I should send in an application for my child and perhaps he would play a role in saving people. Two days later I received a request for an interview. Three days later, my child was admitted to the school. My child studies very diligently at Fei Tian. He is improving at the speed of light every day. I cannot express the gratitude in my heart.
My older child also walked a smooth path after he graduated from the university. He found a really nice office job after a year. I no longer worry about him, as he is a practitioner who integrated harmoniously into ordinary human society. I felt that Master was encouraging me.
I’ve deeply realized that when we have the sincere wish to save people, we are assimilating to Dafa. The Fa gives us the wisdom to see through the old forces’ tricks. When we step away from the old cosmos’ characteristic of selfishness we are immersed in the beauty of Dafa.
Master lightened my load in various aspects of my everyday life, so that I could devote more time and energy to film making. I can only cultivate whole-heartedly in saving sentient beings in order to be worthy of Master’s infinite mercy.
This concludes my story of twenty years cultivating. If there is anything inappropriate, please kindly point it out.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners. Heshi.
(Presented at the 2019 Canada Fa Conference)
