(Minghui.org) I have installed satellite dishes for New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) for over ten years. The entire process is one of cooperating with others, cultivating oneself, validating Dafa, and saving people. Some experiences were good and some were not.
Often, the most difficult thing is letting go of an attachment.
Removing the Attachment to Self
There have always been disputes about how to charge for installing the satellite dishes. Some thought we should charge the same fees as the ordinary market. Some only charged the cost of the dish. After discussing it with fellow practitioners many times, I decided to only charge for the cost of the dish. I also gave a refund to those I had charged at the same rate as ordinary people in the past.
The process of installing a dish is also a process of cultivating and elevating oneself. I once helped a fellow practitioner’s non-practicing parents to install a dish that could receive NTDTV programs as well ordinary channels. But I was unsuccessful after working for three days. Seeing me spend so much effort, the practitioner wanted to pay me extra, but I declined his offer.
He said, “You have no other income. You work so hard and only recoup the cost of the dish, how do you make a living?” As a matter of fact, I took installing the dishes as a way to save people—not to make money. I earned a living doing odd jobs in my spare time. I always made installing the dishes the first priority. This way I had flexibility and earned money at the same time.
Looking Inward During Conflicts
I went out of town to install a dish for a female practitioner who had just moved to a new place. She did not work well with the local practitioners, and the practitioner responsible for installing dishes refused to help her. Instead of looking inward, she asked me to do the job. I talked with her for a while after the dish was installed. I spoke self-righteously, while she nodded her head approvingly. I was not looking inward, yet I felt I was doing well. About a year later, a cultivator asked another practitioner to tell me, “You almost caused her to quit cultivation. I had to spend great effort to persuade her not to.”
I was shocked, wondering what had happened. Looking inward, I found that I was too attached to myself. I was trying to show off and be self-righteous. In addition, I was influenced by Chinese Communist Party culture. Why did she find me to install the dish for her? It was for me to cultivate away the things I needed to eliminate. I did not cultivate myself and look for my deficiencies, but instead pushed away an opportunity to cultivate my heart. I felt a great deal of regret.
She had passed the tribulation when I met her again. She thanked me for my help, saying it was her fault that she was too self-righteous, and hadn’t cooperated well with local practitioners. Her words embarrassed me and I blushed.
Working with fellow practitioners to install dishes is also a cultivation process. When a practitioner said he could not get a signal with the receiver or that the receiver wasn’t working properly, I tended to exhibit my attachment to showing off, feeling that others were not as good as me. Fellow practitioners introduced me to others as the top installation person in the city. Even though I denied that it was true, they continued to say this. I looked inward, finding that I still had an attachment to fame. When I was praised again, I did not say anything, and thus tacitly agreed. I truly needed to cultivate every thought.
I met a practitioner who wanted to install an NTDTV dish. When the local coordinating practitioner asked her why she hadn't asked another practitioner to do the installation, she said, “I did. But the building is about 30 stories high. It was too high for him. He is still new.” I felt a bit proud, and said smilingly, “Why don’t I go and take a look?”
The opportunities for elevating xinxing occurred suddenly and often. They indeed exposed many of my attachments. The attachments were always self-centered, and feelings of being great. I was self-inflated and forgot that it was Master who did things. I only did the physical work. I was taking credit that belonged to the heavens, and I was not being respectful to Master.
Helping Practitioners in Cultivation
I saw religious statues with offerings and incense at a practitioner’s home when I went there to install a dish for her. It turned out that her husband was not a practitioner and believed in those things. Other practitioners had talked to her a few times, but she always refused to do anything about the items, saying that those things belonged to her husband. After I installed the dish for her, I talked about the principle of no second cultivation way. We sent righteous thoughts together and then cleared away all the statues. Some time later, I ran into her. She said her husband hadn't said a word about the statues, and liked watching NTDTV. I was very happy for them.
Another practitioner asked me to adjust her dish. I found the environment was bad as soon as I entered the community, and some suspicious people were watching me. I found that the practitioner had been lying in bed at home for three days. She couldn't eat, had a fever, and threw up blood.
I didn’t say anything. I adjusted myself, calmed down, and sent righteous thoughts to get rid off the attachment to fear and clear the surrounding environment. I decided to first adjust the dish. When I finished, the field became clear, so I talked with the practitioner about who we are, what our purpose for coming to this world is, and what our duties and missions are. She also found many of her attachments and deficiencies. Over an hour later, the practitioner said she was well and returned to normal.
Letting Go of Self and Maintaining Righteous Thoughts
I installed a dish for the manager of my old company who lived on the 15th floor of a building. I needed to go out and stand on an air conditioner to do this. I figured that the building in the front of his would block the signal and I would need to go further out to install the dish. The manager would not let me do it because it seemed unsafe. I explained to him why I needed to put the dish further from the building, but he insisted that I not do it. As a result, the signal was weaker by 15 to 20 points, resulting in poor reception, although still usable. After we finished, I wondered what this event was trying to tell me.
A similar situation occurred when I installed a dish for another practitioner. I wanted to put it at one spot, but he said no, and wanted me to install it at his designated spot, which resulted in a weaker signal. The interference was big the following couple of weeks while adjusting and testing. I wondered why.
I finally realized that I first needed to let go of self, and cooperate unconditionally with others. Even though the practitioner did not know the best place to position a satellite dish, I should have used strong righteous thoughts to support and help him accomplish what he wanted. The miracle would happen and Dafa could be validated.
Second, I needed to be steadfast in my righteous thinking. I needed to have my own opinion. It is Dafa practitioners validating Dafa and directing things with righteous thoughts.
Third, I did not take my fellow practitioners’ business as my own business because I wasn't devoted enough.
I have a sense of responsibility when installing a dish, feeling that I must install it well. I make sure to adjust the dish to get the strongest signal possible. As I corrected my notions and elevated my xinxing, my obstacles were reduced, and my skills improved. I was the first person in our area to develop the technique of installing dishes such that people can watch ordinary stations as well as NTDTV with a smaller-sized dish. I also shortened the installation time.
I realized that I could do this because I was doing things for others, which agreed with the requirements of Dafa, and therefore Master gave me the wisdom. Indeed what Master said is true:
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Miracles Occur When Taking Pain as Joy
Installing satellite dishes is hard work and takes patience. I send righteous thoughts to calm myself down before I do a job. Tuning the signal also takes great patience, especially when the signal for the Asia-Pacific channel is weak. It can easily take several hours to get it right. I sometimes went out in the morning and came home very late in the evening, with only one meal in between and no water.
I once adjusted a dish that was on a tall and steep roof. I found that the feeder needed to be replaced. I thought, “I wish this feeder wasn't broken. It will save me the trouble of going down to get another one, and also save money for the practitioner. After this thought, I found that the feeder was functioning again. For several years after that, a feeder that failed for others would function properly in my hands.
The above are my experiences of installing NTDTV satellite dishes. I thank Master for his careful arrangements that gave me the opportunity to establish my virtue. I will do even better in the future.
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
