(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
When I was 20 years old, I witnessed an enormous change in my mother after she began practicing Falun Dafa. She was so frail before that she had difficulty walking and needed help. Us children had to help her get up every morning. After she began practicing Falun Dafa, she became full of energy and looked and acted like someone two decades younger. Inspired by her positive changes, I also began to practice.
Practitioners in Taiwan at the time focused on sending out informational materials, collecting signatures to condemn the persecution, and doing the exercises outdoors. I was a college student then. I carried hundreds of truth clarification materials to school every day and I distributed them in nearby residential areas door-to-door after school.
When The Epoch Times was established in Taiwan, I took the initiative to visit and interview local businessmen and entrepreneurs. I wrote articles about their behind-scenes stories to enrich the newspaper’s content.
Soon after, I was approached by fellow practitioners to participate in Minghui’s reporting and writing. Because I was also involved in other projects, I never truly considered myself a part of Minghui, and I rarely attended meetings.
Even with this mindset, I never left the Minghui project because I believed that Master would see all the articles on Minghui. Even though I was not able to see Master in person, this belief kept me going.
Cultivating Heart and Mind Through Reporting
During his Fa lecture at the Washington DC Fa Conference in 2018, Master gave Minghui great affirmations for the first time. After this Fa teaching was published, I felt that Master was talking about the hard-working practitioners who worked day and night for the website—not me, who only occasionally reported on practitioners’ activities and interviewed people.
However, I kept thinking about Master’s words. I asked myself, “If Master doesn’t read Minghui, would I stop writing? Am I really not one of the practitioners working for Minghui mentioned by Master?”
I told myself that I am Master’s disciple and a member of Minghui. Master’s teachings clearly pointed out my shortcomings. I understood that I must be more proactive and play a greater role in saving people.
So I started to call fellow practitioners and tell them that I was a Minghui reporter, and that I wanted to showcase their cultivation stories for people all over the world. I explained that there are people from all walks of life in Taiwan who have benefited both physically and mentally from practicing Falun Dafa and have given selflessly to their families and society.
Soon after, the first practitioner I interviewed told me his story. My article was published at the top of the page on Minghui and I felt greatly encouraged.
I then set myself a goal of completing at least two practitioners’ stories per month. Some practitioners did not want to be interviewed because they felt they did not practice well. Others not only agreed, but were also moved to tears by Master’s compassion while telling their stories.
Each interview took about two hours. Each time after I listened to a fellow practitioner’s cultivation story, I felt like I had been cleansed from the inside out.
I saw their determination to cultivate that shook the world of ten directions; I saw their hearts when they were going through physical torment in body purification, their conviction and unconditional ability to look inward; I also saw how they gritted their teeth and used the Fa to cope with the difficulties they faced at work and at home, as well as how their actions moved the people around them. Their stories touched and inspired me.
Over the years, Master has repeatedly said, “...cultivating as if you were just starting...” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
Each of my fellow practitioner’s stories really helped me to rediscover the enthusiasm and feeling of sacredness I had when I first began practicing. Coincidentally, when I had an attachment that I could not eliminate or a knot in my life that I could not get over, the interview with a fellow practitioner was like a mirror that allowed me to see my own shortcomings. The attachments that I was holding on to and could not let go of were dissolved during the interview.
Of course, there were many areas in which I could do better. After an article about one practitioner was published, he called me and requested that we take it down. His mother was upset after seeing the part about how she treated him. I tried to persuade him to keep the article, but he insisted on taking it down. I had to contact Minghui’s editor and ask them to remove it. I felt a deep sense of loss, after I spent so much time writing it, and repeatedly editing it—how could he so easily call it off?
Shortly after that I encountered a similar situation. I went through the interview, wrote the article, sent it to the practitioner, and did the final editing. He called me the next day. He initially praised me for writing it so well. He said that he showed it to his co-workers, but his co-workers worried if it would cause problems for their company, so he asked me to cancel it. I suggested we use an alias for his story. But he still did not want it to be published, and stated that he may not do any more interviews in the future.
I was perplexed. I thought that when you agreed to be interviewed, you had already taken these factors into consideration. Why was it so easy to take others’ hard work so lightly because of your own concerns? I was so upset that I deleted this practitioner’s contact information from my address book. I felt frustrated and powerless about any future interviews.
I began to ask myself why I was so upset and why didn’t I want to continue. Was I frustrated because my hard work would not be seen? What was I doing this for? Was I doing it for myself, or for the sake of saving others? I could suffer for the sake of the article, but why couldn’t I handle it when it wasn’t published?
Master told us:
“…A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy…”(“Realms,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
However, I found that I still could not change my long-standing human notions. I subconsciously felt that I should see some reward for my hard work. I was not able to “take hardship as joy.” To put it plainly, I was suffering for my loss. Wasn’t that the most selfish heart? If this hadn’t happened, how could I ever see my human heart, let alone eliminate it? Wasn’t what happened a good thing?
I suddenly felt ashamed of myself. I could not even let go of such a trivial thing. I was not able to think of others or consider things from their perspective. I only focused on my own effort and how I felt others overlooked my hard work.
When I thought of Master’s compassion and how our fellow practitioners in China suffered, my sadness, grievance, and anger disappeared.
Participating in the Minghui Social Media Page
Last September, another practitioner told me that Minghui wanted to set up a social media page in Taiwan, dedicated to publishing articles from Minghui that would be suitable and well received by the general public. I quickly responded. With help from skilled practitioners, we set up a page, learned the operational steps, and discussed a certain publishing model to publish Minghui-related articles.
I was in charge of reviewing articles during the first two months. At that time, I felt that the introduction and pictures in each article must meet the standard in order to attract readers. I felt that many things my team members wrote could be improved on.
At that time, I used to worry about other practitioners’ feelings. I was worried that they would be bothered by my changes. But to be responsible to the Fa, I had to make changes. Fellow practitioners were very understanding and even gave me encouraging feedback, saying that the articles were better after the revisions. Their encouragement made me devote more time and effort to refining the words and making the articles’ key points clearer.
I gradually realized that my mind set had changed. I was no longer doing things for the sake of the group or upholding the quality—instead I developed an attachment to validating myself. I put myself above my fellow practitioners. I felt less humble when I made the revisions, as if it was just a job that I had to do.
Then the 2020 U.S. election began in full swing. Minghui published a number of commentaries and insights on the election, and Minghui’s social media page kept up with current events. I moved my focus to writing articles related to the election. In the midst of the battle between good and evil, I began to be vigilant about my own state of mind, examining whether I could really validate Dafa without mixing it with my own attachments.
When I put Dafa and practitioners first, I realized that my way of refining our writing needed to be improved. I realized that I emphasized technique—which was just a facade without the foundation of selflessness. The only way to express the audience’s feelings is to put yourself in their shoes and use the language they understand the best. We also need to do it with the purest heart of a cultivator, in order to express the mighty virtue of Dafa, Master’s compassion, and what fellow practitioners want to express in their articles. Only then can we truly move the world and achieve the goal of saving people.
Master said,
“So what's their state of mind? It's tolerance, an extremely immense tolerance, being able to accept other beings, and being able to truly think from other beings' perspectives. This is something a lot of you haven't achieved yet in your cultivation, but you're gradually catching on and achieving it. When another God proposes an idea, they aren't eager to reject it, and they aren't eager to express their own ideas and they don't believe that their own ideas are good. Instead, they look at what the end result of the other God's proposed approach will be. The paths are different--everyone's path is different--and the truths that beings validate and enlighten to in the Fa are different, too, but the results might very well be the same. That's why they look at the results, and if the result of a God's idea can achieve the goal, if it can truly achieve it, then all of them will go along with it. That's how Gods think. Also, if there's something lacking in it they'll unconditionally and quietly supplement it to make things more complete and perfect. That's how they handle things.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. II)
I thought about my pseudonym on the Minghui website which has the word “Rong (meaning tolerance or acceptance in Chinese).” I suddenly understood the deeper meaning of “Rong.” It’s not just expanding capacity and tolerance for others. That word “Rong” covers much of Master’s painstaking efforts. As practitioners, we need to harmonize the Fa, cooperate with the group, and unconditionally fulfill what Master wants with our own lives. That’s our responsibility and the meaning of our lives!
Conclusion: Solidly Cultivating, Walk the Path Well
I recently went through some sickness karma, but rather than calling it sickness karma, I would like to think of it as a xinxing test. I found that whenever an abnormal condition surfaced, it was because I still had a deep-hidden doubt about whether my body was healthy, and I was afraid that I had some kind of “disease.” This disbelief made me feel sad. I’ve been practicing for so long, so why did I waver on the fundamental issue of believing in Master and the Fa?
I kept searching within my heart. I found that I was not firm and solid enough in many places, and even many small things that were not taken seriously were hidden away instead being eliminated.
Master said,
“Some of our practitioners are struggling with passing the tests of sickness karma. Don’t think that it’s necessarily something major [that causes that]. You might think that you haven’t done anything majorly wrong, and that you are very firm in your faith in the Fa. However, you shouldn’t treat the little issues you have like they are nothing. The evil will seize upon any gaps. Many practitioners have even passed away on account of little things; it really was due to something very minor. That’s because cultivation is something serious, and requires having no gaps. If for a long time you haven’t dealt with those things through cultivation, small as they may be, if you haven’t taken them seriously for a prolonged period of time, then it is a big issue. Many people have passed away on account of such things.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference”)
I know that countless gods are fixing their eyes to see how my heart moves. When I watched Master’s videos and lectures over and over to measure myself against the Fa, I felt the layers of dirt that originally covered my body, under Master’s compassion and Dafa’s power, began to peel away.
While I wrote this sharing article, my child lay in bed with a high fever. I kept searching within as I typed. I knew that no matter what I encountered was to eliminate evil, and for me to elevate – it was all good.
It has been twenty years since I began practicing Falun Dafa when I was 20 years old. Even though I can not see other dimensions and can not sense anything, I know that Master has been watching over me at all times. I slacked off in the past, but I am a Dafa disciple, I have no shortcut. I need to walk my path well, unconditionally eliminate attachments and reach the standard, seize the time, and cultivate away my human heart, so I can save more people.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Please kindly point out any of my shortcomings.
(Presented during the 2021 Minghui Website Fa Conference)
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