(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 2014. After I read Master’s lecture in 2018, I had the wish to work for Minghui.
Master said,
“All of our media are saving people, and are extraordinary for doing so. All have had an enormous impact in the Fa rectification, and have made a contribution beyond measure. But only Minghui.org serves as a window into Dafa for the outside world and as a forum for Dafa disciples to share their cultivation experiences. It’s a forum for Dafa disciples from every corner of the globe, including China. And this isn’t something any other media could do—it’s irreplaceable. So it has made an even greater contribution!
“As the person was just mentioning, they have to do things in a low-key manner, so nobody knows what they are doing and people might even think that they’re not actively involved in Dafa disciples’ activities. And it is hard and tiring work, going late into the night, with limited manpower, and they have to keep at it under very tough circumstances. But it’s cultivation, so aren’t these the most magnificent and extraordinary kinds of things you can do? When Dafa disciples are in the most difficult of circumstances and need to hear a [supportive] voice, Minghui.org is there for them. So think about how extraordinary your work is. You really should cherish it! However hard it may be to do, that is your majestic virtue.” (2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.)
In February 2020, with my proofreading experience from working for a media company for three years, I contacted the coordinator of Korean Minghui and expressed my wish to join the team. The coordinator promised to get back to me, but time passed and I did not hear from him. I thought perhaps I didn’t have enough mighty virtue to join Minghui. Through studying the Fa and looking within, I found that behind my wish to join Minghui, there was a strong attachment to gain mighty virtue and validate myself. After I found my attachment, the coordinator contacted me three months later and I joined the Minghui website proofreading team.
My Experience in Editing Articles
I was asked to help with the second round of proofreading each article. But I usually didn’t feel the translation or first round of proofreading was good enough. To improve the readability, I often made changes to the entire article, including the title, paragraphs, sentences, and word choices. If I didn’t like it, I changed it. After I made the changes, my body felt very heavy and uncomfortable. I thought I was eliminating karma, so I continued doing this without analyzing why I felt this way.
One time I felt an entire section made no sense, so I completely deleted it without discussing it with anyone. The next day, the practitioner who translated that article asked why I’d deleted that section. Both of us shared our understandings of what was written. After we talked, we decided to keep it. I apologized to the practitioner and re-proofread that part.
Through this conflict, I found I had the mindset of: “I’m always right and others are wrong.” I realized the reason I made so many changes to other practitioners’ articles was because of this attachment. On the other hand, I also had an attachment to showing off my ability and I felt that I was better than others. Now when I proofread, I try my best to keep the original translation and the author’s original meaning.
Stop Complaining
When I first joined Minghui, the coordinator hoped I could proofread one article a day. I tried to meet this requirement. But when I was busy, I usually picked short articles to work on. I also chose articles done by practitioners who were good at translation and proofreading. If there weren’t any such articles for me to select from, I had to take long articles or those done by practitioners whose language skills I felt weren’t as good. It takes more effort and time to work on those articles. While working on them, I often complained about practitioners I felt weren't capable translators. Master taught us that a cultivator “...takes hardship as joy.” (“Realms,” Essentials For Further Advancement) My mindset wasn’t that of a cultivator.
Especially when my cultivation state was lacking, I complained even more. What I failed to see was those practitioners’ persistence all these years despite all the hardship or the mighty virtue they gained in the process.
I also complained about other practitioners who did the second round of proofreading. When I noticed they uploaded several articles in a short period of time, I thought that I read each article at least three times. How could they do it so casually? I thought that, if I also did things that carelessly, I could have done more than they did.
In the beginning, I didn’t see my strong complaining mentality. But as time passed, I was able to recognize it and constantly eliminate it while working on articles. Now I no longer complain. But because this attachment is buried in me very deeply, it still surfaces from time to time. As soon as I notice it, I eliminate it.
Eliminating My Attachment to Comfort
When I had difficulty understanding translated articles, I went back to the original article and then used a translation software to try to understand the meaning of a certain sentence or paragraph. But even with the translation software, it was sometimes still hard for me to understand. I’d guess the meaning and make changes based on my understanding. I felt satisfied. I did not realize this was an attachment to comfort.
For some articles, I also had to look up specific names of certain places or things, as well as verify the facts.
I was fortunate to join the Minghui project, which Master has told us has enormous mighty virtue, yet I was trying to pursue comfort while participating in it. After I saw my attachment, I felt ashamed and that I’d let Master down. After I had this realization, when I had difficulty understanding something, I asked a translator practitioner to help verify it. I'm now more careful and examine the proper use of nouns, places and names, and so on.
Eliminate the Fear of Being Criticized
I never liked being criticized—even before I started practicing Falun Dafa. I let go of much of this attachment after I began practicing, but I still couldn’t accept it when I was criticized by practitioners I felt didn’t cultivate well. Sometimes I fought back.
Once, a practitioner criticized an article I’d worked on. Because we all used nicknames, I didn’t know who it was. My self-esteem was deeply hurt. When we later had a group chat, I thought to myself, “You just talk about me. How well you are doing?” Then, in an aggressive tone, I said to the practitioner, “I want to take a look at the articles you worked on. Can you tell me your nickname?” When I looked within afterwards, I found my attachment of not wanting to be criticized. I also had an attachment to protecting myself and I looked down on fellow practitioners. After I eliminated this attachment, I was no longer moved when I was criticized again.
Articles Are Helpful for My Cultivation
I usually work on articles about overseas news and the persecution. When we don’t have such articles, I work on cultivation articles. Interestingly, whenever I work on cultivation articles, the content is usually about where I need to improve. Working on these articles helps me identify my attachment to complaining.
When I first started practicing, I read almost every cultivation article. As time went by, I began to glance over the titles and only read those that I felt were interesting. Gradually, I stopped reading cultivation articles. I realized I felt that I cultivated better than others.
Master said,
“Those who do energy practices normally seek to balance negative (yin) and positive (yang) energies in the body, whereas the people I’ve been describing feel good about what they are doing even when it leads to their smelling like pine oil.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I felt Master was talking about me. After I joined Minghui, I began to read more cultivation articles than before. I think Master was giving me a hint that I needed to read such articles more often.
Cultivate Ourselves Well to Achieve Better Results
When I study the Fa well or my cultivation state is good, the process of working on the articles usually goes very smoothly. When I'm in a good cultivation state, I feel those who weren’t good at translation are becoming experts as there aren’t many changes for me to make. But if I slack off in my Fa study and my human thinking surfaces, even the articles done by capable practitioners need a lot of changes and it takes me a long time to proofread them.
Master said,
“You have learned this from your own experiences over all these years, whatever the line of work you’ve been involved in—including media work. It’s often the case that those who work hard on their own cultivation get much better results with less effort. So we mustn’t neglect our own spiritual practice. It is first and foremost.” (2018 NTD and Epoch Times Fa Conference)
I found I had the pursuit of a lighter workload through Fa study and that I need to study the Fa with a purer heart.
These are some of my cultivation experiences. I welcome fellow practitioners to point out anything improper.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Heshi
(Presented during the 2021 Minghui Website Fa Conference)
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