PureInsight | August 9, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Over the past few years, I have advanced considerably in the work I have done for Fa-Rectification. I began by going to the Chinese Consulate and handing out flyers to friends. Later, I started taking a regular shift at the Consulate. I handed flyers to everyone I talked to and took responsibility for a practice site every Saturday. I even helped other practitioners a lot with their Dafa work. Nevertheless, this standard was not high enough for me and I eventually realized that every moment is precious and we should definitely consider saving sentient beings as the first priority in our daily lives.
I began to see that almost everyone I meet is waiting for me to let Master save them. I knew deep in my heart that the only absolute way I could completely fulfill my vows in history was to incorporate the skills the Fa has given me to save sentient beings.
"I must begin thinking of my own ideas," I thought to myself.
Recently, I have changed my heart dramatically and have decided to step forward as much as I can. I would like to tell you a few stories during my cultivation process.
The first story began when I decided to coordinate a symbolic tribunal to bring Jiang Zemin to justice in Canada. I faced thought-karma that gave me notions of inferiority and disrespect to self, but I knew I could break through it. I put all fears aside and started preparing to book the space at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC. After I passed this point, I knew nothing could stop me from completing every task in this project. Having the courage to coordinate this event was a breakthrough for me. We can reflect on this through Master's words about having a strong main consciousness as told in "Your Main Consciousness Needs to be Strong" in Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun, "There is another type of karma that's powerful and it has a serious impact on cultivators. It's called thought karma…Eliminating karma means eradicating it and transforming it. Now of course the karma won't go for it, so people have tribulations and they have obstacles…But most people can use their strong master consciousness to get rid of it, to fight it. That shows that this guy can be saved, and that he can tell good from bad, and it means that his comprehension is good."
While preparing for the tribunal, I found myself meeting with other practitioners for exciting rehearsals, working on packages to send to professors and VIP's, and most astonishingly, having other practitioners jump right into the project without hesitation to offer help and even complete important tasks on their own. Going through such a process clearly expressed the magnificence of Dafa disciples working together. I learned that the coordinator has no burden of work, but rather has a great honor to bring practitioners together in order to save lives and wash away the evil.
Some examples of this cooperation include: one fellow practitioner's booking the space for the tribunal, arranging the equipment needed, and even getting an advertisement posted in the university's newspaper regarding the event. Without such efforts, I may have had to take time off work. I was so grateful for that.
Another case was when two roommates assisted me by helping to put hundreds of invitation packages together. I came home tired and disappointed in myself for taking on too much work, but working together cut three hours of work into one!
Finally, I owe the biggest thanks to a fellow practitioner who urged me to coordinate this project. Her simple words echoed deep into my spirit and have helped me to truly take more responsibility time and time again. Thank you very much for your help everyone. I have gained precious experience with this teamwork and was able to use my communication and acting skills.
All of the practitioners involved overcame several difficulties in order to succeed in the tribunal. Whenever I came across barriers or challenges with other practitioners, I recalled Master's words in "A Person in Charge is also a Cultivator" from Essentials for Further Advancement:
"Don't you know that the conflicts among those in charge are arranged by me for you to improve yourselves?" …"In order to enable your improvement, it will not do if your heart is not provoked when conflicts arise. Working for Dafa is also a good opportunity for you to improve your xinxing!"
Next, I will describe the day of the tribunal. Overall, I would say that it went well. The cast performed well and some have even become good at acting, which really caught the viewers' attention. We had a few new practitioners join the event, and they did a good job in their roles.
We performed outside at Convocation Mall in a central part of the campus. Hundreds of students saw our banners, display boards, and truth materials as the microphone echoed in a very high roofed and walled corridor-like area outside. I was most happy to see that no Chinese people had any negative reactions towards us. I felt that we must pay attention to this because people's minds are getting clearer. I saw many passersby watch the event and sign postcards, sign our petitions and accept flyers.
Around 20 of our practitioners showed up for the event and most of them stayed for several hours afterwards to Hong Fa, even though it was oddly cold. Some students stayed for a few minutes, where others were captivated by the story, including a Chinese Christian, and a student reporter from BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). Although the Chinese man quit Falun Gong a while back, he was moved to stay and watch the event until the end. The reporter was patient, kind, and asked me some questions about my experience in Falun Gong. Also, the day prior to the event, another student from Trinity University asked me to speak on a radio show for students.
I had been a quiet person until I started cultivation, avoiding all situations putting me in the spotlight, but I am grateful to have had the chance to save so many lives, and this alone has helped me to conquer fear and assimilate to Zhen-Shan-Ren. Encountering difficulties coordinating a large event for the first time was not easy. However, it helped me to strengthen my will to overcome barriers such as selfishness, since cooperating with other fellow practitioners is crucial. I remember that everything I did was not about 'me' at all, but for Dafa. Realizing that taking responsibility has a profound meaning, I recall that Master clearly stated in Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa:
"When every assistant spreads Falun Dafa, he must be responsible to himself, be responsible to the students, be responsible to society, and be responsible to Dafa."
Doing this work helped me to improve a lot and I was so moved from this experience that I decided that the next work I coordinate will be based on my own ideas, using my own gifts given to me by the Fa, to save sentient beings. Hence, the gift of music I was given has been recently put into full use.
The next experience I will share is about my enlightenment while working with a choir of practitioners in Vancouver. I have helped coordinate and sing on a music team to create beautiful music for Falun Dafa Day. Music is surely my greatest gift from Dafa and I am delighted to say that I have had the courage to finally use it after cultivating for several years.
The choir performed DeDu (Be Saved), Wei Ni Er Lai (Coming for You) and Falun Dafa Hao.
Starting the group was not difficult at all. After sending a single e-mail, many responses emerged and eager practitioners were ready to start singing together. Although we had just finished singing in the April 25th event, no one complained about our limited time to prepare for Falun Dafa Day. We only had two weeks, so the responsibility was huge. We did not expect much from each other, but pushed ourselves to become a great sounding choir.
Our practice took place in a small, quiet park. Being there had a great effect in validating the Fa to passers-by when they heard our melodic sounds. Even a kind-hearted RCMP officer remained in the park to hear one of our songs. We had many tribulations such as who would conduct the choir, everyone talking at once, which caused distractions, and breaking through attachments such as shyness or even zealotry. Overall, I would say that we emerged clear-minded and did well in coordination and cooperation after taking some time getting to know one another.
We are very fortunate to have had singers with professional voice training with us as well as a new, but very determined and enthusiastic, conductor to assist in creating good sounds in tone, volume, and harmony in this new and challenging group environment. I believe that we all benefited tremendously with this chance to cultivate our voices together in song.
While discussing the choir's progress with the professional singers in the team, I soon discovered how we differed from performances such as those made at the New Year Gala in New York. At one point, I knew that I could not 'filter' those who sang in the choir, meaning 'be selective in the singers' because there was no time to do so before the performance date and we had a fairly small choir. We decided not to be too rigid at this point, however, in the future, we are strongly considering having a professional choir. In this way, those who are highly focused on the team effort will have the opportunity to raise their standard to a much higher level, therefore sending our benevolent music deep into the hearts of sentient beings. I know that this will take much time and patience. Nevertheless, I see its worth because the Fa gave us the gift of music to save lives and cultivate together.
Overall, the final performance was a great success. We performed twice on a stage outdoors in front the Vancouver Art Gallery. The first show was good, even though there were troubles with the microphones used in a duet. I could see many faces in awe as they heard the heavenly music that came to save them. Whether they were children, parents, or adolescents, many types of people stopped to hear us. On a personal level, I could feel my voice rectifying the environment and myself when I sang the words 'be saved' twice with my fellow practitioner in our second duet. Going through such a process in this team has been my greatest honor in Dafa. It has taught me many valuable lessons. By working constantly with this team, I realized the time I lost to work with music. I realized that I have shied away from music for several reasons. One is fear; fear of being disliked, fear of failure, and most importantly, fear of letting go of self, even though it may have benefited others immensely.
Another is my lack of responsibility. I have made countless excuses why I cannot move forward to save sentient beings with music, which includes feeling I must help practitioners with their work, doing work only because others are not, and even thinking that working on my music is selfish and a waste of precious time. Working with the choir washed away all my notions of these things and has presented a door into what could be the best path I have yet to travel on in Fa-Rectification. Fear has been replaced with a tranquil mind and heart, so my self-respect and confidence to sing in front of others has emerged. I greatly thank the Vancouver choir for all their assistance and benevolence. Instead of putting music at the end of my list of Dafa work, it has moved to the top.
Not only that, but several practitioners have showed great enthusiasm to continue working with music in the future. I look forward to spending more time on this path and even possibly holding a large-scale musical event some day. No matter what obstacles come my way, I will surely continue to improve my artistic ability to upgrade xinxing and save more lives.
Initiating the mock trial and, especially, the choir, has taught me a valuable lesson: use the gifts given to us by the Fa to assist in the Fa Rectification. We can always do much work for the Fa each day. But after I had these experiences, I knew that using my own talents is something each cultivator can do, and in my humble opinion, should do. I deeply feel this way in my heart and I hope that all practitioners can realize their great talents, cherish them, and mercifully save beings with them during this precious time.
