PureInsight | August 27, 2006
[PureInsight.org] (2006 Experience Sharing Conference in Ireland)
Over the past four years of my cultivation, I have been lucky to be
part of various activities, both here at home and abroad.
Throughout my cultivation I have made great leaps and also had some
great falls, but fortunately I have had a helping hand from our
Compassionate Master to rise again and continue on.
I am going to talk about one or two of these occasions and, hopefully,
the experience will be of benefit to other practitioners. Christmas of
2005 was one of the occasion that I traveled away to New York, to join
with many other practitioners from around the world to go on the
streets and clarify the truth to the people of Manhattan.
I had never been away from Ireland at Christmas time in my life and had
an attachment of comfort at that time and always wanted to be with my
family at home. I also had never traveled that far by plane and
was a bit apprehensive.
I traveled alone but was to meet up with some UK and Irish
practitioners when I got over to New York. I thought it was cold
in Ireland before I left, it was nothing compared to how cold I was
when I arrived. I had a lot of trouble trying to find my way to
the house we were all staying in but eventually found it after getting
a tube to the area.
I arrived to find nobody in the house and had to spend time outside
waiting for someone to come back as I had baggage that needed to be
looked after.
I rang the mobile numbers of other practitioners but my phone was not
working properly and I could not get through to anybody.
Eventually they arrived back at the house and I was able to get
in. I was welcomed and shown which floor space was mine.
There were only three rooms available and about 15 to 20 practitioners
at any one time staying there. It was great to meet with
practitioners from different countries, some I know and some I did
not. We studied together many times in the house and it made for
a great environment.
I had been suffering with a toothache on and off for some time before I
left Ireland and the cold had started this up again. It became
quite painful as the tooth nerve was exposed to the cold wind, but I
found that the best way to handle this was to accept the pain as part
of my cultivation and that it was good for getting rid of karma. If
this was not the case and is was the work of the old forces trying to
stop me from doing Hong Fa on the streets, then with Righteous thoughts
and Master to guide me, then this would be resolved.
With this thought, and leaving my trust in Master, the pain would
disappear as quickly as it had come. This happened on and off over the
course of the week that I stayed in New York, I learned that if I
accepted the pain as part of my cultivation, then it stopped. If I
dwelt on it in any way I would suffer for longer.
The snow fell quite heavily while we were on the streets but it did not
stop us from doing the exercises and handing out the flyers to people
passing by.
I found it quite difficult at first to approach people from New York as
I was used to being on the streets in Dublin and found the people quite
approachable there. New Yorkers were always in hurry and rushing
here and there. With righteous thoughts and a smile things began
to change and I handed the leaflets out, thinking about saving these
people and thinking they have been guided to this spot for me to give
them a leaflet and clarify the truth to them, so I must make a greater
effort to catch their eyes, as that initial contact is most important.
My attachment to comfort was worn away and I began to put my full
effort into the street activates and not to think about cold or any
other discomfort. What always helps me in doing this work is to
think about this small amount of suffering I have compared to my fellow
practitioners in China who are detained and persecuted, and who suffer
a great deal more than I. They would be happy to be able to
practise and clarify the truth in any type of weather. It never
ceases to amaze me how practitioners from all over the world, can get
together, not speaking the same language, not having the same social
backgrounds, from different cultures, and so on, and can just slot in
together and work so well to carry out the street activates, acting as
one body with everybody knowing what place they must fill.
Which brings me onto my second experience sharing point. I have been fortunate to be part of the Irish Epoch Times,
which has just celebrated its first year in print. This too has
been due to the help of practitioners from here and abroad who have all
worked tirelessly to make this possible.
Over the year there have been some regrettable losses of manpower, but
we have been able to take up the slack and carry on. At times it
has been quite a struggle, but then if it was easy we could not
cultivate to where we are now. It has been a great learning
experience for me and I have to thank all my fellow practitioners for
their commitment and determination because without each other we would
have found this path many times more difficult.
I would like to finish by saying that as time gets shorter we must
always remember to think and act selflessly to others and do the three
things that Master has asked us to do, to the best of our ability. I’m
sure we will reach our predestined destination, and leave behind us a
beautiful and bright future for mankind.
