PureInsight | July 28, 2008
[PureInsight.org] I began to cultivate Dafa in the autumn of 1998. I will share with you how I attained the Fa, and how, through this period of ten years, I have tried to keep up with Fa-rectification and harmonize the events and difficulties that I have met.
Before I attained Fa, I lived each day with a feeling of not belonging to the life that I lived. I often looked up at the sky and wondered when I would go home. What am I doing here? Why am I here? While I loved my family and all my friends, I often felt that life here was without any real meaning, more like a film. I also found that I myself often acted in a bad way against my own conscience.
At the end of August 1998, a good friend visited me, showed me the exercises and gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun. I had long searched and been through a lot, and I understood that this was what I was looking for. The question for me was if I was worthy of Dafa and of Master Li's offering salvation to sentient beings.
On July 20, 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong in China began. I remember how I reacted to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda. I was sorry the people were so deceived, and I also knew that what happened was a test of my belief in Dafa. In short, we ended up coming together for truth clarification activities and slowly but surely the media's image on Falun Gong was changing.
We began by handing out flyers to clarify the truth; we had banners in the heart of the city for a period of six months; we established practice sites to teach the exercises for beginners, and recently, we worked to establish Shen Yun as a big attraction in our city. During all this time since July 20, 1999, in the civilised society, we used all our contacts in everyday life to mobilize an opposition against the persecution. Family, friends, colleagues and business contacts all got involved in various ways to convey the true image of Falun Gong and the persecution.
While I wrote this, I understood that we still have not done enough because people give priority to trade with China and they do not have a clear picture of the nature and history of the CCP. A general thinking now among our politicians and citizens is that "you can not take extreme actions against human rights violations, as it will only be counter productive, and we should instead expand the contact and thus use this to provide information on human rights." I believe that we have failed to convey what the CCP is and how it, despite its inhuman nature, has managed to retain power in China for so long. We should have, in a thorough way, offered people information on the CCP. The Nine Commentaries help people to see the party for what is, and means to spread the Nine Commentaries and make them easily available to the public is something that is really a matter of urgency. This is my understanding.
When we were to present Shen Yun in Linkoping, it was an opportunity for me to see a number of critical things that I had to cultivate away. The first thing was the attachment to having Shen Yun in Linkoping. Several times the decision was changed after discussions the coordinators, so we decided to maintain a calm heart and rely on the fact that Master knows where the best locations are. It does not really matter if the people of Denmark or the people of Sweden are saved first. All should be saved, and all should be given a chance. We understood that through cultivation, circumstances can also be changed. When we really let go of the attachment to have the show in Linkoping, things began to fall into place almost by themselves.
Approximately one and a half months before the show, the Chinese Embassy contacted the chief of the cultural department in Linkoping town council and asked him to block the Shen Yun performance. Meanwhile, not knowing the course of the embassy's deeds, practitioners from Gothenburg planned to visit Linkoping for Fa-study and experience sharing to strengthen our understanding of our task. So, on Sunday when news about the embassy's evil deeds reached the media, I felt that Master was with us. Newspapers and TV contacted us for interviews and we were able to send forth righteous thoughts to clear the disruption. It was a fantastic spring day, and we all felt a tremendous joy to be able to experience this event and assist Master in Fa-rectification. It felt as if every second was arranged by Master for saving sentient beings. The result of the Chinese Embassy's action was the opposite of what they intended and soon engaged the media all over Sweden. Even the Minister for Foreign Affairs was informed about the matter. Several MPs and ministers publicly expressed their disapproval of the Embassy's conduct and decided to attend the show.
"I think it is fantastic and beautiful to watch, and it displays very profound issues," said Minister Andreas Carlgren.
After seeing the performance Peter Radberg, a Member of Parliament, said, "If you have a little patience, the goodness will win in the end. It is strong, it is strong."
Another Member of Parliament, Gunnar Axen said, "I think it was a fantastic show, an inspiring show that rises up. It is both expressive, powerful, and while there is the Chinese harmony that lifts parts of our lives - spiritual, religious and philosophical, to highlight these in a show ... I think is very fascinating."
Working with Shen Yun has been very enriching and I understand that it is extremely useful to cultivate in cooperation with other practitioners in various projects. The environment that is created is so valuable, all that is not in harmony with the Fa will undoubtedly come up and the time it takes to cultivate in such an environment is much shorter than if you are going to do it in everyday life.
I myself have always kept a certain distance from other practitioners although I, as a person, am very social. I understand that this is because I let my non-cultivated side and my attachments affect my actions instead of being in good spirits as a Dafa-particle and using every opportunity that Master gives me to cultivate away attachments. Often, situations cropped up where it became apparent that I must rely on other practitioners and rely on their word that when something was not done that the practitioners had in fact tried their best. There are many practitioners who do things in silence, and although that is not seen as much but they still are effective in what they do. Our paths are really different. Sometimes I can see the progress that other practitioners have made even though they did not do the same things I did. We are different and have different understandings and are different particles of Dafa, but we all cultivate the same Dafa.
One thing that became very clear to me when we worked with Shen Yun, and especially after the Spectacular, was my complacency, which proved all too clear. I had always pointed the finger at people who had this tendency and thought it was appalling. In several discussions, I noticed that I had a large portion of it. The only thing that came up when I discussed was how well we had done in Linkoping and how well we had used the opportunities we had. I understand now that nothing can be accomplished without Master and Fa and my fellow practitioners. I hope as soon as possible to let go my weaknesses, change them, and with quick steps follow Master's arrangements. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all Dafa disciples, my real friends. I hope, as soon as possible, to understand how I can help, as much as possible, Master to save sentient beings.
Thank you Master of your eternal grace! Thank you Master, thank you fellow practitioners!
