PureInsight | July 28, 2008
[PureInsight.org]
Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
My cultivation is approaching the 14th year. In
retrospective, there have been an incredible number of occasions that I
have matured very slowly. Other times, I have felt that I have to run
before I am ready for it. However, when I look back I see that nothing
had been too difficult or too heavy a burden. I have repeatedly shared
my experiences at Fa conferences, but this is the first time I do it
for the Nordic practitioners and I am happy. My cultivation environment
is indeed in the Nordic countries.
Last spring, we had the great honour to host the Shen Yun Spectacular
in Sweden. Being a member of the coordination team, I was responsible
for logistics, and had the opportunity to follow Shen Yun very closely
in 4 countries within a month. It was so incredibly enriching that I
want to share my experience with you.
My maturing process while working with gala-performances actually began
several years ago. I was appointed to help in two gala-performances.
The first involved moderate and minor responsibilities and went quite
well, but in the second performance, my responsibility was so totally
unsustainable that I decided never again to work with gala in any form.
To endure the situation was one of the most difficult xinxing trials I have been through in my cultivation. The xinxing
trials occurred in an environment where I had to work without proper
knowledge and without understanding the purpose of the work. There was
a lack of cooperation and coordination, which was further complicated
by communication problems among those who worked there due to language
barriers. In the end, the whole show still went well despite the
circumstances, because most of us did not give up and we got help from
Master. But this was one of the absolute most difficult situations I
have been in, and allowed me to understand how badly it can go without
good coordination, communication and cooperation. Afterwards, if
someone just mentioned the gala, I would suffer nausea. I thought,
"Never again."
But in the following years, I found myself, on several occasions
abroad, in meetings of different forms concerning the gala. It was pure
coincidence, or so I thought. The first time when it happened, I think
I just left. I refused to get involved. But as a Dafa practitioner we
know that nothing happens without a reason, so the next time it
happened I stayed and paused to think. I began to understand that my
refusal to work with the gala was not correct, but it was difficult to
overcome the feeling of total helplessness that I experienced in that
previous gala.
Meanwhile, the form of the gala changed with the entry of Shen Yun and
Masters Fa-rectification. And I tried to let go of my fear. Yet when
the 2007 event was about to come to Sweden, I received requests to
coordinate it, I still felt almost nausea. Dafa needs us and of course
it cannot be a Dafa practitioner who refuses, but I knew I was not
convinced that I could handle the pressure and responsibility. I simply
hoped the event would not come to us.
Last year, the gala did not come to us! I was not mature enough and did
not reach the standard required for that. However, we need to mature.
If we did not reach the standard required, we need to get over that
barrier and the tribulations. And it must be done quickly.
And so the gala came to us this year! I was so incredibly grateful that
we got the chance. And I want to share with you what I have learned
while Shen Yun has been here.
Upright and mighty Shen Yun
During the time Shen Yun was in Sweden, I was too busy to take note of
the righteousness its members displayed under all circumstances. But
when Shen Yun visited Finland, Romania and Italy, I saw how hard they
work and how righteous their fields were. Everyone knew exactly what
they should do - when, how and what. They were so well-disciplined and
they were punctual. If they had to wait, it was always the local
practitioners who kept them waiting. When tribulations came, they sent
fort righteous thoughts. Even with their tight schedule, they still
have the time for practicing and studying the Fa. And one day, I even
saw a young practitioner studying the Fa standing and fully dressed in
their costume for the gala performances. It was so wonderful to see
their tenacity. The whole group helped and supported each other, and
the slightly older Dafa practitioners in the group took extra
responsibility for the rest of the group. It was they who got up
earlier and went with the technical team to set up the stage early in
the morning, and they are among the last to leave. Finally, when the
show was over, they packed up all the equipment, costumes, etc. They
worked incredibly disciplined and fast. I was full of admiration for
these young Dafa practitioners and was so grateful that I got the
chance to understand their efforts to save all sentient beings. I would
also like to mention here that many of those responsible for technical
equipment and scene work, worked all day. Often, the food was already
long since cold when they came to eat, but more frequently they had not
even time to eat. They might just have a little bowl of cold rice soup.
But they did not utter one word of complaint.
Thriftiness (Economical)
I also want to share with you how careful and thrifty (economical) Shen
Yun is. They always put emphasis on not acquiring unnecessary
expenditures and pay much attention to it. This concerned both small
and large expenses. I will share just one example. From Stockholm to
Romania the bus journey took three days. Yet they chose the bus instead
of flight to save costs. We said goodbye to them at l:30 am in
Stockholm. Three days later they arrived in Bucharest. I was there when
they arrived. According to plan, they would have arrived at 7 pm but
they came first around 11 pm that night. They had been travelling the
whole day without stopping to make sure they arrived on time. All were
tired but happy. They took a short food break before embarking on a
full hour's ride to the hotel where check-in also took quite a long
time. When they finally went to bed, there were not many hours left
before it was time for them to set up at the new theatre. They were
pretty tired the next morning, but they never complained.
Dance costumes are like jewels
It took great effort to steam all the costumes. I have studied fashion
design and worked in the trade before, so taking care of them could not
be too difficult, I thought. But costumes with lots of glitters
and palettes were not easy to manage, and in the long run, I did not
manage it well 100%.
In Italy, we had a lot of time to go through the costumes; we found
that a number of costumes had lost glitters. I do not really know where
some of the damage did happen but some did happen during my
responsibility and especially after Romania because I found some
glitters on the floors there. I cannot blame anyone but myself. I was
not sufficiently attentive enough during the work. If I had been, I
would have explained more thoroughly to the ironing ladies how
important it was to be careful. If I had a better understanding of
these costumes' history and all the practitioners' efforts that were
behind them as I do now, I think I would have been even more careful.
All that is related to Shen Yun is so extraordinary! And it is also so
with the costumes they wear. One thing that I still have difficulty to
comprehend is the full extent of the effort and time that went into the
manufacture of these dance costumes, hats and hair ornaments for the
costumes. Shen Yun had 400 suits with them for the show. All were so
beautiful and fine. I heard that one of costumes took 6 days to
produce. And quite a lot of them were needed. How many months are
needed to create them? The more I think of the practitioners who put
down so much effort to sew all those small ornaments on them, I am full
of admiration. In New York, we heard an experience-sharing story from a
member of the orchestra. She had also helped to sew these costumes. In
retrospect, I regret that I have not taken better care of them. How
many gentle hands have touched these costumes before they came to us?
They are really as like jewels...
Working with Shen Yun has been fantastic! But it has also given me many
insights. Since I had responsibility for the logistics, it showed me
how many practitioners efforts are needed in order for it to work for a
performance. It is not so easy to take care of more than 100
practitioners even if they are well-disciplined. Without the fantastic
job from all those who worked backstage, with the food (can you imagine
more than 100 people who eat lunch and dinner, snacks and coming and
going all the time?) - and those who steamed 400 suits and/or took care
of the laundry of Shen Yun's private clothes for many days, took care
of security 24 hours-a-day, and those who worked with the media for
many nights in a row - or some elderly Chinese practitioners who cooked
from morning until evening for so many days for so many people. It is
all the fantastic work of Dafa practitioners! And, of course, many
other areas that also needed to be attended to, even if I personally
did not have insight into their hard work.
I know that we in Sweden, despite all the difficulties, matured
together and were able to offer salvation to many people in Sweden. The
lasting and profound memory I have of the event is not all the
difficulties which we have lived, but all the sacrifices that
practitioner across the country have made. It was an incredible feeling
to experience a great confidence that grew. And if there had been
difficulties and xinxing tribulations between us, we have cleared most of them.
As many of you have taken time off so many days, fought so hard from
morning to evening, sold tickets, and handed out flyers day after day,
night after night, I say thanks to you. I believe our gala in Sweden
succeeded. Without you, there would be no Shen Yun in Sweden.
What I feel is deep gratitude to Master for giving us this
extraordinary opportunity, and deep gratitude to all of you who made
this possible for Sweden and Finland as well.
Thank you all!
