PureInsight | April 24, 2011
[PureInsight.org]
When interviewing audience members at the Shen Yun performances this year, we found that the feedback was very positive. People not only appreciated the high artistic level, but also reflected on their life and thought about the future. Many of them were interested in learning Falun Dafa after watching the show, as they knew that this is the way to be saved. Many audience members pointed out that the low attendance did not match the high quality of the show and it was actually a waste. Many European practitioners also felt this way. Let us discuss this topic further here.
What caused this undesirable situation? Master told us that, in order to promote Shen Yun, we have to put our heart into it and cooperate well with each other. The following are some areas that we can improve.
Righteous Thoughts
When promoting the Shen Yun performances to the middle and upper classes of society, we are primarily utilizing the existing channels of society. That includes newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV stations. While we have employed these methods in Ireland, many people were still not aware of the performances when asked. This is because the old forces have been blocking people from seeing the advertisements, or stopping them from buying tickets even if they saw them. How can we change this situation? When sending forth righteous thoughts, we can use supernormal abilities to eliminate the old forces’ interference. This is something that we all can participate in.
In Zhuan Falun, Master said, “As a person sits there, without moving his hands or feet, he is able to do what others cannot do even with their hands and feet.” In the past we have mainly relied on our physical efforts. This year, however, we had to strengthen our righteous thoughts as well. For example, once the advertisements are out, there is hardly anything that we can do to help people see them or buy tickets. This requires us to send forth righteous thoughts and awaken people.
It may take some time to learn how to use righteous thoughts, from having no experience at it to being good at it. The promotion of the Shen Yun performances is indeed one opportunity for us to practice it in this regard. For example, as we learned from the Fa, Dafa disciples may reach consummation by “levitation in broad daylight.” How can a practitioner know how to use such supernormal abilities without practicing in advance? Therefore, participating in the promotion of Shen Yun performances can be a vital part of our cultivation.
Of course we are involved in many projects that validate the Fa and they are unrelated to Shen Yun. Nonetheless, we can always support Shen Yun promotion with righteous thoughts regardless of what projects we are doing. Plus, practitioners working on the media can always help report on Shen Yun performances or get feedback from the audience members.
Full Involvement With Our Heart
We have been sending forth righteous thoughts for many years. Although some practitioners still have yet to see the results, in general we have been doing it. The effect of sending righteous thoughts, however, is closely related to our xinxing level and our status. We may not be able to see the immediate effects of the righteous thoughts. That is why we need to do it in proximity for extended periods of time.
In areas where ticket selling is poor, very few practitioners are paying close attention to sending forth righteous thoughts, or doing it truly well. We may have noticed that the interference has been rampant lately and we can get easily distracted. That is a big problem, since righteous thoughts cannot exert their desirable effects in that case.
At least at this moment, we have been unable to fully practice righteous actions with righteous thoughts. Master told us to do the three things well, which includes Fa-study, truth-clarification, and sending righteous thoughts. Therefore, on one the one hand, we are distributing flyers and telling people about the performances in this dimension; on the other hand, we are sending forth righteous thoughts in other dimensions. Both of these are important.
There is not much time left for Shen Yun performances in our area. We should focus on sending forth righteous thoughts in proximity from now on. Practitioners should come to the hosting city, if at all possible, and directly guide those potential audience members to buy tickets. This period of time is precious and, once it passes, it will not help no matter how much we regret it.
Supporting Others Instead of Complaining
We know that attendance is correlated with the level of participation of local practitioners. Some may wonder: most practitioners have been involved already, why are the ticket sales still poor? There is another issue at work, that is, the level of cooperation.
From the Fa, we know that success or failure is not closely tied to a specific strategy, as it happens in everyday society. We should instead follow the local Falun Dafa Association’s coordination. This is because the true diving force comes from other dimensions, and the exact format in this dimension is thus relatively unimportant. Therefore, we should stop arguing over the details, but try to maximally cooperate with each other.
That is to say, we can simply follow the coordinators’ arrangements. Still, there is an aspect of devotion. For example, when distributing flyers in certain high income regions, did we do it simply to finish assignments or did we do it attentively while sending forth strong righteous thoughts?
When the ticket selling situation is not ideal, one may easily complain about others for not participating or not getting involved enough. Such negative thoughts indeed exist as matter, which may influence certain practitioners and make things even worse.
All of these, in fact, are displays at a superficial level. We are all practitioners and Master saved each of us from hell. A practitioner’s appearance in this human world cannot fully represent his or her inborn quality and true self. It is only the Fa that can change us and our fellow practitioners. Therefore, instead of having negative thoughts towards others, we should have faith in the Fa. The Fa can change practitioners, and only the Fa can change them.
On the other hand, the negative thoughts practitioners have are weakening the righteous thoughts of other practitioners, and thus having an unfavorable influence on the Fa-rectification. Some practitioners with celestial eyes open saw that, when practitioners have negative thoughts towards each other, we are canceling out each other’s gong. In this case, although we seem to participate in the Shen Yun promotion on the surface, we are actually blocking the whole body from exerting a more powerful effect on saving more sentient beings. Therefore, we really have to do better.
Supporting Others With Righteous Thoughts
There are various activities in Shen Yun promotion, ranging from contacting supermarkets to finding sponsorships, etc. How can we get involved? It is like picking an apple from a tall tree. The tree is too high to reach, but as we stack up forming a human ladder one on top of another, we can easily pick the apple. The same thing happens with our collaboration on Shen Yun promotion.
In addition to cooperating well with other practitioners, we should also help improve the places that are imperfect or neglected. Master said, “Actually, though, as a Dafa disciple, if in such cases your thoughts are righteous, and what you are thinking about is cultivation, about being responsible, and about how it’s something that should be done well, then you should quietly take whatever it is that you feel is lacking and do it well. That is in fact how a Dafa disciple should handle it.” (“Be More Diligent”)
Look Within and Improve Ourselves
When encountering difficulty, we tend to look outward, hoping more people can come to help, or at least share the burden. This may work for everyday issues, but not for Dafa practitioners’ Fa-rectification projects. Master said, “I said earlier, and it sounded like I was kidding, that if only one person succeeded in cultivation, then I would have that person become the cosmos” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference”). That is to say, cultivating means improving ourselves. Although we are speaking of improving as one body, if some cannot catch up with the group, we should not let that delay the overall project. Instead, we should do whatever is needed to complete the project.
We know that it is our responsibility to validate the Fa and safeguard the Fa. Therefore, if there is some work that needs to be done and nobody is working on it, we should take it on our shoulder and finish it, instead of waiting for others and relying on others. In some areas, there are very few practitioners; but they nonetheless were able to host successful Shen Yun performances. Therefore, it is up to us to meet the requirements so that we can succeed in our area.
Who is Qualified to Watch a Shen Yun Performance?
Recently, I noticed severe thought karma was interfering with us. One day, I thought that, even if only 10% of the tickets are sold, we are still able to make ends meet. This is wrong, even by a calculation in the everyday society. For example, suppose one hundred people are working for one week at the minimum wage, their total payment would exceed £20,000 ($33,000). But for world-class artists, they deserve at least £300,000 ($500,000); otherwise, we are not doing what we are supposed to do.
A person who watches a Shen Yun performance will be saved. If a being is clear on this, he or she should pay the full price for the ticket. On the other hand, our ticket price is also consistent with mainstream society. Therefore, it is up to us to save these people. This is especially true because these people have come to this country and come to this region. They have been waiting for us and we just need to find them.
In terms of saving sentient beings, we know that there are more and more natural disasters these days, such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We have to keep in mind the future of these people, and thus have the righteous thoughts to save these people. Let us hope for full attendance for each show. We can achieve it because, after all, we are backed up by the Fa and Master.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2011/3/29/73173.html
