PureInsight | September 22, 2011
[PureInsight.org] Practitioners launched many projects these years to assist Master with the Fa-rectification and to save sentient beings. Various formats of truth-clarification were utilized and they have played important roles in validating the Fa. Especially the news media, well known in both China and outside China, has helped a large number of people learn the truth as well as suppress the evil. In “Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,” Master said, “I think that you should utilize this meeting to really explore and discuss how to manage things well and really ensure that the paper gains a foothold in ordinary society and turns profitable. What I want to see is you turning this thing into a real, solid entity; figuring out how to run things well; allowing the Dafa disciples who participate to make a living, thus being able to put their whole hearts into this; and making it more powerful for validating the Fa and saving sentient beings.”
In my understanding, this is Master’s expectation for us not only for the Epoch Times, but also other news media we have been running. Through Fa-study, we know that only by meeting Master’s requirements can we truly assist Master with the Fa-rectification. Then each of us needs to think deeply on what to do so that every news media we have “gains a foothold in ordinary society and turns profitable.”
I think there are two aspects to the issue. One is that our media should be based in everyday society and connected with the interests of the general public, rather than becoming something only understood and enjoyed by practitioners or becoming an obscure professional journal. The other aspect is that our news media should be able to maintain its sustainability through its own income. That is, the news media should be able to operate like a regular media, instead of relying on donations from practitioners.
Achieving profitability means forming a beneficial cycle on the material or financial level. In addition, on the spiritual level, we are instilling positive elements into mainstream society, making us lead the momentum of society. I think the material and spiritual cycles complement each other, forming a vital heavenly circuit in human society as well as the universe. If we can maintain the beneficial cycles, as required by Master, the circuit will play a more and more important role in the Fa-rectification. If we are unable to achieve a beneficial cycle in the financial aspect, many practitioners might be worried about making a living and unable to fully devote themselves to the projects, thus affecting the spiritual cycle.
In the past several years, practitioners have put in a lot of effort on the news media. However, many of them are not financially stable and still require continued donations from practitioners. I think this is not what Master expected. The purpose of running a news media in everyday society is to make a profit. Doing business has many formats in everyday society and behind them are the Fa-principles. That is to say, when we are running a business but are unable to make a profit, it means there are parts that we did not do well and did not follow the Fa. After all, the Fa principles govern everything in the universe. Although the old forces have kept interfering with us, they may not be able to do so if we look inward and do well in validating the Fa.
From the Fa we know that Dafa encompasses everything. Now it is the time for practitioners to assist Master with the Fa-rectification. In this process, we are establishing our mighty virtue and walking on the path of consummation. This is the most critical path of Dafa practitioners. There are things that Master cannot do for us and we have to do them ourselves.
In my understanding, since our news media is based in everyday society, we need to run the business well and have a beneficial cycle. We can achieve that if we study the Fa well. In “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Master said, “In Western society it’s a basic tenet that 'you get what you pay for.' ” I think this tells us a lot. Master also said, “Yet here we have such a high-caliber show, and you insist on selling it like some street vendor laying out his wares on the ground. That is not what Master wants, and that is why I have told you how to target the cultural mainstream.” Some clothes are sold by street vendors while some are sold in high-end shopping malls. Why is it? It is because their quality is different. Why can a Dafa disciple reach a high level upon consummation while a sentient being that damages the Fa will be doomed in hell? This is because Dafa practitioners have done so much to validate the Fa and everyone has to be placed at their corresponding levels. The same thing happens with Shen Yun promotion. With such a high value, it is not right to treat it as something cheap and promote it that way. Even after Master spoke of this, some practitioners still do not listen. Then, how would divine beings view them and what positions would they positioned at?
In “Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,” Master talked about “the appearance stems from the mind.” Right now, the evil has been eliminated in a large scale, and the difficulty encountered is actually rooted in our own human notions. Engaging in a price war and selling merchandise at discounted prices happens only after moral degeneration has occurred. It was not like this in western society or ancient China. After all, “you get what you pay for.”
Dafa practitioners have run news media for several years and very often we are still unable to achieve a beneficial cycle. That requires us to think about whether we have walked our path well, that is, followed the Fa to assist Master with the Fa-rectification. During Fa-rectification, anything inappropriate will be rectified. Because Master is directly involved in Shen Yun, how to promote it is critical. We know we should promote it in mainstream society and not rely on discounted prices. Doesn’t this approach also give us some hints on how to run our news media in everyday society? For example, the most important thing in the news media operation might be improving its quality and professionalism, instead of offering it at a discounted price or for free.
Sometimes when practitioners hold on to their own opinions too tightly, they are unable to move forward. The Fa-principles are boundless and we should not restrict ourselves by our own, limited understandings. Only then can we understand the Fa better and use it to guide our path forward.
We all read Zhuan Falun and some practitioners may think they are very familiar with it already. In fact, the Fa is very profound and no matter how high we cultivate, we are still far away from the real scenario. When we study the Fa well, we will know what to do. When we do not quite understand the Fa, we should look inward and follow the Fa instead of our own opinions. In this way, we will be able to move forward and make progress.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2011/8/20/76769.html
