PureInsight | February 25, 2013
[PureInsight.org] Recently, practitioners in Taiwan spread the word that in order to work on promoting Shen Yun one must first pass a “Shen Yun certification exam.” At the time, I had some negative thoughts: “One must pass the certification exam in order to save people? If one can’t pass the exam, one can’t save people? I haven’t heard of practitioners in other countries needing to pass a certification exam in order to promote Shen Yun. Is this something Taiwan practitioners created?” As a result, I refused to attend the exam. I thought that whatever those practitioners do, I would not participate. If they wouldn’t allow me to promote Shen Yun due to my not taking the exam, that would be fine because I could still promote Shen Yun to my friends and family.
After that, there were many messages and a lot of information about Shen Yun training. I downloaded them but didn’t want to read them. One day, a local practitioner asked me if I would like to continue to participate in the same Shen Yun promotion team as last year. I said no because I would not attend the certification. At that moment, he did not say anything, but asked me to listen to other practitioners’ experience sharing and after that I could decide whether or not to join the team. However, at that time my thoughts were so negative that I didn’t even want to listen to the experience sharing. Moreover, there were many practitioners who had the same thoughts as mine. For example, some practitioners said, “I am so busy that I don’t have time to remember the training materials.” “I am too old. This might be more suitable for young practitioners.” More practitioners were afraid they might fail the exam and get embarrassed.
On a weekend morning after some days had passed, a practitioner asked me to go to Taipei to watch how other practitioners took the exam. I agreed, as it was just to “take a look.” The three of us drove all the way there. I was very relaxed because I didn’t think about the exam at all.
Outside the conference room for the certification exam we were cheerfully taking pictures. Then we saw a fellow practitioner we recognized wearing a nice suit, holding a brochure. He looked very serious about the exam. I was very ashamed and began to question myself, “Is the certification really necessary? Why are his attitude and my attitude so different? Who is right?”
In the conference room, practitioners went on stage one after another. They delivered their best Shen Yun promotion scripts to the audience. Their words carried compassionate energy. They were eager to save people. Regardless of whether they passed the exam or not, they humbly accepted the suggestions provided by the judges. They were saving people wholeheartedly! Shen Yun is the best show in the world; certainly we should improve our ability to promote Shen Yun—we cannot just do whatever we want. A good appearance, professional wording, and thorough understanding of Shen Yun are criteria we must meet—nobody should think of disregarding these. I changed my mind about the certification exam on my way home and thought that the sooner I took the exam, the better. A voice rose up in my heart, “I want to take the certification exam!”
To prepare for certification, I had to memorize my manuscript. It was easier said than done. It took me nine hours to draft the manuscript and memorize it. I then timed myself and completed the whole script within three minutes. I kept practicing. When I finally went to bed it was already 2 am. I should have been exhausted but I felt so energized that I couldn’t fall asleep. I had similar experiences in the past when I was about to attend a large-scale Dafa event the next day and was surrounded by a strong energy field. But this time I was not going to attend any Dafa event—I just recited the script. It became clearer that taking the certified exam was the right decision!
After that, I studied the exam with two practitioners. When we felt frustrated and wanted to give up, we encouraged each other. The assistant also warmheartedly helped us by providing opportunities to rehearse. It greatly boosted our confidence. The day before my exam, I told myself to do my best, and if I failed the exam, it would be ok. I would take the exam again until I passed it.
Finally exam day came. As to be expected everyone was nervous and shaking on stage. The judges continuously reminded us to “smile.” But almost no candidates could smile. They were afraid they might forget the script when they smiled. When I stood on the stage so many practitioners looked at me. I forgot what I said. I could only remember that the audiences eyes and smiles encouraged me, “You are doing great!” “Don’t be nervous,” “Come on, you can do it.”
Of course, I passed the certification exam.
A so-called “exam” in the ordinary world is about competition. If someone fails, that means more opportunity for others. But it is totally different for cultivators. Throughout the certification, I felt encouraged by everyone. Whether I knew them or not, everyone encouraged each other. The most important thing is that we became more professional in order to promote Shen Yun. The whole process is cultivation.
I hope those who haven’t prepared to take the exam or hold negative thoughts could reconsider it. I hope we can do a better job of saving people.
The above is my personal enlightenment; I hope fellow practitioners compassionately point out anything that is not in line with the Fa.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/113790
