PureInsight | April 8, 2017
[PureInsight.org] I grew up in Switzerland and have practiced Falun Dafa since 1998. My mother died young, so my father had to raise the six of us. As a youngster, I was raised in a very strict environment. If I made a mistake twice, my father would beat me with a stick.
Thus, I turned into a very quiet and introverted child. I began to deal with the meaning of life and asked myself why I had to suffer so much at the age of 16. As soon as I had earned enough, I traveled in search of the meaning of life.
My travels took me to over 30 countries, and I studied Tai Chi as well as Buddhist and Taoist meditation practices. However, the meaning of life which I had hoped to find eluded me. My search continued until my father told me that he knew of a good cultivation practice, which allows one to complete cultivation in this life – this school was called Falun Dafa. This was the beginning of my cultivation in Dafa.
Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I have not experienced any large xinxing tests.
Organizing Shen Yun in the German-Speaking Switzerland
It was four months ago when I suddenly developed the wish to resolve the tension and conflicts among the German-speaking Swiss practitioners. These problems developed because practitioners had not held large group Fa studies for years and had not really shared experiences. All practitioners were quite aware that we had not formed one body. Shortly after I developed this wish, a European Shen Yun coordinator sent an e-mail to our practitioners list recommending that I be the main coordinator for Shen Yun in the German-speaking Switzerland.
That was the moment when I began to face a lot of tribulations on my cultivation path. A practitioner wrote to everyone on the e-mail list saying I was not a suitable coordinator. She brought up reasons, which were also directed at my wife. I responded and explained the situation from my perspective. She insisted on her opinion.
I looked within and mulled over why I always have to validate myself. I asked myself, was I protecting myself, or did I have the attachment of ego?
Then I wrote to this practitioner and explained that I truly did not have an attachment to be the main coordinator for Shen Yun. Actually I hoped to find a suitable coordinator.
I heard that this practitioner tried to find out if I had committed anything bad against Dafa. When I was told, my heart was moved again, but then I remembered some sentences in Zhuan Falun.
Master said in Zhuan Falun, “For instance, you arrive at your workplace and find the atmosphere there not right. Later, a person tells you that so-and-so has publicized you badly and reported on you to the boss, putting you in an awful situation. Others all stare at you with an unusual look. How can an ordinary person tolerate that? How can one put up with that? ‘If someone makes trouble for me, I’ll return the same. If he has supporters, I do, too. Let’s fight.’ If you do this among everyday people, they will say that you are a strong person. As a practitioner, however, that is completely awful.”
I realized that this is a great opportunity to not only let go of my ego but also my attachment to not losing face.
Shortly after, German-speaking Swiss practitioners met to choose a coordinator. Four names were proposed, but no one wanted to take on the coordination. They rejected the nomination because of the lack of time and the pressure that came with such a position.
As no one was willing to take on the coordination, I offered to accept it. If no one coordinated, we could not hold Shen Yun in the German-speaking Switzerland, which would be such a pity. I was also a fill-in for Dafa projects.
The following day the same practitioner wrote to the e-mail list again saying that she did not consider me the appropriate person for the position. I thought that there must be something wrong, and I must look inside. I realized that I had a problem with her. For example, I was against her taking on the coordinator position for the German-speaking Swiss area, which also needed to be filled. Besides, I realized that there was still bad blood between us given what she had said about me.
I immediately sent forth righteous thought to cleanse myself and called her to apologize for the feelings I had held against her. This strained situation occurred because of my attachment. Then, I sent her an e-mail in which I said that I would fully support her if she were selected as coordinator of the German-speaking Swiss area.
Once I sent out the e-mail, I felt great relief and as if a heavy stone was lifted from my heart. I felt light and happy at the same time. She responded to me after some time and said that she would support me and accepted me as the Shen Yun coordinator.
Arrangements for the Shen Yun Project
The Shen Yun coordination preparations began immediately. I told myself, “I would never ruin the Shen Yun project because of any attachment of mine.” I asked all practitioners if they thought that I held any attachments. One practitioner reminded me that I had said during the nomination process that I was a fill-in for things that other practitioners refused to do. Thus, she had recognized that I craved recognition. I immediately thanked her and then mulled over how I could let go of this attachment.
Master said in Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference, “You say that you have such great abilities and so on and so forth, but that was all bestowed upon you by the Fa! Actually, it wouldn't work if you failed to attain that level of abilities.”
It is true that without Master I would not have the necessary skill, and without Master, I would be nothing.
Another time, a practitioner told me that I did not participate during experience sharing. She agreed that it was a good thing for a coordinator to listen to what others have to say. Actually, I never thought much about this, especially since I had been introverted from when I was young. Thus, I never talked much, and since I work in the technical field, I do not need to talk or write much.
However, as a Shen Yun coordinator, I need to read and write a lot, so we can cooperate well. Then I found my attachment. As an introvert I am rather vulnerable and always worry about saying the wrong thing or losing face. Does that mean that I protect myself and lack self-confidence?
Whenever I find an attachment, I share it with other practitioners. I find it important to share with fellow practitioners about my conflicts, how I look within, find my attachments, and then let go of them.
Searching for a Theater
A newspaper article announced that one of the largest performance centers is located in Winterthur. We immediately contacted this theater. Unfortunately, the date we had in mind was unavailable.
Despite this, we arranged for a meeting because we wanted to check out the theater to see if it fit our requirements and reserve the place for 2018 if possible.
While talking to the lady, we asked her to check if there was a possibility for the dates we had in mind. She rechecked and found a possible match. We asked her to book that date although we had not shown her the Shen Yun promotional DVD. Once she saw the DVD she was quite impressed and was delighted that such a beautiful show would be hosted by their theater.
Alas, the next day we were told that someone else had already reserved that day. A ballet company had planned to use that day for taking down their stage equipment. I immediately asked if we could book the evening as they would dismantle the equipment during the afternoon. This would allow Shen Yun to have at least one show in German-speaking Switzerland. The lady agreed to look into the matter.
From then on, we reminded ourselves every day to send forth righteous thoughts. I looked within a lot to elevate my cultivation state. I also remembered what Master had said at the last Fa conference.
Master said in Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference, “I feel, however, that be it things of Dafa, or matters of Shen Yun, including some other things in Dafa, they are not to be done by a small number of people.”
Master also said in Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference, “As they see it, ‘If you are to save me, you have to reach my level first, and you must have this measure of mighty virtue before you can save me.’ ”
I encouraged all practitioners in our group to send forth righteous thoughts and tried to motivate them to look inside.
I truly felt that all practitioners in the German-speaking Swiss area held the wish to hold the Shen Yun in our German language region. Whenever I heard about a conflict among our practitioners, I tried to resolve it as fast as possible over the phone.
When I still had not heard from the theater after about one week I called and was told by the person responsible for such issues that they had booked that date for us. The ballet company had decided to take down their equipment after closing the show on the previous day. She also said that she was concerned about the issue and thanked us for having dealt with the situation so professionally. She was glad that it worked out for us and was going to send the contract.
Kernteam
Our Kernteam was very active the entire time, and we were in harmony. We believe that this contributed to the desired outcome.
We then added another practitioner to the Kernteam. The next day she sent an e-mail to the entire Kernteam criticizing my ability to be in charge of the group and said that she found there was chaos in our group. Then she sent a second e-mail where she gave us a step-by-step list as to how we should go forward in the future.
My first thought was that it was a mistake to invite her onto the team, but then I realized that I was too afraid, and it was really nothing. Actually, I was afraid to lose control and have our team no longer be in harmony.
While with the Kernteam, I shared experiences and established guidelines which I had learned from a coordinator of another country.
- Everyone should take responsibility for their assigned area and improve upon it when necessary.
- If anyone discovered a problem, (for example, someone had run into an issue in their assigned area), he or she should compassionately and respectfully point out what was wrong and suggest improvement.
- No one should belittle others. Before bringing the subject to the table, he or she should look inside for any possible attachments. Next, one should be in direct discussion with the respective practitioner. Besides, one should not make a big issue about any perceived problem.
All members of the Kernteam accepted these guidelines and agreed to abide by them. Until now, the Kernteam has operated smoothly and cooperation has been very good.
The Kernteam also experienced the support from German-speaking Swiss practitioners. We would not have achieved as much if not all practitioners were on the same page.
For example, we were told during our first discussion with the theater that they would sell all tickets, and we would not receive any tickets for sale. After in-group discussion we held a common understanding that we had to follow Master’s decision and sell a portion of the tickets. We were of one mind and one heart, which affected the outcome. We were told the next day that we could sell half of the tickets.
Also, at the beginning of ticket sales, one company bought 20 VIP tickets, which meant that almost half of these tickets were sold. I immediately called the theater, explained the problem, and without much ado, they agreed to our request. This was really amazing because originally they did not want us to sell any tickets. Now, everything worked out well.
When evaluating the past four months, I recognize a great change within me. During that time, I talked and wrote much more than I had within the previous four years. The same is true about facing and resolving conflicts. Therefore, I want to thank all practitioners with whom
I had xinxing conflicts.
I am certain that Master arranged everything, so I could quickly let go of all my attachments, enlarge my heart, let go of my ego, and achieve mighty virtue. This was instrumental in my accepting the responsibility and fulfilling my vow.
Thank you esteemed Master and fellow practitioners.
Chinese version: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/155678
