(Clearwisdom.net) I have encountered many challenges in my cultivation that have caused me to stumble at various times. I would like to share with you my journey and some of the understandings I have come to regarding expanding our capacity for doing the three things and sharing the workload.
To start with, I only learned how to use the computer because Dafa required me to do so. I remember when I first started chatting on the Internet, it took me 30 minutes to input the two Chinese characters "Very Good" on the keyboard. In the process of learning computer networks, I encountered many more complicated problems. I figured them all out slowly and by myself. With the progress of Fa-rectification, my workload in our network group also increased. When I first learned to clarify the truth via the Internet, I thought it was very difficult, so I resisted taking on more responsibility because I thought I already had too much Dafa work to do and thus could not possibly do any more. Then I read what Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston":
"You probably remember something I've said to you often: a Dafa disciple should consider others first in everything he does. Whenever something happens or whenever a situation comes about, even if it's a minor thing, my first thought is of others, for it's already become natural for me--I just think of others first."
While reading this paragraph of Fa, I thought how a technician works very hard. If I was able to do a certain job, I should certainly do it. As Dafa disciples, it does not matter who does the job. But bad notions often emerged in my mind, like who would be the best person to do a particular job if I was not capable of it. In "Touring North America to Teach the Fa," Master said:
"Think about it, why did beings from distant cosmic bodies come here? Because Fa-rectification was going to take place in the cosmos, and they are representatives of the extremely massive groups of beings in distant cosmic bodies and colossal firmaments; they came here to establish a karmic relationship with Master so as to ensure that in Fa-rectification they wouldn't be left out amidst the reconstruction of the entire cosmos; their goal was to allow the sentient beings there to be saved. Massive, countless groups of beings are over there. Those people who were able to sign pacts with me don't have simple backgrounds, either--they also came from huge cosmic bodies. If their levels were really high, think about it, don't they, too, represent gigantic cosmic bodies? There are also some who are students that entered while the Fa was being spread this time, and most of them came from really high levels, too."
Then I thought that, if I had signed a pact with Master to come here, how many of the things in the pact had I agreed to do and had I done them yet? It could not be only as much as I was doing! I looked inside myself and found one Chinese character - selfish. I was really very selfish. As soon as more Dafa work was required, my first thought was always, "Who can do this thing?" and not a thought about what I could do. Wasn't I a Dafa disciple? How could I have such an idea? Master didn't say who should do this or do that. Master wanted Dafa disciples to do it. How could I distinguish who should do what? Wasn't my first thought unrighteous? Nevertheless, I had always thought that this was a right idea; actually it was wrong.
All the time I was doing many things in my network group. With the advancement of Fa-rectification, the number of new projects increased. I joined in one group in which, each time a new curriculum was taught that put more pressure on us, I automatically resisted. Some people even wanted to pull back. But everyone knew the importance of clarifying the truth more clearly. It would not do if one didn't want to work on it. In addition, all of us had a lot of Dafa work to do already. At the beginning, sometimes I had to work until one or two a.m. daily, and my eyes would become very heavy and sleepy. I thought, " If I don't do the new work, who will?" and "Who would do tomorrow's things the next day?" Cultivation practice was really very difficult. Everybody was waiting for us to learn quickly. I thought how good it would be if other disciples would share the workload more, but I realized that a Dafa Disciple could only do as much work as their understanding of the Fa allowed them to do. I couldn't force them to improve faster than they were ready.
My heart was greatly touched after sharing experiences and understandings with a fellow practitioner from Taipei . He went to work every day. After coming home, he would do Dafa projects. In addition to original local projects, he would also help to do materials for other areas. He wouldn't go to sleep until two or three a.m.. In the early morning he would again go to work. He had little time to study the Fa or practice the exercises, and he felt very bad about himself. He wanted very much to study and practice, but he could find no way as he was caught up by the work that needed to be done every day. The newspaper that clarifies the truth about Dafa, which everybody is distributing now, is all made by some practitioners who work very hard late into the night. I was thinking only of myself and how busy and tired I was. Actually, compared with other practitioners, I was still very far behind.
There are many other Dafa disciples who sleep very little and practice Gong and study Fa very little. We all want to help to share the workload with those who are doing massive amounts of work, but we need more people to have this thought, not just a few. At present we have a lot of Dafa projects to do. The time we have to offer help is also very limited. As long as one is a Dafa disciple, he or she should come out to save sentient beings. It would be even better if everyone could expand his or her capacity for studying, practicing, and doing Dafa work. Only in this way can the work be divided and arranged in an orderly manner, and we can improve as one whole body.
Master is waiting for us and does not want to leave behind a single person among us. Our understandings need to improve more quickly, we need to listen to what is not pleasant to hear, and we need to put others first by helping them so that they have more time to do the three things well. Let us expand our capacity for doing the things that Dafa Disciples should do and strive forward together as one body.
July 7, 2005
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