(Clearwisdom.net) I work in the IT field. Just like other practitioners, I also use my expertise in clarifying the truth. I have learned much from technical projects, particularly from one last year.
Since we practitioners have built up our own media, I have been in charge of the website version. Initially we had two practitioners on our team. Our job of designing and maintaining the website went very well because we had excellent previous project cooperation. After the difficult period had passed I spent less and less time on the website because I had many other projects to complete. Unfortunately, the other practitioner left our team for some other project, so I had to take care of the website by myself.
It was a difficult time for me. I had to design the editing system for the website in the daytime and had to do other projects at night. I often resumed website tasks in the middle of the night after other work had been done. The hard copy and the electronic version of the media were being developed at the same time. I often received requests, error corrections, and feedback from different editors. Although I spent almost every minute on the website design, for lack of manpower it was still very hard to completely satisfy the editors' requirements.
Since many editors were not savvy in computer use, I often received many technical questions that I had already previously answered. Because of the pressure I gradually lost my patience and started ignoring many questions. Some editors were not happy with me. Although I noticed my mind's restlessness I didn't look inward. Instead, I tried to solve those problems by working harder.
Another practitioner told me later that several editors gave up the website version of the media because they were not happy with its editing system. When I heard this I was quite angry and my heart was full of grief. How could those practitioners do that? Which is more important: the website's existence or a user-friendly editing system? The editing system of another Dafa website is even less user-friendly, so how come those practitioners working for that website did not complain at all and had so achieved much?
I asked some other computer-knowledgeable practitioners for help. Several of them were busy with other projects, though, so they didn't have time to become familiar with this specific operating system. Others said that they could help "conditionally," the condition being that they use their own operating system. I was again quite angry. The website was already in a crisis, but those practitioners were not willing to help me unconditionally!
A few practitioners told me that if I was not able to do the work, I should ask other practitioners for help. I felt bitterness in my heart. I was very busy and didn't have time to communicate with the practitioner who knows how to design the website search engine. The search engine is essential for a website.
I emailed the editors, hoping they could help get the practitioner and me to cooperate to finish this job. They replied that they didn't want to help, because they thought I should not try to avoid communicating with that practitioner. The bitterness in my heart was almost unbearable, because it was the editors who originally said that I should ask others for help. I did ask for help, but they pushed the job back on me.
Then came the last straw. I asked an editor for help writing the instructions for the search engine. She said that it was not her business and asked why I didn't ask my wife for help. I freaked out! This editor used to work for the website, too, so she knew that my wife was also working for the website and under intense pressure as well. Because several editors left, my wife had to do more to fill the void.
I emailed her back in a very harsh tone. When I was writing those harsh words to express my anger I realized that, recently, no matter how hard I tried to explain the difficulties to other practitioners they could not understand me. At the same time I also could not understand or even imagine what they were saying. I all of sudden realized that we all were trying to explain things clearly, but we all spoke from our own points of view, so we could not understand each other. Master's words in "Zhuan Falun" came into mind,
"In qigong practice, those of you whose qi cannot go through a pass or come down should look for reasons within your xinxing to determine if you are stuck at that level for too long and whether you should upgrade your xinxing! Once you truly upgrade your xinxing, you will find that qi coming down. You cannot only pursue transformation of gong in the physical body without emphasizing improvement of your xinxing. It is waiting for you to upgrade your xinxing--only then will you make a holistic change." ("Lecture Six")
I realized that upgrading one's xinxing level is the key. I should not wait for the environment to change. It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. If I cannot treat everything based on the Fa, all my efforts will simply remain superficial and won't penetrate to the fundamental problem. When I realized this, I emailed that editor again, apologizing for my harsh words.
The situation soon changed. A practitioner expert in website design joined my team and spent more and more time on the website. Soon he became the coordinator, and I had more time to do other website jobs. We were able to make lots of progress on this project through teamwork.
I had a bad temper before. When I encountered the same problem again and again, I realized that I needed to get rid off my bad temper. For a long time I thought that I had already passed this hurdle. But this incident made me realize that my temper was still there and that I still needed to try my best to get rid of it.
This experience also made me realize that Fa-rectification cultivation is extremely serious. When my attachment held me back, not only had I blocked my own cultivation from advancing, but also had negatively influenced many other practitioners and even influenced a Dafa project. During the difficulty I felt bitter. The bitterness was not a result of the difficulty itself but arose from the fact that I didn't conduct myself according to the Fa.
Practitioners are like a family. I feel very close to them, and, for the same reason, I feel pained when conflicts occur.
In "Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005," Master taught us,
"Have you truly treated him as if you were being compassionate to a sentient being? If you really had, perhaps things wouldn't be as they are today. If on the home front your conduct looks completely like that of an ordinary person, then it's possible you will encounter this sort of thing. Nothing is simple. If you can truly let go of your attachments, and if attachments have no sway over you, then the conflicts will vanish like a wisp of smoke."
Now, I try to keep my own opinions secondary and listen to others' suggestions and wishes about the website. After collecting all the suggestions, our team members will make decisions based on our understanding of the Fa and on our technical knowledge. We don't try to use all suggestions, but as a group of people who are involved in different language versions of the same media, we represent one body. The key is how to cooperate well with other teams to better clarify the truth.
Dafa work is part of cultivation. I thank Master for giving me this opportunity and letting me become aware of a lot of things.
I also have some experience using email. Since I have helped many practitioners to learn to use email, I have found that many practitioners have had troubles using it. Some have forgotten the password; others have had their systems attacked by a virus. For those reasons, communications among practitioners and Dafa projects were interfered with. Now I would like to share my understanding and experiences in this respect. I hope it might be helpful to others.
In "Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art," Master said,
"The Fa-implements of those who ascend through cultivation are formed during the person's cultivation process. For example, the bowls, rosaries, and wooden bells that Buddhist monks often use, the horsetail whisks and swords of the Daoists, etc.--all these things can become Fa-implements as the person cultivates."
Many of us communicate and clarify the truth through email. This email process and other computer programs is also the process of the beings in the email system and its programs assimilating into the Fa. In particular, when practitioners assimilate into the Fa, the practitioner-designed email systems are beings generated in practitioners' righteous thoughts and help Master to rectify the Fa. They are all Fa-implements. If they are actually a Fa-implement, they will only function when the users reach a high xinxing level and do things well according to the requirement of the Fa; otherwise, they won't function at all.
E-mail systems' security functions in this dimension look like ordinary program functions, but in other dimensions they are a Fa-tool. Their function is to prevent evil from invading and to eliminate the evil. If we can truly use e-mail as a Fa-tool instead of a simple communication method we will avoid enormous damage and also rescue more sentient beings.
I always have the feeling, recently, that I am standing before a canvas: using different methods to clarify the truth is like using different colors of paint. Master wants to give this universe the best. I was given this opportunity, so I should follow Master and paint on this canvas the best to which I have enlightened from the Fa.
Thank you, Master, for giving me this opportunity.