(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Teacher, greetings fellow practitioners.
When I heard that the US Western Divine Land Marching Band was being organized I joyfully registered, and I also volunteered to help coordinate. Teacher himself came west to teach us, and I realized what a significant task we'd undertaken. No matter what difficulties we encountered, we could overcome them. This is a group cultivation environment, and an opportunity Teacher has created for us to eradicate everyday people's notions and ascend in the Fa.
Since I was young I've loved music. I grew up in my grandparents' home, and my aunts and uncles played a variety of musical instruments, including the erhu, the violin and the sanxian (a three-stringed instrument), but I studied dance, and never learned to play an instrument. Although I'd never even touched a piccolo, I heard from east coast practitioners that the flute was easy to play, but the piccolo is difficult. Many practitioners signed up to play the flute, but not many were interested in the piccolo. I held up a piccolo and asked Teacher if the instrument was right for me. Teacher asked, "Aren't you playing piccolo?"
The weakest part of my cultivation has always been that whenever I encounter difficulties or problems I walk away to protect myself. Joining the Divine Land Marching Band was a big breakthrough in my cultivation. In the process of learning to play piccolo I eliminated many attachments, including my fear of suffering hardship, especially when learning new things, and my attachment to laziness and reluctance to putting forth the required effort, and many other human notions.
In the beginning my fingers refused to obey me. For two weeks I suffered spasms in my hand, which I'd injured playing basketball in middle school. Every time I played the piccolo I had to use my other hand to straighten my finger. The noises I made with the instrument were far from melodious, and I became anxious over the large amount of coordination work that had to be done, but I was deeply moved when I saw how diligently my fellow practitioners practiced. The lips of an older practitioner in our piccolo section cracked several times from practicing, but she continued to play. Why was she able to do that? Because playing in the marching band is saving sentient beings.
Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,"
"When the band was playing, the energy they emitted was tremendous. Be it the energy emitted, the sounds you made, or the music and notes themselves, they all had the effect of validating the Fa and sending out energy."
I remember when Teacher came. He taught each of us personally, and spent a lot of time carefully repairing the Dafa disciples' musical instruments. Polishing each one little by little, repairing them one by one, until beautiful music could be played with them. Out of his immense benevolence Teacher did these things to help Dafa disciples better save sentient beings. These scenes are ever before me and continue to play out in my mind one by one.
Through continuous practice I truly learned to play music. This is indeed a miracle of Dafa. I never imagined that I could learn to play a piccolo at nearly fifty. This eradicated my notion.
The Stone is Shattered and Xinxing Elevated
There was a big issue in purchasing a music instrument. Some practitioners pointed out that the coordinators' methods didn't comply with the Fa, and when I heard that I felt mistreated. I thought that serving everyone is already an exhausting job, yet at the end it was regarded as doing something wrong. I thought, if I weren't the coordinator would it still have nothing to do with me? When the conflict came up I didn't look inward. I always commented on the issue itself. I always tried to explain it away and avoid responsibility, and deep in my heart I found it unfair. When I was criticized my voice got louder and my breath became heavier. Vanity and the attachment to my reputation were all exposed.
During a Divine Land Marching band activity I wasn't able to play with a peaceful mind. A practitioner came to me and said, "Today your name was on an email sent to the entire bay area." Suddenly my heart was hurt, but I tried hard to hold it off and explain myself, then the practitioner said, "Don't you just want a good reputation?" I replied, "What reputation do I want?" Later that day while the band played, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears ran down my face and I couldn't raise my head. I felt terribly grieved. Suddenly a voice echoed in my ears, "Are you a cultivator? Teacher arranged our cultivation path to remove our attachments."
Teacher said in Lecture One of Zhuan Falun,
"The entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments." (2000 English Translation)
Since childhood I was the head of the kids. In school I was the head of the students. In the workplace I was the head of the nurses. I've formed a habit of speaking with a commanding tone, but from a cultivator's perspective this is neither compassion nor tolerance. Conflicts occur to upgrade one's xinxing and to prove whether or not a practitioner can maintain a peaceful mind. What is de [virtue]? Doesn't it include enlightenment quality, sacrifice, and forbearance? Only through bearing hardships can karma can be converted into the white substance. When I thought of this my heart suddenly opened up, and I understood why I'd encountered these hardships. What is self-esteem? Isn't it a desire for reputation? Without forbearance, how can one develop great benevolence?
Teacher said in Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun,
"Why do you encounter these problems? They are all caused by your own karma. We have already eliminated for you many, numerous pieces of it, leaving only that tiny bit which is divided into tribulations at different levels for upgrading your xinxing, tempering your mind, and removing your different attachments. These are all your own tribulations that we use to improve your xinxing, and you will be able to overcome them. As long as you upgrade your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them." (2000 English Translation)
I thought in my heart, "Teacher, I can overcome any problem. I will give up my attachment to self and melt myself into the one body." As soon as this thought formed my tears stopped and I was able to play the music. It was like a volcanic eruption. All of a sudden that granite-like substance was broken into pieces, dissolved and released. My body was enveloped with a golden light. A hot current flowed through my body and I felt as light as an empty shell. Immediately it was as if I no longer had a body. It was Teacher's benevolence to use this environment to push me forward one more step. Here I would like to thank my fellow practitioners for their help.
Another conflict moved me. During a big outdoor event after a performance, a practitioner and a non-practitioner took issue with my manner in front of my mother and the other practitioners. I didn't argue at the time, I only listened and smiled reluctantly, but my heart beat faster and I thought that this was another opportunity for me, to test whether the volume of my heart could increase and my xinxing could improve.
After returning home my mother made the situation even more difficult by saying, "Look at you, your effort didn't gain you any respect. Organizing the event is tiring enough, and the people in your group still speak to you like that?" But this time I immediately looked inside to see whether I'd failed to pay attention to my attitude and was too serious. I remembered the practitioner's words, "You should treat others with the same gentleness you show your husband. You should always have a smile." I thought, that this would indeed be something developed from cultivation, and not forced. My manner reflected my cultivation status. When I looked inside I found that I hadn't studied the Fa wholeheartedly. I'd only been following the arrangement. When the conflict took place I didn't look inside myself honestly. To endure forcibly is the forbearance of an everyday person.
Teacher said in Essentials for Further Advancement,
"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator." ("What is Forbearance (Ren)?")
I was enlightened to the fact that on the surface it seemed like I was being mistreated. I hadn't done anything wrong, so why were the other practitioners dissatisfied? It was because of the karma I'd created over many lifetimes. In other dimensions there was one mountain after another. Teacher uses them to cultivate and improve us while we are saving sentient beings. When I looked inside myself unconditionally I truly felt the volume of my heart increase dramatically. I thanked the practitioner from the bottom of my heart for helping me remove another mountain.
There are more than one hundred members in our marching band, and we often gather together. I feel that in this group environment, this righteous and peaceful field filled with benevolence accelerates my process of giving up human notions. It is indeed a very good cultivation environment.
Miracles Manifest
While our marching band played, though it seemed we were only playing a piece of music, what I saw was very magnificent and sacred. We eliminated numerous evil factors in other dimensions. Our bodies in various dimensions emanated golden light. Buddhas, Taos and Gods were next to us, beings in different dimensions were cheering us, and Teacher's law body strengthened us.
The majority of the marching band members started from scratch. After only one month of practice we could perform on the street. This is a miracle of Dafa.
"Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Zhuan Falun, 2000 English Translation)
Dafa created all of our capabilities, and it's Teacher who strengthens us.
Fa-rectification is progressing rapidly, and every band performance is a cultivation opportunity Teacher gives to Dafa disciples. Meanwhile, we save sentient beings. Let's treasure every opportunity, improve ourselves in the Fa-rectification, and ascend in the Fa.
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