(Clearwisdom.net)
Practitioner A
By attending the training session in New York in May 2005, I saw the dedication of each practitioner working on the Sound of Hope Radio project. I also came to understand the importance of this broadcast station. Their target audience is the people living in mainland China. By listening to the Sound of Hope, these people can hear the true facts about Falun Gong.
I can't type in Chinese and I am not good at writing articles. Without much enthusiasm, I felt the best I could do was just a bit of coordination work. The bulk of the broadcasting work was left to my fellow practitioners. This was the situation until June of this year when a supporter of Dafa who is also a professional person in this field encouraged us to do better. I then started making inquiries amongst practitioners, drawing their attention to the importance of Sound of Hope. A number of practitioners agreed to get training from this supporter alongside me. I am glad to say that we have done over 150 reports since the training, which started on June 20.
It wasn't until I started doing news reporting that I realized how hard the work was. We often stayed up late in order to get the news out in time. We each did what we were good at. My weakest point has been writing articles, so this is taken care of by the younger members on the team. In the course of coordinating, I learned to only look at the good points of others.
Let's now listen to our fellow team members share their cultivation experiences since joining the Sound of Hope.
Practitioner B
When the coordinator approached me and a few other practitioners, asking whether we would like to join the Sound of Hope team, I said I would consider it, but deep inside I had already made the decision that it was not for me. I have never cared about what goes on outside my own little world. How could I do news? In contrast to my feeling, the others were keen to join. I had been in close contact with them, so I'd heard quite a bit about the team and their work. I felt obliged, and said to myself, "Ok, I can be a reserve."
I was chatting with a fellow practitioner who also does news one day, and I jokingly said, "I never watch the news. The first time I heard the evil party leader's name was when he died. That was because the news was played once every few hours in our school. We were forced to listen to it." He laughed and said it was the same with him. I then realized that most people don't like politics. In fact what we say about "not being involved in politics" was merely an excuse for our desire for comfort. Once the attachment had been identified, I immediately set my heart right to seriously doing news work.
When I first started, upon hearing such and such a chairman has such and such a policy, such and such a place is suffering from disaster, I then thought, "If only they could change the leader or the policy, then these disasters would not have happened." One day while reading "Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting," I came across the question raised by a Taiwanese practitioner who asked about their current government and some businessmen in Taiwan becoming increasingly pro-communist.
Master answered:
"As for how a certain government or so-and-so is doing, a cultivator doesn't have to give this any thought whatsoever. Don't give it any thought or concern. Just think, "I came to save sentient beings, and that's that." Someone might be in power today, and tomorrow it might be someone else, but whoever wants to be in power, so be it. It is arranged by gods, so it is what it is. If you focus your attention on this, it means that your thinking has gone off track. The moment you think like that, it's a deviation. Don't concern yourself with such things, and just do what you should. What usually happens is that the more attached to something you become, the greater the likelihood that problems will follow and form into something like a test of your xinxing. The more you ignore such things, the better."
At that moment, I suddenly realized that my heart was moved by what went on in everyday people's society. I then understood what Master mentioned in a number of lectures, that we only look at the person, regardless of his position. I attached more importance to people's positions, forgetting that no matter how high their rank, and how much wealth they have, they are just everyday people. Only Dafa disciples can save sentient beings, and I became enlightened to the fact that as a news reporter, I must never be moved by the situation.
When I write news reports I often feel there is someone telling me what to write. The words just stream out. This is particularly so when my thoughts are pure and without attachments. I know the wisdom comes from Dafa. I started to develop the attachment of zealotry at one time, and became too engrossed with my work. During that time, I found it hard to calm my mind, and my thoughts were often disrupted. In Lecture Eight of Zhuan Falun, Master talked about the attachment of zealotry,
"In the process of cultivating in other settings, too, you have to be careful that you don't get too engrossed. Demons will probably manipulate that kind of attachment."
I realized that the old forces will manifest as something good. If our minds are not righteous, we run the risk of going down their paths. In the past few months of news reporting, I have experienced various states of mind. I sometimes felt full of enthusiasm, and at other times I felt a lack of motivation. I even stared at the drafts provided to me by my fellow workers without wanting to write them up. My human notions then started to act up. I thought, "I have been out all day and am now feeling tired," or "This script is really long and it is all in French. My French is not good." Many such excuses cropped up. This kind of interference in my mind often comes when I have not studied the Fa well. If I don't spot the problem, then I fall prey to the desire for comfort. When I looked into the root of the problem, I realized that I did not have a strong enough sense of responsibility. This sense of responsibility arises from a heart of compassion. I then became enlightened to the fact that there are countless high-level beings who have come to everyday people's society, which we are also part of, with the difference being that we have obtained the Fa. We therefore are responsible for helping save those who have also come for the Fa, but are now lost in the delusion. As Fa rectification Dafa disciples, we are not only extremely fortunate, we also have a big responsibility. I now understand that only when I study the Fa well will I be able to maintain a righteous mind, and be able to overcome all the notions and evil nature that has been with me since the beginning.
Practitioner C
It has been nearly six months since I joined Sound of Hope. The time has gone by like the blink of an eye. During this time, I went to a few exhibitions when out doing reporting. Some practitioners have warned me not to satisfy my own desires while doing Dafa work. Although I didn't like hearing that, I knew they were right. No matter whether I attended a fashion show or a furniture exhibition, I went with my own objectives. I felt a bit pressured because I kept thinking about how I should conduct the interview and how it should be written up. This caused me to not thoroughly enjoy the occasion. I have actually grumbled because of this. Some time later when I studied Hong Yin II and read "Unobservant,"
"My journey, non-stop,
whisks through dust and wind
All manners of evil are purged,
all manner of life born
With great pain and care,
deep-running grudges are undone
Taking in the scenery, light at heart-
'tis a luxury I have not"
I suddenly realized that I don't have enough compassion. How can I still be attached to these human interests at such a crucial time!
I recently discovered that I often judge people and matters with my own notions, fellow practitioners and everyday people alike. I keep thinking they are not good and often speak my mind. This resulted in my inability to properly cultivate my speech. Practitioners reminded me that I should study the Fa more and increase my capacity. I once had to interview a Taiwanese artist. Before I met him, I heard something about him through other people. This created a negative feeling about him in me, thinking he was twisted. I even said to the fellow practitioner who went with me to the interview, "I don't even want to give him my card when I see him."
To my surprise, he was not the person I imagined. Toward the end of the interview, my fellow practitioner clarified the truth to him, and told him about Shen Yun, which he accepted graciously. He even said that from then on there would be a new topic when he talks to his friends. He would also talk about how he got to know about Falun Gong, etc. When we returned that day, we were surprised to see that there were Faluns in the pictures we took of him. Since then, I have realized that I must not judge others with my notions. I sincerely hope I can eliminate this attachment very soon.
Practitioner D: Cultivating myself in accomplishing the three things
Not long after I arrived in Paris, I got to know the coordinator for Sound of Hope at a truth-clarification activity. During the following week, I went to a broadcast training session. I then became a reporter for Sound of Hope. I study Science & Technology and I was completely new to reporting work. Luckily, Master had it all arranged. With the help of an experienced tutor, I started to write scripts and do recording, etc.
Soon after I started writing scripts, conflicts came. Due to my lack of experience, my scripts usually needed polishing. I had no problems with that at the beginning, but one time I saw that my script had been re-written so much that it was hardly recognizable. It was totally different from what I wanted to express. I started feeling uncomfortable. "Why do they always pick on my work? Why is it always me?" Master tells us to look unreservedly within ourselves when something has gone wrong. Conflicts arise so one can get rid of attachments. I discovered my attachments of wanting to validate myself and not being able to take criticism.
I thus realized I must let go of these attachments. So long as we can help save sentient beings, it doesn't matter who writes the script. If I think there is room for improvement in other people's work, all I need to do is make it better without making a fuss about it. Once I realized this, the environment around me changed. The changes to my scripts were minor and practitioners' tone of voice was a lot softer. I feel that in the course of cultivation, nothing happens without a reason. All of this was for the benefit of raising our xinxing.
As time goes by and Fa rectification moves forward, the work of Sound of Hope also pushes ahead. My initial work of writing scripts changed to production, to doing interviews, and meeting various kinds of people. My cultivation changed alongside my work. When I first started, I felt incompetent and often couldn't find my tongue. When I returned to base, I fortified myself with lots of righteous thoughts. I reminded myself of practitioners in China. In that harsh environment, they have not let up in clarifying the truth to strangers. What have I to worry about? I gradually managed to overcome my fear of meeting strangers. I can conduct an interview or explain the truth when the situation arises with ease. As I make these breakthroughs, Master's words ring in my ears,
"Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in
spring
Righteous thoughts can save the people in this world"
"The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos," from Hong Yin II
Practitioner E: Getting rid of Self-validation in writing sharing articles
After I joined Sound of Hope and started writing news scripts, I began to realize that in order to achieve a better result, I had to let go of my attachment of self-validation. I am a slow writer. Sometimes I have to stay up very late to finish one report. This has an impact on my normal everyday work the next day. In the beginning, although the work was hard, it was well worth it because I was validating the Fa. But after studying the Fa, I realized that this is not how it should be. In answering a disciple's question, Master said,
"But with Dafa disciples things should go quickly, whatever it may be. When you let go of self even more, your wisdom for validating the Fa will naturally come forth." ("Teaching the Fa at the meeting with Asia-Pacific Students")
When I search inside, I can see my attachment of wanting to validate myself all over the place. This gets in the way when I want to use the wisdom which Dafa has bestowed upon me to save people. For example, I like to make perfect every minor detail to suit my notions when I write the scripts. When the writing is not smoothly progressing, I worry that I might not make it in time. When I stay up to finish a report, it wasn't from a pure heart of wanting to save people. It was more of a wish that everyone would recognize my abilities.
Once I became aware of these attachments, I tried my best to write with a pure heart. When problems arise, I now try to become enlightened by the Fa. If I get stuck when writing, instead of getting frustrated, I go and study the Fa or share with practitioners. This way, my train of thoughts is often kept alive. Sometimes Master arranges for a tutor to come and help.
Our team has been established for only a short while, and there is plenty of room for improvement. We are thankful to Master for giving us the opportunity to do news broadcasts to help Him in Fa rectification and saving sentient beings, thus fulfilling our vows. We have come a long way from not having any news sense to finding ways to stimulate the audience's interest, and have becoming more professional in the field. This has also been a cultivation progress for all of us involved. One of giving up of attachments, letting go of oneself and harmonizing the whole body.
Our unanimous wish is that we can coordinate better so that the Sound of Hope is more widely spread, thus saving more precious people.
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