(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, Master! Greetings, Fellow practitioners!
I never really thought about whether I had compassion or not. I just felt if I was not interfered with, if I was peaceful and serene and not attached to anything around me, I was doing the right thing. It was kind of like I was numb and not caring too much about anything.
For the past 9 years I never gave it much thought that I did not have that many responsibilities in Dafa work. I've been a coordinator for 2 weeks each year when Shen Yun comes to our city for VIP work. And I go to DC every year and meet with our Congressional Representatives and stay in contact with the Legislative Assistants when it is convenient for me to do so. The rest of the time I have been content to do what my wife suggested for Dafa projects, spend most of my time on my medical practice and fill in the gaps with small events. But for a Westerner with a professional degree I felt that I needed to take on much more responsibility. I looked at a number of the Western practitioners I began practicing with and they were working full-time for Dafa media entities as coordinators. I asked myself: "Why did I attain this status in society? Not for fame and gain." I was forced to look at my performance over the past years and the results we attained. It didn't seem to produce much for so much work. What was I doing wrong? How could I do better?
Well, I started to get answers to why I did not have the compassion I needed and why I could not achieve these goals.
Change in Coordinators Leaves Me Finding My Attachments
When I first heard about the Shen Yun reception this year I was jealous and angry that it was not me in the coordinator position. My cultivated side knew that this was Master's arrangement, and that I was not up to par to be the coordinator of this year's VIP work. Such experiences serve to mold me in my cultivation; so it is all for the good.
Nevertheless, my human side was still having problems with this and for two whole days I called several practitioners trying to find out what was going on. I called the coordinator and she said the work was contracted out and that we did not have to do much this year. My mind tried many ways to find fault with this, but she said we would only be on the sidelines sending forth righteous thoughts and not much more. The interference incurred by my attachments was driving me mad. I complained to a number of fellow practitioners who all listened patiently, wished me well and kindly suggested that I look inside to find where I was falling short.
At the root of my attachment was the fact that I did not know what having compassion for others really meant.
It came time to have our reception, the same reception that I had been the coordinator of for the past three years, without much success in bringing in any high level VIPs. I had been complacent without knowing it and could not see that we could do anything with righteous thoughts. We are the ones in charge on this earth, not everyday people. But it was different this year. The VIP reception was run by another practitioner who had done great work to bring in a good public relations firm and sponsor that had the clout to bring in the kind of VIPs that Shen Yun is trying to attract. They came, and they gave Shen Yun great reviews.
By the time of the show I found something new in myself: Deep confidence and compassion, and after seeing the Shen Yun show four more times this year, the faith and knowledge that we can do anything, and that Master and righteous Gods are always nearby to assist as long as we have righteous thoughts. Now I take it literally that we can do anything.
This past Shen Yun tour I think many of us in my area were pushed to grow up and find our hidden attachments, and we are now recognized and favorably reviewed by influential people. We made a lot of connections, and achieved some dramatic breakthroughs as one body.
I see this as an honor and with compassion in my heart, I resolve to do well with the new challenges that lie ahead.
Learning to be Compassionate While Working With Politicians
Over the past 5 years or so I have been part of a team that goes to Washington, DC every year to meet with our locally elected officials in the federal government. We have a big job to do because there are many officials here that we need to reach.
Because of this work, I started to get to know many of the legislative assistants and some of the officials themselves. Over time I have formed good relationships with them. One day last year I got a call from a DC practitioner asking me if I could ask Congresswoman B from California to co-sponsor House Resolution 605 (H. Res. 605) to make the bill bipartisan. I said yes, called right away and sent the information in an email to the legislative assistant I had come to know over time. This day I remember that after sending the e-mail, I sent righteous thoughts for a long time.
I asked the legislative assistant to ask Congresswoman B if she could co-sponsor Resolution 605. She said that she would pass it on to her. A little while later I got an e-mail saying that she had co-sponsored it. I remember that for a moment or two I felt a feeling of elation that I had done something good and others were recognizing me for my work. I realize now that this elation is an attachment.
We later went to see Congressman C. I spoke to an assistant and he told me of all the wonderful things that Congressman C was doing for human rights and for Chinese human rights. When I asked him if Congressman C would co-sponsor resolution 605, he said he would speak to him about it.
However, Congressman C had recently visited China and we found out that events during his trip had possibly influenced him negatively.
We knew we could not stop or give up even though it seemed insurmountable at the time, so we all called, e-mailed, and went in person to both the district office and the DC offices many times and asked other offices for advice.
I remember one time I called and they were rude to me and I did not forbear very well. Just after this conversation, I felt huge pressure. I felt so bad that I thought about quitting doing this work altogether. I called other practitioners and told them what happened. Practitioner D, with whom I have come to work on many occasions, was very compassionate with me and told me to try to help these VIPs see the light, and always be peaceful and nurture them into doing the right thing. I heard what he said but still felt that we needed to be stronger in our approach.
After this I took a break for some weeks and tried to look inside and see why I did not have compassion for Congressman C. I just wanted to tell him he was wrong and a bad person. I was beginning to see how my lack of compassion was affecting my truth clarifying work. I wanted anxiously to achieve a result, instead of just holding a pure heart of saving this Congressman. Later I enlightened to the fact that I was pointing my finger at Congressman C because this is the way I treated myself. I am the kind of person who is very hard on himself. Mistakes are not an option in my life. But I can't treat others in the same way, especially those precious sentient beings that we want to save. This is where I really fell short. I have since changed a lot in this area through repeated tribulations.
It was a real learning experience for me to try to remain compassionate all the time and not try to be a policeman. I am learning what true compassion really means.
Now I can see this same situation in other areas of our VIP work. I can see now that we need to be like loving parents, gently guiding them so they can make the right decisions. We cannot beat them over the head. My fellow practitioners have been very helpful and patient with me on this, and I thank them for that.
This is what I have enlightened to this past year. Please point out any attachments you see.
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Category: Journeys of Cultivation
