(Clearwisdom.net) I have been working as a coordinator on Dafa projects for seven years. Among all the things I have learned in that time, the one teaching that strikes me most is “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master” (Zhuan Falun).
In my understanding, we need to cultivate ourselves well before all other things, so that we can be successful in our efforts to validate the Fa.
Helping the whole body of practitioners truly assimilate into the Fa
There was a time when the local police were running rampant, harassing and arresting practitioners. When our local coordinators discussed this issue, someone suggested that it was because we didn’t do well enough in exposing the crimes against practitioners. As I was responsible for compiling and distributing truth clarification materials, I believed that there must be omissions on my part. When I returned home that night, I studied Master’s comment on a student’s article.
Master said:
“Exposing the wicked policemen and bad persons and publicizing their evil deeds is extremely effective at shocking and restraining those irrational, wicked people. At the same time, by clarifying the facts to the people on a local level it most directly exposes, and generates public awareness of, the wicked persecution. It is also a great way to save the people who have been poisoned and deceived by the lies. I hope all Dafa disciples and new students in Mainland China will do this well” (“Expose the Evil Happening Locally to the Local People (With Master's Comments)”)
I remember a recent incident where I didn’t do well in exposing the crimes against practitioners to the people in our area. Several practitioners, including a coordinator, were arrested at the same time. The coordinator soon managed to get released and asked another practitioner to ask me to quickly coordinate rescue efforts for those who were still detained. I immediately put together a report and sent it to the Minghui website for publication. I didn’t mention any of the practitioners’ names for safety reasons, and just publicized the identities of the perpetrators.
This coordinator later came to visit me and offered more details. When I suggested that we send a follow-up report, she was very hesitant, and said, “If you expose everything online, wouldn’t the police come after us?” I knew that she feared for her safety, but she insisted that she was only concerned for the safety of those still detained.
A day later, I learned that all the practitioners who were arrested the same day as the coordinator were also released on the same day, but at a later time. I was very happy to hear this and immediately sent a detailed follow-up report to the Minghui website, without asking for the coordinator's consent. I also made a lot of truth clarification materials about the incident for practitioners to distribute in various areas.
To my surprise, the coordinator and other practitioners whose names I didn't bring up in my reports were afraid that if we distributed the materials, it might invite revenge from the police. So they chose not to distribute them. The coordinator also asked other practitioners not to hand out the materials, and even requested that they be destroyed.
I never expected this to happen, and didn’t know what went wrong. Now that I've read Master’s comments on the student's article, I suddenly realized that I had focused too much on the rescue effort coordination, and I failed to organize the local practitioners to share our understanding of the Fa principles. I knew clearly what to do from the perspective of the Fa, but I overlooked the whole body of practitioners. When the whole body failed to assimilate into the Fa, we failed to harmonize with each other and therefore did not do well, resulting in the less than ideal outcome of rescuing sentient beings.
Master said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts” (“Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II).
My ego made me feel superior in my cultivation. My fellow practitioners still harbored the attachment of fear. However, I knew that I had to start with myself and eliminate my attachments. I initiated a meeting for us to study Master’s comments and share our understanding of the Fa principles. After the meeting, we worked together and made a lot of truth clarification materials to distribute widely in our local area. We also wrote directly to the involved officials and their families. After that, we never heard any news that the authorities were still seeking to arrest the involved practitioners.
The head of the police station often persecuted practitioners, so we launched a campaign to expose his actions. We handed out numerous truth clarification materials, and also distributed copies of a letter we wrote to him, advising him to be good. We also wrote separate letters to his wife and child, calling on them to help stop him from committing these wicked crimes.
We asked local practitioners to collect evidence of the persecution and to write about their own experiences, and sent them to the Minghui website. This coordinated effort had a great effect on reducing the intensity of the persecution in our local area.
Looking inward when barriers separate coordinators
Each coordinator must look inward when barriers are created between us. If we can handle the issue at hand with righteous thoughts, we will be able to coordinate and cooperate well, and ensure a smooth undertaking of Fa validation work. The whole process is also an opportunity for us to cultivate and improve ourselves.
A particular coordinator seemed to have trouble getting along with other coordinators, except me. I maintained a cordial relationship with her and tried to involve her in my coordination work whenever possible.
We once agreed to meet at a certain time and at a certain location. I waited for two hours, but she still failed to show up. When I called her, she said casually, “Oh, I forgot about the whole thing.” Before I had a chance to respond, she complained that I had called her at such an inconvenient time. I was truly dumbfounded and upset. How could she, the one who broke her promise, feel entitled to criticize me?
I managed to coordinate the project at hand without her help, but felt an urge to distance myself from her. When she failed to show up again at an agreed time, I had no choice but ask another coordinator to fill in for her. I gradually became just like the other coordinators who did not want to involve her in our work.
If we fail to look inward to remove these barriers, the consequences could be dire and we could fail in our efforts to offer salvation to sentient beings. When we decided to hold a large-scale experience sharing conference in our local area, the barriers between the coordinators and this person still existed, giving opportunities for the old forces to cause trouble for us. The police learned of the gathering and soon arrived to arrest the participants. Fortunately, due to our strong righteous thoughts and Master’s protection, we managed to avoid being arrested. However, a few practitioners were later arrested and given heavy sentences. The police also started to harass practitioners at their homes.
I realized that the root of the problem was the barriers among us coordinators. When coordinators did not want to talk to this person, they failed to look inward. I saw the problem, but thought it had nothing to do with me. Then I also had difficulty in dealing with her, but I still didn’t pay too much attention to my mindset, as it appeared that she was at fault. When I looked inward, I realized that I had human notions that had not been removed. I preferred other people to meet my standard of doing things. When she failed to show up, I couldn’t forgive her tardiness. Even though I didn’t criticize her openly, I became reluctant to work with her. I deviated from the Fa when I decided to keep a distance from her.
After I got rid of my human notions, I was able to see her in a different light. I recognized that she had a lot of strengths, as she was frank and straight to the point. She is an older woman, and had much housework to take care of, but she still offered to coordinate some Dafa projects. With so much burden on her, it was totally understandable that she sometimes had trouble keeping up with her commitments.
Once I removed the self-imposed barrier between us, we began to see a better outcome of our coordination efforts. A few practitioners were recently arrested, so that same day, I worked together with other coordinators to write a report to send to Minghui and make truth clarification materials for distribution. We also organized for the practitioners’ families to go to the police department, asking for their loved ones’ release. The detained practitioners were released two days later.
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