(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
I obtained the Fa in 1996. Since my everyday work did not take much of my time, I spent a lot of time reading the Fa. Whenever I faced conflicts, Master’s Fa would point me into the right direction. I didn’t have too many tribulations before 1999. The intensive Fa study also helped me to lay a solid foundation for doing the three things well during the peaceful resistance to the persecution.
I joined the Shen Yun promotional activities in October 2010. I knew that Shen Yun saves people, and it has its part in the divine culture. When I realized that the selling of tickets didn’t go very well in December 2010, I felt pain in my heart. I know the principle of “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” Master has paved the path in the other dimensions, but we didn’t do well. As Dafa disciples, our task is to save sentient beings, so I swore to Master in my heart that I would follow Master’s lead, and do whatever is needed to be successful with our ticket sales in the U.S.
After the Washington D.C. Experience Sharing Conference in July 2011, I went to Houston to help local practitioners promote six Shen Yun shows scheduled for December. It was very hot that month in July. The highest temperature during the daytime was about 117 degrees Fahrenheit. My task was to put up posters. I usually picked up posters around 1:30 p.m. and took them to the Chinatown around 2 p.m. After being outside for only 10 minutes, I became thirsty and hot. It was like being in an oven. But I had to overcome the discomfort, because it was urgent to save people. Within two and half hours, I put up 80 posters. I remained in Houston, putting up posters.
A fellow practitioner usually dropped me off at a busy street. I had with me 200 posters, a suitcase filled with flyers and a backpack with my iPad. At each store, I told them that an excellent show was coming to Houston, and played a 30-second commercial of Shen Yun on the iPad. With their permission, I put up a poster. If they didn’t allow me, I left a flyer, and asked them to pass on the information to the manager or owner.
From 9 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m., I put up about 200 posters daily. After returning home I felt as if I was on fire. I ate bowls of ice to cool down. One evening, a few days later, I fell to the floor and could not get up. I knelt on my knees for a while and then was able to get up. But, the next morning, I was energetic again, and went out to put up posters.
I encountered much interference, but was able to eliminate all of it. I clearly knew that the interference that manifested in my mind was from my karma and notions. I know that the sentient beings in my universe are connected with me. When I cultivate, they are also cultivating. Their cultivation status reflects in my mind and body. I also know that the sentient beings that I need to save will also reflect their incorrect thoughts in my mind. So, it is very important to keep righteous thoughts, and read the Fa well to eliminate the interference. I know that I need to correct the incorrect thoughts of those beings, and therefore save them. I developed a mechanism that works well for me. Whenever I encounter a tribulation, either mentally or physically, some good thing will happen. After I purify my mind, my putting up posters faces barely any interference.
In the process of putting up posters, I had many interesting and touching experiences. One day, I talked to a cashier in a store. She asked me for my name. I told her that it was Tom. She asked me excitedly, “Is Shen Yun really coming? Tom, it is so hot, yet you are carrying so much stuff. Come, have a cup of water. You should be able to keep up.” I said to her, “Well, please buy a ticket and thus show me your encouragement.” She replied that she had to discuss it with her husband. After helping me put up the poster, she asked me for my cell phone number. The second day, the local contact person who was in charge of Shen Yun promotion told me that a lady had called and asked him to tell Tom that she had bought the tickets. A day later, the owner, manager and a customer of that store also bought tickets.
One day, I passed by a restaurant, which has large windows facing the street. I told myself that I should put up posters in that location. I talked to the manager, and told her about Shen Yun briefly. She said, go ahead and put as many posters as you want. She also told me to take as many free cokes as needed in her restaurant. I accepted a large glass of coke with ice cubes and thanked her. She said, “Don’t thank me. I should thank you. You brought such beautiful information to me.” At that moment, I saw that the sentient beings are waiting for information about Shen Yun.
One day, I entered a tall building where every office had a coded lock. I tried to push one door. It opened. I saw a lady wearing a lovely dress. I introduced Shen Yun to her, and showed her the Shen Yun Album. She liked it very much. But all of sudden, she asked me how I entered. I said, “The door was open. I am sorry. Did I do anything wrong?” She answered, “I am glad to talk to you, but you will be in trouble if you enter without being asked to come in.” After I left the room, I thought that I had found the people who had predetermined relationship with Shen Yun, but I needed to improve my method. Later, I tried another office. The door was also open. I talked to a lady in the office. She also liked the Shen Yun album, but was also surprised that I came in without knowing the code. I thought that I must find a way in which I can bring the information about Shen Yun to them without surprising them. I went to the next floor. It was the headquarters of a law office. There was a reception counter and security guards. I gave the Shen Yun materials to the receptionist and told her that it is a great show that nobody should miss. She promised me to pass on the information.
Encouraged by this, I always talked to the receptionist first after entering an office. Almost everybody liked the flyers and posters, and they always told me that they will put it up. I discussed my way of doing things with the local Shen Yun contact person and asked him if this is a good method. He was happy about it. He also asked me to take ice with me because of the heat. He is a practitioner that displayed strong righteous thoughts. He always encouraged practitioners when they had a good idea about promoting Shen Yun. In Houston, every practitioner supported each other with righteous thoughts, and all we did had a positive impact.
Two weeks later, a practitioner lent me a car, which was very helpful. I didn’t have to walk. Every night, a practitioner gave me the addresses of seven or eight locations where I had to put up posters the next day. I put those addresses in the GPS. The GPS helped me remind myself to hurry up to finish today’s task on time. I encountered some interference, such as loss of my iPad and maxing out my debit card. I also spent all the cash I had. However, I put up almost 4,000 posters within four weeks. Together with fellow practitioners, we finished putting up the first round of posters. The sponsors told practitioners that they could see Shen Yun posters everywhere in Houston.
Next, the contact person in Austin asked us for help to put up posters there. I went there with a senior and a young practitioner. In Austin, fellow practitioners collaborated with each other very well. We finished our task within eight days. Many local citizens said that they could see our posters everywhere.
I came back to Houston and started the second round of posters with a practitioner from St. Louis. We visited office buildings on weekdays and delivered flyers door-to-door on weekends. The contact person asked us to finish the second round by the end of November. We didn’t have much time. Both of us cooperated well with each other. We visited all floors in all the buildings that were assigned to us. We did have some interference, but we overcame them holding deep compassion, solid belief and courage in our mind. We visited 8,000 offices in one month, and finished our task, putting up 3,000 posters at the beginning of October. This way, we had one more month to help put up posters in another city. When I drove by those office buildings, I was very happy.
At the end of October, we went to Phoenix. The local contact person gave us the addresses of 256 stores. We didn’t have much time and had to visit 14 stores daily. The task doubled when compared to what I had to do in Houston. We were already very fast in Houston, but now we had to be even faster. Whenever I felt that my mental and physical energy reached the limit, I asked Master for strengthening. We made it. A practitioner was amazed, “We just got out of the car. How come we finished the whole street just in a brief moment?”
I realized that as a Dafa disciple of the Fa rectification period, I should measure myself with the Fa at every moment. Although I still cultivate, I should treat myself as a god. I realized that when I reach the criteria needed by the Fa, my promoting Shen Yun would be smooth.
In Phoenix, we were also told, “We see your posters everywhere.” At night, besides Fa study and doing exercises, I got online and shared my experiences of promoting Shen Yun with practitioners from other cities. We encouraged each other. Our goal was simple, saving as many people as possible. Master has paved the path for us to reach out to the mainstream society, we should walk it well.
In Phoenix, many office buildings have strict security, because the staff handled tasks associated with electronic engineering, which requires high security. We had to find ways to deliver the Shen Yun message. This required us to keep calm and not be constrained by human notions. Once, I went to an office building. There was no gate at all, except an electric door in the garage, which was guarded. A post office car parked next to me. The mailman carried a box and entered the door. I followed him without thinking too much. He entered the elevator, and pushed some buttons. I also pushed a button, but it didn’t work because it required code to run the elevator. The mailman asked me where I wanted to go to. I said that I was like him, delivering stuff. He asked me to follow him. We came to the receptionist’s office who greeted me happily. She took my materials, and asked me how I would like to have them distributed. I said that they needed be taken to every office. She said OK, OK. As a practitioner, I know how important it is to save people. I knew that I had to watch my manners at all times. My everyday job was ocean cargo transportation. I’ve read many policies, rules and laws from different countries. In those rules, the top priority is given to people’s life, which is the most precious. So, saving people is the most important thing. We should not have too many worries and concerns when promoting Shen Yun. Meanwhile we should be calm and rational, so that the evil forces cannot take advantage of our loopholes.
By the end of December, we visited more than 6,000 offices in Phoenix. By then, the Shen Yun shows in Houston and Austin had successfully concluded. Due to practitioners’ efforts, Shen Yun has made inroads into the mainstream society in these two cities. It also greatly encouraged practitioners in other cities.
After Phoenix, the contact person in Nashville asked me for help. I flew back home in the morning, and got on the bus to Nashville in the afternoon. My wife said, “You don’t have to come home. I will bring you some winter clothes to the bus station.”
In Nashville, practitioners were in a good cultivation state and held strong righteous thoughts. By the middle of January, we finished the promotion, and reached the expected goals.
Then, I went directly to Madison, Wisconsin. The local contact person met me at the airport. When he saw me, he asked: “How come you lost so much weight?” It was very cold in Madison. The second day after I arrived it was snowing hard. The contact person gave me her car. Since there were not very many practitioners in Madison, I had to promote Shen Yun until late in the evening.
It snowed every other day. It was hard to walk in the snow. Snow and ice got into my tennis shows, and melted. I still ran in the snow, because time was limited. All I was thinking was that I need to hurry up to save people. When I was thirsty or hungry, I ate snow. Every day I went home late. A practitioner said to me, “You run in the snow every day, so you need to have lunch.” I said, “Master is helping me. I really don’t have time for lunch.” Three days later, my left foot had a big cut and was bleeding. It was a little painful when I ran in the snow. But I didn’t care. Since my shoes were soaked, my feet were frozen, and I didn’t feel the pain. A day later, there were a few cuts on my right foot. The contact person bought a pair of boots for me, and another practitioner bought me snow clothes. Two days later, when I washed feet at night, I was surprised that the cuts were gone, without any scar.
Once I went to deliver Shen Yun flyers in a residential area. It was almost dark. I didn’t notice that the door of a house was open. I hung the flyer bag on the knob, and was ready to leave. All of sudden, a big dog charged at me. I raised my arm, trying to stop him, but the dog ran me over. The owner of the dog was scared, asking me if I was alright. My arm was bleeding, but I told him that I was OK. I continued delivering the flyers. I didn’t have any fear at that moment. I kept telling myself that the time for saving people was very limited. That night, I saw many cars broken down at the foot of a big hill, but I drove by them without any trouble. For me it was not slippery. I got home safely. I cleaned the cut on my arm. The second day, I checked again and the cut was completely healed without a scar. Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!
Sometimes, the heavy snow covers all the cars, but I have no problem locating my car. One Saturday, the local contact person went to a small town with me to pass out Shen Yun materials. The roads were covered by ice. She fell down many times. Later she said that her knee was badly injured, and she could not stand up. I asked her to stay in the car, and let me pass out flyers. She said that she cannot do that, and insisted on passing out the flyers with me. Two days later, a person from this small town ordered 16 tickets. Our efforts had positive effects.
In February, the contact person in Chicago asked me to come back to Chicago. I lived in a small town close to Chicago. But since time was limited, I didn’t go home, but went to Chicago directly. Everybody was working very hard, but we felt that we had not opened the gate in the other dimensions yet. I felt stressed, but kept telling myself that this is the last stop, I must cooperate well with other practitioners until the end. I must believe in Master and the Fa, and finish my task. Within five days, I visited 50 hospitals. I went through every floor and every room. Later, a practitioner from St. Louis came to help. We visited the buildings in the downtown area. We came back to where we lived very late in the evenings and I was exhausted. I knew that was because I didn’t read the Fa and do exercises well during that period. I asked Master for help. I started to hum the melodies that I learned from the Shen Yun show. I loved them very much. For two weeks, I sang the songs loudly every night on my way home. The singing was from the bottom of my heart. The stress on my heart was gone, and I didn’t feel depressed anymore. I knew that I had fulfilled my task. I felt that every cell in my body was filled with happiness.
Several fellow practitioners from out of town came to help. We started the second and third round of passing out flyers. At that time, the ticket selling was still not good. We often encouraged each other with Master’s words: “We don’t believe consciences cannot be brought back” (To Save the World, Hong Yin III).
In April, the contact person in Madison told me that the tickets in Madison were sold out, and invited me to see the show. I had been promoting Shen Yun for 9 months, but had not seen the show even once. Madison was close to Chicago, but the ticket selling in Chicago was not good. To save time, I didn’t go to Madison. Practitioners encouraged each other not to give up. On the morning of the last Chicago show I flew to St. Antonio to promote Shen Yun. As soon as the plane landed, my wife called me, and told me that the tickets of the third show in Chicago were also sold out just the same as the two earlier ones. I know that it was Master’s power.
In St. Antonio, we also finished our task well. After the New York Fa Conference in May, practitioners in Chicago decided to hold two more Shen Yun shows in July. We only had 6 weeks. When I submitted this sharing article to the organizers of the Fa Conference in Washington D.C., I had already started promoting Shen Yun with fellow practitioners in Chicago.
Looking back the path I’ve walked, I have tried my best day-in and day-out, although my power is limited. I thank Master for his arrangement and told him that I did not have any regrets concerning my cultivation journey.
The process of promoting Shen Yun is the process of cultivating. During the last year, I kept seeing my shortcomings, such as impatience, complaining about fellow practitioners and so on. I now understand that the shortcomings weaken the power of saving sentient beings. Due to intensive Fa study, I learned how to be compassionate towards fellow practitioners, and I got rid of many attachments to fame. Meanwhile, I realized that all we have achieved was due to the power of the Fa, for what we have are all from Master. Our efforts and the hardship we have had are for saving sentient being, and are also for ourselves.
Let us recall the last four lines in Master’s poem “The Master-Disciple Bond” (Hong Yin II):
There is no affect between master and disciple
The Buddha’s grace remolds Heaven and Earth
When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide
Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!
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