(Minghuj.org) Greetings Master, Greetings fellow practitioners!
Today, I would like to share my experiences in promoting Shen Yun as well as clarifying the truth to mainland Chinese people.
I am an English teacher who began practicing Falun Dafa in October 2007. Three months after I began cultivating, we started selling tickets for upcoming Shen Yun Performing Arts shows in Taiwan. I had not yet seen the performance, so I bought about twelve tickets for my family and me. A fellow practitioner later told me that as a practitioner, I should help sell Shen Yun tickets. Since I had an attachment to fear and was hesitant about approaching people, I decided not to help. The practitioner said, “You have a very useful skill; why not aid Master in Fa-rectification? Although on the surface you are performing the task, Master is actually doing everything; you just need to be willing to make the effort.”
I decided to try, so I mentioned Shen Yun to the parent of a student I tutored. I said, “I heard that Shen Yun is a great show. The dancers are as beautiful as divine fairies.” As soon as I said this, the parent glanced at the Shen Yun flyer and said, “Would you purchase three of the best seats for me? I’d like to attend the show with my husband and daughter.” Finding that it was not difficult to sell tickets, I continued to introduce Shen Yun to people. I put my heart into the task, pushed aside my attachment to fear, and sold over fifty Shen Yun tickets in one week.
Later, I realized that it would be convenient to have tickets available when people expressed interest in attending the show, and so I confidently brought about a hundred tickets home with me. Seeing how many tickets I had, my husband (a fellow practitioner) decided to help sell tickets as well. Soon after he joined in, I brought home another hundred tickets. I sold over 350 tickets before I even attended Shen Yun.
Master says,
“We really do have some people who have done a great job, who have gone about things in a very natural and poised manner in upscale neighborhoods. And when they’ve spoken with people, they have been quite at ease. Instantly the other party has been delighted, just as if they’d been waiting for you.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”)
I realized that our paths have already been paved by Master and that as long as we have the heart, we will be able to reach sentient beings who have predestined relationships to Dafa.
Every year before Shen Yun arrives in Taiwan, I am filled with a sense of duty and diligently join in the ticket selling. One year, a practitioner from Australia gave me the phone number of a wealthy businessman, suggesting that he might be interested in purchasing higher priced tickets. The day I set off to meet him, a miss-communication between myself and another practitioner about the meeting time caused a half-hour delay. Our unfamiliarity with the location cost us another half-hour.
I realized that my intentions were not pure and that my attachments to doing things and to zealotry had been taken advantage of by the evil forces. As soon as I understood this, I began to send forth righteous thoughts and to recite Lunyu to eliminate the interference. After arriving at the businessman’s office I began introducing Shen Yun to him, showing him photos in the Shen Yun album. Partway through my speech, he interrupted me saying, “I am in a rush to go out, so just cut to the chase—why are you here today?”
We told him that we hoped he would be interested in purchasing two 5000NT$ tickets and attend Shen Yun with his wife. He hesitated, and said, “You came all the way out here just for two 5000NT$ tickets?” We told him that Shen Yun’s mission was to revive China’s five thousand years of divinely inspired culture and we hoped that more people would come and see Shen Yun.
The businessman looked at his wife and said, “Let's purchase one hundred of the high-priced tickets. We can distribute them to employees as our end-of-the-year bonuses.” On the way back, my fellow practitioner and I reminded each other not to let our attachment to zealotry surface and to remember that everything we encountered, including the difficulty we faced driving to his office, were good things.
While promoting Shen Yun, one particular experience touched me deeply. One day, I received a new student who had a learning disability. His father said that if I could manage to teach his son the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, he would treat me to a steak dinner. I said, “Why don’t I take your son to watch Shen Yun instead?” He agreed.
The student’s ability to learn soared after he saw Shen Yun, and he not only mastered the twenty-six letters of the alphabet but achieved passing grades on his English exams. His father said that Shen Yun stimulated his son’s intelligence, but I knew that Shen Yun had cleansed his soul. This experience helped me see the miracles that Shen Yun brings and enforced my determination to aid Master in Fa-rectification.
The other project I participated in was talking to VIPs. One day in Tainan I met a practitioner who was the head of the local chapter of an international association. He told me that for three years, the association president had been from Taichung, so although he had always wanted to talk to him, he seldom had the opportunity. I invited the practitioner to visit Taichung, and he promised to come within three days.
When three days had passed, I called to ask why he had not come. When he said that he could not come up with a good enough reason for meeting with the president, I suggested that he focus the meeting on introducing Shen Yun. We had a meeting to discuss the issue, as well as to send forth righteous thoughts and recite Lunyu. We set off with strong righteous thoughts, and the meeting went smoothly. The president was very happy to see us, and the association decided to be one of Shen Yun’s official cosponsors that year. Later, we did the same with a larger international association, who also agreed to sponsor Shen Yun.
Master says,
“I’ll tell you, for years I have been continually saying that Dafa disciples’ abilities are tremendous, yet many people don’t believe this since those abilities were not allowed to be seen. Under the effect of righteous thoughts, everything around you, as well as you yourself, will undergo changes. Yet you have never thought to give it a try.” (“20th Anniversary Fa Teaching”)
I realized that along every step of our cultivation paths, miracles will happen when we have righteous thoughts in our hearts.
The busiest time of the Shen Yun ticket-selling season is only a few months long, and opportunities to clarify the truth to mainstream society are not everyday occurrences. Thus, my cultivation environment is much more relaxed than that of many fellow practitioners. I usually go back to bed after the morning exercises and don't use my free time diligently during the day. In the evening, I often went to bed before I finished reading a lecture, with the excuse of quality over quantity. When I missed the global time for sending forth righteous thoughts, I would fail to make it up afterward. Although I knew that saving sentient beings was an urgent matter and that Master emphasized many times that this was Dafa disciples’ most important responsibility, I had not really put my heart into doing the three things because I felt I was already participating in Dafa-validation work.
When I attended the Fa conference in Taiwan last year, I was touched by practitioners who talked about their experiences in clarifying the truth at tourist sites in Hong Kong. I suddenly truly realized that Fa-rectification is nearing the end. As a practitioner, how could I not be fulfilling my vow and saving more people?
As soon as I arrived in Hong Kong, I immediately saw how far behind I was in comparison to fellow practitioners in regards to Fa study. Every night, the practitioners involved in truth clarification would read two lectures, from 9 p.m. to midnight, followed by sending forth righteous thoughts. Occasionally, they would read the entire nine lectures in Zhuan Falun in two nights.
Right after morning exercise and breakfast, we went out to clarify the truth. The locations of the tourist sites meant we had a long walk ahead of us, but we kept encouraging each other. Realizing how precious this cultivation environment is, I decided to stay for two months instead of the eleven days I initially planned.
There was a lot for me to learn since it was my first time clarifying the truth to mainland Chinese. In addition to asking experienced practitioners for advice, I obtained a copy of the truth-clarification recording from the tourist site and studied it, taking notes and memorizing them the way I did while participating in Shen Yun promotion projects.
When the weather turned cold, the tourist sites in Hong Kong became windy and chilly. One day, my body was being purified and my throat was hoarse, so I used a microphone. I was attacked, and people pelted me with water balloons and eggs. The coordinating practitioners suggested that I go to the restroom and wash up. I felt sad and wronged, on the verge of tears, and I just wanted to go home as it was difficult to clarify the truth here. I soon realized that I had to overcome the evil forces’ interference. I could not fall into their trap by giving up midway.
After washing up, I gathered my courage and went back to help people renounce the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I helped over fifty people quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations that day. I knew that Master was encouraging me, and I told myself that I would persevere and stay here to save more sentient beings.
Inspired by an Elderly Practitioner
When I went to a new tourist site, I asked an elderly practitioner where the restroom was. She said she'd take me there, and asked me how long I had been in Hong Kong. I told her that I initially planned to stay for eleven days, but decided to stay for two months. I told her that I was inspired to stay while listening to an elderly practitioner’s experience sharing at the Taiwan Fa conference last year. She set off for the Cihu tourist site every morning at 6:00, transferring between 3-4 buses and riding for three hours before arriving at her destination. Her determination touched me.
The elderly practitioner quietly said, “That was me.” When I expressed my surprise, she explained that she had dictated her story to fellow practitioners who helped her write it. After her experience sharing, many fellow practitioners were encouraged to clarify the truth at tourist sites. When the number of practitioners clarifying the truth at Cihu increased, she decided to come to Hong Kong. Seeing this elderly practitioner’s perseverance amidst difficulties, and her genuine desire to clarify the truth, I was deeply moved.
Master says,
“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish.” ("Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference")
This October, I once again set off to Hong Kong to clarify the truth. I worried that my son needed my help as he was in the middle of starting up a business, but I made up my mind to go. When I called home later to check on my family, I found that they were all doing well. Taiwan is very close to Hong Kong, so it's a short trip to the evil Party’s front. I knew I must cherish this opportunity and as long as circumstances permit, I will go there and clarify the truth.
Looking back on my cultivation path, I realize that I still have many attachments to get rid of. In the future, I will strive to be more diligent and to use every opportunity to do the three things well and fulfill my vow.
The above is my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Thank you Master! Thank you fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2015 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)