(Minghui.org) I joined the RTC Platform in February 2014. The RTC platform is a website where Falun Dafa practitioners work together to call people in China to tell them about Falun Dafa and the persecution and to encourage them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates.
I would like to share some of my experiences of making calls on the platform, and the effect it has had on my cultivation.
I had joined a few Dafa projects prior to 2014, but did not stay with them long. I was once helping translate Chinese articles into English. I was very motivated at first but soon slacked off. I felt that my translation skills were not really good enough, and presented an additional workload for other practitioners who had to correct my work. So I decided to leave that project. Other practitioners encouraged me to stay, but I had made up my mind to leave.
A practitioner then asked me to be a web editor, to find articles from everyday people's websites and edit them to use for another website. I wanted to do well, but soon realized how difficult the task was. I also found that frequenting everyday people’s websites was a huge distraction to my cultivation, and I would often spend a lot of time browsing through many unnecessary articles. I continued with this project for a while before quitting.
No matter what project it was, I found it difficult. I believed that it was just that I had not found the right project for me. I then joined the RTC Platform at the start of 2014 and told myself that I must stick with it regardless of how difficult I found it to be.
In the first two months of my making phone calls to China, no one that I spoke to wanted to quit the CCP. I doubted my ability to help these people. Other practitioners encouraged me to keep at it.
I had to look within, and not put too much pressure on myself. I sensed that there were problems with my cultivation—I was not focused while studying the Fa, and I visited everyday peoples news websites too often. I did not want to endure difficulties and wanted to quit when I faced obstacles. I realized that the problem was not with any particular project, but with myself.
While I was working on the platform, my wife said, “You are always making calls right after dinner. You are not spending any time with our children and helping them with their homework. Could you do a different project?”
My daughter also tried to convince me to quit the project because I made the calls in the room next to hers, and it often disturbed her.
I knew that their complaints were because of my problems. I had to look within more. I realized that I did not treasure the time on the RTC Platform, and often checked my e-mails and did other things at my desk.
After I started to pay more attention to the platform, my wife and daughter no longer complained.
The United States had a presidential election last year. There was so much in the news that I became fascinated reading what people were saying. I spent a lot of time looking at these websites, sometimes for many hours. I knew that I was wasting time, but I justified it with the excuse that it could help me improve my English.
I read a sharing article on Minghui.org that suggested practitioners should not browse the websites of everyday people, since they are filled with rotten spirits. Even the media run by Dafa practitioners should not be viewed too often because the contents cater to non-practitioners.
This made me alert, and I stopped browsing these websites. In my free time, I would study the Fa instead, even if it were just for a few minutes. While doing the housework, I listened to Minghui broadcasts, Shen Yun music, or recited the Fa.
After doing this for a while, I felt some improvement in my cultivation. My body felt light, and my concentration in studying the Fa and practicing the exercises became better than before. When I sent forth righteous thoughts, I could feel a strong energy field, the kind that I had never felt before.
Sometimes my wife used me as an example when encouraging our children. “See how your father kept his word,” she would say, “he is not like before. He no longer spends time browsing websites.”
When I first joined the RTC Platform, I always arrived late and left early during my allocated time. I didn't think it mattered, but after a conversation with my coordinator I realized the severity of this bad habit.
The coordinator talked to me in private at the end of a group Fa study session. She said that not keeping my promise was not how we should behave. “If you say you are going to do something, you should do it. Dafa practitioners should always keep their word and be trustworthy.”
I realized my faults by the time I got home. I texted the coordinator to apologize and thank her for her advice.
Remaining on Duty 'till the Last Minute
I had the habit of ending my shift ten minutes early. I felt that 10:00 p.m. was a bit too late to be ringing people in China, and I didn't want to be rude by calling them at such a late hour. This was a human notion, and because of it, those who picked up the calls complained and would hang up immediately.
I discussed this matter with other practitioners, and realized that there was a reason for my shift to be arranged this way. Saving people is most important and involves arrangements in many areas. Perhaps Master had already arranged for people to wait for my calls at this time. I could miss this chance by leaving early. What a great loss that would be! From then on, I restrained my human notions and always remained on duty through to the last minute.
Supporting Practitioners by Not Sending Negative Thoughts
There were times when I would hear another practitioner on a phone and think that the way they spoke was not as good as me, and I would be sure that the person on the other end would not listen to them. Thinking like this was emitting negative substances. Practitioners have their own ways of doing things, just like everybody else. Perhaps a different way of speaking will be more suitable for saving their sentient beings.
To work as a whole, we should support each other instead of judging them.
I have now eliminated these negative thoughts, and replaced it with compassion for practitioners when they speak through the RTC platform.
Do Not be Distracted
I used to assume that if the person on the other end of the phone was a government official, university professor, or someone else of high status, they would be more difficult to talk to. I looked within and realized that I was placing too much importance on status and position.
Dafa practitioners hold the highest title, one that even divine beings are envious of. Although I managed to get rid of this thought, it still pops up from time to time.
We should not be perturbed when conversing with people of certain occupations and statuses. So before I make a call now, I always send forth righteous thoughts to clear any negative elements from my mind that obstruct my wish to save sentient beings.