(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I began working as a reporter in The Epoch Times New York Office in 2017 and then for NTD in May 2019. Because I work in the news department, I’m used to looking ahead for what’s next and rarely reflect on the past. So, I cherish this opportunity to write an experience sharing paper for the media Fa Conference.
My mother was jailed for a financial crime when I was a child. There were several Falun Dafa practitioners in the detention center. Some had memorized Zhuan Falun and were able to recite the book.
My mother knew about Falun Dafa before she was imprisoned. There was even a group exercise site near our home, but she never thought about practicing. If it weren’t for practitioners helping her get through her big setback, she probably would not have practiced Dafa. She was too wrapped up in the secular world to understand the profoundness of Dafa and Master’s great compassion.
Soon after she was released from jail and returned home, I began practicing with her and benefited mentally and physically.
Two years ago, when the New York headquarters of The Epoch Times contacted me, I was overjoyed! I grew up watching practitioners’ media. In China, I lived and breathed the murky air every day. At school, I got mean looks from classmates for clarifying the truth to them. Our teachers taught us the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political ideology.
In a suffocating environment like that, Master’s Fa and practitioners’ programs about Party Culture and the story of Dafa, as well as Minghui Radio’s programs on traditional culture, were like breathing pure oxygen.
Stories of both practitioners’ and the ancients’ pursuit of truth convinced me that the values I held were not antiquated. These programs that promote traditional Chinese values cannot be found anywhere else. I often thought, “If only I could work in our media!”
When friends asked me what I wanted to study in college, I said, “Journalism.” But I was an English major in college. I thought perhaps I could work as a translator for the media. At the time, my family did not have any plans or means to send me overseas, so these thoughts were just daydreams.
My cultivation state during my four years in college deteriorated due to the distance from home and my lack of a cultivation environment. When I graduated, I gave up my eligibility of guaranteed admission to graduate school. I did not want to look for a job in the city either. I just wanted to return to my hometown and resume cultivation.
A few days after I signed the waiver for graduate school admission, I received an email from a college in New York. It was an offer to apply for its journalism school. At first, I thought it was a spam email, because how on earth could a school on the other side of the earth know my email address, when I graduated, and my interest in media?
It later occurred to me that it could be Master’s arrangement.
Master said,
“My fashen in another dimension knows everything on your mind.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
“The Buddha School believes in predestined relationship. Everyone comes here because of a predestined relationship. If you obtain it, perhaps you are supposed to have it. You should therefore treasure it and not be attached to any pursuit.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
New York is the headquarters for practitioners’ media. My grades and background didn’t quite qualify for the college, but I tried my best to prepare for the application test. Unbelievably, I got a near-perfect test score and earned bonus points for a fieldwork study. My family changed their attitude and supported my decision to study overseas.
I was admitted to the college. At the same time, a few other schools I had applied to also admitted me. I began to waver and thought about going to a city where my former classmates were. In addition, I had safety concerns about attending the school in New York because it had a lot of evening classes.
I shared my concerns with my mother. She asked me seriously, “Why did you apply to schools overseas? Didn’t you want to work in the media? Evening classes would allow you to work in the media during the day. Shouldn’t you cherish the opportunity Master gave you?”
I put aside all my concerns and traveled to New York. I shared an apartment with a fellow practitioner who also worked in the media. She introduced me to NTD before my classes began. After the interview, I was told to start on Monday.
Master said,
“As a practitioner, your course of life can be altered. Only through cultivation practice can your life be altered.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
Working in the media had always been my dream. I never thought it would come true! It came true because Master rearranged my life. This is one of the most precious things that have happened to me.
Although I was working in my dream job, it wasn’t easy to be a part-time student and part-time employee at the same time. For two years, I did not prioritize cultivation. I was driven by the desire to get work done and earn my manager’s approval. I often felt miserable, tired and that things were unfair. Luckily the media was a good environment to be in, and I was able to correct myself.
I noticed that when I did my job well or I had a breakthrough, it was usually when I attended the morning group Fa study. On the other hand, when I was under a lot of pressure and couldn’t make progress, it was when I wasn’t diligent in cultivation. I was like an everyday person who treated the project as a career, and I was depressed by my lack of improvement at work.
Master said,
“You will take these things very lightly, but you will still have everything. Isn’t that better? Why do you have to get so painfully entangled in holding on to your money, job, or desires that you can’t eat or sleep well and always fear losing them? Do you think it’s good to live this way? Actually, what people can’t let go of are attachments. Human society won’t lose its form because people practice cultivation. Humankind’s form of existence will remain forever. Whether you want it to be or not, it will always be here. It’s just that everyday persons make their own lives tiring since they can’t let go of their attachments.” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
Our media is a truth-clarification project. But if we forget that what we do is to save people, then we may treat it as an everyday person’s job. We may become attached to achievement. This attachment kept me from remembering that a practitioner's wisdom does not come from working overtime or working harder.
Master said,
“Did people in ancient times not think of today’s aircraft, trains, and bikes? I would say that it is unlikely that they did not. Because history did not evolve to that stage, they could not invent them.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
“In fact, how human science should develop is also paced according to the arrangement of history. If you want to humanly realize a certain goal, it cannot be achieved.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
In my understanding, only when a practitioner elevates their level and enlightens to a principle will Master and Gods grant them wisdom.
Master said,
“Breakthroughs will occur if you keep up your Fa-study. Only by studying the Fa well can you validate the Fa, and only by studying the Fa well can you do better. Many practitioners have found themselves able to think about things that they didn’t know how to do before in a more creative, comprehensive way thanks to Fa-study, and they are able to do anything with great proficiency. That is what comes about when you study the Fa well. Now I’m not saying that you have not cultivated well. I am talking about a Fa principle. Read the book more, study the Fa more, and you are sure to gain wisdom.”(Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VIII)
Of course, practitioners do not study the Fa to gain wisdom, just as we don't do the exercises to relieve stress. We do them because we came to the world to cultivate ourselves so we can save people.
I discovered another attachment that hindered me, which was my eagerness for success and being shortsighted. The English language NTD was recently established. I only worked there for a few months, but I hated my slow progress and hoped for giant achievements. I didn't realize this mentality came from the CCP's culture.
I envied the English Epoch Times for the praise and recognition they received, but those were earned by the team’s attention to quality and years of hard work. When I didn’t see immediate results or see myself grow as quickly as I wished, I felt frustrated. I lost the motivation to do my best. I was thinking about how to do things quickly instead of steadfastly getting every piece of news done well.
One day, a practitioner was about to publish an article. Right before she clicked “Publish,” I saw her press her hands together in Heshi and say softly, “Hope this article will save more people.” I was very touched.
When I finished an article, I regarded it as finishing a job, as if I were accumulating credits for myself. I rarely thought about how a high-quality article could correct people’s notions, leave people a good impression of Dafa, or get a person one step closer to understanding the truth.
I often wondered why that particular practitioner’s articles always got high click rates and asked her to share her experiences. I understood the difference was in how much heart we put into cultivation and saving people.
From startup to full development, a project may take a very short time, a few years, or even longer. Some jobs could be repetitive and boring. But one can improve even in repetition. If one cannot take a long view and be persistent in doing every step well, how could the project be successful?
Master said,
“What Master is most concerned about is that at present a number of you have become not diligent. When the persecution first began you were full of vigor, and you turned around that entire situation. But as circumstances have eased up, you have instead slackened. Cultivation… There’s a saying, and it’s one I’ve shared with you before: ’Cultivate with the heart you once had, and success is certain.’ ( Enthusiastic applause) The reason many people didn’t succeed in their cultivation was because they weren’t able to make it through over the long haul. They might have felt lonely or bored, or they might have become so familiar with something or have grown so accustomed to something that they didn’t want to do it anymore. Anything can cause a person to become lax. So you should continue to be diligent. In the past, there would be sudden tests for cultivators even at the very last step. If you grew increasingly lax, you certainly wouldn’t be able to pass that test.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
My last semester in college began in February. The Second Media Training Course at work also began. I wanted to take the training course, but I hesitated at how demanding it was: it was almost like a full-time job, and attendance was required six full days a week with homework.
I had classes to attend at the college, and my graduation project was due in May. I felt attending the training was a “mission impossible.” But I really didn’t want to let the opportunity go. So, I signed up. I said to Master in my heart, “It will be a miracle if I graduate in May. Master, please help me.”
The media training course gave me a boost in cultivation and my professionalism. In the end, I completed my graduation project half an hour before my thesis defense began. I passed my thesis defense smoothly.
Looking back, I realize that everything that has happened in my life, big or small, happened for various reasons. They not only helped me to obtain the Fa and practice cultivation but also laid a foundation for me to contribute to projects that validate Dafa.
I regret the opportunities I wasted because I did not do things conscientiously. How many arrangements lifetime after lifetime must Master have made to temper us? We really must treasure every opportunity to cultivate ourselves and validate Dafa.
Please kindly point out anything improper.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2019 NTD and Epoch Times Fa Conference)