(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners:
I began to work on the book How the Devil Ruled the World in 2018. I would like to share the developmental process for this task and how I was able to cultivate. The past year and a half were very intense and filled with constant work.
I was asked in July 2018 to coordinate the translation of How the Devil Ruled the World. Up to that time I actually had asked for an immediate translation whenever another chapter was published in the English language Epoch Times. Every time it was eye-opening to read the latest chapter. Because of that, I accepted the assignment.
Before that, I had the opportunity to take part in the rewriting of Zhuan Falun at its early stages. In doing so, I learned the basic skills, understood what technical means could be used for this, and how to proceed sentence by sentence.
There were many translators for the book How the Devil Ruled the World, each of whom translated one or more chapters into German. The three of us met almost every evening until the end of 2018 and looked at the translation word for word, as well as sentence by sentence. We not only researched countless terms and dates, but also included what happened in Europe, or was of importance for German readers to understand. We asked questions when we got stuck or were unsure.
The effect on the public soon became apparent – on the one hand in the comments of the readers, and on the other hand in the fact that our guest authors suddenly wrote very differently. We could see how the content of the book spread – even in political circles. Master encouraged me to continue.
Before I began to work on the book, I had time to read Master's new writings with other practitioners every night. That was very valuable for me, but then I no longer had the time to participate in the group reading.
Sometimes I had the time to read some of Master's lectures on days when I was not assigned to the editorial staff, but it was no longer a constant. Some of the key phrases from the teachings I wrote on small cards and kept them next to my computer.
These sentences, written by our esteemed Master, published in Essentials for Further Advancement, were particularly helpful, especially those in the article “Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature.”
Master said, “Don’t do anything that I do not do, and don’t use anything that I do not use. In cultivation, you should say things however I say them.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha -Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
We met almost every evening and discussed the writings. I noticed that this helped me a lot in my cultivation. Most of the time, we not only worked through it sentence by sentence, but also exchanged cultivation experiences related to the writings.
We faced a critical time after half a year, at the end of December 2018, as the small evening editing team fell apart. One of the practitioners started to arrive irregularly and then quit the team altogether. Reminding her of our task was not of much use, so now there were only two of us.
Discovery of My Basic Attachment
Beginning at the end of January, I worked on chapters 11 and 12, but mostly by myself. I decided not to let this bother me, especially as I had agreed to take on this task.
I live in a village and am unable to participate in an information booth project every weekend. There are no special tourist sights here and I can't take off too often. Not a single Chinese person lives in my area, which prevents me from telling these people the truth about Dafa. Besides, I edit on weekends for the editorial department. It requires a difficult rearrangement in the editor's schedule every time I want to participate in the information booth because of some event.
I began cultivating in 2014. Since then, I've looked inside to find my fundamental attachment, but I could not find it until recently. Little by little I remembered an episode from my early childhood.
My entire family was taken to a hospital when I was three years old. Our entire family was treated. The treatment made my mother really sick. As a three-year-old, she could not protect me from being treated, which I saw as a serious betrayal. My attachment was about being betrayed and left alone. This situation was similar, and another practitioner made me aware of it. I was able to let go of a human attachment. When facing this particular attachment again, I could identify and eliminate it. Once I discovered my fundamental attachment, we both were able to work on the task at hand much better.
Dealing with Interference
The translators who worked on an individual chapter also experienced interference. I often heard that the team members worked on a chapter related to them, and the specific topic was of importance to their cultivation. However, the translation task dragged on, and I could only help by sending righteous thoughts.
Then, I learned that “Ren” [Forbearance] translated in Russian meant patience, and in English “perseverance,” not just as “indulgence,” as it was called in the German language. This understanding helped me greatly at a later time.
Beginning in February, I could no longer work on the task, given that, the first evening team no longer existed. However, practitioners joined the editing section and were able to help with translations. A new small team was formed in April. Somehow, we were able to meet every evening for a short discussion.
We were offered the opportunity of a weekly training session to get a better understanding of communism. During one of the sessions, the practitioners spoke of a culture of hopelessness and demoralization that was publicized by the media. It spoke of modern “mantras,” which repeated itself in politics and society over and over again until the public bought into it. Sometimes I get alarmed when I look at the editorial work.
Another important discovery was the “addictive factors.” The devil also uses so-called facts to addict people. Many reports from the news agencies, which are used for our task, mention only a few bits of information. These are incomplete, of a specific point of view, and shortly after being replaced with a new small piece of information. Instead of providing the reader with solid information, an editor assembles the available information and creates four or five reports of several pages. The news agencies do not hesitate to publish what we see as “modern mantra” over and over again, for days without end.
In fact, every chapter of the book and every thought about communism brought me countless new insights. Through that, I learned at the same time to be more lenient. We became corrupted by communism when growing up. Our conduct and behavior were shaped by this, without us recognizing it. Now, I'm more careful about everything I learn or see.
Dealing with the Attachment to Validating Oneself
Another problem made itself known. For over 30 years, I sorted my thoughts by writing a story in the form of a novel. In it, I processed all the things I had noticed in other dimensions and looked for a philosophy that explained them. Over time, the story got longer. Then, when I stepped into my cultivation in 2014, I realized that this was a large attachment and that I was driven by validating myself and similar attachments. Writing my stories was at its best when I struggled in my daily life and was stressed out – it actually was a kind of stress relief.
When I began to cultivate, I no longer looked at that story and deleted it from my computer. However, this resulted in the old forces taking action, and they used thought karma to disturb my mind. For that, I decided to read a copy I had kept of the story. The reading purloined my time. I could not put the story aside, as the old forces kept me in their thrall. The old forces had me read the story another two times. However, when it happened the third time I found the strength to destroy every last copy of the story.
Translating How the Devil Ruled the World also helped me gain more clarity about the state of society. I realized that my political interests were actually an attachment. My compassion for politicians awakened once I realized that politicians are trying painstakingly to hold society together and steer it in a direction that makes sense to them.
Almost a year after we started – in June 2019 – we published the last chapter of the book and the epilogue online. Everything was translated and published.
What happened next? Now, it was time to read the book. I passed it to another experienced practitioner for proofreading. Some sections were done quickly, while others took two months before we heard back.
I asked myself, “Why is this happening to me? Why do I experience such delays?” I wondered why I hesitated and realized that I had not memorized the latest version of Zhuan Falun. Given the ongoing changes to the version, I had put aside this project.
Then, we turned How the Devil Rules the World over to another person, a non-practitioner. I frowned when my supervisor suggested using an ordinary person as a counter check. Yet, this was a good suggestion, as the book was to be read not only by practitioners but also by ordinary people.
The deadline for getting the book into print was set at mid-September. We had to still work on the layout and final editing. Everything was corrected several times by the Epoch Times staff. Some who had not read individual chapters now requested changes. In addition, the English language online version had been changed, and paragraphs had been deleted and sentences corrected. One of the chapters had to be reread in the Chinese language original, as the German translation was clumsy and not easy to read.
At the same time, something very strange happened. I suddenly had free time. Since half of the editorial team was now working on the end version of that book, there were far fewer tasks for me. Usually, I read the book before or after work. This was normal for my family and me. Now, I had free time – what a strange situation.
Evening Discussions
In retrospect, I found that the evening discussions with other practitioners were my most important daily task while working on the book.
I actually noticed that one of my fellow practitioners was unavailable for some days. Thus, we rarely communicated – and something was amiss.
This practitioner showed me another angle of communism. She noticed that women from the East, especially those from the German Democratic Republic (GDR), have a peculiar characteristic. They work and do things well, meet the requirements, are able to discuss the matter, but in the end, they are embarrassed and put themselves and their accomplishment down. “This is communist 'egalitarianism,'” she said.
I thought about her remark for a while and found that I behaved like that. I realized that I was afraid to be noticed and preferred to work quietly. One should not stand out as a communist and not do too well, according to communist thought.
Take Shen Yun, for example, said the practitioner. On stage, the She Yun artists stand out and exhibit kindness and divine grace. It would be terrible if they were embarrassed later on.
It was not the people in the hall who bothered me when I presented my first cultivation sharing article during a German Experience Sharing Conference. I didn't mind talking to that many people, but I also knew that around me there were thousands and thousands of gods listening – that is what gave me the jitters. I assumed that they would rate me, and I was scared. Now, I know that they don't rate me. They only observe – and they already know me and know of me. Only, I don't truly know myself, but I will keep looking.
I asked Master to remove anything from the book that had to do with my attachment. Several times I was given the opportunity to look at our place from another dimension. The book, How the Devil Controls the World, has the power to remove the old forces and bad substances. The influence of this book is huge, and not only at the level of our society. It whirls up centuries-old, even millennia-old dust.
I thank esteemed Master for his help and consider it an honor to produce this Fa tool for German-speaking areas. I would also like to thank all practitioners and translators for their commitment to this task and their support.
(Presented at the 2019 Germany Fa Conference)
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Category: Experience Sharing Conferences
