(Minghui.org) Technically proficient practitioners are always very busy. It seems that there is always a lot of office equipment for them to repair over the course of practitioners making truth-clarification materials. Some practitioners’ equipment breaks down very often, and thus they repeatedly contact “technical practitioners.” However, the same equipment is operating smoothly in other practitioners’ hands, and rarely needs to be repaired. All of this equipment is doing the work of assisting Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) to validate the Fa, but why is there such a big difference in how some pieces of equipment function?
I established a little materials production site not very long ago. I would like to share my experience with using the equipment, as well as what I have observed when other practitioners are involved in making Dafa materials.
Looking Inside When Experiencing Issues with Equipment
At first, because I didn’t use my printer properly, I often ran into issues and had to ask technically proficient practitioners for help. It wasted a lot of their precious time and also held up the distribution of the materials. I then had a dream in which I realized that this small materials production site exposed my attachments of seeking quick results, impatience, and self-interest.
For instance, they suggested that I allow the printers to rest periodically. However, I kept on printing. As a result, I began to have problems with the printer head and there were white spaces on the printouts. I regretted not listening to their recommendations. I had to pause and wait for the printer to be fixed and ended up wasting a lot more time. If I continued to do that, I might end up ruining the print head completely.
After this happened several times, I realized that I must look inside. Other practitioners had used the same printer model for years with no issues, so the problem must be due to my xinxing issues.
Master said,
“Whenever there is interference of one kind or another in qigong practice, you should look for reasons within yourself and determine what you still have not let go of.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
It is our opportunity to look inside whenever our xinxing issues get exposed, and it is also Master’s compassion for us to improve our xinxing. But where was the issue?
I asked myself, “Why did I let the printer work continuously instead of following the instructions? Is it because I hadn’t finished making as many copies as I needed?” No, that was only an excuse. I looked inside further. It was because I didn’t want to spend all my time there making materials. I thought that pausing periodically would take a lot more time. I wanted to finish fast so I could have time to do other things.
I found that I was constantly emphasizing what I wanted, so I disregarded how much of a load the machine could handle. I was thus very impatient and arranged things only according to my own needs.
As human beings we all need to eat, sleep and rest. As all of the office machines are also beings, then they also need us to respect the basic patterns of their lives. But, I was selfish and only focused on my own goals. I didn’t look inside; instead I took the equipment to be repaired whenever there were issues. Wasn’t that looking outward?
These attachments weren’t only reflected when using the printer, but also in many other aspects of my daily life. It was just that I never became aware of them or didn’t think they were a big deal.
Issues in Materials Production Sites
In order to save time, some practitioners often put a full load of paper in the printer, hit “Go” to start a long printing job, and then leave. Are there any issues in the middle of printing? They wouldn’t know, and they would just hope for the best. Some practitioners always do it this way, because they have a fear mentality. They want to finish the job as quickly as possible so the materials can be moved, instead of staying in the home. [Editor’s note: this fear is related to the persecution of Falun Gong in China, where the authorities may search practitioners’ homes looking for materials production sites.]
However, this kind of operation forces the printer to handle a large workload within a short amount of time. The printer might be okay for a short time, but, eventually this will lead to a substantially shortened life of the printing head, and thus the printer itself.
Some practitioners then take the printers for repair, but as soon as they get the printers back, they still use them the same way. The same issue occurs again, and they then have to take the printers to be repaired again. Thus, some printers are constantly being repaired.
After several printer repairs, some practitioners get impatient and upset and complain that the technically proficient practitioner didn’t fully resolve the issues. They then give up on the printers and buy new ones. But, the new printers would also develop the same issues. Practitioners, have you looked inside, and seen that this was caused by you? Or are you looking outward and trying to have the “doctors” treat the printers' “diseases?”
Some practitioners shared about communicating with the printers. We have seen experience sharing articles about miracles occurring, with the printers starting to operate properly. However, if we don’t improve our xinxing, then our ways of operating the printers will remain the same. Why would we want to change the equipment instead of changing ourselves? Shouldn’t we first look inside before communicating with the printers?
Some practitioners think that waiting next to a printer while it is printing wastes too much time. At first, I also thought that using the recommendations of the technical practitioners would take too much time. But, when I put away this prejudiced notion and changed my attitude, I found that things became quite easy and orderly, and I wasn’t wasting any time. Now, I divide the load into several rounds, and give the printer time to rest in between. During the time the printer is working, I study the Fa or do housework. It actually has saved me a lot of time, with me no longer taking the printer for repair and waiting for it to be fixed.
As things started to run more and more smoothly, I realized that it was because I was able to cultivate away the attachments I had, and correct my mindset. The attachments and bad habits included impatience and wanting to reach the goal without the process; doing things recklessly while disregarding the situation; being self-centered, not thinking of others – that is, the technical practitioners; only wanting to change others instead of changing myself, and so on. When I was able to correct myself, my mind came more into accord with the characteristic of the universe, and everything became smooth.
Other than the issues with our xinxing and us not following the best operating recommendations, the fact that there is such a large workload on the major materials production site is also a major factor for the frequent repairs needed on the office equipment. If we could have more, smaller materials production sites, we could help ease this issue and resolve the problem.
Communication and Cooperation Among Practitioners
My understanding is that the best way to use the equipment is to let go of our notions and study more, ask more questions, and communicate more. Especially when we first start, we should follow the recommendations and not be overly confident with our own ideas.
For safety reasons, most practitioners communicate with only one other practitioner. Therefore, they rely on coordinators to convey their messages to the technical practitioners about the issues they run into. The technical practitioners also rely on the coordinators to convey the recommendations and usage precautions to the practitioners who use the equipment.
There are many places in this chain that can reflect our cultivation and xinxing issues. There are issues of cultivation of speech, trust, and even covering things in order to protect an individual’s feelings. Many of the issues end up putting a distance between practitioners and cause practitioners to not cooperate well.
For example, in order to not hurt the feelings of the practitioners who use the equipment, the coordinators sometimes don’t tell the practitioners who use the equipment everything that the technical practitioners wanted to convey. This can lead to the equipment repeatedly being in need of repair, because the practitioners who use them do not know the proper way to operate them. Some practitioners knowingly don’t follow the recommendations of the technical practitioners, and when asked about it after the equipment has issues, they are afraid to tell the truth.
As Dafa practitioners, we must remember that we cannot just do tasks. We also need to cultivate our xinxing. It is a major xinxing issue if we cannot sincerely and honestly face and share with each other.
Over-Reliance on Technical Practitioners
When we repeatedly send our equipment to technical practitioners for repair, or when we frequently give up on the equipment and buy new machines, it makes us overly reliant on technical practitioners. There are several aspects to this issue.
The first aspect is that when the equipment breaks down, instead of first looking inside, we just take it to the technical practitioners. Because we have just looked outward and taken the equipment for repair, the xinxing issues don’t get resolved, and the equipment frequently has issues.
The second aspect is an unnecessary waste of Dafa resources. Some practitioners use their own money to buy equipment for the materials production sites. Because they didn’t buy the equipment themselves, the practitioners who use the equipment sometimes don’t treasure them as much as they should, and might use them very heavily. The equipment is then constantly taken to technical practitioners for repair. The materials production site practitioners then give up on the equipment, and get new machines. This is all a reflection of different attachments and human notions.
Another aspect is the unnecessary workload and pressure placed on technical practitioners. Many issues caused by improper usage and human error could be avoided. If practitioners at materials production sites would accept the recommendation of the technical practitioner, the equipment wouldn’t repeatedly have issues, and it would save a lot of precious time for the technical practitioners.
Many regions also rely too much on technical practitioners purchasing new equipment, and deal with a glut of equipment.
Ideally we should have many materials production sites, which would be safer overall. Besides, each practitioner could walk his or her own path to validate the Fa. Therefore, it is better if we don’t always rely on technical practitioners to purchase all the equipment.
When retiring a piece of equipment, many practitioners just take it to the home of technical practitioners. They might say something like “maybe someone can use it,” but in fact they are hiding a fear mentality, as they think it is unsafe to leave it in their own home. When the technical practitioners are willing to take all the equipment, the mentality of relying on technical practitioners is gradually magnified. Practitioners take the ones that are scrapped, broken, old, or slow, to technical practitioners’ homes. To some degree this shows a lack of responsibility and not thinking of others’ situations.
The above-mentioned situations are very common. I suggest that for practitioners with the capabilities, they should accept some responsibility so that not everything falls on the shoulders of one or a few technical practitioners.
Cooperating Among Practitioners
Some practitioners feel bad for always troubling technical practitioners, so they buy things for them or take them out to eat. What does this do for the technical practitioners? Practitioners are doing so to feel better, but it may not be good for others. This is not thinking of others’ needs first and is a form of selfishness. Some practitioners know that it is not good to give material benefits to technical practitioners, so they compliment them, and even when they see cultivation issues that the technical practitioners has, they are afraid of pointing them out. On the surface it is to maintain a peaceful environment, but it is more or less a selfish mentality for achieving one’s own result with hypocritical kindness.
Practitioners, we must measure everything with the Fa. We cannot bring material interests and ordinary people’s sentimentality to this pure land of cultivation.
There are several local practitioners who do really well in this regard. A practitioner quietly started a materials production site. When her printer needed repairs she took it to the technical practitioner’s home. She went inside and saw that the technical practitioner was really busy. She then just quietly left and took the machine to an ordinary repair shop. She described this to me in just a few sentences, but I was very moved, because in my memory, this practitioner was very timid and cautious. I later realized that these impressions stemmed from my notions and should be eliminated.
There is another senior practitioner who often purchases equipment and materials from ordinary stores, and he doesn’t have any fear or worries. He said, “We have cultivated for a long time, and we should think of others first. We can’t let the entire load fall on one person.”
How should practitioners cooperate with one another? In my limited understanding there are three parts to it.
One is that we are helping practitioners when we cultivate ourselves well. When we study the Fa well, always use the Fa to correct our words and actions, and look inside when encountering issues, then we will make fewer mistakes and decrease the number of times that we have to trouble other practitioners.
Second, when we see shortcomings in other practitioners, we should kindly point them out so that we can improve together.
Third, we should use the Fa to measure things when practitioners ask us for help. Is it in accordance with the Fa? If so, then we should help if we are able. As long as we are truthful and sincere, even if we can't help, these practitioners will feel it and understand it.
Looking at myself, there are many areas where I don’t do well. When I see some issues with practitioners, I get very concerned and can’t keep a calm mind. I know that this is all related to the human notions that I need to eliminate. I hope that we can all improve together. My goal is that we can cooperate with each other better, and achieve a better overall environment.
Editor's note: Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions, for which the author is solely responsible. Readers should evaluate the article's merits on their own.
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Category: Improving Oneself
