(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners!
I began practicing the Falun Dafa cultivation system in 1998. It’s important for me to reflect upon what I experienced over the past years. However, many things have happened recently in the cultivation environment. Despite stumbling, I have always seen light at the end of the tunnel when looking forward.
I have visited many countries throughout the world to spread the truth of Falun Dafa, including many places in northern Europe. The start of the pandemic reminded me of the worries I held for the Chinese people during the SARS epidemic in 2003. I thought it was a great opportunity to expose the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and clarify the truth about Dafa to more people.
The meaning of genuine cultivation has become more and more clear to me when walking forward on my cultivation path. I thought it was about becoming a better person at first. I felt touched by a sharing article titled “Good People,” which Master commented on. It says at the beginning, “Master has always required that we become good people in terms of the Fa’s standards, instead of just good people in everyday people’s eyes--people who are always agreeable.”
Cultivation doesn’t mean becoming a person good at pleasing others. Sometimes I give people the impression that I am a person they can easily take advantage of. The article also mentioned, “If we don’t get rid of the notion of ‘being easy to take advantage of,’ won’t the evil then have the biggest excuse for and guarantee of destroying us by way of ‘tests’?” Indeed, my previous misunderstanding has caused unnecessary additional work for me and cost me a lot of precious time.
Taking responsibility has always been a great challenge for me. Responsibilities weigh heavily on my mind, because I associate them with getting tired, pressured, stressed, and nervous. I included in my challenge the fear of failure and losing my reputation, as well as accepting criticism. Responsibilities also meant accepting great sacrifice.
For example, if I organize a truth-clarification activity, I need to be the one who shows up first and is the last to leave. It’s an honor as a matter of fact – it all depends on how I treat it. I realize that taking responsibility might not be difficult. However, as a beautiful gift, I should treasure it as a Falun Dafa practitioner.
Master can see how we treat responsibilities in our minds. I understand that it’s better to take action, although I may make mistakes, it’s better than not doing anything out of fear. Taking responsibility actually gives me great opportunities to improve myself.
I have taken on responsibility for several projects, including working in the Falun Dafa Association of Sweden. For a period of time, I felt isolated and attacked by the old forces. An indescribable pressure seemed to engulf me and made it difficult for me to assume any energy. It was saddening to a certain extent, although I didn’t show it.
One morning, I felt that something was suddenly unloaded from my body during a group exercise session. The feeling of isolation was completely gone. Studying the Fa, memorizing the Fa, and sending forth righteous thoughts had helped me break through the impasse.
Tackling the Project of Holding an Online Falun Dafa Exercise Workshop
I heard about the project of holding online Falun Dafa exercise workshops during the pandemic. I thought it was a great idea and started making my contribution with technical support and promotion. Many technical problems needed to be resolved at the initial stage. The progress might have been faster if I hadn’t considered them to be truly difficult.
We held the first online workshop last fall. The results were encouraging. I was happily surprised by the large number of attendees. Thinking back on how people gave us the cold shoulder at the beginning of our truth-clarification effort, I can tell things have changed greatly. People have begun to awaken, and we have entered a stage when the Fa-rectification enters the human world. I feel the responsibility of promoting Falun Dafa and clarifying the truth. All practitioners in our online workshop team collaborate well and accepted our responsibilities without any complaints.
Other practitioners in Sweden have also given us great support and promoted online workshops through various channels. My only regret is that I haven’t been able to work more on it. We could have introduced Falun Dafa to more people if we had started earlier.
I read a Minghui website report about online workshops held in different countries early last year. The results were outstanding. Master was happy to see it. I hope more practitioners in different countries will actively participate in the project, using their different languages. It would be great if we could hold an online workshop in each language every week in Nordic countries!
Shen Yun gave multiple performances in Denmark this spring. My heart told me that we should get rid of the notion of nations and shoulder the responsibility of supporting all Shen Yun shows in every Nordic country. Some neighboring countries are actually closer than some cities in Sweden.
I went to Denmark several times to promote Shen Yun and worked as security and backstage support during the shows. However, tickets didn’t sell as well as we had hoped. I asked myself, “We have distributed so many fliers and worked so hard. Have I truly put my whole heart into it?” I realized that I hadn’t concentrated well during my Fa study, and hadn’t cultivated myself as diligently as I should have.
Master has told us,
“But, did it really have the effect of consecration? That depends on how he chanted scripture. Shakyamuni talked about proper thoughts—you should chant scripture with undivided attention to really shake the world of the discipline you cultivate, and only then can you invoke an Enlightened Being. And only when one of that Enlightened Being’s Law Bodies goes up on the statue can it have the effect of consecration.” (The Fifth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
My understanding is that I really should put my whole heart into what I’m doing, and keep righteous thoughts when I do things. This is a way to achieve the best result.
We finally held a Fa conference in Sweden after the pandemic rules were relaxed last year. I experienced several tests on my xinxing when preparing for the Fa conference. First of all, it was a challenge to solicit experience-sharing articles. I made phone calls, encouraging others to write experience-sharing articles, but I felt like a telemarketer, so the results weren’t really great.
I was worried there wouldn’t be enough sharing articles. I told a fellow practitioner about my worry. She said, “Your worry will affect others.” I reflected upon my mindset and attitude.
Master’s words came to my mind,
“If a Dafa disciple’s heart is unsteady, it will cause changes in his or her surroundings. When you have fear, for instance, you will find that the sentient beings around you are not quite right. When you change such that your presence is refreshing and uplifting to people, and your mind becomes broad and full of optimism, you will find the things around you to be correspondingly different. When clarifying the truth, when validating the Fa, and when encountering challenges as you do things, adjust yourself and look at things with righteous thoughts. It might just prove to be effective.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)
I reminded myself of what Master had said, and about keeping a calm mind. Things changed soon. We received great sharing articles a few weeks before the Fa conference, including sharing from some fellow practitioners who hadn’t planned to write. Our Fa conference was a great success. It was a critical step for fellow practitioners to gather after the pandemic.
Sometimes I ran into opportunities when I could clarify the truth. One day, I drove to a recycling station and saw an elderly Asian couple picking things from the waste. They seemed to have financial problems. I happened to have some cash with me. I handed the man some money, and he was happily surprised. I asked him in my limited Mandarin if he was from China. He was more surprised to hear me speak Mandarin. He told me that he was from Liaoning Province in China. I told him that I practiced Falun Dafa, which was great, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance was great. He responded with a smile.
Many things have happened around the world during the most recent few months. I think that new projects like Gan Jin World and Shen Yun productions have benefited more people given Master’s profound compassion. They are precious utilities for us to offer salvation to people.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I need to cultivate myself better, fulfill my mission, and become a particle of the great Law of the universe.
Thank you, Master and fellow practitioners!
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