(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Tickets for the Shen Yun performances in Quebec City sold out three weeks in advance of the opening show. Demand was so high that we had to open up additional seats. From this I understood that the cultivation state of local practitioners is critical.
I’d like to tell you some of my own cultivation experiences while promoting the 2023 Shen Yun shows.
After the COVID pandemic eased in the spring of 2022 and life gradually returned to normal, the local Falun Dafa Association coordinator asked that we resume face-to-face meetings to read the teachings together. There are few practitioners in Quebec and we live far apart. Before the pandemic, we read the Fa in a practitioner’s home. Some practitioners suggested renting a classroom or a room in a community center. Because some practitioners do not own cars and the original meeting place was hard to reach by bus, it was difficult to agree on a time.
During our discussions, I realized that reading the teachings in person is the form of cultivation the Master Li [the founder of Falun Dafa] left us, so we should listen to Master unconditionally. If we had the thought that we didn’t want to participate in in-person meetings, whether it’s out of laziness or prejudice against certain practitioners, those thoughts are not in accordance with the Fa, so we should reject them and do as Master asked.
Finally in April 2022, the group overcame many difficulties, and resumed face-to-face Fa study every Monday night. Those who did not own cars took the bus to the nearest bus station and a practitioner picked them up.
I decided to attend as much as I could, regardless of whether people came or not, and regardless of how many people came each time. I’ve attended every week for over a year.
When Shen Yun promotion began that fall, we were told by the local coordinator to change our Fa study schedule. We couldn’t agree on another time, and at one point we even considered going back to online Fa study.
I felt resentment towards the coordinator, thinking that his casual remarks caused turmoil in such an important matter as Fa study. But then I realized that I was wrong. The coordinator probably just didn’t understand the situation. I realized that I should try to solve the problem instead of complaining. In the end, we resolved the issue and kept the in-person Fa study.
Personally, I think that adhering to face-to-face Fa study can help guarantee that we do well in promoting Shen Yun.
Over time I formed a habit of doing things with “maximum efficiency” and I did not like to do “useless work.” But during this year’s Shen Yun promotion, when I identified this attachment I decided to eliminate it. Master showed me firsthand the importance of cooperating with other practitioners.
When I asked the group in September if anyone wanted to go with me on Sunday to put up posters advertising Shen Yun, one practitioner said she'd already made an appointment with someone to go out and invited me to join them. I said yes, but I couldn’t help thinking that with three people, it would be better for me to go alone to another street.
When Sunday came I had a strong feeling that I didn’t want to go. I noticed that the bathroom ceiling, which was only slightly seeping before, suddenly began to drip. I grabbed a bucket to catch the water and mopped the floor. As soon as the upstairs neighbors finished running water, the leak stopped. But this seemed to give me one more reason not to go out and put up posters: What if it leaked again? I suddenly felt sleepy. I could clearly feel that I lacked righteous thoughts. At that moment, a message came from the practitioner, saying that she was waiting in the parking lot where we'd agreed to meet. I immediately left and the heavy interference in other dimensions disappeared.
Fortunately, I was not very late. All three of us walked together. Whoever pushed the door open to local businesses introduced us, and the others helped introduce Shen Yun. Although some businesses were closed on Sunday, the places that were open were very receptive. In my heart I thanked my team members for helping me to break through the interference and take the first step to promote Shen Yun. That day, I truly felt how powerful we are when we work together.
An elderly Chinese practitioner said she wanted to help promote Shen Yun. My first reaction was that she did not speak the language and we would have to arrange our time according to her work schedule. But then I realized that my thoughts were not righteous.
The first time we went to the shops near her house, it was very hard to park. After driving around for a long time, I managed to find a parking space, and we began distributing posters. Although most merchants were happy and receptive, I was the only one who spoke, and I felt my mouth becoming dry and my voice getting hoarse.
I felt that it was too hard to accommodate this practitioner, so I asked a Western practitioner to bring her along. Because the Western practitioner had to drive a long way to pick her up, I began thinking it was easier for us to not involve the elderly practitioner.
When she told the group about her experiences while putting up posters, I felt a bit upset.
However, when I calmed down and looked inside, and examined why I felt unhappy, I found that I had many attachments: I felt that she was taking credit for our success in putting up posters, even though she never said that; I was jealous and wanted the others to acknowledge me; I was upset when I saw that others were doing well; I felt that working with practitioners who did not know the language was troublesome. But my complaints were actually confirming my own ego. I did not look at it from the perspective of letting go of my personal gains and losses to cooperate with others.
Master said,
“It’s cultivation, so what gods look at is a person’s heart, not whether he planned some activity thoroughly or comprehensively. Gods don’t look at that. And when things are not very comprehensive, they are in fact happy, for they want to see who among you will make things right when an imperfection is found. That’s because your cultivation is a part of everything you do. What they look at is your cultivation!” (Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
When things did not go the way I wanted, or when I had to give a little more, I became resentful. This Western practitioner and the senior practitioner clearly had difficulty communicating with each other, but the Western practitioner was very willing to cooperate with her and was not impatient. In contrast, I lacked kindness and tolerance towards other practitioners.
When I realized this and removed my attachment, I felt my capacity gradually expand. I no longer focused on being “efficient.” I was able to see things from the perspective of the Fa, understood others with kindness, and selflessly cooperated.
The power of the Fa is there when you put down your ego, remove your selfishness, and view situations from the basis of the Fa. I believe that as long as I make sure that each time I do it with the intention to save people and I’m willing to cooperate, every poster I put up and every pamphlet I hang on a door will have the power of the Fa.
The elderly practitioner also had a breakthrough and was able to go by herself by bus to distribute pamphlets. When it was time for Shen Yun to perform in Quebec, a friend who worked near the Old City told me he noticed that most of the restaurants on a commercial street had Shen Yun posters. I told him that they were put up by our volunteers. The street he mentioned was the one the elderly practitioner and the Western practitioner covered. The posters stayed on the windows for months and had a great impact.
For five weeks, from the end of November 2022 to the New Year’s Day holiday shopping period, we ran a ticket booth at the mall. This year we decided that there should be two practitioners selling tickets during each time slot. This was also a challenge for us, as the number of local practitioners is limited and everyone helping with Shen Yun is involved in more than one promotion project, as well as other projects, and they have families.
My work schedule is flexible and I live close to the mall, so I tried to fill in the time slots when the others were busy. Each practitioner involved in selling tickets did their best to cooperate, and the schedule was always filled before the following Monday. Sometimes other practitioners offered to replace me when they saw that I had committed to too many shifts. Sometimes the Chinese elderly practitioner and the Western practitioner also came to help. Even if they couldn’t sell tickets on their own, they could at least distribute pamphlets and send righteous thoughts. As a result, many people stopped by our booth and we sold many tickets.
The mall extended its hours as the holidays got closer. As the intensity of the promotion increased, I could not keep up with doing the exercises. I was tired, but I realized that this ticket booth was the most effective channel for us to talk to people in person.
The number of people we interacted with at the booth was far less than that of TV, Facebook, or media advertisements, but it is the most powerful and direct way for us to communicate with people face-to-face. As there are few practitioners in Quebec, when it was almost time for the performances, practitioners from other cities came and helped hang pamphlets on people’s doors. I felt that we must hold on to the precious “first line,” the ticket booth, and not become psychologically dependent on media advertising and thus relax the offline (face-to-face) channels.
Sometimes when I went home exhausted but still had regular work to do, before I went to bed, I logged onto the Shen Yun Zuo Pin website and listened over and over again to the song “Fail Ye Not” to “recharge my batteries.”
“Fail ye not, for your kingdom’s lives above await salvation” (“Fail Ye Not,” Hong Yin VI).
When tickets were selling well, I repeatedly warned myself that I must not relax until they were all sold and all the people who bought tickets walked into the theater. I must not slack off.
During these weeks, I really felt that the ticket booth had a magical power. No matter how tired I was, as soon as I got to the booth I felt energized and happy. The TV set was behind me playing Shen Yun commercials on a loop, emitting great energy and beautiful colours, attracting people to stop and watch and ask questions.
Quebec is a small city with a much less diverse population than Montreal, and many people are like neighbors. People feel close to each other and enjoyed talking to us. The mall was crowded during the holiday season and we had opportunities to talk to many people. I thought about Master’s words and cherished each person from the bottom of my heart.
The night the show opened, I was delighted to see so many familiar faces from the mall. I and another practitioner had a booth inside the theater to promote Shen Yun Zuo Pin subscriptions. A man came over to shake our hands and said, “Were you at the mall? I’ve seen you before.”
After the show, some audience members talked to us and told us how much they enjoyed it. Some said, with tears in their eyes, that the show was sacred and that they were very grateful for Shen Yun.
I once again felt that doing well with Shen Yun was not just about selling all the tickets. I felt that the people who attended the show represented vast and distant universes. Under the Creator’s merciful arrangement, they were given the opportunity to walk into the theater and watch the performance. At that moment I truly understood the responsibility we practitioners have, and it felt concrete and sacred.
From September 2022 to the end of January this year, major and minor interruptions and tests happened almost every day. At first, I often had a feeling of anxiety and stress, but later I realized that it was a fear of failure.
I remembered Master’s teachings that looking inward is what’s most important. I realized that most of the time I still looked outward and did not really listen to Master’s words to look for my own faults. I realized that fear of failure is also an attachment. So, I targeted it when I sent righteous thoughts. I reminded myself to look only at myself, and not look at others’ faults. Whatever happened was Master’s arrangement, so it must all be good.
During the months we promoted Shen Yun, I reminded myself to put aside my worries and anxieties, return to the basic requirements of a practitioner, and unconditionally do what Master asks.
I put aside my ego, and cooperated with others. I realized I must trust my fellow practitioners, and try not to impose my ideas on them. When things go wrong, I need to look inward, always examining the starting point and motivation of each of my actions, and try to remove the parts that are not pure and do not conform to the Fa. In the process, we should not pursue immediate results but only strive to get the details right and take each step solidly.
We have to remind each other of our responsibilities, keep our thoughts righteous, continue to save people, and to live up to our mission.
If there is anything wrong in my sharing, please correct me.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2023 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)