(Minghui.org) A few months after arriving in Canada, I started participating in the global RTC platform project in which practitioners call and clarify the truth about the persecution to people in China. After a year, I realized that participating in this project was also serving to refine my cultivation state.
When I first started doing this, I had been filled with doubt, the attachment to the fear of losing face, a wish to seek fame, impatience, a desire to obtain quick success, and the innate influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. Later, while studying the Fa, I gradually realized I was constantly cultivating away these attachments and improving my character. Every time I read the last line in Zhuan Falun, my heart would shake:
“I hope that after going home everyone will make the best use of his or her time for genuine cultivation.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Cultivation of Speech
I joined the RTC platform project in early February 2023. A few days before I was about to go on duty, I suddenly came down with the symptoms of a cold, including an itchy throat, coughing, an aching head, and dizziness. My symptoms worsened each night and I would cough violently, unable to sleep. The next morning my voice was hoarse and my chest was in pain.
Despite sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the problem, I failed to make a breakthrough. After two days, I became somewhat anxious. I was about to commence my truth clarification duties on the RTC platform, but how could I communicate with sentient beings while fighting this violent cough? Where had I fallen short? One morning while listening to a Minghui radio podcast, I heard a fellow practitioner discuss the relationship between a sore throat and the cultivation of speech. I examined myself and discovered my problem.
After arriving in Canada, I kept in touch with my family via video calls. I realized that I often gossiped with them about our other relatives. As they were family members, I naturally assumed it was acceptable to gossip about relatives. I also imposed my opinions on my family, in particular my ideas about the Party’s covering up the truth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The persecution I had suffered under the CCP had left my family deeply shaken and fearful, but while expounding what I believed to be the truth, I failed to consider their personal feelings and the harsh environment and psychological trials they continued to face in China. This kind of thinking was aligned with the evil teachings preached by the CCP and likely attracted evil spirits and rotten ghosts. The old forces could have seized this reason to interfere and persecute me.
After realizing this, I silently apologized to my family and begged Master for forgiveness. My thoughts, words, and deeds must conform to the standards of a cultivator, no matter who I encounter. I decided that I must stand in the other party’s shoes and understand things from the other party's perspective and treat every issue with tolerance and selflessness.
To successfully make calls on the RTC platform, I had to be stricter in cultivating my speech and work to raise my character to a higher level. The cultivation of speech is achieved through the cultivation of one’s mind. Only a solid foundation achieved through daily cultivation practice can guarantee the salvation of more sentient beings.
My symptoms disappeared the same day I came to this realization, and I slept comfortably that night. The following day, I went online for my first duty session on the RTC platform, and everything went smoothly. With Master’s blessing, I successfully persuaded three people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
Removing the Desire for Fame and Respect
Having practiced Falun Dafa for more than 20 years, I assumed my ambitions for fame and personal gain had become very weak. Yet over the course of participating in the RTC platform, I realized these strong attachments remained.
When I first joined the platform, my mindset was pure. I just wanted to save more sentient beings and fulfill my vows. My first two sessions went smoothly, and I received encouragement from fellow practitioners. Yet after a few sessions, I became reluctant to have my phone conversations heard by everyone in the group. The other party often hung up before I could convince them to quit, and I started feeling nervous, constantly looking at the screen to see if it was my turn and that my speech would be broadcast to the whole group. I did not want the coordinating practitioner to hear my conversation for fear that she would think the worst of my abilities. My attachments to fame and respect had arisen.
Whenever I had poor outcomes, I did not reflect on how I had failed to save the sentient being. Rather, I worried about saving face and how I could gain a good reputation among fellow practitioners. Although I prepared a large variety of truth-clarification information before each session, I used none of it because the other party often hung up after hearing just two sentences from me. Although I kept sending forth righteous thoughts while calling and constantly recited “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” in my heart, I saw little improvement in my situation. I began suffering from nervousness before each RTC session, fearing my failure to speak well would impact my performance.
One day, I suffered an extremely high hang-up rate. Despite more than two hours of effort, not a single person agreed to quit the CCP. I knew something was wrong and felt very uncomfortable. Not only was I wasting my time and effort, but also the time put in by fellow practitioners. Fellow practitioners had gone through great pains to collect these phone numbers, and other practitioners were silently contributing to our efforts by aiding us and sending forth righteous thoughts. I had let down the sentient beings who were predestined to answer my calls and wasted Master’s painstaking efforts in arranging for their salvation!
I decided to readjust my cultivation state. I had made truth-clarification calls while I was still in China, so why was I nervous now? In that evil environment, my heart had remained pure, and during each call all I had focused on was the salvation of sentient beings. Yet now, as I cooperated with fellow practitioners on the RTC platform, my human attachments emerged, including the desire to save face, the desire for fame, the desire for praise and recognition, impatience, and an eagerness for quick success. Unconsciously, my human attachments had overpowered my righteous thoughts. I had become obsessed with achieving good results, instead of focusing on how to save sentient beings. As I failed to keep the Fa in my heart, I was just a normal human doing an everyday person’s task. Naturally, the outcome was not good.
I resolved to rectify my shortcomings. Thereafter when I joined the RTC platform, I minimized the RTC display window on my computer before making the call. I would empty my mind and just focus on fulfilling my mission to save all sentient beings. With each connected call, I would gaze upon the displayed phone number on my computer. Then, as though facing the recipient in person, I would smile and speak with compassion about the beauty of Dafa, explain the true nature of the evil party, and advise the person to choose a better future.
After ridding myself of human attachments and the evil beings that were influencing me, my nervousness vanished and my mind became more stable.
Placing Others First – A Foundational Pivot in Truth-Clarification
I once read a fellow practitioner’s experience sharing article published on the RTC platform which called out the difference between clarifying the truth “for oneself” and “for others.” The practitioner wrote, “After listening to other practitioners clarifying the truth, I realized my own truth-clarification efforts stemmed from my selfishness.” I read the article several times yet could not figure out why the practitioner claimed her efforts had been based on selfishness. We would have covered similar words and content during our truth-clarification calls, putting aside our personal safety and comfort to clarify the facts. How could this be considered selfish?
At the height of my confusion, Master granted me the wisdom to understand. I had been clarifying the truth for the sake of completing a task. Yet didn’t I undertake this task for the purpose of saving sentient beings? Only the Fa can truly save sentient beings. Only by complying with the requirements of the Fa when clarifying the truth can the power of Dafa be unleashed. If a practitioner clarifies the truth for the sake of completing a task, and not because he or she truly wants the best for the other party, the practitioner's efforts will have less of an impact.
I remember an article I previously read on the Minghui website. A fellow practitioner talked about keeping the relationship between Master, Dafa practitioners, and sentient beings in mind when clarifying the truth: “Master is at a level above all else. Sentient beings come next, and practitioners should put themselves last.” I had admired this sentiment but wondered how to achieve this state. Now I understand this is achieved when practitioners selflessly put others before themselves.
After I realized this, although I was not scheduled for duty that day, I decided to spend my free time in the first live broadcast room of the RTC platform, where I called and clarified the facts to those in China. During my first call, I sincerely greeted the other party and started by advising them to quit the CCP. Unexpectedly, the other party immediately agreed. I was taken aback, hardly able to believe my ears. Despite calling for so long, I had never encountered a situation where the other party agreed to quit with just a few words. Usually, I would need a few initial phone calls to get into a good state of mind, and even then, callers were slow in giving their consent to withdraw.
Most of my subsequent calls went through successfully, with many willing listeners and a significant number of people agreeing to quit the CCP. This overwhelmingly positive outcome left me reeling. One person picked up the phone, accused me of having too much time on my hands, and asked me for money. Yet after listening to me, not only did he agree to quit the CCP, but even asked me to tell him more about Dafa.
Throughout the process, I could feel Master’s support. Regardless of the different listeners' attitudes, I remained calm and in control, compassionately explaining the truth as wisdom poured into my mind. When they agreed to withdraw from the CCP, I felt happy for them from the bottom of my heart.
I am grateful for such opportunities to share, allowing me to see my shortcomings and giving me a chance to change and do well. In the little time we have left, I aim to study the Fa and cultivate myself well, diligently work on every phone call I make on the RTC platform, and cherish Master’s arrangement for the salvation of all sentient beings.
(2024 RTC Platform Annual Experience Sharing Article)
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