(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner in Taiwan who graduated from a research institute about a year ago. When I heard that the Falun Dafa Club at my college had few members, I decided to join the group study and discussions at the club once a week after work.
So far, I have been involved in this for half a semester. Based on my experiences, I want to share the importance of maintaining a Falun Dafa Club on a college campus.
The Group Practice Environment
Following my mother’s example, I attended a nine-day lecture workshop as a child. I also joined the high school Falun Dafa club. However, I didn’t enter the group cultivation environment until my sophomore year in college. Initially, my motive was not pure because, as an introverted person, I wanted to meet more people.
When I joined the club, another practitioner had recently left, so I became the vice president. Thinking I needed to be effective in this role, I organized some events. Since my motives were not pure, the results were not very good. Looking back, I was actually admiring my predecessor and wishing to do as well as she had.
I hosted those events mainly to gain recognition. As a result, I focused on the events and put little effort into building a good environment for group study.
Thinking back, I was deeply moved when I watched Master’s video lectures as a child. I knew that Falun Dafa was something I had been waiting for my whole life. However, without consistently studying the teachings, I slacked off in my cultivation. Although I occasionally studied the Fa on my own, I was not a disciplined practitioner.
Although I joined the Falun Dafa club in high school, only a few practitioners were active. As a result, I mostly studied on my own. Nonetheless, I spent 30 minutes a week studying this way. If I hadn’t done this, I probably would have strayed even further.
The situation changed when I was in college because the group environment helped me a lot. Recognizing this, I continued to help club members even after I graduated. I still go to the college once a week to support the study group.
A Leadership Role in the Club
Because my motive for joining the club was not pure, it was inevitable that I would encounter challenges. For example, I was reluctant to share my understandings of cultivation. After group study, I often jumped right into planning activities. In fact, most of those who’d joined the club to study Falun Dafa said they had little interest in participating in activities. When they saw my focus was on planning activities and not on experience-sharing, some of them stopped coming. That left me frustrated because it became more difficult to organize events. Although I should have led the club as vice president during my junior year, I chose to step away and ask another practitioner to take on the role.
Master said:
“Although you may find that some grand qigong masters are well-known, they have practiced cultivation for decades to develop that bit of gong. You have never practiced cultivation. How can you have gong after attending a qigong class? How is that possible? You will develop an attachment afterward. Once an attachment develops, you will become anxious if you cannot cure an illness. In order to save one’s reputation, what’s on one’s mind while treating illness? “Please let me have this illness so that the patient can be healed.” That is not out of compassion, as one’s attachments to fame and self-interest have not been given up at all. This person is unable to develop this compassion one bit. He is afraid of losing his reputation. He would rather have this illness himself in order to keep his reputation. What a strong attachment to fame!” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
My behavior in my sophomore year was similar to that of those grand qigong masters. I did things to protect my reputation. On the surface, I was sacrificing for the group cultivation environment and even spent a lot of time planning activities. In reality, I was attached to fame and self-interest. Without compassion to help save people, some of the events I organized did not do well.
I occasionally considered hiding and avoiding club activities during that year. Because there were quite a few practitioners on campus, I thought that if someone else took on my responsibilities, they would do a better job than I. Nonetheless, I also knew that my responsibilities and tribulations could have been arranged long ago. Since I’d made a vow, I could not abandon my role and give it to someone else. Whether I lost face or not, I had to fulfill my role as vice president for a year.
The Importance of a Campus Club
During that time, other practitioners suggested some truth-clarification activities. We had a booth at annual events, such as campus club exhibitions or school anniversary events. These activities usually went well and were effective at introducing the students to Falun Dafa.
My school is a top university in Taiwan. Many students from mainland China, who came here to pursue a degree or were in a student exchange program, had to prevail in stiff competitions to gain admission. Even Taiwan residents like me had to excel in high school and even in middle school to attend this school. That is, the students had already put in considerable effort to get here so that they could learn the truth about Falun Dafa through the club. Some practitioners in the club had worked hard for this chance to introduce the Fa to people.
Having a Falun Dafa club on a college campus clarify the truth is not difficult. Only a few hours of preparation plus the heart to help save people are needed to let hundreds of students or more know that there is a Falun Dafa club on campus, with the opportunity to learn the facts later. This is the benefit of having a Falun Dafa club on campus, and we must not waste this opportunity.
When most of the students from China pass our booth, they see us but don’t stop. This helps with truth-clarification because they see that Falun Dafa is embraced outside of China, countering the falsehoods the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been feeding them. Of course, some students, including those from China and Taiwan, stop and ask questions. In the past, I didn’t know how to respond. Later, I prepared in advance and was ready with answers. When I participated in a club event for the last time, I sincerely wanted to inform more students about Dafa over those one or two days. I also wanted students to stop at our booth and spend a few minutes learning more. Such activities are an excellent way for students to learn the facts about Dafa.
Helping Out After Graduation
About a year after I graduated, I heard that the membership in my alma mater’s Falun Dafa club had gone down. Recognizing the importance of providing group practice for students, I reached out to the club to see how I could help. After work, I joined the group study and discussion. Several new members had recently joined. I overcame my fear of sharing with them. The results were positive.
Master said:
“Many assistants in different regions have a very high-level understanding of Dafa. They are able to set a good example with their conduct and do a good job organizing their practice groups. Yet there are also some assistants who have not done so well, and this mainly manifests in their methods of work. For instance, in order to make the students listen to them and to make it easier to carry out their work, some assistants have done their work by issuing orders. This is not permitted. Learning the Fa should be voluntary. If a student does not want to do so from the bottom of his heart, no problems can be solved. Instead, tensions may arise. Tensions will intensify if this isn’t corrected, thus severely undermining people’s learning the Fa.” (“How to Provide Assistance,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I just assisted without pressuring or even suggesting that new practitioners should do certain things. My aim was to provide a stable cultivation environment for them. If none of them were able to take on leadership roles, I would not push them. In fact, the third time participated in the group study, I noticed that several practitioners who’d recently enrolled in the college had joined the club and were active in group study and sharing. As a result, the club meetings went well. Also, I was happy to make up for the losses I’d caused during my first year of college.
Summary
Looking back, a leadership role in a college Falun Dafa club is similar to the role of an assistant at a group practice site. The person must voluntarily serve others, that is, be willing to maintain a group cultivation environment rather than pursue personal fame or material gain. I also benefited from the group study and group sharing. In addition, I overcame fear and led the experience-sharing, which helped my cultivation a lot.
Master said:
“I said earlier that relative to the number of people in the world, the number of Dafa disciples right now is very small, but you have a great mission that history has bestowed upon you. So as for the Dafa disciples in any region, you are basically the hope for the beings in that region to be saved—their only hope, in fact.” (“Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York”)
Over the years of attending Dafa activities while in college and since returning to the campus, I realize that, although the number of practitioners in each educational institution may be small, they represent the hope for saving students. I hope more young practitioners will recognize this and set up Falun Dafa clubs on more campuses.
Above are my personal understandings. Please point it out if there are any inconsistencies with the Dafa teachings.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Cultivation Insights
