(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner and I’ve been editing cultivation articles for elderly fellow practitioners in our area for a while—almost all of them began practicing before 1999. I’ve observed three things about them: First, there are many practitioners in our area, yet they formed a cohesive group; second, many go out to clarify the truth about Dafa almost every day; third, they are highly motivated to write sharing articles.
I do two types of editing. One involves transcribing and editing material based on an oral account I’ve recorded; the other is working on a handwritten draft, typing it up, and making minor adjustments.
I’d like to tell you about a few things that left a deep impression on me.
When I went to a practitioner’s home, more than twelve practitioners were there, and they’d been waiting for me for a long time. Mei told me they already rehearsed their stories once to save me time. I was surprised and appreciative. I told her that her article was published on Minghui and asked her if she read it. She paused for a moment and then said she hadn’t read it as she rarely goes online. She didn’t feel the need to read as long she does what she’s supposed to do. I was speechless; I thought she would be happy to hear this and maybe she’d ask when it was published. But to my surprise, she wasn’t interested at all.
I thought about what Mei said after I got home. I’ve recently been keeping a close eye on the Minghui website to see if any of the manuscripts I prepared were published; I feel happy when they are, and if they aren’t, I look forward to the possibility of them appearing next time. I told my wife, “I’m not even the author of that article—I just helped organize it, but I am so happy to see it published. The author isn’t even interested in taking a look at it. The cultivation gap between us is really big.”
I asked myself why I felt happy if the article were published. I realized that my happiness was rooted in my attachments to seeking recognition, pursuing personal gratification, showing off, and validating myself. I knew these attachments do not reflect my true self, and I should let them go.
Fenfen does the three things well, and uses wisdom when she tells people about Falun Dafa and the persecution. She often writes cultivation experience articles, and I’ve edited ten articles for her. Although none of them were published, she just keeps writing. Maybe she thinks writing is simply recording her cultivation experiences. Once I recorded about forty minutes of her manuscripts. But unfortunately I accidentally deleted it. When I apologized to her, she wasn’t upset and just told me that nothing is accidental. She asked me to continue recording for other practitioners. She agreed to record it again. Since I remembered most of the content, with her help, we quickly completed the recording. She was calm and smiled during the whole process. I saw the cultivation gap between us.
A few days ago, I read an article on Minghui that seemed familiar. After reading it carefully, I found it was the manuscript that Wang submitted a few days ago. I felt the article was so disorganized that it was difficult to edit, and I was convinced it would never be published. So I quickly typed it up and sent it to Minghui without even proofreading it. Then I forgot about it.
To my surprise, the article was published in less than ten days. Minghui practitioners not only re-organized it, but also fixed some typos. I was so ashamed of myself and realized that I had a major flaw when I edited the manuscripts. If I feel the article has a chance to be published, I take it seriously, otherwise, I won’t. I realized this was my attachment to ego, self righteousness and seeking to benefit. I was shocked to realize that I was doing something so sacred while I still had so many ugly human attachments.
I remember that when I was recording the manuscript for one practitioner, she was so nervous that she couldn’t remember anything. So we didn’t finish the recording. After many days, she asked someone to hand in her manuscript for her. What a pure heart!
I am grateful for Master’s compassionate enlightenment and I thank my fellow practitioners for their trust. I will eliminate my human attachments, rectify myself and do the three things with a purer heart.
Category: Improving Oneself
