(Minghui.org) Greetings, Venerable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I am 71 years old and I am fortunate to share my cultivation experiences with everyone here.
1. Participating in Shen Yun Promotion
Thinking back to the first time Shen Yun toured in Taiwan, I thought I should participate in helping backstage. I asked one of the coordinators if there was any work related to cleaning the restrooms backstage. She looked at me and said, “You can be an usher if you want.” I asked if, given my age, it’d be a good fit. She replied, “Sure.” I have since been an usher for 13 years. It wasn’t until this year, when Shen Yun first came to Miaoli City, that I worked in another position.
The first time I became an usher, the theater where Shen Yun shows were held had more than 4,000 seats. We were short of hands, and some practitioners couldn’t stand wearing high heels for a long time, while some had trouble seeing the small font on the tickets. Oftentimes, I could only take half of the people waiting to their seats before the next performance began. I then came to enlighten that it was very sacred for one to participate in Shen Yun.
We need to study the Fa well and assimilate to the characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance so that we can maintain a pure mindset in doing things. When our cultivation state is stable, we’ll be less prone to be interfered with, so more sentient beings can be saved by Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder).
During the performances, if we sent forth righteous thoughts effectively, hardly anyone in the audience got up to go to the restroom during the performance. In order to take people to their seats, I had to walk up or down the stairs quickly. When my cultivation state was optimal, I could truly feel that my steps were very soft, as if I was flying.
When I ushered for shows held in both Taichung and Taoyuan, I didn’t feel tired at all. I enlightened that in whatever we did, as long as we had strong righteous thoughts, Master would always watch over and help us.
Master said:
“Saying that you are helping Shen Yun means, in fact, that you are helping yourselves, for in whatever you are doing you are cultivating yourselves, and what’s more, among the lives saved by Shen Yun, there is your contribution. That’s for sure. And your mighty virtue lies within what you have done.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
A few years ago, in order to promote Shen Yun in a more professional way, we were required to go through the level-one certification process. Many people weren’t courageous enough to take the test. I also thought it was something for younger practitioners. However, since I was an assistant, I felt I had a responsibility to encourage others to take the test. When others saw me, at my age, go through the process and complete the certification, they also joined in.
I also participated when we were later asked to go through a second level of certification. In fact, I didn’t know much about the process at the time. I only thought that if I can do it, others can also do it. When I took the test, I wasn’t familiar with the content and didn’t pass the exam. I then recalled, as a member of the waist drum team, our training required us to be warm, have a smile on our faces, and exude compassion to sentient beings when we were on stage. So when I took the test again, the six of us who went together all passed it.
When Shen Yun returned to Taiwan this year, our district coordinator asked us to go through the level one certification again. At first, I wondered why we had to do that. Only after sharing with fellow practitioners did I realize I had forgotten all about the three-minute script I learned in my prior training. So I began to memorize the script, and now I can recite it very well.
A certification process for Shen Yun Zuopin then came out. At first, I thought how can I possibly find the time to work on that, since I was busy making truth-clarification calls for the RTC telephone platform. Another practitioner then mentioned that he would stop making calls during his shift so he could go over the certification process. I realized I could also squeeze some time in to do the same. As soon as I had that thought, even though I spent little time making calls to help people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that day, the outcome was very good. I even broke my record for how many people I helped quit the CCP organizations.
I came to realize that Master made the perfect arrangement when I had the determination to do it. It all came down to my notions blocking me; for example, “I don’t have time,” or “I can’t do it.” These were human attachments. Fortunately, I managed to quickly address them. By following Dafa’s requirements to look inward, I was able to clear these obstacles on my cultivation path.
My husband is also a practitioner, and he’s in his 80s. When he saw me sign up for the certification, he also wanted to do it. He truly put his heart into learning the script. Sometimes, he had trouble typing the words or understanding the pronunciations. Then he asked me if I could help him with the typing. So whenever we ran into questions, we worked with each other by sharing our understandings. When we went to the Shen Yun website but still couldn’t find the answers, young practitioners helped us over the phone. He easily forgot what he learned right after making calls. But I remembered and, sure enough, I got the answers we were looking for.
During the process, we not only gained a deeper understanding of Shen Yun Zuopin, but we also passed the certification process successfully. This experience helped us eliminate our notions, such as, “We’re too old to do it” and, “That’s for young people, not us.” Actually, no matter how old we are, as long as we’re willing to do something, Master will watch over us.
2. Eliminating Vanity and Attachment to Self-Interest
I recalled that someone told me: “One needs to have at least one brand name purse in one’s life.” At first, I felt I was too old-fashioned and wasn’t interested. I believed that buying expensive items didn’t mean much to me. Yet I still couldn’t avoid my vanity and ended up buying one. The more I looked at the purse, though, the more I disliked it. So I decided to take the purse back and exchange it for a cheaper one.
But since I wasn’t refunded for the difference, I felt very bad. At the time, I didn’t think: “I’m a practitioner, I shouldn’t have vanity or any attachment to self-interest.” While riding my bicycle, I still grappled with this issue in my mind. Upon reaching the entrance to my home, my bicycle suddenly fell over and landed on my leg and foot. I couldn't move my leg.
My daughter is a nurse, and she insisted that my son take me for an examination. The doctor fixed my foot. But as soon as I returned home, I took off the cast immediately. I knew since I’m a practitioner, I should also not take any of the prescribed medication.
My daughter then insisted that I see the doctor again. When the doctor saw me, he was caught off guard and exclaimed, “How come you can walk again? This was too quick!” When the doctor asked me if he needed to prescribe more medication, my daughter replied immediately, “No thanks. Even if you do, she won’t take it.” The doctor replied, “Since you are not getting prescriptions from me, I won’t charge you for the registration fee. And you don’t have to come back to see me again.”
During this time, I had to participate in a Shen Yun promotional event. That day, the swelling in my foot suddenly went down so I could wear high heels without feeling any pain. Only after the event was over did my feet begin to hurt again. I understood that no matter what we do, Master always watches over us!
3. Treating Practitioners Compassionately
Tests will show up for us if we don’t improve our xinxing. I was once on my way to join the RTC Platform to study the Fa and do the exercises, when I suddenly fell down and couldn’t get up. When bystanders helped me get up, I said I was fine. After they helped me pick up my bicycle, I still headed to the RTC site.
Only after I came home at noon did I begin to feel pain. I felt a lot of pain in my ribs; additionally, one of my teeth had been knocked out. But my skin was unscathed. At night, I had difficulty sitting up when sending forth righteous thoughts. It was also hard for me to get up and lie down. When my husband wanted to give me a hand, I said I would get over the tribulation on my own.
Upon realizing that I must have some loopholes, I looked inward. I thought about how when a practitioner finished calling a number, I’d go over the recording. If there was anything improper, I’d then post it to the platform to remind them. On one occasion, a practitioner thought I wasn’t kind to her. At the time, I felt I was wronged. But I came to understand that I wasn’t being considerate of others, nor did I care about their feelings.
I said to Master in my heart, “I know I was wrong, but I have to go to support the project on Thursday. How can I do it if I can’t move?” Unexpectedly, my ribs clicked and were back to normal. I could also turn my body and was pain-free. Thank you, Master!
4. Letting Go of Sentimentality
I have participated in making calls to China for more than 20 years. However, early in my cultivation, I had strong a attachment to my children. When my grandchildren were born, due to my attachment to sentimentality, I helped babysit them. But by doing so, this increased the difficulty in my truth-clarification efforts. I slept less, and the quality of my work consequently went down. When my daughter later took a vacation from work, I left the baby with her, then went out to clarify the facts to people. However, I encountered their disapproval afterward. I felt very bitter, even though I knew enduring the hardship could help eliminate karma.
Master said:
“True spiritual practice entails that you let go of human feelings and emotions.” (The Sixth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
When I set my heart right and let go of my attachments to my grandchildren, I was able to put more effort into truth-clarification work. My family situation also changed for the better. One grandchild was newly born, but I didn’t take it to heart. Unexpectedly, my son told me that since I was tied up with making calls, his wife would stay at the postnatal care center for two weeks after giving birth, then she’d go home and take care of their child on her own. He also said it’s good enough if I can just take care of my own matters well. I truly appreciated Master’s arrangements!
The above are my cultivation experiences. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
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