Lessons Learned Through Polishing Articles

(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings, Master!

Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I have been a polisher--a task that involves proofreading and editing--for the Clearwisdom website for several years now. Polishing was the first "steady" Dafa job I ever accepted and I hope that I will be able to stick with it for the remaining time period. I have learned so much about myself doing this job and it has been a really crucial aspect of my cultivation. I find that it is truly marvelous how Master arranges every detail of our cultivation. He has often pointed out that nothing is accidental and every twist and turn of our cultivation carries significance. To me, this means that every article I receive for polishing is directed at me. I am inclined to take every article I receive as a personal hint from Master, a hint that is either intended to help my cultivation, to point out my shortcomings, or to form a prearranged test for my determination to cultivate.

For example, sometimes I polish an article and my initial reaction is to get upset. I may be thinking: "Oh, this is so repetitive! I wonder how much more often this person is going to mention that he is attached to fame and validation of his own self? He has already mentioned this several times! Give me a break!" After a while, sometimes only days later, I actually do get the point: The message was directed specifically at me. It was repeated so often in the article because I tend to be rather dense at times. My emotional reaction of getting upset is always a sign that the attachment described is really my own attachment. I only have strong emotional reactions when the problem relates to me.

The process of polishing an article leads to a better understanding than simply reading the finished product on Clearwisdom.net in the morning. It creates a special bond between the polisher, the translator, and the author back in China. Indeed, it helps shorten the distance between individual practitioners, and often when I send forth righteous thoughts later, the specific circumstances in which the authors of the articles back in China find themselves pop into my head. Quite naturally, I then encompass them in my righteous thoughts. I have often felt that during those times, I am actually sending righteous thoughts at a close distance. Although we may be physically far apart, I feel mentally close and I believe that this state is very effective when sending forth righteous thoughts.

Another important "relationship" aspect of Clearwisdom work is that, by definition, it requires the seamless interaction of Chinese and Western fellow practitioners. I know that many of us tend to feel frustrated by the artificial differences the East-West cultural divide seems to create between us. The translator-polishing teams are forced into a relationship where they absolutely depend upon each other's skills. Having done this for a while, I believe that I am now much more effective at interpreting the intended meaning of the Chinese authors and translators, and that I have gained a better understanding of the directions their thoughts take. Cultivating "compassion" is essential for this process, of course.

At other times, I manage to read between the lines of articles. I clearly sense certain attachments in the authors that they themselves don't mention and that they probably don't even recognize. Whenever this happens, I get a good appreciation for how easy it is for any of us to overlook our own attachments, while other practitioners who look at us through a wider focused lens can spot them easily. This realization makes it easier for me to accept criticism from other practitioners and to take them very seriously. When someone points out my shortcomings, I try to remember that if I can recognize someone else's attachments, just by reading their writings, then surely they can do the same thing for me!

Compared to my fellow practitioners, I am not a very diligent cultivator. Even more disturbing is that I still have so many doubts and that so much thought karma still plagues my mind. And yet, amidst all this interference, I can clearly tell how marvelously our paths have been arranged for us, how wonderfully our talents and our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out, and how perfectly we complement each other. Someone with the right talent always turns up exactly where he is needed. A little time slot always seems to open up in our busy schedules just when some extra effort is needed. This sense of wonder about all the intricacies around which Master has arranged everything always pulls me back on my path.

In some way, every practitioner I've encountered during my cultivation has contributed something to my cultivation, and I think that I have probably done the same for them. I conclude that I need to be very conscious of conducting myself according to the standards of the Fa in all of my interactions with you.

Thank you all. Thank you, Master.