(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, respected Master!
Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I became a practitioner at the end of 1997. Initially, I had no idea about what cultivation was or how to cultivate. After listening to fellow practitioners' experience sharing at the New York Fa Conference in March 1998, I started to understand that it is necessary to study the Fa and to cultivate xinxing. It has been more than 10 years since I obtained the Fa. On the cultivation path, sometimes I do well and sometimes I fail. However, I have always tried to do better.
I am here to share with you my experiences over the past few months in promoting the Spectacular and classified ads for the Chinese Epoch Times.
1. Resigning from my first job
Last September it was confirmed that Los Angeles would host four Spectacular performances with a total of about 25,000 audience seats--almost four times as many as the 2006 performances. As a Dafa disciple in Los Angeles, I realized my responsibility. However, I was also very distressed at not being able to commit wholeheartedly to Fa rectification because of my full-time job.
I have lived in the United States for 15 years. The first three years I worked in a laboratory and for the past 12 years I was a salesperson. At one point in my sales career, I was recognized for an excellent sales record. For the past three years I was with a small company (10 employees). Basically I clarified the truth to all of them. It seemed hard to go any further. We all got along well and had very little conflict. The economic downturn affected the business, and thus my job became much less demanding. After my child left for college, he no longer needed as much of my care.
Through many sharings among practitioners, I learned what Master has requested of and expected of the Chinese Epoch Times. The paper should be responsible for its profits or losses and should be on a healthy financial track. I thought that that was the cultivation path arranged for the newspaper by Master, that was the standard of the Fa, and it has to be accomplished. To reach the goal and to do it well will require relying on our cultivation.
I believed that, as a sales representative for the Chinese Epoch Times, the income would be steady as long as I walked my cultivation path steadily. Since I believed that working in the newspaper's sales department could be my full time job right away, I was ready to turn in my resignation to my employer. I believed my resignation would not have any negative impact on the company, my family, or my life, so I felt I was not going to extremes. However, even though my thoughts were clear, there were times I was disturbed by human notions: "Do I have the makings of a sales representative? Is this the path arranged by Master? How do I make a living if I fail?" I hesitated, and I was afraid I had come to the wrong realization.
A fellow practitioner discussed this with me. She said, "Master has laid out the Fa clearly. It is not an enlightenment issue. Rather, it is if you dare to act according to the standard of Fa. When you reach the standard, there will be no obstacles. In the process of doing it, the Fa will show you everything that's being prepared."
This practitioner's sharing enlightened me. In the past, whenever I came to enlighten to something and did things accordingly, I was actually doing it with uncertainty, like feeling the stones while crossing a river. I would always consider all potential perspectives before I tried. I would continue if it went smoothly. If not, I would have somewhere else to turn to. Finally, I realized that I did not value the Fa the way I should, and my cultivation has not been vital or firm enough.
When I put aside these human mindsets, I naturally resigned. In fact, it was only to change to a new job.
2. In search of sponsors through media exchange
Media sponsorship is an important part of Spectacular publicity. As for how to do it, after listening to fellow practitioners' experience sharing about media support in San Francisco, I had an idea. We don't have the money, but we have newspapers and television, and these are both our resources and our wealth. At a seemingly accidental tourist show, I met staff members of minority media and various ethnic groups, such as Thai, Filipino and Japanese. Soon after that, we met a Thai newspaper editor. I showed him our Divine Performing Arts' promotion package and said that we represented the world's largest Chinese television network. I explained that our mission is to promote exchange and harmony among diverse cultures. I also introduced him to our Spectacular as a world-class production and the essence of true Chinese culture. "It is a performance intended for audiences of both Chinese and people of all ethnicities." We hoped to bring this precious performance to the Thai people through collaboration with his Thai newspaper and we believed a Thai audience would enjoy and appreciate the performance.
I noticed that they also valued the importance and promotion of cultural diversity through exchange and collaboration. After looking at the photos in the Spectacular introduction book, the editor-in-chief immediately responded with his support and asked me to contact him again. A few days later, we had a formal business meeting with representatives from their TV and newspaper to discuss the details of the media exchange. They were very focused when we played the Spectacular promotional CD. Their faces became bright and cheerful and it seemed they could feel the extraordinariness of the show. Obviously, our promotional CD had touched their soul. We signed the contract. As a result, they broadcast the Spectacular commercial on an hourly basis on their Thai networks for over two months. Their newspapers also continued a half-page color advertisement all the way until the night of the performance. Prior to the show, their TV and newspaper also made special reports with a cover story about the Spectacular.
We invited nearly 20 of their media personnel to the debut performance. They consistently praised the show as brilliant and wonderful, and said this was the best performance they had ever seen.
Inspired by the Thai media experience, we contacted the media of other ethnic groups as well as other regional newspapers. We found that the media of minorities and regions have their special influence and effectiveness in a way mainstream media does not and it costs us almost nothing.
3. Saving sentient beings through promoting the Chinese Epoch Times
I was filled with tremendous joy after I decided to work full-time for the Chinese Epoch Times. I was excited about being able to spread the truth to merchants through commercial business.
My first client was a self-service Chinese restaurant run by immigrants from Fujian Province. They were honest, kind and polite, but also deceived by the evil propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party about Falun Gong. In the process of discussing ads, I gradually revealed the truth about Falun Gong. Some of them not only came to understand the truth, but also supported the Spectacular with $3,000 dollars in ads.
Sometimes when we made telephone calls to solicit ads from Chinese merchants we still encounter people who do not realize the evil nature of the CCP and thus will not accept the Chinese Epoch Times. The obstacle to save these sentient beings is still present. I recognize that it requires our sales team's tireless efforts and compassion.
4. My cultivation path at the Chinese Epoch Times
I had been a practitioner for more than 10 years--since the end of 1997. I thought I had done fairly well in cultivation when there were no conflicts. Within the two months working at the newspaper, my various attachments were deeply touched. Sometimes I felt I was being besieged from all sides and I couldn't handle it any more. Working on the sales team requires all aspects of ordinary people's so-called skills, and I have always regarded myself as very capable compared to an ordinary person.
When I was challenged by the great demand for commercials and xinxing tests at the same time, for a while I did not know what to do. I thought of returning to my previous company, but thought it would be embarrassing. It might also create a negative image about Dafa. I was attached to having a lower income and the economic burden it created for the family. I felt crushed by the pressure from my own human mindset and attachments.
I pushed myself to calm down and study the Fa. Guided by the Fa, I evaluated my decision and realized that my hardships and pressures were illusions of the attachments that I could not let go of. They are not real. I repeatedly read what Master had written in "Unimpeded" in Hong Yin II: "When one is attached to nothing; The path underfoot is naturally smooth." Didn't this feel like a dead-end? Why didn't I just give up on everything.
With the change in my attitude, I was relieved. I had not been able to smile for more than two weeks. I slowly regained my confidence. Looking back, I recognize these ordeals are actually good things and what I have lost are the bad things. Why should I feel unhappy? Only now do I feel I am a novice in cultivation. I value very much what the Chinese Epoch Times has provided me. It is a great place for cultivation, where fellow practitioners compare in study and compare in cultivation, and allow us to advance quickly on our cultivation path.
