(Clearwisdom.net) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner from Washington, DC, and would like to share with fellow practitioners my experience of promoting Shen Yun Performing Arts over the past few years.
1. Bring Sentient Beings with Predestined Relationship Back to Their Original Home
Shen Yun is very influential and its effect in saving sentient beings is obvious to all. As a reporter, I was often touched by the audience's exhilaration, happiness, tears, and their visions of hope. I remember when the Holiday Wonders was held at the Beacon Theater at the end of 2006. While I was interviewing several spectators, a person tapped me on my shoulder. He expressed his excitement and delight with hand gestures but he didn't say a word. I finally realized that he was deaf. His eyes glistened with joy and excitement. The exhilaration on his face was truly an unforgettable memory. Another memory is associated with Holiday Wonders in New York City at the end of 2007. A Peruvian engineer told me enthusiastically, "I felt like I was in heaven and that I have been waiting for this show for 27 years." He did not seem to be very wealthy but I still told him that Shen Yun would perform a New Year's gala at Radio City Music Hall. I suggested that he bring his family to the coming shows. Later at Radio City Music Hall, I saw him with his family. Such touching memories often come to mind and remind me that I should let more people know about Shen Yun so that they, too, can be surrounded by Buddha's grace.
At the beginning of 2008, promotional efforts in New York City were not going smoothly. A practitioner contacted a chain store about allowing practitioners to sell tickets there. Because this project needed a lot of manpower, I took one week off and went to New Jersey to help sell tickets. I did not consider myself very diligent in my cultivation or that I had strong righteous thoughts, but I was willing to do my best to save sentient beings even if it meant a lot of work and physical suffering. When I looked at the crowd that passed by our booth, deep down in my heart I felt that Teacher has given me compassionate power to save those precious sentient beings that are still lost in human society. I really hoped to help them out, since they had the godly courage to come into the human world, just like us. How great it would be if I could get more people to the theater and let Teacher save them, because I really didn't want to miss anyone.
With these thoughts in mind, I could sometimes stand and converse with people in the store without a break for an entire day. My perseverance comes from the experience I had in the torture reenactment exhibition in New York in 2004. One time a passerby was shocked when he saw the reenactment. But when he saw a practitioner squatting down and eating at the roadside after the end of the exhibition, with his face still covered in "blood" from the exhibition, the passerby seemed to be pulled back to reality, as if had what he just seen in the exhibition was just a dramatization. I still remember the change in his expression at that time.
Therefore, when I dressed as a Chinese empress in the store, I hoped that I could behave like an empress. I hoped I could bring people back to the realm of traditional Chinese culture so that they could be saved. After a long day of standing, my legs had swollen, my voice was hoarse, and I was tired, but still it was not as hard as I had thought it would be. With a good night of rest, I could start another day in good spirits again. Perhaps my strong wish to save sentient beings leads me to realize more about Teacher's help.
In the process of selling tickets I met many different people, but there were two incidents that impressed me the most. One was a cynical gentleman who did not believe that the show was as great as we said. He also considered buying a ticket for his wife a waste of money because she was almost blind. This reminded me of Teacher's great compassion when he spread the Fa in China. He helped some blind people regain their vision and helped others with hunchbacks straighten up. Teacher has given hope to many people in miserable situations. I told the gentleman, "Your wife is less fortunate than we are because of her poor vision. If you would like to give her happiness, please bring her to the Shen Yun gala. The music of the live orchestra that combines both traditional Chinese and Western instruments has been acclaimed by so many world-class musicians. Just the music alone is worth the price of the ticket. This gala will give her boundless hope."
I also shared with him some audience feedback and the story of the deaf and disabled man. The gentleman said, "I am distrustful by nature. I would like to do some research on the Internet before I make a decision. Is that alright?" I said, "Of course. But I sincerely hope you do not miss this beautiful gala." I asked fellow practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts. Two hours later he came back. He said, "I read many articles on the Internet. Fifty percent were positive, while fifty percent were not. I do not know what to do. However, you are a great salesperson and a really nice person; I am willing to take a gamble. Please help me buy two tickets on the first floor." I smiled and said, "You will not think that you're gambling after you see the show." He sent me an email after the show that read, "Thank you so much for persuading us to see this gala. It was wonderful, and my wife liked it very much."
The other story involved a couple more than 80 years old. They chatted with us just as if they were talking with their family members. The lady really wanted to see the show after listening to my introduction. However, the gentleman was not willing to buy tickets since he had not gone into Manhattan for many years because had a hard time walking. I thought, "They are old and have been waiting for such a long time for this precious opportunity to see the show; I cannot let them miss it." Also, I liked this elegant lady from the bottom of my heart, so we sent forth righteous thoughts for them. Two days before the show they bought tickets. I was still concerned about them, so I called and told them that I had hoped I would be able to give them a ride, but I was too busy, and I apologized for it. I reminded them to arrive early so that they wouldn't miss the opening program.
After the show the lady called me. She thought I worked for the store and went there to find me. She wanted to thank me in person since the gala was so beautiful. She said it took four hours to get to the theater and her husband almost gave up on the way. However, they remembered what I had said and arrived at the theater eventually. I was very moved when I listened to her story. The knowing side of sentient beings understands that this is the only hope for them and they cherish this opportunity. We have to make their wish come true. One year later, I called them again during Thanksgiving holidays. I told the lady that Shen Yun would come again, and I hoped that her grandchildren could go to see the show as well. She was very pleased that I still kept them in mind.
I never consider myself a salesperson; I am just giving people tickets to board the Fa boat sailing towards "the new universe." We need to clear the interference in other dimensions and do our best to let people know that Shen Yun Performing Arts is a first-class show with so much beauty and so many wonders. Otherwise, people may think that we are no different from other salespeople and the effect may not be very good. Regarding sentient beings' choice, it is really up to them. As long as we clarify the truth well, people with predestined connections will come back. I met a variety of people in nine days, and I appreciated this experience very much. My wish to save people was so strong that I cherished the predestined relationship with sentient beings.
2. Create a World-Class Brand for Shen Yun
Once a practitioner talked about the experience of a city where ticket sales were not very good, so some nearby practitioners were asked to attend the show to improve the turnout. On the way to the theater, the practitioner who drove the car smelled unpleasant body odors and also the odors from the lunchboxes that several passengers carried. Afterwards she said, "The best seats are worth almost 100 dollars and a first-class show must have a first-class audience. The audience members that can afford it must be people from relatively high levels or VIPs. They not only hope to enjoy the show, but also consider the environment of the theater and the quality of their surroundings an important part of such a cultural event. If they see the audience inappropriately dressed and acting strangely or smell body odor, they would find it odd. On the contrary, even though the theater was not full in some cases, people that bought expensive tickets may find the show an undiscovered treasure. They would be proud to be in the audience of this great show and eventually recommend the show to their family and friends."
This practitioner might have complained about the issue, but I think she pointed out an important aspect. Filling the vacancies in the theater with practitioners is not consistent with "truthfulness." It may also cause negative effects among the audience. We discussed this issue in depth. Hereafter, we take seriously improving our image and etiquette. People that pass by quickly cannot tell whether we represent Shen Yun Performing Arts or not, and this could create bad impressions for Shen Yun. Therefore, practitioners in our team tried our best to dress well and have appropriate makeup and etiquette. We memorized the features of Shen Yun, using concise descriptions in conversations with people so that they could understand the most outstanding parts of Shen Yun even though they were only at our booth for 30 seconds.
First-rate performance requires first-rate promotion. Fellow practitioners and I tried many different tactics to bring the information about Shen Yun to luxurious apartments, business centers, art institutions, and different levels of government. Information about Shen Yun entered the mainstream society. We hoped to give higher-level people the opportunity to be saved. This "brand-name effect" can efficiently influence people in the middle or lower-classes as well, and encourage them to see the show, too. In our minds, we trust Teacher and have complete confidence in the quality of Shen Yun. Teacher and practitioners are well prepared. Although we do not have the mentality of pursuit while selling tickets, we don't want to miss any person that wants to be saved.
Teacher said:
"Even when in your daily life you pass by people so quickly that you don't have a chance to talk to them, you should still leave them with your compassion and kindness. Don't lose those who should be saved, especially those with predestined connections." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")
Our attitude towards the sentient beings determines their future. We have a tremendous responsibility to save sentient beings.
3. Our Responsibility for Sentient Beings
We held seven Shen Yun shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, this February. Some practitioners praised our team for selling many tickets and asked us to share our experiences. I am not a good coordinator, but everybody in our team has a pure heart for saving people. The members of our team collaborated with each other well, and we dedicated ourselves to improving our ticket-selling skills. Although some were not good at speaking and others were not able to speak English fluently, we had strong righteous thoughts and helped each other. There was no conflict among us--we just focused on saving people. I would like to share another experience of promoting the Shen Yun shows.
One Saturday in January 2009, our team coordinated well; we encouraged and helped each other at the busiest moments when we had to deal with several groups of customers simultaneously. That day we sold more than 100 tickets. Although everybody was happy, I felt very sad that day. Just before the store closed, a couple came in. The wife was attracted to our booth, but the husband did not express any interest and went shopping. I talked to the wife for 10 minutes and she decided to buy two tickets. When she went to the cashier, I could not find the tickets that I had promised her. Just then I realized that the tickets I promised her had been sold by another practitioner earlier and had not been crossed off the seating list. When the wife came back, I apologized and told her that I would find two better tickets for her. I called our ticketing hotline and found two tickets for her right away. Just then her husband came up and learned what had just happened. He insisted on returning the tickets. He said they had a membership in that theater and that he would rather buy the tickets from the box office directly. He said he would not feel comfortable if he left without the actual tickets in his pocket. I had to apologize again and told them that I truly wished they would enjoy the show and asked them to buy the tickets at the theater. On my way home, I couldn't get over this incident. I felt so sad that I almost cried. I was thinking that sentient beings born in the era that the Fa is being spread have waited ages for this chance to be saved, but now, due to our unprofessional service and carelessness, they had been pushed away.
I felt guilty that I had pushed away people that Teacher was trying to save. Later we sold a lot tickets, but I just could not forget that couple. I sent forth righteous thought every time I thought of them, hoping they would buy the tickets at the theater. A week before the show, I learned that there were still some tickets available, so I called them after sending forth righteous thoughts. I spoke to them sincerely, "Due to my mistake you missed the chance to enjoy the show. To get rid of my feelings of guilt, I would like to buy two tickets for you." She said, "You don't have to do that." I insisted, "I would like to make up for my mistake." She was touched and, after consulting with her husband, she told me that they would like to see the show. I bought two tickets right away. I appreciated that Teacher gave me a chance to make up for my mistake and I also felt happy for the couple that would be saved. They came to the show nicely dressed. During the intermission they found me, hugged me, and thanked me for giving them this chance, and they kept praising the show. When I thought back about it later, I realized I had learned a lot from this. I am an absentminded person: I often burn pots on the stove, leave the keys in the car, or forget to turn off the engine and caused trouble in my workplace. Since those troubles were not really anything big, I never thought about why I was so absentminded. But this time I realized that, when it comes to saving people, my carelessness could destroy people's hope of being saved. This is very serious. I realized this was a very serious matter and an issue of responsibility toward sentient beings. At home I depend on my husband; at work I depend on my boss; at Dafa activities I depend on the coordinators and other fellow practitioners. I often depend on others when I have stress, but how can I manage sentient beings in a celestial body if I am not responsible? During the promotion of the Shen Yun show, I realized my responsibility for people. Sometimes when I looked at those who were buying the tickets, I felt that they were like my children and I wanted to give them the best.
4. The Attachment to Pursuit Interferes with Saving People
Early this year I obtained the contact information of a VIP. She has many connections that could be helpful with promoting Shen Yun. I developed an attachment of pursuit, imagining the possibility that she could promote the show after she saw it. Two weeks before the show I contacted her. She was happy to come to the show and promised to invite several colleagues that often hold shows and know people in the arts community. I was very happy and forgot that saving her was my primary objective. I thought that, if she saw the show and was saved, she would naturally do what she is supposed to do. I did not hear back from her until right before the show started. She apologized and said that, due to a family emergency she could not come and the people that she invited could not make it, either. I was very disappointed. This was a serious lesson. Things become difficult if we forget that our focus is saving people. In contrast, I once invited someone in charge of a veterans' association to attend the Tuesday night show. Because I didn't have any attachment to pursuit and I didn't ask him for anything, even though his wife was seriously sick, he came to the show with my encouragement. The day after the show he emailed me, saying he felt honored to see the show. He thanked us on behalf of the Mayor's office, because we had offered the veterans such a wonderful show.
It is usually hard to sell tickets to Chinese people, so we didn't have any attachments to selling tickets to them. Our goal was to let them know about the beauty of the show and spread information about Falun Dafa. Many Chinese were attracted to the splendid show and didn't care that the show was held by Falun Gong practitioners. They felt that we made Chinese culture look good and accepted the promotional materials. Some of them bought tickets, and others took flyers for their American friends.
5. Get Rid of the Attachment to Comfort and Strive Forward Diligently in Cultivation
Teacher said:
"There is something very real that I've observed, however. Namely, the change that a Shen Yun performance brings about locally is enormous. So many people become clear about Dafa in one fell swoop, and they change for the better. That would be awfully hard for you to achieve under normal circumstances." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")
The shows in February had very good results, so we decided to hold seven more. Washington, DC, is not only the capital of the United States, it is also the political center of the world. Last year, due to our Xinxing problem, we didn't do well in clarifying the truth to the government and we weren't able to hold any shows here, missing a precious chance to save people. This year, Teacher has given us the chance to make it up.
Because I never encountered any sickness karma or conflicts with fellow practitioners in my cultivation path, as Teacher has pointed out, in this comfortable environment I slacked off. Sometimes I have an attachment to comfort. After the shows in February, I relaxed and would sometimes surf the Internet for food recipes and even read news about movie stars. These attachments interfered with my Fa-study. After reading Teacher's lecture at New York Fa Conference 2009, I felt that every word in the teaching was said to me. I was very touched when listening to the Shen Yun performers' experience sharing at the conference. Their pure hearts made me cry, and I felt that I had betrayed Teacher's benevolence.
I had a good life in China. But after the persecution started, I was not attached to the quality of life any longer. My husband and I got married in Beijing one month before July 20,1999. We put down all attachments, including the attachment to life and death, before we left home to appeal for Dafa. In those days, and even after I came to America, I didn't have any attachment to the good life. Now looking back, I realize that the reason I didn't have any attachment to comfort and why I was able to put down the attachment to life and death before I went to appeal for Dafa was because I knew that I didn't have any ability to keep those things. The Communist Party could take everything away from me overnight. In the harsh outside environment, I didn't dare to develop any attachment to comfort. But in America, the environment was better, so I slacked off and realized that I didn't really get rid of the attachment to comfort. said:
"Actually, with some students it's not that their human attachments have been cultivated away but that the students have been too scared to do anything out of line." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York")
In cultivation, I always have to keep a balance: I need to cultivate in everyday people's society, but I don't want to be dragged into everyday person's society. I try my best in my daily life and work. I make friends with the people in my circle so that I can clarify the truth to them but I also must be careful not to be influenced by the bad stuff in society today. Perhaps it is the most difficult part of our cultivation that we need to live in everyday people's society and still maintain our hearts in cultivation. It is not good if we develop attachments to comfort in the Fa-rectification period. Teacher said:
"The Final Judgment that they arranged was not limited to the judging of those who would play oppositional or negative roles, or those who would do bad things. Rather, those that had played positive roles would also have to face the Judgment. What would they face? Here's an example. While you might have played a positive role during Fa-rectification, there would remain the question: did you fulfill your responsibilities to the utmost degree?" ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")
Two weeks ago, we started selling tickets in luxury shopping centers in wealthy communities. This time it was harder than before. Many people have never heard about Shen Yun or Falun Gong before but we came to change that. Teacher said:
"My Dafa disciples... you are distributed over a large expanse (gesturing), and you are each now responsible for your respective area of this world. Changes in your thinking can lead to changes in your surrounding environment. How the people in your region are is a result of the extent to which you have clarified the truth to them. The environment is shaped by your human attachments. When the environment is bad, it is because you made it that way." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")
At the beginning the ticket selling did not go very well. But we knew that if we have strong righteous thoughts and solid belief in and the Fa, and we are willing to suffer, we would change the environment in the wealthy communities. Now ticket sales are getting better; it is as good as the average level we had earlier this year. It is just like Teacher said in Hong Yin II,
"When disciples have ample righteous thoughts, Master has the power to turn back the tide."
With Teacher's help and protection, I have been cultivating for 13 years. Looking back over my precious time in the human world, my heart is full of the appreciation for Teacher. I don't know how many times I have reincarnated in the universe and I don't know how I obtained this precious chance to cultivate the Dafa, but I hope that in the future I will keep going forward diligently in my cultivation and not waste any time. I will try my best to fully use my Teacher-given abilities to save sentient beings so that we can return to our original homes together.
Please correct me with compassion if I am wrong.
