(Minghui.org) Greetings Teacher! Greetings fellow practitioners!
I'd like to share my experience of stepping out of the state of personal cultivation with the help of practitioners on the global RTC platform [a team project focused on making phone calls to people in China to clarify the truth about Falun Gong]. I went from being afraid to pick up the phone, to having no fear and becoming good at making phone calls. I eventually was a host for the platform and helped established our local RTC group. I would like to thank Master for His guidance, as well as practitioners in my area and around the world for their help and support. In the process, I experienced the meaning of “harmonizing with the one body of practitioners, while walking our own paths,” and its importance on our cultivation path.
I became a Dafa practitioner in 1996. When I lived in China, I was one of three practitioners in my small town, and the only other practitioners I knew were my son and daughter. Because we lived apart from other practitioners for a long time, our understanding of the Fa remained at the level of getting rid of illnesses and becoming healthy. After I came to Canada, especially after I joined the RTC platform, I felt my understanding of the Fa improve greatly. I'm grateful for Master’s arrangement, and for the help of fellow practitioners everywhere. It has brought my cultivation to a brand new level.
Breaking Through My Notions
I grew up in a small isolated town and did not learn to speak Mandarin Chinese. I felt a lot of pressure from the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and became very silent. Consequently, my speaking ability became worse. Three years ago, a fellow practitioner suggested that I call China to tell people facts about Falun Dafa, and I thought it was impossible. Aside from that, people did not understand my dialect, and I had a strong attachment to fear. I was afraid that I could not speak well, no one would listen to me, I could not answer questions, or I might be verbally abused, and I did not know how to use the computer. At any rate, I felt I lacked the capability to help on the RTC platform. I felt the substance which prevented me from making calls was like a thick shell wrapped around me. It was a huge obstacle.
A local practitioner kept encouraging me. She helped me install the software for the platform, taught me the basic operations, and bought the phone call plans. She suggested that I first get on the platform and listen. I began listening to practitioners making phone calls, studied the Fa with them, and listened when they shared experiences.
I liked what was happening on the platform. I began to study the Fa twice a day, in the mornings and evenings. I was excited to hear practitioners urging people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. They used simple, but profound words. They were quick thinking, and their voices were calm and filled with energy. Their experience sharing answered many of my questions and benefited me a great deal. I greatly envied practitioners’ righteous thoughts and truly hoped that I could make good phone calls and save people too.
I recorded the phone calls that fellow practitioners made and listened to them repeatedly. I learned what was effective. I copied the sentences and phrases that I thought were good, put them into my own scripts, and recited them many times. I worked up the courage and asked the platform host many questions. She invited me to a private conversation room and patiently answered all my questions. She also shared her experiences with me. She often encouraged me, but I remained quiet on the platform for a long time before I overcame my obstacles to make my first phone call.
Under the host’s encouragement, I made my first call. I was very nervous. I sounded like a stranger to myself, and my hands were sweating. After I made the first call, the interference that surrounded and controlled me was suddenly defeated. It became very small, and I became very large. I enlightened to what Teacher said :
“If thoughts are righteous,
evil will collapse”
(“What’s to Fear?” Hong Yin Volume II)
When my thought of wanting to call and save people was strong, Master would help me clear the substances in my dimension that were not righteous, and make me big and strong. This is an important reason why the RTC platform emits a strong energy field and continuously cleanses and eliminates the elements that give me negative messages. I believe many practitioners on the platform have had similar experiences.
Elevating My Xinxing Level and Cultivating Myself
I received more help after I made my first call. Practitioners shared with me their understandings of the Fa, the calling technique, and the content and the structure of the calls. Although I was not very fluent in Mandarin, the phrases I used were not elegant, and my tone of voice was kind of stiff, I felt the encouragement and help from Master. In the early stages, whenever I called there would be at least 2-3 people quitting the CCP organizations, and 8-9 people at most.
My computer skill also improved. With fellow practitioners’ help, I can now use multiple windows, type, and help other practitioners send messages. I can also respond and forward messages, and help other practitioners write declarations to quit the CCP organizations. My computer skills helped other practitioners my age on the platform, and reduce their workload. I truly experienced what Master said:
“Actually, every Dafa disciple has abilities. It’s just that the abilities do not manifest in the surface dimension, ...” ( “Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,”Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I understood that as long as one’s righteous thoughts are strong and does everything based on Fa, Master will give him the wisdom and capability. In this dimension, it is practitioners around the world who helped me improve my computer skills. When I had technical difficulties, practitioners from thousand of miles away helped me fix the problems and answered my questions. It took great effort to educate a person like me who lacked the most basic computer knowledge and to teach me to operate the computer smoothly. I truly appreciate their great efforts. They work quietly behind the scenes, using their capabilities and wisdom to harmonize with practitioners on the platform.
One thing I enlightened to in making phone calls is “...cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while transformation of gong is done by one’s master. ” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
At the beginning, my mood often went up and down according to the reactions of the people I called. I felt good when they were friendly. If they quit the CCP, I was elated. If their attitudes were rough, or if they scolded me or threatened me, I would become upset and resentful, and thought, “After spending money and efforts to save you, not only did you not thank me, you treated me so poorly,” and felt sorry for myself. When my family member raised questions about my calling or gave me suggestions, I often ignored them or retorted, thinking they knew nothing, had never made these phone calls, and should not criticize me. I have a loud voice which annoyed my family when I called. They were against me calling and I felt they didn’t support me. I was not happy about the situation.
This situation continued for a while. I found that although I spent the same amount of time making phone calls, fewer people quit the CCP organizations. Sometimes days would go by and no one would quit. Some days I had illness symptoms, and could not even talk. I became worried. After sharing on the platform, fellow practitioners told me that it was due to the interference from the old forces. They also reminded me to look inward and it was probably time for me to elevate my xinxing.
The process of elevating oneself was indeed painful. Sometimes even though I was enlightened to what was happening, I was still unable to do it. I also remembered Master's Fa: “In cultivation, everything you experience is a good thing,...”(“Teaching the Fa at the Eastern U.S. Fa Conference”)
But when encountering conflicts, I failed to think based on the Fa and could not calmly face the tribulations, not to mention thanking those who created the troubles for me. When I enlightened to my problems, I felt that my capacity was enlarged, and that these problems were good opportunities for me to improve. When I became enlightened to the Fa, the number of people quitting the CCP went up. I realized the effectiveness of encouraging people to quit the CCP was directly related to the cultivation of one’s xinxing. Master said: “One’s gong level is as high as one’s xinxing level, and this is an absolute truth.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun) In order to do things effectively and encourage more people to quit the CCP organizations, a practitioner should measure himself against the Fa, look inward and enlightened to the Fa, and Master will push him forward.
Harmonizing with the Group
After being on the RTC platform for a period of time, I was invited to host the broadcasting room and be on duty for a shift. It was a good opportunity to make a breakthrough in my cultivation and elevate myself.
I knew my shortcomings in making phone calls – I speak in a monotonous tone, and I have limited scope of knowledge, narrow thought process, and slow reactions. The only strong point I have is perseverance, and I do not give up easily. So being a host was a challenge for my skills and my cultivation.
At first, I didn't know how to be a host. But practitioners encouraged and helped me. They told me what I did well and where I needed to improve. They strengthened my righteous thoughts. A major problem during my shift was that many newly joined practitioners wanted to listen in, but were afraid to make the calls. Being the host, I had to make the phone calls for them. I was very tired after I finished my duty. In moments like this, I truly appreciate other practitioners’ help. During my shift, practitioners from other areas volunteered to help me make the calls. Practitioners on duty for other shifts also came to help. This way, I was able to adjust myself. When practitioners had questions and I couldn't provide good answers, others would jump in and offer better answers.
When practitioners’ support me, they are also harmonizing the operation of the RTC platform. I help others when they are on duty. And when I'm not on duty, I also support others on the platform. The platform is like a big family where everyone is a member and we grow together. The platform is also like a battle field, and practitioners are like comrades-in-arms, encouraging each other and working with each other.
When we share on the platform, the issue of how to save more sentient beings is our biggest concern. Even though there are always newcomers to the project, there are still so many people in China that are not being saved. Even if we all make phone calls day and night, the number of people we save is limited. Therefore, I often wonder how we can encourage more practitioners to join the platform, what we can do to improve our efficiency, and how we can have more breakthroughs.
Master said,
“So other than when it's a case of something bad for Dafa and the coordinator needs to put a stop to it, each Dafa disciple has to fully play his role and proactively do what he should as a Dafa disciple. As you go about validating the Fa, whatever you think of, see, encounter, or can recognize, go ahead and do it, and only then are you walking your own path and forging your own mighty-virtue. Isn't that how it works?”(“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)
And this is what I enlightened to - Every practitioner needs to walk his own path. We should not wait, depend on others, or wait for the coordinator's orders. We need to use the wisdom that Master gives us and create our own path while working as a whole body. I thought using the skills that I learned on the platform, helping other practitioners solve their problems, saving more people, establishing our virtues are ways of harmonizing the RTC platform. Since then, I encouraged practitioners from my area to join the platform.
Establishing the RTC Group in My Area
I encouraged practitioners to join the team whenever I saw them and said, “As long as you want to save people, you can do it. There's not much time is left for Fa-rectification. I hope you can call people and save them. We won't have the opportunity if Fa-rectification ends tomorrow.”
Gradually, our local RTC platform went from 2 people, to 4, and then 6. Currently, we have 11 people in the team, and two of them became hosts. We have our own calling group, and we are on duty each week.
Practitioners around the world supported us greatly when we established the group in our area. Some helped us set up the computer software, and others supported with their righteous thoughts. Although the process was difficult, it was also meaningful, especially when our local practitioners became skillful.
In sharing with fellow practitioners, they told me that to make phone calls, they had to overcome many difficulties: such as issues with their family, their dialect, their work, their life, household chores, and lack of time. Some worried about not knowing how to make the calls, lack of computer skills, and even the telephone fees.
I've never been a coordinator before, and felt very anxious when fellow practitioners came to me about their problems. I even thought about quitting the project. I once explained the use of the “mouse” to a fellow practitioner and she just could not get it. I was so anxious that I wanted to cry. I thought I was not good at explaining and she was not good at learning. I had forgotten that I knew nothing about computers when I first joined the platform. When I was feeling helpless, a practitioner suggested I read an article on Minghui, “The Importance of Humility for a Coordinator.” The author wrote, “If I am more tolerant and compassionate, I will be able to remember that every Dafa disciple is extraordinary and that my work as a coordinator is trying to promote the best of each practitioner so he/she can give the best of him/herself in saving sentient beings.” I was embarrassed. And I was determined to cultivate more compassion, forbearance, and become a humble coordinator.
In the process of forming our RTC group, local practitioners gradually matured in the process. Younger practitioners voluntarily helped the elderly practitioners install software and taught them how to operate the computer. Two elderly practitioners worked at the platform while taking care of the housework and their grandchildren. A husband and wife drove to a tourist attraction miles away to clarify the truth on weekends and rushed back to host the platform. Some practitioners host at the platform even when they had visitors at home. Occasionally, when there were very few practitioners on the platform, I had to leave and look for more help. Practitioners would make the calls for me until more help arrived.
Practitioners’ skills improved rapidly. An elderly practitioner made ten calls the first time and persuaded two people to quit the CCP. Even though she didn't know how to use a computer, had to write the phone numbers manually, and was slow in dialing the numbers, she spoke clearly and straight to the point when talking on the phone. Another practitioner used a different script initially which caused some misunderstandings with other practitioners. But she followed the Fa principles, made 30 to 50 calls a day, and continued to share with other practitioners. She is now a very important member of our group.
Our group was formed just a few months ago. Although we are a new group, we all want to save more people, cultivate ourselves, and harmonize with the whole body. As long as our direction is correct, Master will give us the wisdom and capabilities to overcome the difficulties in our cultivation.
Conclusion
Our experience in joining the RTC platform has taught us the meaning of cultivating within the group. We have learned to help and encourage each other, and raise our technical skills and strengthen our righteous thoughts. There is a quote on the Shen Yun website, “One chopstick breaks easily, but a bunch of chopsticks are hard to break.” The RTC platform has helped practitioners become strong chopsticks, and provided a good environment to clarify the truth to the people in China. Having righteous thoughts and actions, harmonizing the one body, cultivating ourselves and walking our own path, validating the Fa are all manifestations of “together there's a form, and separated there are particles.” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
Above is my cultivation experience on the RTC platform. Please kindly point out my shortcomings.
(Presented at the 2013 Western U.S. Fa Conference)
