(Minghui.org) I started my spiritual journey in Toronto in January 2007, and I have practiced Falun Dafa for 16 years. I'd like to share how I helped promote Shen Yun.
Putting up posters was the first project I participated in after I began practicing. The promotion was at its peak in January and February, when temperatures can be as low as minus 30 degrees. Snow and ice storms only complicated the situation. I found myself sometimes driving as long as seven hours a day because some cities are far from Toronto.
So what drove me to continue putting up posters for 15 years? It is my conviction that every bit of our effort, which might seem very ordinary, can make a big difference to people and even change someone’s life. I'd like to share two examples.
When I began practicing Falun Dafa, I only watched Master’s videos, and cultivated on my own. One day in 2007 while I was shopping in Toronto, I saw a young Chinese lady at a store entrance handing out Shen Yun flyers.
I took a copy without saying a word and walked away, but I was very pleasantly surprised to learn about Shen Yun. As soon as I got home, I bought the second most expensive ticket for the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. I sat in the front near the orchestra. I was thrilled to experience the beauty of Shen Yun, for I grew up in China under the influence of Communist culture. I was repeatedly moved to tears during the performance.
Afterwards I joined a Fa study group in the Toronto area, and actively began participating in activities. Had I not received the Shen Yun flyer at that time, it might have taken me several years to truly begin cultivating and participating in activities. So I am very grateful to that practitioner. I still don’t know her name. All I can remember is that she had large eyes and smiled at me kindly.
Another example is what happened at my wedding banquet in 2019. To introduce Shen Yun to all the guests, I added a few elements to the event. First, a Shen Yun trailer was repeatedly played on a TV at the entrance. Second, I told our guests that Shen Yun helped my husband understand traditional Chinese culture. Third, the Shen Yun symphony orchestra’s CD was played while the guests enjoyed their dinner. And fourth, each guest received a small gift containing a Shen Yun flyer.
My sister-in-law and brother-in-law from England flew in to attend our wedding. They were only in Toronto for two days. I was very busy and couldn’t thoroughly introduce Shen Yun to them. A few months later they made a special trip to Germany to watch Shen Yun. They sent me pictures of them sitting in the theater with big smiles on their faces. The fact that they became fans of Shen Yun amazed me. I was delighted.
I later learned that my brother-in-law is famous in the UK and was invited to give speeches to hundreds of people. He even published a book which was translated into several languages. Through word of mouth, his family and friends also heard about Shen Yun.
Master said,
“Think about it, when a child is born, he doesn’t have any of the notions everyday people do. I have said that the celestial eye of a child under the age of six can see things after I utter just one sentence. Why is that so? It’s because he has not formed anything conceptual from ordinary society, and because he is pure and in compliance with the cosmos’s primordial standard of Zhen, Shan, Ren. Once you have accumulated so-called worldly “experience,” acquired frameworks for thinking, extolled them as savvy and grown experienced among everyday people, you have in fact changed yourself to something quite bad.” (Teachings at the Conference in Australia).
So whenever I put up posters, I remind myself to let go of all my notions. On the surface, we are asking the shopkeepers’ permission, but in reality, we are giving them a chance to position themselves. I should not prefer one store over another; each one should be given an opportunity. If I intentionally avoid some major franchises because I think that they will reject me, I might be depriving the store staff of their opportunity to promote Shen Yun.
Master said,
“Dafa disciples are not the only ones who signed a contract with Master upon coming to this world; all people and lives who came to this world and Gods who descended from heavens have contracts with me. The universe is too gigantic and the number of lives too many, the earth is too small to accommodate so many lives. Those chosen beings all made vows at one point to assist me in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings, they could thus be born on Earth. It is just that I have, in history, prearranged for Dafa disciples to carry out the specifics of this undertaking." (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV).
After letting go of my notions, I was surprised that it was so easy to put up posters in downtown Toronto. A few years back I would rather drive two or three hours to small towns, because people there are friendly. In contrast, getting permission in downtown Toronto is often very challenging.
But things have changed since 2022. Most business owners and managers in downtown Toronto are happy to see our posters. One day, I went to a franchise of the largest pharmacy chain in Canada. The manager was delighted to see me. She said that she loves Shen Yun and let me hang up two posters, one near the entrance and the other near the exit.
Another example happened in a restaurant. As we all know, the food industry has been hit very hard during COVID. And coupled with rising prices, many restaurants have closed. But something very special happened in early 2023 when I was on College Street in downtown Toronto.
I walked into a Thai restaurant and greeted the manager who was delighted to see our posters. I told her that I liked Thai food. She said that two men came and put up Shen Yun posters the year before. She let me hang up large posters in the best spot in the entire restaurant - on the front window, facing a major street which is always crowded with pedestrians and cars.
She also asked me what my favorite Thai food is. I replied Pad Thai. After I put up the posters, I thanked her and was about to leave. She handed me a box of chicken Pad Thai. I asked, “How much is it?” She replied, “It’s complimentary.”
As a practitioner, I don’t want to get things for free, so I thanked her and declined the gift with a big smile on my face. But she insisted on giving me the food. I accepted it and said, “It’s very sweet of you. Thank you again.” Similar situations happened to me more than once in 2023.
In late 2022, I was only able to put up one poster per hour. It had never been so slow since I started doing this. That day, I kept looking at my cell phone because I made some videos and uploaded them to Ganjing World. I needed to promote them on multiple social media platforms to attract viewers. I just could not calm down.
The next time I went out to hang up posters, I told myself to refrain from browsing social media. Whenever I was not talking to people, I sent righteous thoughts to get rid of any interference so that more people would know about Shen Yun’s upcoming performances.
The more posters I hung up, the more energized I felt. Many business owners readily gave me permission to put up the posters on large windows facing the parking lot, so anyone driving by could see our posters.
On the surface, what I said to store managers was the same as I did the week before, but the outcome was completely different. Why? My state of mind was very different. As practitioners, we know that what really matters is not what we see in this dimension, but in other dimensions. If my line of thinking is righteous, Master and divine beings will help me accomplish what I want to achieve.
I realized that it is not that I should not promote my videos. But if my mind is all over the place while trying to promote Shen Yun, my energy field will be scattered, and the righteous thoughts I send out will be weak. This is immediately reflected in the secular world. If our thoughts aren't focused, store employees will come up with a variety of excuses. For example, “The manager is not here, you might want to come back on Monday” or “We are a franchise, you need to contact our head office” or “There is no room for posters at the entrance” or “We have very few Chinese customers, you might want to go to a Chinese restaurant,” and so on.
I realized that putting up posters is just like doing meditation. I have to empty my mind all the time, and make sure that my energy field is pure and clean so that I can get the best result, and save as many sentient beings as possible.
Once again, thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation!