Dublin, Ireland: Removing My Attachments While Coordinating a Waist-Drum Team

(Minghui.org) We formed a waist-drum team in Ireland, with nine members ranging from 10 to 62 years old, in late March 2024. After practicing for six weeks, we participated in the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day Parade in Dublin and performed in the small square in front of the Government Publishing Office (GPO) in the city center.

We cooperated harmoniously. Our cymbal instruments were strong and powerful, and our drums were truly loud. The people along the route were delighted. Some took photos, some applauded, and others gave us a thumbs up.

Removing the Attachment to a Trouble-free Life

I’m grateful to my teammates for helping me find my attachments, which I was determined to eliminate.

I had a wide range of interests throughout my life. As I was doing graduate studies in the U.S. with a major in finance, I also took courses such as “Intercultural Communications,” “Business Ethics,” and “Project Management.” The project management course enriched my knowledge and helped me understand the hard work and effort involved in managing projects.

I was asked to coordinate a waist-drum team in mid-February 2024. My first reaction was that it would be too much trouble, too much work, and too exhausting. I immediately suggested other practitioners to take over, but the practitioner rejected all of them for sound reasons.

She said, “One cannot harbor selfishness in doing Dafa work.” Her words struck me like a thunderbolt, and instantly woke me up. That’s right, Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period shoulder the responsibility of saving sentient beings and fulfilling our prehistoric vows. How can I back out because it might be difficult?

It’s not easy to organize a waist-drum team, because it involves planning, recruiting, training, communication, and so on. I knew it would be troublesome and exhausting.

Master wrote:

“Waist-drum formationsGods steeped in the FaEvery sound of the Fa drums pipes Zhen Shan RenPurging evil in the Three Realms, saving the earth’s peopleThe majestic sight and righteous thoughts shake Heaven’s gateRotten demons have nowhere to flee”(“Waist-Drum Troupe (in Yuan verse),” Hong Yin II)

I realized that the waist-drum team can help save people, and I should not measure a Dafa project with the knowledge and experience I learned from everyday life. I must remove my attachment to selfishness. Once I was clear on the Fa principles I accepted the responsibility of coordinating the waist-drum team.

Eliminating Resentment

I started recruiting enthusiastically. After securing the team members, the biggest challenge I faced was mastering the waist-drumming technique because none of the team members knew how to play. As the project leader, I needed to learn and master the drumming skills myself before I could train others.

I spent a lot of time gathering information, studying, and practicing repeatedly until I finally felt like I got the hang of it.

I summarized three major coordination rules for playing the waist-drum: 1. coordination of the left and right hands, 2. coordination of the hands and feet, and 3. coordination within the group. I put these rules into practice and shared the waist-drumming techniques, including written explanations and instructional videos, with everyone in the group so they could practice.

The first practice session was extremely frustrating however, because several team members didn’t even know how to hold a drumstick. Apparently, they hadn’t read the material or watched the videos. My resentment appeared, but I managed to comfort myself by thinking they would do better next time.

However, in the practice sessions that followed, they couldn’t even play with one hand well, let alone both hands. I tried to teach them the correct way, but they stubbornly stuck to their own ways, and always played poorly. Moreover, they acted as if they didn’t care. My resentment began to swell up.

Master said:

“But normally when a problem arises, if it does not irritate a person psychologically, it does not count or is useless and cannot make him or her improve.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

I was deeply frustrated by the team’s dismissive behavior. Although I didn’t show it on the surface, I couldn’t help but complain in my mind, “I’ve been sharing this information and videos for so long. Why won’t you take the time to read and practice? And you speak so confidently!” I went home filled with grievances in my mind.

Previously, I vaguely understood from the Fa that when I used my own perceptions to judge others, and when their words and actions didn’t meet my expectations, I tended to feel resentful. I realized that my resentment was surfacing again.

To calm myself, I started to reflect on Master’s teachings about looking inward. I realized that I was once again using my own standards to judge others, and that I needed to consider the situation from a different perspective.

When I looked at the matter from the perspective of the team members, I found that there were reasons behind their behavior. First of all, they all had to go to school or work during the week, and some even had to work overtime on weekends, which left them exhausted when they returned home.

Secondly, playing the waist-drums is not suitable for everyone, as it requires a certain degree of learning ability and vitality. Furthermore, many of them were in their 50s, or older, and were relatively uncoordinated.

Considering these factors, I realized I should not force anyone to follow my lead, but should just follow the course of nature. After thinking about the situation from their perspective, I felt relieved and was touched by the team’s willingness to face difficulties.

When I no longer held any grudges against the team members and put my heart at ease, I found that their drumming skills improved by leaps and bounds.

Two of my major attachments were exposed through this experience, and I’m grateful that the team members helped me discover and remove them.

I sincerely thank my fellow practitioners, my waist-drum teammates, for helping me.