(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for many years, but I’ve never written a cultivation experience sharing paper. I should have done this long ago, but I procrastinated.
Shen Yun is a project led by Master to save sentient beings. I’m honored to help and at the same time, I’ve also improved in my cultivation by assisting with Shen Yun.
Shen Yun first came to our city about 15 years ago. I offered to help put up posters, but at that time, my cultivation state wasn’t good. I had to force myself to step out of the house, and nearly every store I went to rejected me. I was very frustrated. On my way home I saw a Barnes & Noble bookstore and thought I’d stop by. Even if they rejected me, it would be the last rejection of the day. Unexpectedly, the bookstore manager enthusiastically told me that although we couldn’t put up posters, we could hold events to promote Shen Yun. I knew that Master arranged for people with predestined relationships for me to talk to. I was grateful to Master for taking care of me, but I felt guilty because I didn’t do well.
Now when I go out to put up posters, I can talk to people naturally and happily, and I can put up dozens of posters. I know this is because my cultivation has improved.
Two years ago, my daughter and I went out to put up posters. It started to rain soon after we started, but we continued anyway. It turned out that day was particularly successful. Starting from a fast-food chain to a large supermarket, to small private stores, almost all of them allowed us to put up posters.
The last store, a large fast-food Mexican chain restaurant, not only allowed us to put up posters, but also offered us free chips. We thanked them but declined. Then the staff offered us free drinks. We still declined and thanked them—both my daughter and I were very touched. The other practitioners who put up posters that rainy day said they all had the same experience. I felt Master was encouraging us.
When we started to promote Shen Yun to mainstream society, I realized I should learn more about Western culture, and get rid of any hidden elements of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture I had, to better promote Shen Yun.
My workplace often holds soft-skill training. I used to be dismissive about it because I do technical work. I began attending these trainings and studied hard. I also learned from my coworkers.
For example, one day, I said to my coworker, “It’s almost 10 a.m., let’s go to the meeting.” Mary quietly said she wondered if she made a mistake, because her calendar showed the meeting was changed to 11 a.m. Only then did I remember that the meeting was changed to 11 a.m., and I had made a mistake. Ordinarily, I would have said, “You made a mistake. The meeting was changed to 11 a.m.” But she first checked whether she made a mistake herself, instead of saying I was wrong. Her behavior really touched me.
I also participated in helping with Shen Yun as support staff. When I went to Denver last year, I wasn’t used to the high altitude and I became sick. The work was hard and stressful. The day I planned to return home I had a fever and felt pretty bad. My flight was delayed two hours. When I finally got home after midnight, I was so tired that I didn’t want to move. I knew this eliminated a big piece of my karma.
After resting for two weeks, the Shen Yun coordinator asked me to go to Seattle because the practitioner who was originally scheduled to go had family matters and couldn’t go. I was grateful for this opportunity, so I happily went to Seattle.
Some local security team practitioners had some opinions about our California team, and I was a little dissatisfied with them too. A practitioner reminded us that whether one is from California or local, we all have the same goal, which is to support Shen Yun performances, and ensure the shows’ smooth and successful completion to save sentient beings.
I realized I should look within. I found I treated California practitioners and Seattle practitioners differently. I should look within instead of blaming others when encountering problems. I felt that helping with Shen Yun gave me good opportunities to improve my cultivation.
My mother-in-law lived with us since she came to the U.S. from China in 2000. Over the past 20 years, I’ve accumulated a lot of resentment towards her.
After I started memorizing the Fa in 2021, I made a leap in cultivation and had a breakthrough on this issue. I enlightened that my home on this earth is like a hotel. If I’m required to stay in this hotel with my mother-in-law for a few days, I’d be totally fine with it. After that, my resentment towards her was reduced. Every time I saw her being old and sick, I felt sad and compassionate toward her. But when I was alone, the resentment often came up with bad memories of past experiences. I knew that resentment was still there, like a solid, heavy and strong substance, but I couldn’t suppress it or eliminate it.
After the Shen Yun shows in Seattle last year, I resumed memorizing the Fa in addition to reading the Fa every day. I heard my mother-in-law coughing badly while I meditated. I immediately asked Master to protect her, because she also practiced Falun Dafa for many years. She soon stopped coughing and fell asleep again. At that moment, I suddenly realized that if something happened to her, I wouldn’t have the chance to eliminate my resentment towards her while she’s around.
There’s a picture of Master on my bookshelf facing me. I truly felt Master was there that night, looking with compassion at me, this disappointing disciple who didn’t do well. I burst into tears and felt ashamed of myself. I want to be a true cultivator, and I also know that resentment is a very bad attachment, so why did I still hold onto it?
My mother-in-law was helping me cultivate, and offered me good opportunities to eliminate karma and improve my xinxing. Not only should I not resent her, I should thank her. After I realized this, my body felt so light, it felt weightless when I meditated, and my heart felt as if a heavy stone had been removed. I experienced the joy of raising my cultivation level after giving up attachments.
I realized this was because I actively participated in Shen Yun support work, eliminated karma, progressed in cultivation, and strengthened my Fa study and memorizing the Fa, which allowed me to improve and eliminate my resentment.
I also realized I often complained about fellow practitioners. Although the complaints were not as strong as my resentment towards my mother-in-law, they often appeared. Sometimes I didn’t say it out loud, but I complained silently. I knew that it was time for me to get rid of the attachment of resentment. Later, whenever I wanted to complain about other practitioners, I told myself to stop and eliminate the negative thought, and then think about the more positive aspects of fellow practitioners.
When I first started practicing, I was young and had a strong personality. I didn’t know how to look within. After I went through a big tribulation that was almost a life-and-death test, I was forced to truly look within, become humble and understand others. Based on my own experience, I feel that if we criticize and blame fellow practitioners when they are in the middle of tribulations, the result won’t be good. It’s best to encourage them positively, be tolerant, and help them, so they can quickly overcome their tribulations.
I realized that as an assistant, I should be more strict with myself, look within when encountering problems, be tolerant of others, and expand the capacity of my heart, so that I can better help other practitioners, form one body, and cultivate and improve together.
I’d like to share an example. About two years ago, the Shen Yun shows in our city were more than two months later than in the Bay Area. At the end of October, a coordinator in the Bay Area called and asked me to organize local practitioners to go to a town located between San Francisco and our city, to distribute posters on Saturday. I told him our Shen Yun shows were later than the Bay Area, and we were not ready. The coordinator insisted that we go. I had no choice but to agree.
We had only one day to prepare. So I quickly sent a notice to local practitioners and I also called several practitioners individually. At 11 p.m. on Friday night, when I asked for the last time, only two people signed up. Including me, there were only three people. One of them had sickness karma manifesting as back pain, and it was difficult for her to walk.
I started to complain about the other practitioners, and had many negative thoughts. Then, a practitioner texted me, explaining she couldn’t go because of something that happened at home. In fact, I didn’t expect her to go from the beginning, especially on such short notice. I was surprised that she texted me to explain. Her action touched me. I realized that although the human sides of practitioners were blocked by difficulties and obstacles, their knowing sides wanted to go.
I looked within and realized that I also didn’t want to go at first. After I admitted this, my bad thoughts and complaints were gone and my heart was full of positive thoughts for fellow practitioners.
When we set out early the next morning, I felt there were not just the three of us, but all local practitioners’ knowing sides and their righteous thoughts were with us. It was a wonderful, joyful feeling. We put up posters very smoothly that day. The three of us cooperated well and we completed five areas. The people at the stores responded very well. The practitioner who had back pain persisted all day, and she said the experience was amazing.
I later realized that Master was helping me and enlightening me, so I was able to have righteous thoughts and eliminate bad thoughts. Master let me experience the power of righteous thoughts and the joy of cultivation.
Another incident happened in mid-June this year. We applied for a booth at a three-day event. On the first day, Friday, my daughter and I set it up. Because I didn’t want to set it up too early and then wait for an hour or two, I went at the last minute. As a result all the shady spots were taken by people who arrived early. We got a spot in the sun, and it was very hot in the tent.
After a few hours, another practitioner came to help. She said our spot was not shaded and very hot, so few people came. If we had come earlier and got a shady spot, more people would have come to our booth.
I felt a little unhappy when I heard this. I thought my daughter and I worked very hard to set up the booth. We had to take care of the booth the entire day, but as soon as this practitioner arrived she criticized me for not coming earlier. I controlled my mouth, and didn’t say anything, but I felt unhappy and wanted to defend myself.
My knees had been hurting for several months. It was fine when I walked on flat surfaces, but they hurt when I went up and down stairs. Especially when I put both legs up in the full-lotus position to meditate, my knees hurt a lot. I could only sit in the full-lotus position for half an hour.
The night before the event, my knees hurt so much that my body shook. But the night after the event, as soon as I sat in the full lotus position, my legs did not hurt. I felt no pain when I meditated.
I suddenly realized that my discomfort and the desire to justify myself were attachments that should be removed. My fellow practitioner’s starting point was for other’s benefit, to let more people know about Dafa. But my starting point was selfish and I wanted to defend myself.
I asked myself, you want to be a true Dafa disciple, and you have waited for generations and endured countless hardships, why can’t you let go of such a minor thing? All my bad thoughts immediately disappeared. Afterwards, I easily did the sitting meditation in the full-lotus position for an entire hour. When the music ended, my legs only hurt slightly. It had only been 24 hours, and I saw such a big improvement when I meditated. It was amazing.
I’m very grateful to practitioners for their support and tolerance, and I cherish the predestined relationship we have to cultivate together. I’m also grateful to practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area who have taken on so much. They clarify the truth and saving sentient beings while directly facing a place where the evil is concentrated. This is admirable!
I’m also grateful to all the coordinators and assistants in the San Francisco Bay Area for their hard work in organizing large-scale events and group Fa-study activities, which has given us a great cultivation environment—we formed one body to improve, which is more powerful in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings.
Thank you, venerable Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Please kindly point out anything I’ve said that’s inappropriate!
(Presented at the 2024 San Francisco Fa Conference)