(Minghui.org) The following are some of my cultivation experiences from the 2024 Shen Yun promotion. I humbly present this article to report to Master and share with fellow practitioners. These are my personal understandings, and I welcome corrections if there are any deviations from the Fa.
Great Effort Brings Great Rewards
I understand that every year brings new and higher demands for practitioners participating in Shen Yun promotion. We only have a few Dafa practitioners in our city. Starting from the end of the year in 2023, we attended more than 20 festivals and events to promote Shen Yun’s 2024 performances. One local practitioner dedicated almost five months full-time to promoting Shen Yun by visiting businesses, clinics, and shops in our city. I promoted Shen Yun with practitioners almost every Saturday and Sunday, and after we added one more show, almost every Monday and Friday I went out to promote Shen Yun face-to-face as well. We also had an Eblast group that persisted for several months, sending Eblast emails almost every day. Other local practitioners also did their utmost to promote Shen Yun in various ways, striving to reach more sentient beings from all walks of life and deliver Master’s and Shen Yun’s message of salvation.
In previous years during Shen Yun promotion periods, practitioners from two cities nearby would also come to help. This year, the team was overwhelmed by so many cities’ Shen Yun promotion tasks. Apart from the full-time promotion teams who helped us post posters twice, and a few practitioners from other cities who came to help for a few days, this year’s face-to-face promotion of Shen Yun was carried out by local practitioners themselves.
Ticket sales this year were noticeably slower than in previous years. We worked very hard to promote Shen Yun, never relaxing. Before the January performances, all six of our performances (including three in January and three in February) were sold out. After the January performances, we added one more February performance. With our continuous efforts and Master’s blessings, the additional performance also sold out.
I deeply understand the Fa principle that Master taught:
“No loss, no gain.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Those who watch Shen Yun are fortunate beings chosen by Master. In another dimension, Master and divine beings have already arranged everything. Some people, as long as they know Shen Yun is coming, will actively buy tickets to come and watch. However, there are still some sentient beings who need diligent efforts from Dafa disciples in this human space to find them, help them awaken, and help them appreciate the beauty of Shen Yun. Only then will the old forces have no excuse to interfere. Master and the righteous gods will fully support Dafa disciples. Every life designated for salvation by Master must come to watch Shen Yun and receive salvation from Master and Dafa.
Upholding Righteous Thoughts and Actions, Utilizing Righteous Thoughts, Wisdom, and Abilities Granted by Master to Promote Shen Yun Effectively
Once, three local practitioners went to a mall in the city center to promote Shen Yun. One practitioner managed to put up many posters in the restaurants on the ground floor of the mall. When I spoke with this practitioner, she mentioned that she only thought about how the Shen Yun posters could save people and no one could take the posters down. This was very inspiring to me.
From then on, whether I visited businesses to put up posters or visited apartments, offices, and met people face-to-face to introduce Shen Yun, I no longer had any doubts or worries in my mind, such as “Will they let me put up the poster?” or “Does she have time to listen to me talk about the beauty of Shen Yun?” Instead, I communicated with people’s main consciousnesses by using Dafa disciple’s righteous thoughts: “Shen Yun is what you have been awaiting for thousands of years; the Creator is calling you home, and your heavenly kingdom and heavenly beings are waiting for you to return. This is your oath to the Creator, to spread the gospel of Shen Yun’s salvation and allow more people to receive the Creator’s salvation.” Something magical happened – from then on, almost everyone readily agreed to put up the posters in their shop windows or paste Shen Yun calendars in their employee break rooms.
I still remember that after one-third of the additional tickets were sold, the ticket sales slowed significantly. Thinking about how each seat had a name arranged by Master, I felt a sense of urgency in my heart, worrying that we wouldn’t be able to find them in time, thus disappointing Master’s trust and expectations.
Master said,
“But do you realize something? Those who were originally meant to have been saved last year [by Shen Yun, but didn’t go], have lost the opportunity forever. That’s because Fa-rectification is unceasingly forging ahead, step by step, and when it arrives at one cosmic plane it is time for that level of people; when it reaches a certain heavenly kingdom above, or a certain layer of cosmic body, it is time for that group of people to come see [the show], and next time around [when Shen Yun performs], that seat will belong to someone else. Do you realize how many lives have been lost?! Do you know how I feel when I see those empty seats in the theater? (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume XI )
I knelt before Master’s portrait, tears streaming down uncontrollably. In my heart, I begged Master to bless Dafa disciples, to grant us righteous thoughts and wisdom. I also prayed for Master to awaken the sentient beings who hadn’t bought tickets yet, urging them not to miss this once-in-an-eternity opportunity for salvation. A local practitioner also discussed things with me, and we became more clear about the situation from the perspective of Dafa’s principles. Master arranged each seat, and as long as Dafa disciples maintain righteous thoughts and actions, wholeheartedly focusing on promoting Shen Yun, the old forces have no reason to interfere with saving sentient beings, and Master and the righteous gods can fully support Dafa disciples. All sentient beings arranged by Master to be saved by Shen Yun must come to watch Shen Yun, without exception. So, all tickets will be sold out; it was just a matter of time.
“...cultivation depends on one’s own efforts while the transformation of gong is done by the master, ...” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
We only need to do what disciples should do well and leave the rest to Master. There’s no need to worry or feel anxious. Trust in Master and Dafa. Everything is already arranged and will naturally fall into place.
Unifying As a Whole, Coordinating with Each Other, and Assisting Master to Save More Sentient Beings
Master said,
“But I think that the Dafa things that we do, be it Shen Yun or other efforts, aren’t things to be done by only a few people. Well, if there is only one person in a certain locale, then divine beings will help him succeed at his or her efforts. But if instead there are more people there and they’re simply not pitching in to help, then divine beings absolutely will not tolerate it. So it’s essential that you get the whole group involved in your efforts. The person in charge is someone who coordinates things, and he is to coordinate and mobilize people well, and get the whole group to take part—that is what someone in a leadership position does!” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)
After we added an extra Shen Yun performance this year, a practitioner who had recently moved to a city close to ours contacted me voluntarily and offered to visit companies with me on Fridays to promote Shen Yun. The practitioner had no corporate promotion experience, and every trip to my place took her nearly two hours by car, plus she tried to return home early in the evening to prepare dinner for her family. Yet she understood the importance of the Shen Yun project and the sacred mission Dafa disciples have to assist Master in saving sentient beings, so she persisted in coming over every Friday. The first time we visited companies together, I felt Master’s compassionate blessings. Every few hundred meters along the way, companies or medical centers were waiting for us. The vast majority of people were very kind, and upon seeing Dafa disciples, they were delighted. Many expressed their desire to watch Shen Yun and promised to buy tickets.
We visited a fire station, city hall, and a police station in this city. At first, I hesitated in my heart, wondering whether we should go in. But the practitioner encouraged me with righteous thoughts, saying that we must go, as the sentient beings in government departments also need to be saved. Since we were already there, we must tell them the good news that Shen Yun is coming. My righteous thoughts arose, and I went in with her. The people we met all agreed to post posters in their employee break room to let everyone know that Shen Yun was coming. They said they would talk to their families about coming to watch Shen Yun. I am grateful for Master’s blessings and thankful for the encouragement from fellow practitioners.
Another practitioner who worked in the kitchen team didn’t want to rest during her few days off. She wanted to promote Shen Yun with us. The day we went out to visit apartments together, we strongly felt Master’s compassionate blessings and encouragement. Most of the people we met along the way were very kind and enthusiastic, with many expressing their determination to watch Shen Yun with their families. The kitchen team practitioner was moved to tears.
Expanding Our Capacity, Cultivating Hearts of Great Forbearance and Compassion
Wherever there are crowds, there will be conflicts. In a team of 100 people, there will be 100 different voices, ideas, and opinions. Some individuals may even oppose you, criticize you, or belittle and humiliate you in front of others. Actually, this is a great opportunity for us cultivators to improve our character.
For instance, a fellow practitioner came from another city to help with Shen Yun promotion for a few days. I drove to meet another local practitioner, intending for the four of us to go together to promote Shen Yun at medical centers and companies. As everyone got into the car and was about to set off, the practitioner from out of town sulkily said that it would be best to split into two cars for promotion. If we insisted on going together, she would get out of the car and leave. I didn’t understand why the practitioner had such strong opinions, so I candidly told her: “If there’s anything we’ve done wrong, please feel free to point it out. We’ll correct it if needed, and if not, we’ll strive to improve. Let’s communicate if there are any misunderstandings.”
It was the last week before the January shows, and the kitchen and restaurant teams were already in place, with the support teams for the theater performances were gradually coming together. There were unexpected events almost daily, and our action plans were being modified every day, sometimes leading to chaos and confusion. This practitioner from out of town grew up in the United States and was accustomed to planning ahead and doing things in an orderly manner. She couldn’t understand why we were always putting out fires and was quite disappointed, not wanting to promote Shen Yun with us.
Thinking that this fellow practitioner is pretty new, I felt the need to explain things clearly to her. I didn’t want her to misunderstand or be disappointed in the team of Dafa disciples, affecting her cultivation and improvement. I shared some of my personal understandings with her:
Firstly, Dafa disciples participate in the Shen Yun project because we believe in Master and Dafa, working together to assist Master in saving sentient beings. However, everyone is a volunteer, and many are inexperienced, so we will inevitably make mistakes. Moreover, we are severely understaffed, leading to occasional chaos.
Secondly, I thanked her for her candid feedback on our shortcomings. There is room for continuous improvement in management and logistics. For example, each team should be able to document its workflow, standardizing things wherever possible. There should be a checklist for tasks to minimize oversights and errors.
Finally, I told her that when I don’t know how to proceed with something, I think about how Master expects us to assist in saving sentient beings. Shouldn’t I do what’s most beneficial for saving sentient beings? Master expects Dafa disciples to form a cohesive whole, support each other, and cooperate. Would Master be pleased with my actions?
The practitioner immediately agreed, saying that we should continue promoting Shen Yun together without affecting the salvation of sentient beings. Afterward, everyone cooperated efficiently, letting go of past grievances, and introduced the beauty of Shen Yun to many sentient beings.
I realized that when conflicts arise, I need to look inward. Do I have the compassion and righteous thoughts to consider how to correct my own words and actions? Am I avoiding influencing the opportunity for this person to obtain Master’s and Dafa’s salvation? Do I have the breadth of mind to remain unruffled even if Mount Tai were to collapse before me? Practitioners of the past said that how sentient beings treat us is the result of past karma; how we treat sentient beings reflects our character and breadth of mind.
Master said,
“We often talk about “cultivation.” But what does it really mean? Few people really know, in fact. “Cultivation” is the perfection and fulfillment of a being.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)
The true self of a Dafa disciple is a life of upright form and righteous mind. It is a life that pursues the truths of the universe, wisdom, and brightness.
I am grateful for Master’s compassion in arranging for me to participate in the Shen Yun project! I’m grateful for Master using Dafa to forge my life and eternity.
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