在主流社会修炼与讲真相
尊敬的师父好!
各位同修好！
我在一家知名的跨国公司工作，今年年中时，公司要求每个人更新自己的简历及职业发展规划。在此交流这个过程带给我修炼上的变化，以及我向主流社会和议员讲真相的修炼体会。
一、更新简历前
我的工作主要是参与项目评估，与团队一起提出最佳方案，并获得上级部门的批准。我一直认为自己是配角，原因有三：一）自己资历浅，在这个岗位上只有一年的经历；二）技术部分不是我的专业，与我关系不大，有项目经理负责就好。三）多数同事是西人，而我的英文还是差得很远，许多内容听不懂。
尽管决策是由众多团队成员及不同部门花费几个月的时间反复协商决定，但取得上级部门批准这一环节，是我的岗位职责。我经手的好几个案例在审批过程中，都遇到了困难。审批人员们来自各个部门，或是直接以书面形式提出连串问题质疑方案，或是直接打电话给我。
那些质疑在我看来，有的确实重要，而有的则很细小，并不牵扯该方案的成败。但如果我不能给出圆满的解释，方案无法获得批准，耽误整个项目预期的运行时间。我会花很长的时间书面回答对方的问题，准备更多数据，但引来的是更多的质疑，导致我不得不继续回答新的问题。看着时间一天天拖下去，自己忙还不说，团队还不断催促，什么时候可以获得批准，最后不得不由我的直接主管出面。
我的主管会与对方直接约定一个一小时的开会时间，将项目背景和关键部分做一介绍，然后回答那些质疑。在谈笑风生中，所有的问题都得到解决。我在佩服主管的沟通能力之余，也觉得自己永远都不会有这一天，无论我怎样努力学习英语，对方开的玩笑我永远都听不懂。
此外，我总是倾向于与各个部门书面邮件来往，不太敢拿起电话，怕自己听不明白对方，从而导致一通电话就能解决的问题，需要几个邮件来回，很花时间。
二、写简历的挑战
年中时因为公司的一些变化，每个人都需要更新自己的简历，讲述自己如何能为公司增值，提出今后几年的个人职业发展规划，以及实现目标的具体方案。公司对此非常重视，多次开会强调其重要性。
这件事实在碰到了我的痛点，因为我对自己的职业发展基本没什么规划。从师父一九九七年发表”和时间的对话”经文后我就开始有对时间的执着。二十多年来正法中出现许多的重大事件，一次次地冲击了这个执着。今年疫情爆发，邪党垮台在即，我觉得宇宙空间在发生巨变，连人间的事情每隔几天都有大新闻不断发生，我对常人工作没什么规划。在这个问题上，我大脑一片空白。
去网上搜索了别人的类似计划，无解。不得已，拿起电话去一位朋友那里求助。朋友直截了当地说，我的心态就是偷懒，并问我是否对得起自己那份工资。我非常汗颜，朋友知道我修炼多年，我还成天跟人家说法轮大法好，揭露中共邪党。
记得师父讲法中多次谈到安逸心问题。师父说：“你们以为符合了你们的怕心、求安逸心、你的各种愿望，才是大法弟子的修炼的路吗？”[1] 师父还开示：“如果你们到现在还不清楚正法弟子是什么，就不能在当前的魔难中走出来，就会被人世的求安逸之心带动而邪悟。”[2]
我的安逸心一直都在，炼功偷懒，发正念偷懒，一直有背法的愿望却从未实现。认为自己在工作中扮演的是配角的三点理由，实质都是逃避自己的借口。工作考评时当我把前两点说给主管时，主管说希望团队中没有配角，大家都是平等的，互相配合。
此外，下半年要突破不敢讲电话的弱点，也不要再依赖她获得上级部门批准，要有能力自己把案例完完整整地讲述给任何部门并成功说服对方。当然，我根本没敢提第三点，就是自己的英文不行。公司里来自各个国家的人都有，没有人会因为英语不是你的母语而给你特殊关照！
我真是头都大了，这太难了，得下多少功夫啊！那个职业发展规划真是无从写起。我感到浑身是刺，一层皮肤要被揭下来，如何面对？答案在哪里？！不得已，我直接躲进被窝，打算睡一觉逃避那浑身是刺的感受。可是根本睡不着，问自己，真有地方躲吗？没有！！那就起来吧，面对!
三、修去懒惰和逃避心
借鉴网上别人的发展规划，我连抄带凑地好歹写出了第一稿，发给主管过目。她看过后说，通篇给人的感觉是你只想保住饭碗，不丢掉工作。天哪！自己的真实想法暴露得一览无余！主管進一步帮我分析了我那几个弱点，其实写发展规划，就是提出怎样解决那些弱点的具体方案。
是啊，我怕打电话，因为怕听不懂，怕说不好。有没有解决办法呢？不是没有。以前的做法是发个邮件出去等对方回复，那现在就得把要说的话先写下来，在脑子里演练一遍，先说什么，再说什么，想清楚之后再拿起电话。听的过程中，要勤于做记录，实在听不懂，必须放下爱面子的心，告诉对方自己确实没听懂。这就意味着要多付出，做足准备工作才能拿起电话。说白了，就是不再偷懒！
为什么我无法说服别人接受我们的方案? 因为我不想花时间了解技术知识，那里面有太多我不愿学习的内容，不认识的单词，借口那不是我的专业。还是偷懒！
主管说，之所以我与别人的电话沟通没有获得需要的结果，是因为我的问题提得不好。其实，我都没有用心准备过要问的问题！懒惰！
我非常清楚地知道，这份工作是师父给的，因为当初求职时，根本没想到对方会给我面试机会，但一切都水到渠成地成为该公司的一员。这次挑战也是必须面对的一个修炼过程，怕吃苦，想偷懒，那就修过去！主管一次次地愿意帮我，这不就是师父的苦心安排吗?
师父开示： “只要你提高心性，就能过的去，就怕你自己不想过，想过就能过的去。”[3]
当我定下心来，决定面对时，第二稿也写出来了。主管花了一个半小时的时间帮我分析，让我再次修改。就这样来来回回，在五个星期的时间里，这份职业发展规划整整修改了十几遍，期间与主管及朋友沟通共达近十个小时，一次次地把自己的弱点摆在纸上，看着那些不愿面对的弱点和执着被扒得体无完肤，提出的解决办法一次次地被否定，被告知写得不具体，被告知还要修改再修改，在感到江郎才尽无话可说的时候，还是不能通过。在此之前，我没有认识到它们不是我。我觉得自己无处可逃，我痛苦，我难受。而当最终修改了十几遍后，包括在写这篇法会交流稿时，我才终于看清，无从可逃的是它们，不是我。是因为我选择了修炼，这些附在我身上的不好的物质就被暴露出来，是它们难受!
在修改过程中，连标点符号，字母大小写，用词都被主管一一纠正，我认为这都是师父的安排，我感激不已。交稿后，主管的主管说：“写得真棒！“ 终稿中展现的我，积极、主动、進取，有计划，有想法，与第一稿中的那个只想保住饭碗的我判若两人！
十几遍来回修改并与他人深入交谈的经历使我转变了思维方式，其过程痛得象掉了一层皮。再把工作项目交到上级部门寻求审批时，我不再象过去那样被动等待对方的质询了。我拿出时间来，思考对方会问哪些问题，哪些细节会被质疑，查着字典去学习过去不愿学的技术知识，并针对这些问题下功夫准备了一个演示文稿，图文并茂地把整个项目的来龙去脉做了描述，然后跟审批人员约会面时间。会面前，就象准备神韵说明会那样，对着文稿演练，先讲什么，后说什么，想象对方会问什么。我没再麻烦主管帮忙，自己独立与对方会谈。这个准备过程确实比较辛苦，花费不少时间。遇到不懂的技术知识时，还得打电话向相关人员请教。
但是，我事前预定了半小时的会议，当我仅用了约十五分钟时间将项目介绍完毕后，对方就说，基本没什么问题，会给予批准通过。我感到很开心，以前的批准过程需要至少两周甚至更长，因为我自己不努力而被动等待，就会白白耽误好几天的时间！
由此，我知道打电话之前要下什么功夫了，我决定不再偷懒，那也就不再惧怕打电话了。对于相对复杂的讨论，从平级到上级，我都敢于主动去约见面时间，然后在视频会议中讨论问题。这样一来，与大家的关系逐渐拉近，我不再是那个躲在电子邮件后面的一个名字，而是有声音有面孔的一个实实在在的人，工作效率也比以前提高了。
更重要的是，自己的自信心增长了很多。那个害怕拿起电话的我，从此不复存在。
四、信任是打开大门的关键
“给人信息“与”沟通“的区别在于，前者是单向沟通，后者是双向沟通。给人信息只是讲真相的第一步，沟通则需很多功夫，需要研究怎样才能使对方真正从内心接受，而建立信任是其中的关键环节。
几个月前当我向主管提出一个我认为的好主意，但涉及其他部门时，主管说，你尚未建立起你的工作声誉和别人对你的信任，所以时机不到，说出的话别人不会当回事儿。这个反馈对我是个很好的提醒。
师父说：“如果我们自己平时不注意自己的行为，那你们的表现常人就会看到，他不能够象学法一样深入的去了解你，他就看你的表现。”[4] 那我就需要假以时日，用工作中的表现取得大家的信任。
信任度的建立来自个人的修为和对自我的不断突破。师父说：“那真是铁门，无数层铁门。大家知道身体一层层的，我们现在的肉体细胞是一层，里边的分子是一层，原子、质子、电子，无限小，无限小，无限小，到极小的微粒，每一面都设一层门。”[3] 修炼中的无数层铁门，每突破一层，一个新的世界就打开。
想起我的联邦议员也是这样，由于多年来逐渐建立起了信任，当各个媒体对涉及中共的事情有不同角度报道时，他会征询我们的意见，而不是人云亦云。有了平时长期跟進的基础，当我们需要支持时，他会很快行动。例如“七·二零”需要国会议员发声支持大法时，他直接发短信给我说：“我每天收到几百封电子邮件，抱歉没有及时看到你的邮件。以后类似这种重要事情，请直接给我发手机短信联络。”
五、约见议员
我在自己的联邦议员第一次当选前就开始跟進他，至今他已在第二个任期，因此已经建立了相当的信任度。但与省议员的联络不多，最近正好借媒体讲真相的机会补上。有了突破工作中弱点的经验，我在西人同修的帮助下，对与议员的会面做了准备，包括：她会问什么问题？ 如果她说这事归联邦管，如何应对? 她的职责范围是什么? 她能够做什么? 在正式会谈前，我们怎样取得她的好感和信任？我尽可能地搜索了她和她的助理在社交媒体上的内容，网络上对于她的报道，她在议会的发言，在社区为民众做的事情，等等，找到了关键的两个契合点，并和参与开会的同修事先做了发言的分工。
台上一分钟，台下十年功。充分的准备获得了回报。她在会面中表示，会给通讯部长写信。几周后，她写信告知给部长的信已发出。在见面前与助理的几次友好沟通也为今后继续跟進打下了基础。
与此同时，联邦议员也基本确定了近期与我们一起吃饭的时间。
六、扶轮社的邀请
已经有两三年没有联系的一位西人朋友最近打电话给我，说要成立一个有别于传统扶轮社的新扶轮社，并邀请我去开会。当我克服犹豫和懒惰走出去参加时，发现师父又安排了新的机会。与会人员包括企业主，澳洲勋章获得者，以及推广器官捐献活动的协调人。我站起来谈了器官捐献和制止活摘器官的关联性，并对那位协调人表示支持。一位听众说，她知道活摘器官很多年，一直怀疑是否确有其事。通过这次机会，她的怀疑被打消了很多，那位协调人也高兴地表示愿意合作。
七、部门主管的好消息
就在不断帮助我修改职业发展规划文件不久，我的主管收到好消息，她获得了联合国世界青年领袖的殊荣，并将参加明年在欧洲举行的颁奖典礼。我们的关系不断拉近，彼此互相激励，她还主动把我介绍给一位很难约到的高层主管，获得了三十分钟的见面时间，并为这次会面帮我做准备，说什么，怎样说，会面后怎样跟進，帮我修改会面后跟進的电子邮件，其用心程度令我感动。
结语
我的懒惰心还有很多，因为懒惰，不愿面对自己的众多执着心。深深感谢师父的精心安排，看到弟子确实想修，安排了这一次的修炼机会，并为我展现了突破自己内心的执着后，一扇扇新的大门打开的美好，感受到实修的喜悦！
最后，恭录师父的诗句与同修互相勉励。师父说:
“寻师几多年，一朝亲得见，得法往回修，圆满随师还。”[6]
正法尚未结束，谢谢师尊用巨大的承受一延再延，给弟子继续修炼和救人的机会！师尊的慈悲无以为报，只能不断突破自己，希望能不负师尊的慈悲等待！
感恩师父！
谢谢同修！
注：
[1] 李洪志师父著作: 《精進要旨三》<也棒喝>
[2] 李洪志师父著作: 《正法时期大法弟子》
[3] 李洪志师父著作: 《转法轮》
[4] 李洪志师父著作: 《二零零二年波士顿法会讲法》
[5] 李洪志师父诗词: 《洪吟》〈缘归圣果〉
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English translation of the sharing:
Cultivating and Clarifying the Truth in Mainstream Society
Greetings respected Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I work in a well-known multi-national company. In the middle of the year the company requested all employees to update their personal profile and career development plan in the HR system. I will take this opportunity to share the improvement in my cultivation throughout this process, and my new experience and understanding of clarifying the truth to the mainstream society, including politicians.
Before Updating My Profile
My job duties are mainly around project evaluation, which involves working with the team to propose the best plan and obtain approval from the relevant stakeholders. I had always regarded myself as someone merely playing a supporting role because of the following reasons: 1) Lack of experience. I had only 1-year experience in this position; 2) The technical part isn’t my specialized area, I could leave it to the project manager and didn’t have to be very much involved; 3) Most of my colleagues are Westerners. I still struggle with not being able to understand the whole of their conversations from time to time.
Although the proposals are made as a result of team effort with months of analysis and discussions, it is my responsibility to seek approval from the stakeholders. I experienced challenges in several proposals that I was involved. Instead of giving a smooth greenlight, they raised all sorts of queries by either calling me or listing them in an email.
In my view, some of the queries were indeed important, whilst some were minor and not detrimental to the business case. However, if I can’t come up with good explanations, they won’t approve it, which will delay the project. I had to spend more time addressing those queries, which on a few occasions only triggered more queries. It made myself busier, while my team kept following me up, “When will it be approved?” In the end my manager had to intervene and handle it directly.
My manager would normally book a 1-hour meeting with the other party. In the meeting she would explain the background and key elements of the project, and then address those queries. The doubts were clarified with ease during their small chats and laughter. I admired their communication skills, and felt I would never be able to do as well as her. I will never understand all their jokes no matter how hard I study English, as my time is limited.
I always preferred communicating via email with the stakeholders. I was afraid of talking over the phone, afraid of not being able to understand the other party. Thus, an issue that could be resolved with a simple phone call would take me several exchanges of emails, wasting much time.
Challenge of Writing My Profile
In the middle of the year the company requested everyone to update the personal profile, by outlining one’s career development plan, detailing how to achieve it, and how one will add value to the business. The company regarded it as a high priority and stressed its importance on many occasions.
This was really hard because I did not have such a plan in my mind. I had the attachment to time since 1997 when Master published the lecture “A Dialogue with Time”. Many major events during the past 21 years of Fa rectification kept hitting on this attachment. This year with the outbreak of the pandemic and the CCP’s being on the brink of collapse, I felt that great changes were taking place in the cosmos. Even here in the human world things are changing so rapidly. I had no desire to advance my career, hence no idea what to write about.
I did a Google search to see what other people had written but found nothing helpful. At a total loss I decided to call a friend. She was very straight forward telling me that my attitude was one of laziness. She asked me if I was worthy of my salary. I felt so ashamed of myself. This friend had known for many years that I was a cultivator and that I had been exposing the evilness of the CCP, and kept telling people that Falun Dafa is good.
Master talks about the issue of pursuit for comfort many times in the lectures:
“Do you think a Dafa disciple’s cultivation path is supposed to accommodate your fear, your pursuit of comfort and ease, and all your desires?” (“My Version of a ‘Stick Wake-up’”, The Essentials of Diligent Progress, Vol. III)
“If you are still unclear about what a Fa-rectification disciple is, you won’t be able to step forward in the current tribulation, and you will be led by the human world’s pursuit of comfort to “enlighten” along an evil path. ”(“Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples”, Essentials for Further Advancement II)
My attachment to comfort was always there. I was lazy in practicing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts. I always wish to memorize the Fa, but had never disciplined myself to do this. The three reasons that I used to justify that I play a supporting role in my work are actually excuses. Once when I shared with my manager my first two reasons, she told me that there was no supporting role in the team, and that everyone was expected to take the equal level of responsibility and cooperate with each other. In addition, I was expected to make a breakthrough in making phone calls. She said that I shouldn’t rely on her or others to communicate with the approvers. I should have the capability to explain the case to any department and succeed in convincing them. Of course, I did not dare to mention the third excuse, that my English was not good enough. The company has staff members from all over the world. No one gets any special consideration just because English is not their native language.
I felt it was really difficult. How much time and effort should I put in? I had no idea what I should write in the career development plan. I felt like there were thorns all over my body and that a layer of the skin would come off. How should I face it? Where is the answer? I didn’t know what to do. I got into bed, hoping to fall asleep so that I could run away from the thorny feeling. I couldn’t fall asleep. I asked myself, “is there really a place for me to hide? ” No! Then get up and face it!
Getting rid of attachments of laziness and escaping
Following the career development plans of others that I managed to find on the internet, I finally came up with the first draft, and sent it to my manager. After reading it, she said that the document simply gave the reader an impression that I just wanted to keep my job, other than much development. My goodness! My true thoughts were exposed in broad daylight! Thankfully, she analyzed my weaknesses for me. She said the development plan was actually to address my weaknesses with detailed solutions.
It was true. I was afraid of making phone calls because I worried about not being able to communicate clearly. Was there any solution for this? I couldn’t say no. Previously my solution was to send an email and then wait for the reply. Now I have to write down what to communicate beforehand and practise it in my mind before making a call. I need to figure out what to say first, what to follow next, and not to pick up the phone until all these are clear. When listening to others, be diligent in taking notes. If there’s something I really struggle to understand, I must let go of the attachment of “saving face” and tell the other party that I don’t understand. This approach means that I have to put more effort in doing my homework before picking up the phone. To put it in a candid way, I shouldn’t be lazy anymore!
Why wasn’t I able to convince the stakeholders to approve our proposal? Because I didn’t want to spend more time on understanding the technical issues. There was lots of new knowledge and new English words for me to learn, and I took the excuse that it was not my area to specialize in. That’s the attachment to laziness again!
My manager said the reason that I couldn’t achieve the expected result over the phone was that I didn’t ask good questions. In fact, I didn’t really think carefully of what I should ask. Laziness!
I was very much aware that my job was given by Master. When I applied for the role I didn’t expect the company would give me an interview, but it turned out to be quite smooth to secure the position. The challenge right in front of me was a process of cultivation that I must face. Being afraid of hardship and slacking off? Then cultivate and let go of them! My manager was willing to help me again and again. Wasn’t this arranged by Master?
“As long as you improve your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them.” (Lecture Four, “Loss and Gain”, Zhuan Falun)
Once I became determined to face my attachment, I was able to come up with the second draft. My manager spent over an hour with me discussing it, then asked me to revise it. After I made the changes, she again reviewed and commented, and asked me to keep improving it. We did this in several rounds, and in the following 5 weeks I edited this file more than a dozen times. All together I spent over 10 hours discussing about it with my manager and friends. I had to put my weakness in writing, and observe those attachments that I had tried to hide to get exposed. My proposed solutions to tackle those weaknesses were again and again rejected. I was told they were too vague, not specific, I should use better words to rephrase, restructure the paragraphs, bold the key points, etc. I had to think about it over and over, edit it again and again. I felt I would in no way be able to complete the task. After several rounds of editing, still it wasn’t approved. Before this experience, I wasn’t aware those attachments were not me. I felt I had nowhere to escape. I felt it so challenging that I was restless. After rewriting it so many times including writing this sharing, I finally came to see clearly that because it was me who had chosen the cultivation path, these bad substances that are attached to me were being exposed. It’s them, not me who, felt so uncomfortable!
In the process of editing again and again, my manager even helped me to correct my punctuation, fonts and grammar. I was very grateful and knew this was an opportunity arranged by Master. Finally, I was able to submit it. My manager’s manager had a read and said to me, “Yours is a cracker!” What was shown in the final version was a person who was proactive, willing to take the initiative, with plans and ideas. This was so different from what was presented in the first draft, a person who only wanted to keep the job.
The experience of rewriting over a dozen times and taking in-depth discussions with others changed my mindset. The process was as painful as if a layer of my skin was peeled off. Since then, when submitting a new project proposal to stakeholders for their approval, I no longer wait passively for their queries. I spent more time on thinking what questions they might ask, which part of details might trigger their inquiries, and how to pre-empt them. I am willing to use translation tools and put more effort in learning the technical knowledge that I hadn’t been willing to invest time in. To prepare for the approval, I learned to create a slides pack illustrating the business case with charts, numbers and texts, and book a time with the stakeholders to go though it over the phone. Just like how I rehearsed for Shen Yun presentations, I prepared the talk before the meeting, planned what to say first and what to follow up with next, and tried to think what questions they might ask. I no longer troubled my manager for her help, and was able to independently meet the other parties and talk the case through. Such preparation is tedious and time consuming, and when I came across technical issues that I didn’t know, I called the relevant people and asked them for help.
With all the preparations done I met with those concerned for a 30-minute appointment. When I finished my presentation of the project in about 15 minutes, the other party said straight away that he did not have any questions and would approve it. Previously it would take at least two weeks for the approval, and sometimes even longer, because I had wasted several days waiting passively for a reply.
In addition, since I now know what to prepare before making a phone call, I decided to let go of my attachment of laziness. I am not afraid of making phone calls any more. When I work on complex cases, I am able to confidently make an appointment with either my team members or senior leaders and discuss with them over a conference call. I am no longer a name that hides behind emails, instead, a real person who can be heard and seen. My work efficiency has improved as well.
What is more pleasant is that I am much more confident. That old “me” who was afraid of phone calls no longer exists.
Trust is the Key to Open up the Door
The difference between information and communication is that the former is one-way but the latter is two-way communication. Giving information is only the first step of truth clarification, whilst communication requires more effort. One needs to think carefully how to let the other party accept the information from the bottom of their hearts, and establishing the trust is an essential step.
A few months ago I proposed a process improvement idea to my manager which requires cooperation of other departments. She responded, “You haven’t established your credibility and trust in the eyes of others. It’s not good timing yet.” I realized this was a good reminder that my words wouldn’t be taken seriously when credibility is not yet built.
Master says in “Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston”:
“If we don’t pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can’t get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. “
I decided to take my time and effort to gain people’s trust. Credibility comes from personal cultivation and constant breakthroughs.
Master says in Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun: “… that truly resembles an iron gate, and it has numerous layers of iron gates. It is known that a human body has many layers. Our physical cells are one layer, and the molecules inside are another. There is a gate placed at each layer of atoms, protons, electrons, the very microscopic particles, the infinitesimal microscopic particles, and from the infinitely microscopic particles down to the extremely infinite microscopic particles.”
There are numerous iron gates in cultivation. Upon the breaking through of each layer, a new world is opened up for us.
Throughout the many years of contact with my Federal MP I gradually built a relationship of trust. Sometimes he would ring us for an opinion over a controversial report in regard to the CCP, and he would not automatically accept what was reported in the media. Because of the long-established relationship, when there is a need for support from him he acts promptly. For instance, on 20th July this year, when we asked the politicians to voice their support of Falun Dafa he sent me a text message saying, “I receive hundreds of emails each day. Sorry I wasn’t able to read your email in time. Next time with important matters like this, please text me directly on my mobile.”
Approaching my state MP
I started to contact and maintain the connection with my federal MP since his first election campaign, and now he is in his second term. Accordingly trust has been established. However, I haven’t had much contact with my State MP. A recent biased media report on Falun Gong gave me an opportunity to approach her. With the experience of breaking through my attachments in my work meetings, I worked with an experienced western practitioner. We discussed what questions she might ask? How should we respond if she says that this is the responsibility of the federal government instead? What is her expertise and how can it be related to our case? What can she do? How shall we obtain her trust? We searched as much as we could on both social media and other internet pages about her and her staff, trying to understand her speeches in parliament and what she has done for her community, and found two relevant points. We then agreed on the roles of each practitioner who will attend the meeting about the content and order of the talk from each of us.
As an old Chinese saying goes: “one minute of performance on stage, ten years of hard work off stage.” Our preparations paid off. During our meeting she said that she would write to the Minister of Communications herself. Later she wrote to inform me that she had sent the letter. Recently the Communication Minister replied to her, and she forwarded that letter to me and indicated she would continue to keep us informed. The friendly communications with her staff before the meeting have also laid a good foundation for the future contacts. At the same time a dinner with my Federal MP was confirmed.
Invitation from a Rotary Club
A Western friend who hasn’t contacted me for two or three years recently called me advising that he was setting up a new rotary club, different from traditional ones, and invited me to the meeting. I overcame my reluctance and laziness and attended it. When I got there, I realized this was another opportunity arranged by Master. Participants at the meeting included entrepreneurs, OAM winners and a coordinator who advocates for organ donation. I stood up and talked about the connection between the campaign for organ donation and ending of the stated sanctioned forced organ harvesting under the CCP’s regime, and expressed my support to the coordinator. One of the audience members said that she had heard about the forced organ harvesting for years, but was always skeptical. Through this opportunity her doubts were eliminated to a large extent. The coordinator was pleased with the discussion, and indicated the willingness to work together in the future.
Good News about My Manager
Soon after helping me with editing my profile, my manager received good news that she received the UN Young Leader awards, and was invited to attend the award ceremony to be held in Europe next year. The experience has drawn us closer and we encourage each other. She introduced me to a senior manager with whom I wouldn’t normally get chance to meet, and I was given 30 minutes to talk with her. Once again, my manager helped me with the preparation for the meeting, including what I should say, how I should say it, what to follow up on after the meeting, and helped me polish the follow up email. I felt very touched for her attentiveness.
Conclusion
I still have the attachment of laziness. Because of laziness I am not willing to face my numerous attachments. I am deeply grateful for Master’s careful arrangements. Master sees that I indeed want to cultivate, so He granted me the opportunities to improve. Master showed me how beautiful it is after I break through an attachment rooted deeply within me, and allowed me to feel the joy of solid cultivation.
Destined Return for the Holy Fruition
“Oh how many the years, looking for the master,
Finally the day has arrived to meet him.
Cultivate and return, the Fa now gained,
And follow your master to return, consummated.”
(Quote from Hong Yin)
The Fa rectification is not over yet. This is because of Master’s enormous sacrifices, which has extended the time for us to continue our cultivation and saving sentient beings. I will never be able to thank Master for his grand benevolence. I will just have to keep making breakthroughs in letting go of attachments, and be worthy of Master’s compassionate waiting.
Once again, thank you Master!
Thank you fellow practitioners!