Suggestions for Fellow Practitioners Submitting Articles to the Clearwisdom Website

(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, several volunteers for the Clearwisdom website shared their ideas about how they could encourage Western practitioners to submit more experience sharing articles to the website, and how they could help improve the quality of those submissions. The following is a brief summary of their thoughts:

Practitioner A

A few months after I began cultivating there was a call for articles for an experience-sharing conference. I had just had one of my first major xinxing tests and so I wrote about that and submitted it. When I had a fellow practitioner translate it, she commented that it lacked the qualities of an experience-sharing article. She could not tell from the article in what way I had improved and how I had better understood the Fa from my experience. I was a new practitioner and still viewed many things from an ordinary person's perspective and not from the Fa. Needless to say, my article was not accepted for the conference. About six months later, and after joining the current of Fa-rectification, I wrote down my experiences and how these experiences led me to a better understanding of Fa principles, and this time my paper was accepted for the conference. When my sharing article was published on the Clearwisdom website, I was quite pleased and mentioned it to the same fellow practitioner. She replied, "You seem surprised that your article was published on the website, as though you feel you are outside the group instead of a part of it."

I was reminded of Teachers words,

"No matter what you do, you aren't thinking that you're doing something for Dafa, about how you should do things for Dafa, or "how can I do things well for this Fa." Instead, you are placing yourselves in Dafa. Like a particle of Dafa, [you feel that] no matter what it is, you should just do it." ("Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America")

I realized that Clearwisdom is a resource for the whole body and we all have a responsibility to it. Not only do we have a responsibility to make contributions to it, but we also have a responsibility to measure our contributions with the standard of the Fa.

For those writing articles who are not sure whether the articles meet the standard, I would suggest soliciting feedback from a few veteran practitioners, and then make revisions if necessary. In doing so, the writer will have a better opportunity to see his/her own shortcomings, cultivate and improve xinxing, and also make the article better so it will help fellow practitioners improve.

Practitioner B

I think the single most important quality of an experience sharing article is that it clearly demonstrates how a practitioner underwent improvement and elevation in his or her xinxing and understanding of Fa principles. It is also important that the article be based on the Fa, and not come from various theories or opinions from everyday people's society. The author should speak from the heart, without cleverness or intellectual gamesmanship, and demonstrate an intent to benefit others without speaking down to them or posing as their teacher.

Practitioner C

An experience sharing article should spring from the author's real life experiences. In most cases, I think the article should contain quotes from the Fa in appropriate places to validate whatever points the author is trying to make. By adhering closely to the Fa, it becomes clear that the author is thinking from the Fa, and not from personal opinion or from everyday people's theories. Also, I think authors should demonstrate a Dafa cultivator's demeanor: modest, sincere, broadminded, considerate, etc.--in short, all of the positive qualities that come from cultivating Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Practitioner D

In addition to the above, I think an article needs to be focused and no longer than is necessary. It's better to make a few, or even one point well than to try to expound on all kinds of things and end up not clearly saying anything at all. This is also being considerate of our fellow practitioners, whose time is very valuable.

For guidance from the Fa on sharing understandings, the following articles are recommended:

"Master's New Article: Mature"

"Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" (Essentials for Further Advancement)