(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Master, greetings fellow practitioners,
I have worked at the Minghui website for three years. I was happy when I first became involved in this work, because Master has said, "...on important matters, practitioners must watch the position of Minghui Net." The Minghui website is obviously of high importance.
My understanding toward Minghui changed when my comprehension of the Fa improved. I realized that I previously had an attachment to recognition and fame. Actually all projects have equal importance - be it Minghui website work or other Dafa projects - in rescuing people who are deceived by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) lies. The Minghui website has a special role to fulfill in this unique historic era. It is a major website for all things related to Dafa, since all articles published on Minghui are related to Dafa and to cultivation. Our work criteria are high, and we should try our best to maintain high caliber articles so that the world's people won't misunderstand us, which could make rescuing them more difficult.
Trying My Best to Prepare Truth-clarifying Materials
When I first began doing this work I was very diligent. I devoted all my off-work time to producing the truth-clarifying materials and I never felt tired, even if I had to stay up late, because I told myself that this was a sacred job. As time went by, I became impatient because many of the tasks were tedious and repetitious. Much of the information was interesting when I first read it, but became boring after reading it again and again. I couldn't see the direct results and impact of my work, so sometimes I thought of changing my work. I eventually realized and told myself that the fellow practitioners in China were taking high risks to hand out the materials we had prepared, so I really should calm down and try my best to do the work well.
Preparing Minghui truth clarifying materials helps me to improve. I previously worked for another media provider, and when doing the work I sometimes forgot that I was a cultivator. I benefit much from fellow practitioners' sharing articles and Dafa news as I work to prepare Minghui materials. The news about parades, proclamations, the Chinese New Year Spectacular and stories of fellow practitioners in China manifest the power of Dafa and encourage and excite me. Articles about the persecution and tortures also urge me to cultivate myself well, and remind me not to betray fellow practitioners' efforts. Fellow practitioners are trying to rescue people while they are being persecuted. So it is our responsibility to do our best when preparing materials. All of our team members are trying their best to harmonize the cultivation environment and help one another. We often remind each other to understand the Fa from the Fa. Our present task is to make our materials look professional and more acceptable to the general public. Master mentioned at the 2007 New York Fa Conference that we should make our materials more professional. We are trying to achieve this goal right now. We are presently somewhat limited in our ability to achieve professional results. However, we are trying our best together to have a breakthrough, so that our truth clarifying materials will become more elegant and more attractive.
I took part in promoting the 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular in New York. Our team members supported me doing this work and took over most of my Minghui materials production work. Following the Spectacular I slacked off in cultivation. Some of my previous human interests, that I believed I had abandoned, returned. I spent a lot of time surfing the Internet and reading news reports. My excuse was that I could gather some information for writing based on what I read on the Internet. I spent a lot of time on music and sports, the excuse being that perhaps I might produce some music programs and a sports TV program. Actually, such attachments have nothing to do with my work preparing Minghui materials. Before cultivating Dafa, my job was typesetting for a newspaper, and the Dafa projects I have taken part in are related to this experience. I realized that I should focus on the Minghui editing and layout work and not develop other time-consuming skills and "hobbies." Later, one of our team members had other important project to do and left our team, so I again devoted myself completely to the Minghui work.
Because of support from my family I am able to do Dafa work full time. I work on several projects, including designing and selling advertising. Each project takes time, and sometimes they conflict with each other. Selling advertising requires good English skills, but my English is not good. It takes time to improve it. Since I don't have a regular job, local practitioners often ask me to help with some local projects. How do I balance the relationship between each project? I basically give the Minghui work the highest priority. All the materials we prepare will be sent to and disseminated in China, a major focus of Fa-rectification. Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,"
"Everything the Dafa disciples in other regions do revolves around the main body of Dafa in Mainland China, and is restraining the evil's persecution, lessening the pressure for the Dafa disciples in Mainland China, and helping the Dafa disciples in Mainland China to clarify the facts."
This is Master's requirement. Doing this work is offering people salvation and validating the Fa.
Working on Minghui Book Editing
I participated in the Minghui book editing project last year. This project gave me a better understanding of the principle, "no loss, no gain." All the Minghui books were first edited and published in traditional Chinese. We eventually needed to publish the books in simplified Chinese. My job was to change all the traditional Chinese characters into the simplified ones. Since some simplified words are non-existent for the original characters, I didn't know of an easy method to accomplish this task. It was a test of my xinxing, because the work was extremely tedious and exhausting. Then I thought, "Publishing Minghui books is a big event during Fa-rectification, so I must do my best." I worked for more than ten days and nights, and finally finished it. The process also made me realize the effort so many practitioners had put into this project.
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
"We have said that Dafa is boundless, and it is completely up to your heart to practice cultivation. The master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you, yourself to practice cultivation. It all depends upon how you, yourself practice cultivation. Whether you can practice cultivation all depends upon whether you can endure, sacrifice, and suffer. If you can commit your mind, no difficulties can stop you. I would say that there is not a problem." ("Lecture Four" from Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version)
I thought I was spending too much time on this project and didn't have enough opportunity to sell advertising for the other media I worked for. But right after I finished the editing work, a company representative came to me and signed a contract for a full-page color ad, for the whole year. I then realized that we are a whole body doing different tasks to validate the Fa. No one will really lose anything doing one project for the sake of another. Actually, as long as you do one project well, you may gain some in the other ones. Harmonizing as a whole body is most important in validating the Fa.
Some Realizations from Doing the Minghui Weekly Overseas Edition
I thought that "Minghui Weekly" was only for clarifying the truth in China. There are already many truth-clarifying materials outside China, and we don't have enough manpower to start a new project. Actually, my thoughts manifested my limited mindset. Master has led us during Fa rectification to overcome all kinds of difficulties. We need to do more and more, and we need to make greater and greater efforts, so that more and more people will be rescued. Master has brought the Fa-rectification to a new phase with the Chinese New Year Spectacular. The song "Looking for the Truth," performed in the Spectacular, made me realize the urgency of explaining the truth. I became acutely aware that we need to follow the trend of Fa-rectification and clarify the facts to more people.
When a project coordinator asked me to help with the Minghui Weekly Overseas Edition, I was happy to accept the work. Although we have the Epoch Times and other media, we don't have a newspaper that publishes only Dafa information. Newspapers like The Epoch Times are positioned as regular newspapers. Although they also publish Dafa articles, the reporting angles and quantity of Dafa information are limited. Readers may be unable to synthesize all the Dafa information from scattered news features. Faced with other interference, it will be difficult for them to clearly discern the facts. If we can't provide them with such a platform that focuses on the facts of Dafa, we would be not responsible and will not catch up with the Fa-rectification progress. Moreover, it is perfectly proper for those of us who wear Falun Gong clothing to hand out Minghui Weekly to visiting Chinese at tourist sites around the world.
The Epoch Times is very powerful in convincing people to quit the evil CCP. The Minghui Weekly helps people learn the facts about Dafa. So these two media - the Minghui Weekly and The Epoch Times - complement each other, to achieve the best result in rescuing sentient beings.
I am familiar with newspaper layout but had in the past simply put all the articles and photos the editor had provided onto one page. I didn't care much about the aesthetics and style of the newspaper and about the editor's ideas. When I first started the Minghui Weekly layout, certain practitioners criticized my work, which made me uncomfortable in the beginning. I had done similar work for a long time, so why did I get negative feedback? Soon I realized that my thoughts were wrong. I humbly accepted the other people's opinions and learned some new skills in page layout that I had never before understood.
When my xinxing improved, my skills also improved. Although there may be some problems with Minghui Weekly now, it has a bright future. More and more people will read it. When "Dafa's vast force floods all the human world," ("Divine Might" from Hong Yin II) this newspaper will also flood every corner of the human world.
Minghui website work is sacred, although it doesn't look as important as the Spectacular or the dance competition. The practitioners doing Minghui website work need to keep a low profile. But this is only a manifestation in the human world. In other dimensions our work is spectacular. Sometimes I can sense the power of our work, which shakes the universe and touches sentient beings at the microscopic level. Master wrote, "Clear Wisdom saves the predestined." ("Nets of Fa" from Hong Yin II) We have a historic responsibility, and we need to carry out our prehistoric vows. Let us cherish the opportunity of cultivating, of harmonizing our cultivation environment, and do Fa-validating work well.
Thank you Master, Thank you fellow practitioners.