(Minghui.org) The first year I helped promote Shen Yun was in 2019. Another practitioner and I were tasked with putting up posters in a shopping mall. I had no clue about what to say to the store managers and just wanted to learn from her. However, she told me that her English was not good, so she asked me to take the lead. When I entered the stores, I just asked, “Could we please put up Shen Yun posters here?” The following year, I was assigned to do a solo promotion. However, my level was still limited to simply asking permission to put up posters.
Our promotion for 2023 Shen Yun began in November 2022. I accepted a route in my town and asked another practitioner if she could cover the closest areas because she had difficulty driving on highways. I told her I’d cover the areas that were further away. We had worked together the previous year, and she did a great job. But she wasn’t responding to my messages. I then asked if she could just cover a few supermarkets near her home, but she still didn’t respond. I began to get anxious because we had to complete the assignment within a limited time, as the show dates were already set.
The county where I live has a population of about 2.4 million, but there aren’t many practitioners. I wondered if I would be able to finish the work on my own. Some practitioners live on the east side of the county, but few had time to promote Shen Yun. I started to feel a bit impatient and complained in my mind, “I can’t count on anyone. Will I be able to do this?”
My Attachments Are Exposed
I reflected on myself. Why did I feel it was difficult to promote Shen Yun? I looked inside and found some of my attachments. First, did I consider others when doing things? The practitioner I asked was tired after working a full week. On the weekends, she had to buy groceries, cook, do laundry, and care for her family. How would I feel if I were in her shoes? Why couldn’t I understand her difficulties? I complained instead!
Second, I still had a selfish mentality. Why did I hope others would do more? I felt if I could do less, I wouldn’t get as tired if everyone shared the load.
Third, I still had a tendency to look down on others; I wanted to feel superior! This was a variation of the show-off mentality, which was deeply hidden. This is a very dangerous mentality for a practitioner!
Finally, the reason I overestimated the difficulties of promoting Shen Yun was that I regarded myself as an ordinary person and forgot I was a Dafa practitioner. I also forgot that Master Li (Dafa’s founder) was always helping us.
After I found these attachments, I knew that I was still far from the requirements of Falun Dafa practitioners. I understood that these incorrect mentalities hindered me from saving sentient beings. I needed to follow Master’s guidance, let go of these human attachments, and begin distributing posters. Time waits for no one!
At the time, the company I worked for was having a conflict between the owner and their vendor, so I didn’t have to go to work until it was resolved. What a coincidence! I knew this was Master’s arrangement for me to do more Shen Yun promotion and save sentient beings. I must do a good job and live up to His expectations!
Making Up My Mind to Succeed
I told myself that even though my region had a large population and very few practitioners, the difficulty was precisely an opportunity for me to improve my cultivation. It should be expected that not everything will go smoothly. The sentient beings in this area were all waiting for me to awaken them, and I must do it well as this was my responsibility and mission.
I sorted out my thoughts, cleared away the distractions in my mind, and started off with a pure heart. I knew I must not wait for, nor rely on others. I was determined to do as much as I could so that my area would not fall behind.
From November to February, I went out to put up Shen Yun posters almost every day. I covered all the route assignments for my town and also covered places that were not on the route. I basically put up posters in all the shopping malls that I knew.
The route assignments I took were getting farther away from where I lived and some involved many shops within large shopping malls. I went to a place where there were four large shopping centers, which included chain stores, supermarkets, individual shops, department stores, restaurants, banks, barber shops, bookstores, and so on. I estimated that there were 70 to 80 stores to cover. I thought that if I couldn’t finish them all in one day, I would have to drive a long way to return. So I tried to not waste any time. I started to go into the stores, one after another, and sometimes didn’t even look at what store it was. I just kept talking and posting and had no time to drink or have lunch. After I went to all the stores, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t talk.
I just insisted on going out and putting up posters every day. I only stopped for one week due to symptoms of illness karma when I couldn’t stop coughing and was unable to speak. After the symptoms went away, I immediately started on the next route.
I walked into an insurance company and met a young manager. He said, “You’re here again! You came to our company to promote Shen Yun last year!” I asked him if he saw the show, and he said he didn’t. I replied, “Then you really should go this year!” He agreed and also kindly told me that I could put posters in the corridor of the building so that more people could see them.
I went to a large mattress store and noticed that a middle-aged lady was the only person there. I introduced Shen Yun to her and showed her a short video. She was very enthusiastic and said that she wanted to take her mother to see it. She was very grateful for the information.
On another occasion, I went to a shop selling essential oils, incense, and colorful gemstones. Since the store had just opened, there were no customers. I told the owner about Shen Yun in detail and then showed her a short video. She said, “You sold me!” Her eyes were shining, “I will definitely go see Shen Yun!”
I felt like people were all waiting to see Shen Yun. After I introduced the show to someone, I always told them to check the seven theaters listed on the last page of the flyer and pointed out that Pomona was the closest one. I would also encourage them to get the tickets early, as the good seats usually sold out quickly.
Even when I sometimes felt they probably wouldn’t go see the show that year, I would still patiently tell them about the Shenyun.com website and how they could choose the right dates at different theaters.
I once met a group of seven people who were from the east coast. I introduced Shen Yun to them. They were very interested but said they were leaving Los Angeles soon. I then told them that they could go to Shenyun.com, enter their home zip code, and find the performances near them. They were very excited and said they would buy tickets when they returned home.
When I went to put up posters, the weather wasn’t always good. Some days were rainy or very windy. One time, it wasn’t raining when I left home, so I didn’t bring along an umbrella. But then it started raining. So I protected the Shen Yun posters with my body, thinking that these were our Fa tools, and I should not let them get wet. I then went into the stores, one by one, to promote Shen Yun. There were fewer customers due to the rain, so the shop owners had more time and patience to listen to my introduction. Some said, “Wow! It’s raining, and you still came!” They all thanked me for bringing them the good news.
Putting Unique Approaches Into Action
I’ve come up with a series of approaches to ask staff members in the stores. First, I would always introduce Shen Yun and ask them if I could put posters on the doors and windows. Many store owners agreed. But some chain stores, such as large supermarkets usually wouldn’t let us. But I would still ask them and, sometimes, the outcome would surprise me.
If I was not allowed to put the posters on the doors and windows, I would then say, “I understand there are rules in your store,” and then I would ask if I could post them in their employees’ break rooms. The large supermarkets and stores usually have dozens or even hundreds of employees. If that didn’t work out, I would ask if they had administration offices. The managers would then have the opportunity to see the information.
If the shops did not have a break room or offices, I would ask if they would allow us to put flyers on their checkout counters, so customers could take one when checking out. Most owners were willing to accept our flyers. However, when they did not allow flyers, I just gave one to the person I talked to.
In short, I would not give up on any small opportunities to let sentient beings hear about Shen Yun and know how to get online to purchase tickets. Many times, people still couldn’t find the website even when they had the flyers. So I pointed out the website and the 800 phone number at the bottom of the last page.
As long as they gave me a chance to talk, I quickly told them what I wanted to say. I would often make people smile, because they could feel my kindness, and they were grateful for the information. Many people told me that they would definitely go see a performance.
Even when I felt that some people might not go see Shen Yun this time, I was not disappointed and still smiled. I knew that I was there to bring them this wonderful message and plant a seed of Shen Yun in their hearts. Maybe next year or the year after they would be ready to go see it. I met many people who’ve heard of Shen Yun but never saw it. Therefore, we need to be patient and treat all sentient beings with compassion.
Master said, “Compassion is an enormous energy ...” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX).
From the look in people’s eyes, I could feel the power of our compassion attracting them. They really looked forward to seeing Shen Yun. I was grateful for this wonderful feeling. It was like a kind of transcendent energy that inspired me to continue to go on to the next business.
Minding the Small Details
I always pay attention to my appearance when promoting Shen Yun, including my dress, posture, expression, and attitude. Although I’m a volunteer, my image represents Shen Yun. The employees in stores usually wear uniforms and, many times, the people I met were corporate executives or store managers. I pay attention to my appearance because it shows that I’m serious about this sacred work. It also helps shorten the gaps between us and makes it easier for them to accept Shen Yun.
I usually do not have the posters open as I walk in. I observed other practitioners do this and felt that people focused on the poster instead of paying attention to what I said. I usually hold the posters rolled in my hand. I first introduce myself, as well as the other practitioner if someone accompanies me and tell them that we’re volunteers promoting Shen Yun. I then open the poster and show it to them. They usually comment on how beautiful it is.
I ask if they’ve heard of Shen Yun. If the answer was no, I gave a short introduction, how to buy tickets, and so on. If there’s more time, I continue talking about how seeing Shen Yun could help people relax and have hope in these difficult times.
While promoting Shen Yun, I always felt that all sentient beings were waiting for this opportunity to be saved. But this requires Dafa disciples to go out and help them connect with this sacred show. I often felt like I was a bridge between people and Shen Yun. I wanted to move them with my sincere words and lead them to Shen Yun with pure compassion. As long as they can watch a performance, the divine energy of the show will light up their hearts, and that would be the moment they were saved!
I was touched by many people’s reactions and felt my mission was sacred. I was so fortunate that I could follow Master and become a messenger to save sentient beings.
On my husband’s birthday, we went to a restaurant in a shopping center for dinner. I noticed that no one had put up posters there. I later returned and first entered a department store. I talked to a cashier and asked to speak to the manager. She looked at the roll of posters in my hand and probably guessed that I was doing promotional work. She called her supervisor and spoke in a very low voice. I didn’t clearly hear what she said, but she probably told the supervisor that I was a salesperson. I waited there for nearly 10 minutes, but the supervisor never came. So I left and went on to the next store.
I thought, they probably see many people like me every day who do promotion. If they felt I was an ordinary advertising salesperson, they might turn me away. I suddenly remembered that Shen Yun is a non-profit organization. If I gave them this information, the supervisor would be more open to seeing me, because most people are supportive of non-profit organizations.
After I covered the other stores, I returned to this store. I again met the cashier and told her that I was there to promote Shen Yun, which is a non-profit organization. She immediately asked the supervisor to come and, very soon, I was able to meet with the supervisor. In the end, the supervisor was very happy to accept the poster and flyers.
I thanked Master in my heart for giving me the wisdom when I encountered difficulty while promoting Shen Yun. I have truly realized that promoting Shen Yun is not difficult. However, one must put one’s heart into it in order to do well. Many times, I felt that Master was by my side, giving me strength and wisdom. I’ve also realized that by participating in projects to save sentient beings, I was able to discover many hidden attachments and shortcomings, strengthen my will, and constantly improve myself.
Due to my limited level, if anything is not in accordance with the Fa, please kindly point it out.
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