(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2007. Before I joined the media project, I was a freelance producer of picture books. In 2023, my environment changed suddenly, and as a result I joined the media. Unlike other practitioners who wished to participate in order to fulfill the media’s mission, I joined to make a living. It was the only choice I had at the time.

When my cultivation state stagnated, it was as if Master gave me a “stick wake-up” and guided me toward the media. Even though I wasn’t qualified for any particular job, some products required drawing. I thought, “If it involves drawing, I should be able to handle it.” This was the first step.

Even though I previously had no interest in videos I started to work on video production. Jumping into this new world and learning new skills offered me many cultivation opportunities.

A Cultivation Path

Once I joined the media, I decided to let go of my human attachments, and I was determined to cultivate. However, I did not know how to operate the equipment. Every day was filled with challenges and frustration. It felt as if I was a primitive person overpowered by modern civilization. I felt defeated every day—I became depressed and I felt insignificant. I wept every day. I knew if I did not use the Fa to correct myself I wouldn’t be able to keep going. For me, there was no turning back and I had to continue working in the media to survive. Every day felt like an intense battle between good and evil.

Before I began practicing Falun Dafa I was a well-known painter. However, the first year after joining the media, everything inside me seemed to be collapsing. Fifteen years of cultivation experiences seemed to completely disintegrate. Enduring these challenges made me physically and mentally exhausted. When I got home I collapsed into bed. When I read the Fa the words did not enter my mind. My vision became blurry as I read, and my body and mind felt heavy. I felt extremely tired and I kept falling asleep.

The only thing I could do was look inward. I encountered my notions, low spirit, isolation, loneliness, shame, humiliation, jealousy, competitiveness, arrogance, vanity, show-off mentality, and pursuit of fame, as well as my resentment—I kept eliminating the darkness inside me and correcting myself with the Fa. Fortunately, before I joined the media, I had a solid foundation from studying the Fa. Holding on to these memories, I continuously improved my xinxing and I made it.

A senior colleague in my department stopped me one day, and asked, “You came onboard as someone with experience. You’ve been here for almost a year. What have you produced? You should at least have one drawing, right?” I was stunned and thought, “Oh, so people with experience have to have results?” I didn’t know how to respond. When I realized how frustrated this senior colleague had to be to say those words to me, I felt bad, and I also understood the company’s challenges. I could not raise my head. However, my heart was like a calm pond. If the goal was to prove myself, I wouldn’t have joined the media at all.

I thought, “If my mission is to be here, then my mission must be rooted in the universe’s foundation. But if I don’t have the ability to complete this mission, or it’s not my mission, I won’t be able to complete it no matter how hard I try. Whether it can be completed or not does not depend on me. I have the confidence to invest everything of mine into the media. That is the only thing I can say.” His words allowed me to let go of myself and not develop any human attachments. I used it as an opportunity to motivate myself.

I let go of the resentment I developed from not being able to continue painting—something which had been an integral part of my life. After letting go of many attachments, I started to fulfill the mission in the media and I felt that I gained a new life. This was a difficult period of time. But because it was difficult, I later realized that it was a most precious cultivation opportunity Master arranged for me.

I No Longer Feel Hopeless

I was able to hold myself to the standards of the Fa until last year. However, the third year after I joined the media, things changed. The pressure at work increased significantly and my mind was filled with work. I knew this was arranged by Master for me to further improve my xinxing. However, because I was not in a good state when I read the Fa I did not handle things well.

I had difficulty reading the Fa because it felt like a fog was obscuring my vision. I almost dozed off every day during Fa study time in the morning at the company. I kept dozing off and my thoughts wandered, so I wasn’t able to absorb the Fa and I couldn’t remember what I read. I felt hopeless.

One day, my eyes hurt so badly that I couldn’t keep working. I had no choice but to pack up my bag and leave. I wanted to read the Fa on the subway, but after reading two sentences I felt sleepy. Every time I opened Falun Dafa’s main book, Zhuan Falun the feeling of sleepiness washed over me like a tide. I felt discouraged and as though I had fallen far behind in cultivation—I was lingering on the outskirts of the Fa.

I recalled reading about cold in one of Master’s lectures. I sent out a thought, “If you make me sleepy, I will return to you everything that makes me sleepy!” After one or two seconds, I suddenly felt a swish, and the sleepiness in my dimensional field completely disappeared. I was shocked! When I studied the Fa that day, every sentence entered my heart, which hadn’t happened for a long time.

I would like to tell fellow practitioners: As long as our intention to read the Fa is strong, Master will give us another chance. So I decided to tell you about my experience.

Adjusting Myself

My department is in charge of video production, and is also responsible for the company’s livelihood, along with the marketing department. Our customers are ordinary people, so our xinxing is frequently challenged. The number of videos we each are responsible for is large, and the workload is heavy. So it’s important to be in a good cultivation state. Some senior colleagues told me it was important to “adjust the intensity.” Working at full capacity is difficult to sustain for a long time, so it’s important to work from a long-term perspective. I did not fully understand the word “adjust” at first, but after working there for two to three years, I deeply feel at every moment that if I didn’t adjust the intensity, my body and mind wouldn’t be able to endure it.

I help produce stop-motion animation. This is a labor-intensive job that requires hard work, and we barely keep up. I can only catch up by not taking time off on holidays, and I also work late into the night. This year, I often felt that both my body and mind reached their limit. One project that was started during the first half of this year lasted four months. I didn’t have a single day off and I frequently worked until late at night or into the early morning hours.

My entire nervous system felt highly stressed—as though all my vital energy and essence were completely drained. I even thought, “If I keep going like this, I won’t live to a ripe old age.” But the next moment, I suddenly realized that this thought wasn’t right. I then quietly thought, “Mie,” [eliminate] to eliminate it.

I carefully observed how Shen Yun dancers adjust their states during long-term performances. When their minds and bodies reach their limits day after day, they remember their mission through studying the Fa and doing the exercises. They improve themselves every day, and go beyond their limits. I realized that this was the path I wanted to pursue.

I experienced something unexpected one day, which allowed me to dramatically improve my cultivation.

I did not eat during lunch break that day, and instead I practiced the fifth exercise. That afternoon, I was full of energy. I typically practice the standing exercises in the morning and I meditate at night. I’m exhausted by noon and need to nap for 20 to 30 minutes before resuming work. I did not nap that day, but I felt energetic.

I began meditating at noon every day. After I replaced rest with meditation I felt more energetic and clear-headed, and I no longer had the urge to take a nap! It felt like my body was indestructible. I live on the fifth floor and there is no elevator. That day I effortlessly ran up to the fifth floor in one go. It felt as if I had wings.

Two months later, I’m still filled with energy. My longing for rest was a big stumbling block on the path to return to my original, true self! My human attachment prevented me from improving my cultivation.

Hope in a Hopeless Environment

Several colleagues left our department this year. I often felt heavy-hearted and down. I asked myself, “Can we break through this situation? Because we’ve been making videos for ordinary people for a long time, I feel that our thoughts are also gradually led by ordinary people’s notions. We don’t even reflect on the Fa-rectification process. We start to wonder, what are we really here to do? The work is exhausting and we don’t see hope. Everything seems to have become a mess. We feel heavy-hearted and depressed.”

One day while listening to Minghui Radio, a line deeply touched me.

A practitioner said that the first practitioners who followed Master to cultivate often ate instant noodles to fill their stomachs. When Master saw it, he told them, “Following me means suffering for you.”

If I could follow Master to cultivate like those first groups of practitioners did, even if I had to eat instant noodles every day, would I see that as suffering? Probably not. Simply being with Master to cultivate is a supreme honor, and infinite joy and happiness. I enlightened that “hardship” is a great and glorious Fa tool.

I recently read a helpful passage in the Fa.

Master taught us:

“Rather, to quietly cultivate in bleak loneliness, unable to see hope, is the hardest of all. Doing any form of cultivation entails undergoing a trial such as this and a path with such features. Only if one can persevere and continually forge ahead does it amount to true diligence.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)

Eliminating Corrupt Substances

In early September, while searching for a new direction with stop-motion animation, I found a unique video. A senior colleague walked by, and I said, “Please come take a look.” He said after watching for a while, “It’s better not to look at this kind of stuff. This is modern, degenerate stuff.” I agreed with him but also thought that the novel parts were worth considering as a reference. I was dubious.

Seeing me hesitate, he added, “We have to do things from the Fa’s perspective. We have to think about whether our actions stem from selfish motives.” I said, “Oh, okay.” My mind calmed down and the conversation ended there.

I seldom watch animations, but when I’m unable to figure out how to present story lines, I watch videos to look for inspiration. The fact that my heart was moved this time made me realize that something within me was causing trouble, so I started to carefully look within.

That video had a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Even though I didn’t particularly like it, I was attracted by its novelty, maybe because I had the desire to pursue “novelty.” I wanted to introduce new elements and produce videos that were more unique and interesting, and that I felt were satisfying. I also discovered issues, including my resistance to other people’s guidance, competitiveness, the mindset of thinking I’m right, strong attachment to self, and confusion.

I realized this was serious and I felt that my issues had been exposed. However, a few days later, I felt depressed. While eliminating this thought karma, I realized that there were many corrupt substances in my dimensional field, and that video’s gloomy atmosphere resonated with my dark side.

A few days later I read what Master said:

“Those rotten ghosts that are intent on disrupting the Fa really like it when you’re in disarray, as the old forces’ whole goal is to have all this end up according to their arrangements.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

I realized that the old forces wanted to use the loopholes in my thoughts, and dump corrupt substances into my dimensional field to interfere with me. The old forces wanted me to remain selfish so I wouldn’t break away from the old universe. Everything was prearranged.

After I enlightened to this, I deeply appreciated Master for making this arrangement. I also sincerely appreciate that senior colleague who pointed out my issues.

Creativity should be based on moral education and traditional culture. Blindly pursuing novel ideas was what led to modern, chaotic art. It’s also in line with the communist specter. Our videos should guard traditional values and aesthetics, and present the beauty of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Our starting point should be the Fa—and our mindsets and methods should be upright.

Using the Fa to Measure Everything

I dreamed one night of a golden, steep mountain that glimmered with bright lights. A winding and narrow path led up to it. I thought that to go up such a high mountain, one has to fly up, but I have no strength because I haven’t cultivated well. So I’ll just walk along the path for a while first. With this thought, I stumbled my way up the mountain path.

When I woke up, I felt very heavy-hearted. In a Shen Yun performance, when a general was asked by his Master to jump off the cliff, he jumped without hesitation. He then succeeded in cultivation. I once also cultivated with this mindset. But now I was surrounded by ordinary people’s notions and I felt depressed.

When I read the story of how Shakyamuni asked his disciple to clean the tub, it gave me a sudden realization. That disciple treated his master’s request with his own notions and didn’t initially do what Shakyamuni asked. I never thought in depth about it, but a fellow practitioner’s article greatly inspired me. That disciple of Shakyamuni placed his own understanding and knowledge above his master’s request. He essentially placed himself first and focused on himself.

I seemed to have found why my cultivation kept lingering in the same place and why I felt powerless, and the reason I felt cultivation was cumbersome and difficult. I was buried in work for a long time and forgot the Fa about going upward against the current. I was confused and allowed ordinary people’s notions to gain the upper hand—I was stubbornly holding onto my own understanding. For example, in order to get up to practice the exercises early in the morning, I would send forth righteous thoughts early for the 1:00 a.m. time so I could go to sleep earlier. I compromised requirements of the Fa to fit my own situation. I was being self-centered, and placed the Fa’s requirements below mine.

After I enlightened to this, I tried hard to restore the 1:00 a.m. time for sending righteous thoughts and started to measure everything based on the Fa. The Fa started to enter my heart again. When my wish to study the Fa was strong, the sleepiness disappeared. However, if my intention to do things was too strong my heart grew cold. I also found that the fog obscuring my vision disappeared. Thank you Master for your compassionate salvation. I went from being hopeless to gaining a new lease on life.

The Universe’s Fundamental Fa

Because animation production is labor-intensive, and there would not be any results without action, I was limited by this notion that breaking through would require labor.

Before I joined the media, when I encountered bottlenecks in drawing for other projects, I studied the Fa immediately, became inspired, then resumed drawing. But with this animation project, the many years of hard work and training seemed to have crumbled. There were many drawings. When the animator or painter did not meet our requirements, the process of improving the quality of these images was extremely difficult. Eventually, I had to personally fix them all. I thus always thought that this required so much time, and that all the processes eventually required labor to fill the gaps.

Through studying the Fa, I realized that my understanding of the Fa had biases due to limitations in my thinking. Everything that should exist in the universe came from Dafa! Every video and animation we produce originated from and was completed by the Fa. I wanted to use my own abilities to produce videos, and this thought was foolish. We only need to focus on how to improve according to the Fa. Everything else will be completed by the Fa.

Cherishing Others

While producing videos, the hardest for me to let go of is the standard for drawings. The area I am mainly responsible for this year is stop-motion animation. I thought to myself, “What was bound to happen finally did.” I am able to correctly handle most things, but I would become sensitive and have emotional fluctuations only when it came to drawings. But during a recent project, external painters deeply inspired my cultivation.

Although the painter responsible for drawing sketches drew the layout and details, the lines were not precise and the characters were also poorly drawn. I kept compassionate thoughts to understand him and decided to assume his parts with shortcomings. I thought I should bear this pain. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, I worked on fixing his drawings and tried my best to encourage him to complete the draft on time. Surprisingly, his drawings became beautiful, as if they had gone through a complete transformation. So it looked like treating people with compassionate thoughts also led to changes in the drawings. This made me again realize that the heart is the root of everything.

Another test came when we entered the stage of coloring the drawings. When I brought up some feedback to a painter that I worked with for a long time and had high regards for, he suddenly threw down the paintbrush and said, “I can’t keep going anymore.” He got up and left.

With the tight schedule, this made me distraught and troubled, and I immediately looked inward. I found that even though I was explaining to him calmly on the outside, I was angry on the inside, and thought, “Is this even considered a drawing? How am I supposed to use this!?” My attachment was in fact uglier than the painter’s shortcomings. I deeply self-reflected and eliminated my bad thoughts. I wanted to sincerely apologize to that painter, but he would not pick up my calls. After I sent him four messages, I was finally able to talk to him on the phone.

We spoke for a long time that night. I sincerely apologized to him, and said, “Your drawing did not have issues. It’s just that there are differences in the types of artwork required for still images, and for videos. It just needed adjustments. I was not able to explain this clearly to you. I very much want to complete this project with you. Besides you, no one else in the world is qualified to do this job.”

I communicated with him with sincerity. He later came around and decided to work with me. In order to allow him to do his best to complete the drawing, I assisted him wholeheartedly. Even though I still needed to bear pressure, I could face it calmly. The drawing was eventually completed, and was extremely high in quality. The artwork subtly emitted the beauty and pristineness of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Looking back on this incident, I was angry at the time because I focused on the perfection of the work instead of respect for others. My attachment to the quality of the drawings overshadowed respect for people, and I was not able to realize that I needed to save space in my heart for other people.

That day, Master published a new teaching:

“Yet people today have forgotten the ways of tradition, and forgotten how kind, respectful, loving, and helpful as well as good to one another, in so many ways, people traditionally were. They have forgotten how people traditionally related to one another.” (“Why Shen Yun Can Save Lives”)

I felt very ashamed and sorry. I realized I had to be tolerant of others’ shortcomings, understand their endurance levels, and be grateful for their contributions. I also needed to realize that the videos were the result of collaboration by all the participants. There is me in them, and there is also them in me.

Through this incident, I understood why people who are exceptionally talented in a particular area tend to easily become angry, sensitive, condescending, and argumentative. I used to think that I was different from these types of people, and placed myself in a high position. But this experience completely broke down that perception. I realized that those whom I did not understand before, were in fact my mirrors.

I have to keep in mind this line from the Fa, “To cherish others is to cherish yourself.” (Teachings at the Conference in New Zealand)

Tempering True Gold

The media is an excellent environment to refine us and forge true gold. If we are selfish we will have difficulty surviving and we won’t persevere in this tense environment. We need to let go of our egos and become selfless beings, in order to complete the mission Master bestowed on us.

Without this environment that resembles Taishang Laojun’s alchemy furnace, I wouldn’t be able to improve. Without fellow practitioners who worked with me, I would not be able to complete this path. I want to express my appreciation for my colleagues who tolerated my shortcomings and enlightened me. In a harsh environment, and while facing things that were difficult to bear alone, we relied on and encouraged each other and compensated for each other’s shortcomings. We shared our joys and sorrows and walked this path.

During these past two years and seven months, every step was an unforgettable memory that I will always remember. I would like to sincerely thank my colleagues. I also deeply appreciate Master for compassionately arranging and talking care of everything for me—a practitioner filled with shortcomings.

These are my cultivation experiences. If there is any room for improvement please kindly point it out.

Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Presented at the 2025 South Korea Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)