From Passive to Proactive – Experience of Promoting the "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” Art Exhibition in Austria

In 2011 when we had an unsuccessful Shen Yun in Austria, many fellow practitioners suffered a period of setback in their cultivation state. The result was a state of passiveness, which naturally meant being passive for a long period of time on the "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” Art Exhibition project. Today, we would like to share how we got out of this passive state through the Art Exhibition.

Since we successfully held over 20 "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” Art Exhibition in Austria from 2006, we decided to buy a new set of works for the art exhibition, titled The Art of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. This group of photos was first exhibited in the gallery of Vienna in 2009.

After that exhibition participating practitioners suffered a passive state, even the project coordinator was busy overcoming interferences in their own cultivation. This prevented the whole project from moving forward. Requirements became higher and although we had been trying, we could not find a suitable exhibition venue due to the lack of overall power.

Many fellow practitioners were very frustrated about the poor ticket sales for Shen Yun 2011. We discussed why we could not make Shen Yun a success in Austria. A main reason was our poor foundation for Fa study. The lack of collaboration within teams was also one of the factors. Each individual practitioner worked very hard, but the overall strength was not enough. Although a lot of things were done, there was no effect.

Of course we were not satisfied. While the decision had been made not to hold Shen Yun in Austria in 2012, the requirement for Dafa disciples, to save as many sentient beings as possible, was unchanged.

In Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference:
"Disciple: Which project would be best suited for saving the sentient beings of Africa? Shen Yun? New Tang Dynasty TV? Or Epoch Times?
Master: (Laughing) Use whichever one has matured. If you feel that NTDTV has matured, then use that approach. But if you don’t have the right conditions, then it won’t work out. If it is the Epoch Times that has matured, then launch an Epoch Times there. It is not about which project fits better. Rather, you have to consider firstly whether or not there are the right conditions for it, and secondly, as Dafa disciples you need to think things through in practical terms for the sake of sentient beings."

In Austria neither NTDTV or The Epoch Times was mature enough, but we enjoyed very favorable conditions for the Art Exhibition. We had ready art works, the exhibition coordinator was very responsible, and we also had experience in this aspect. It was very appropriate to clarify the truth to those who love art and culture through the Art Exhibition. In this way we could also lay the foundation for the publicity of 2012 and 2013 Shen Yun. We realized through sharing with practitioners from other countries that in those countries where Shen Yun was successful, truth clarification had been done well. In the autumn of 2011, we decided for the exhibition team to actively promote the project, looking for every possible opportunity to do the exhibition.

But just making the decision was not enough. How could we come out of the passive state? In the two months that followed, we exchanged ideas and experiences, but did not manage to make a real change.

At that time practitioners from another country asked whether we could lend them our pictures, because they had found a very good opportunity to show the art work. Our understanding at the time was that if we could not organize an exhibition, at least we could give the works to other countries to save the beings there. We loaned the works out. After several twists and turns, the art exhibition there gained a great success through in-depth truth clarification.

This country’s experience initiated more requests for borrowing our pictures, this time from several countries. This led to discussions in Austria. Suddenly this became a topic of the whole Austria - why we could not put on an exhibition in our own country. There were different understandings for how to deal with this matter. On one hand, of course it was a good thing to be able to support other countries, but we also had to fulfil our mission to save sentient beings in Austria. If we really wanted to have an exhibition in Austria, we must have the confidence to find a suitable venue in a short period of time. Through length sharing and looking inward, the Art Exhibition coordinator decided that we would keep these pictures for use in Austria. The decision and the participation of all practitioners made the seriousness and responsibility clearer to our exhibition project team. That was already the beginning of 2012.

The Art Exhibition coordinator became proactive, leading her team to make weekly plans, i.e. everyone put down what they would do. In this way all the activities and progress was clear to everyone at a glance. We also stuck to the contents each week. In addition, we also realized through the experience of other countries as well as Shen Yun not to simply start working and then see what need to be done next, but rather to plan it well and cooperate, which was very important. First of all, we had to consider by what time we had to contact the galleries, when was the latest that we had to determine the first exhibition date, etc. We made efforts toward the same goal.

When we changed ourselves and made the decision, our environment also changed. Master gave us a new opportunity. A practitioner who was not previously involved in the project took the initiatives to join and through him we got the first exhibition opportunity since 2009. We could display pictures at this exhibition. Meanwhile we could also demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises on the stage. Many audience members showed interest. It was a good start.

Then came an opportunity to hold the Art Exhibition in the town hall of a big city in Austria. The pictures were on display in a beautiful room. One side of the room was windows facing the square. During the exhibition we introduced Falun Gong in-depth to local politicians, especially the Mayor. New practitioners and those who had not originally participated in the project alike had the opportunity to play a role. The most beautiful experience for those involved in this exhibition was to clarify the truth through talking to people as well as to see people’s radiant faces after they had seen the exhibition or heard the truth. One entry in the visitors' book stated: “Light wins over all the darkness in this world. I support Falun Gong.”

During that time we also booked an appointment to clarify the truth to the management department of a famous museum in Vienna. Unfortunately, during that time the museum could not show our pictures. But seeing the works the Assistant Head was very touched. She felt that even though it was not yet mature, she could imagine us putting on a show there in the future. It was a hint from Master. Although we did not do well enough at the time, we had the responsibility of saving sentient beings, and also we had to do well what we should do.

Master said in Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference:
"I have to ask whether our Dafa disciples there who are hosting Shen Yun have really put a lot of effort into it? And this especially holds for Europe. Each year you have a hard time breaking even financially, and I’m now contemplating whether the company should keep going there. You can’t go on like that. You have to seriously deal with this situation. Huge amounts of human, material, and financial resources are being consumed, so why don’t you do this well? If you can’t do it well, perhaps you should stop and do other projects instead, which won’t be as demanding."

We really understood profoundly then that when we do something we really should consider how to do it well. There was no Shen Yun in Austria in 2012, but the sentient beings were still waiting to be saved. With the experience we gained so far, as well as the collective process from passive to proactive, we began the next exhibition.

The next exhibition opportunity was in a small but famous gallery in a big city in the state of Lower Austria. After studying Master’s latest lectures, the local Fa study group decided to further strengthen coordination and cooperation as a regional group. Previously practitioners had all been focused on their respective projects. There were few coordinated efforts to clarify the truth in the region. After it was decided that the Art Exhibition would take place in this region and that everyone would cooperate, each person in the group was assigned a task of looking for a venue or seeking VIP support. Each week after group Fa study practitioners shared progress and understanding, and so on.

Through a practitioner’s efforts, we soon made an appointment at the Town Hall. Clarifying the truth there was not very easy, because the city was also a sister city of a large city in China. We could feel they were poisoned rather seriously by the CCP. Through the conversation with the city’s representative, we learned of his predicament. They could feel the extension of the CCP’s persecution overseas, so they could better understand how widely persecuted Falun Gong is in China. This was not limited to Falun Gong practitioners and the persecution was being transported overseas. After that, they recommended a gallery to us. Two fellow practitioners paid a visit to the gallery, hoping to be able to put on an exhibition there.

Gallery owner was sceptical initially because the paintings were not original, but replicas. At first she wanted to refuse us. But practitioners had firm determination and trusted in Master. They did not give up and continued to tell the gallery owner why there was such an exhibition, why we must support the exhibition, and the fact that we would take care of everything, we just needed a venue. We continued to tell her which politicians and media we planned to contact. When she learned that our actions were voluntary, and about the persecution of Falun Gong, she changed her attitude. She agreed to lend us the venue for free for almost three weeks. She paid out of her own pocket to send the invitation of the opening ceremony to 2,000 of her clients. She also prepared drinks and champagne, did everything she could to help us.

Through this visit, we realized firm righteous thoughts played a decisive role. We also sought support from local governments. Everything went smoothly. The scope of our project was understood and our demands were passed on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was an interesting hint for us. Originally it was a local project, now we were referred to the level of the federal government to save sentient beings. We are still in contact with the federal government. The state government sent a representative to attend the opening ceremony. The city also sent a representative of the municipal government to participate in the opening ceremony, who happened to look after the economic ties with the sister city in China and could learn the truth through the Art Exhibition.

We applied the experience gained through Shen Yun’s promotion and planning to the next city’s exhibition. We developed a plan with timelines. At two to three weeks intervals, we set up Falun Gong information stands at the municipality, establishing a righteous field to save sentient beings. All beings eagerly awaited to be saved, which meant after each Information Day there would be people who obtained the Fa on the Information Day joining the practice site to learn the exercises. Half of the new practitioners had become regulars of the local practice group.

Co-ordination and co-operation among practitioners, i.e. the understanding of a one-body, benefited not only the local Fa study group but also other practitioners. For the first time we managed to find sponsors for all costs and materials, such as the printing of flyers and posters, the buffet of the opening ceremony, the invitations. This experience also gave us more confidence in carrying out Shen Yun work in Vienna. The opening ceremony in August 2012 was a huge success. So many people came that the hall was packed. We hoped to achieve the same for Shen Yun. In order to reach this goal we still need to work hard.

Through the experience of the “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” Art Exhibition over the past few months, we saw that Master have always been giving us chances. If we study the Fa well and work toward the same goal, Master will lead the predestined people to our side. In fact, Master has already done everything. We must be clear about which path to take. We now begin preparations for Shen Yun 2013 in Vienna. We believe that we will honour our vows. Having faith in Master and the Fa will help us.

Thank you!