Eliminating Selfishness and Joining the Group

Maintaining the environment of studying the Fa together
Studying the Fa in a group is what Master asks us to do. It is also something that every practitioner should try his or her best to maintain.

Master said in “Environment” in Essentials for Further Advancement :

“The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly.”
Excuses, excuses

On January 17, 2013, I moved to an apartment and lived with other practitioners while promoting Shen Yun in Vienna. I attended the Fa-study group very few times and always had some excuse or other for why I couldn't, but it was actually due to my laziness.

I did not realize that I was very selfish and always thought about only about myself. I thought that it would be better for me if I just listened to the Fa lectures and recited the Fa by myself, compared to driving to a practitioner's home to study with others, which was a two-hour round trip.

I failed to realize that it was our responsibility as Dafa practitioners to maintain a Fa-study group, because we were not just cultivating ourselves. We should improve together as a whole body.

In February, with the help of a German practitioner, I signed up to help prepare food for Shen Yun performers during their European tour. However, since I did not go to the Fa-study very often, I lost the precious opportunity and felt very regretful.

Another practitioner's dedication embarrassed me
While I was helping to promote Shen Yun in Berlin, a German practitioner said to me that he made it a point to join the Fa-study session even though he had to drive one hour and go across the whole city of Hamburg after work. Afterwards, he had to drive another hour to get home. Hearing this made me feel ashamed.

My notion felt like a thick shell surrounding me. In order to break this shell, it was necessary for me to be brave and determined. The driving force that keeps us going forward comes from the Fa.

In March while I was in Germany, before going out to distribute Shen Yun fliers every morning, I joined the group to study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts.

In April, I started to study the Fa in a practitioner's home. As long as I did not have to work or do my school assignments, I tried my best to join them. While studying the Fa, I tried to cross my legs so that I could be more focused and have a better understanding. During a session in April, I crossed my legs for two and a half hours while we were studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. That was my best record ever, since I had not been able to cross my legs before. No words can describe how good and relaxed I felt physically and mentally after this Fa-study.

Trying not to be selfish
It was a precious time while I was with fellow practitioners. We cultivated and lived together. Each practitioner was a mirror for me and I could see my true self through others.

While promoting Shen Yun in Germany in March, since we had to move to another place, practitioner A and I were packing up our belongings. Practitioner A did not realize that he did not put his sleeping bag in the car until we had been on the road for about an hour. When we got back and looked for it, we saw that someone else had already taken it.

Why did such a thing happen? Nothing happens without a reason in our cultivation. Thus, we both looked inward.

I shared with practitioner A that it was possible the sleeping bag might not be lost. When we were putting things into the car, if I had not cared only about my own things but had also checked if his things were in the car, and if practitioner A had made sure that I got all my things, this situation could have been different. If we both thought of the other person first, how could we have lost the sleeping bag?

Realizing the fact that I had been practising for a long time yet was still not doing well, I felt very embarrassed and knew that I still had a long way to go to meet Master's requirement of being selfless and altruistic.

Countless times, I have thanked Master for giving me hints on my cultivation path and let me see my shortcomings and loopholes. I will try to get rid of my selfishness and let every one of my thoughts and actions be based on the Fa, so that I can be a qualified Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period.

Let us be more diligent. I also hope that practitioners that have not joined a group can overcome their difficulties and try their best to study the Fa with other practitioners and quit making excuses. We should treasure and maintain this environment that Master has left for us.

My level is limited, so please point out anything inappropriate.