Let Go of Ego as Shen Yun’s Laundry Coordinator

Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I am a Dafa practitioner who obtained the Fa in 2005 in Spain, and I have assisted Shen Yun during its tours in Spain since 2014. As the person responsible for laundry during the Shen Yun tour, I feel a responsibility and obligation to carry out this work as professionally as possible. For this reason, I have always been very demanding regarding the company’s costumes and clothing. However, at times, this level of strictness caused me discomfort, and I also realized that my fellow practitioners were unhappy with me. My strong attachment to myself made me believe that only I could do this job well.

Soon I came to realize that my fellow practitioners also made a vow for this task. They also have abilities and are part of this mission. I have learned to be one among them and to let go of the thought that I am better than others at this task. I have been able to see the greatness of my fellow practitioners, and as a result, my strictness gradually dissolved. Now I have learned to be more compassionate.

During the tour, which lasted more than a month, there were many tests involving attachments that I could not let go of: the attachment to giving orders, showing off, seeking recognition, being the best, and pursuing fame. I feel this was a very decisive and mind-opening tour. Every moment was a test; every second, every word, every gesture, every experience taught me something I needed to learn in order to remain physically and mentally well.

Resolving My Strictness

In one of the cities on the tour, my attachment to perfectionism became especially evident. I realized that I was overly demanding of my fellow practitioners and felt that they were doing many things incorrectly. I thought, “Shen Yun is perfect, and everything must be done perfectly.” I was very impatient and tried to do everything myself because I believed it was the best option, as I considered myself better than others. I also realized that I had a strong attachment to showing off.

This realization helped me put myself in my fellow practitioners’ shoes. I felt that I was overwhelming them with my extreme perfectionism and understood that I needed to trust them more.

My ordinary job is in a laundry facility, and to my surprise, I am experiencing situations that remind me of where my fellow practitioners stand during Shen Yun laundry work. This helps me eliminate my attachment to myself and stop believing that I am better than others, because they are also fulfilling their role in assisting Shen Yun and obtaining mighty virtue.

My ordinary work is helping me understand that no one is better than anyone else. There, everyone is capable of everything, and if we do not know something, we learn it. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity Master has given me to eliminate this attachment and become humbler.

This understanding was not the result of sudden enlightenment. Rather, I gradually enlightened to it by looking within and examining myself after the work in each city and also gradually after the tour ended. From now on, my goal is to look within and pay attention to every thought whenever a test arises, so that I can improve more quickly and better serve during the Shen Yun tour.

Comfort Is Not the Path

During this year’s tour, I learned to tolerate others despite being very demanding. I always acted as though I held a stick to punish fellow practitioners if they did not do things correctly. I learned to accept them and see the good in them, to recognize their strengths, and to allow them to express their divine grace in everything they do.

In our laundry work, the tests of the mind are the most decisive. We must try not to think about anything or think only positive thoughts. We must focus on the work without thinking badly of anyone. This is crucial, as there is no room for relaxation. I must be strict with my mind. I cannot let down my guard or entertain negative thoughts. If I think badly about something or someone, things begin to go wrong: machines stop working, clothes do not get washed, the electrical generator trips, and so on. I must remain calm, peaceful, and confident, and I must convey that confidence to my fellow practitioners.

When I expect everything to go smoothly but something goes wrong, it is again a test for my heart, e.g. when a fellow practitioner says something I do not like, or I find myself in an uncomfortable situation. Everything is OK for me if I am aligned with the Fa. The best thing that can happen to me is to be uncomfortable, even though my human mind seeks comfort. But I have realized that comfort is the wrong path.

Discomfort is the path. Difficulty is the path. Hard trials are the path. Yet my human mind only wants comfort and always seeks the easiest way. The attachment is so strong! I still have not fully learned this lesson. My cells still seek comfort.

My attachments would not let go. My mind was critical of others. Yet the path was discomfort—enduring discomfort without complaint, remaining calm and practicing Ren (forbearance). That is the true path: enduring with compassion. The more uncomfortable things became, the more attachments I could see. A single word or gesture could shake me. It was my deep attachment to comfort and my unwillingness to face my attachments. They were so obvious that I could have seen them in a mirror, yet it is difficult to see them when you believe yourself to be above others.

My Fellow Practitioners Help Me to Cultivate

One of my team members often pointed out my shortcomings and attachments. I disliked this greatly because I considered myself more elevated and felt that her words were like a stab to my ego. But it was a tremendous opportunity in reality.

Envy, resentment, and a competitive mentality would intensify whenever she pointed something out, and my attachment to seeing myself as the best felt deeply wounded. I realized that I needed greater compassion. With genuine compassion, everything could flow smoothly, and I could dissolve my attachment to myself enough to examine my shortcomings. It was my ego that prevented me from improving. Master said in Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference: “In the past, cultivators would remove attachments one after another. But in your case, almost all of your attachments remain while they are weakened and lessened one layer at a time, weakened and lessened continually, further and further. That’s the approach that I have taken with you, and it allows our Dafa disciples to live normally among ordinary people prior to achieving consummation and to save people in a normal manner while being one of them. At the same time, precisely because your human thoughts haven’t been fully removed, it allows you to cultivate against their interference, and if you can stay alert and cultivate yourself at all times, and fulfill your responsibilities as a Dafa disciple, that is mighty virtue and is simply extraordinary. And that is your path.”

Now I understand this and want to improve. My ego was like a dome that had hovered over my head for a long time. Under that dome were hidden many emotions and feelings: shame, fear, concern about what others would say or think of me, complaints, and more complaints. But now I realize that this was not my true self. It was only the part that needed to be discarded—the human part.

Eliminating Envy Throughout the Tour

I feel that if one day I can genuinely be happy seeing others enjoying themselves, eating, or laughing, without feeling envy, then the gates of heaven will open for me. But I often wonder how I can change this feeling.

During the tour, envy was reflected before my eyes from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. Everything I saw and heard seemed permeated by envy. For example, regarding my attachment to food: when we went to the dining hall and I saw food on the trays, I hurried to take it in case someone else took my favorite dish. I envied those who could eat something delicious that I could not have.

Sometimes, when a fellow practitioner looked especially beautiful that day, I envied her beauty. I also envied practitioners who could sit in meditation peacefully for an hour with their legs crossed, because due to my attachment to comfort, I have never been able to keep my legs crossed for the full hour.

Now, however, I am happy because I have found a solution to envy: stop thinking about myself and begin thinking more about others; stop focusing on desires for things I cannot have and instead rejoice in what others have. With this mindset, I feel I have found the key to overcoming envy, and my compassion for others has grown stronger.

Maintaining Righteousness During Shen Yun Work

As soon as Shen Yun arrives in Spain, I begin thinking about everything needed for the laundry work. I try to put myself in the dancers’ and musicians’ shoes so that I can anticipate their needs at every moment. To do this, I need a state of complete righteousness and mental clarity.

Although many unexpected situations arise in laundry work, I sometimes feel that the gods help me maintain a clear mind and know what needs to be done. We never know what garments will arrive, especially while the show is in progress. A torn piece of fabric, a stained skirt, or any number of issues may suddenly appear and need immediate attention. For this reason, our minds must remain calm and clear. It is a magical environment, but that magic can disappear when negative thoughts arise from attachments, human notions, or envy.

It is important to maintain righteous thoughts and actions so that there is no interference, because otherwise anything could happen. For example, one day while washing costumes outside the theater, one of the machines swallowed more money than it should have. I believe this happened because I had negative thoughts toward a practitioner who was supposed to help us with the machines but ultimately did not come.

On another day, after the washing cycle ended, the washing machine door would not open. After ten minutes of trying, I had to call the facility manager to solve the problem. In both situations, I discovered that the root cause was either my fear of not knowing how to handle the situation or my negative thoughts about others. I understand that Master gives us tests so that we can solve them by looking within rather than outward.

Get Rid of Worry and Fear

I constantly worried about losing even a single sock belonging to the dancers, which I recognize as an attachment to fear. I knew they had no time to go shopping, used their socks until the end of the tour, and depended on us to mend holes and keep pairs together.

Every item of clothing must be labeled with its owner’s name to prevent anything from being lost during washing. I considered this extremely important. Each dancer’s socks were placed in a mesh bag for washing so they would not be lost or mixed up. Afterward, they were placed in the dryer, and if they were not completely dry, they were hung in a drying cabinet.

One day, a dancer came to collect his socks, and we could not find them. We searched everywhere—the dryer, the cabinet, the washing machine—but there was no trace of them. We checked the drying cabinet three times, and they were not there. One of my fellow practitioners checked again and saw nothing. The cabinet was empty, and we did not know what to tell the dancer. My fellow practitioner and I were very upset and discouraged. We thought perhaps another dancer had taken them by mistake.

Later, my fellow practitioner checked the cabinet again and was astonished to find the socks hanging there. It was inexplicable. There was no other clothing in the cabinet. How could we have missed them? We were truly astonished. I looked inward and realized that my fear of losing a sock may have been the cause. Fear is a powerful attachment that can even block our vision. If we truly have righteous thoughts and believe in divine beings, why should we be afraid?

This Year We Are a Stronger Team

Our laundry team now consists of five people, and each person specializes in a particular task: one handles sewing, one irons shirts, one repairs and irons delicate costumes, one manages washing and drying, and another sorts and labels sportswear. Each person has become an expert in her task. It is truly beautiful.

I feel it has worked. We have built a strong team in which everyone dedicates their time and effort to what they do best. In this way, I lost my fear that things would not be done properly. I gradually eliminated my attachment to excessive demands, rigidity, and perfectionism. I learned to trust my fellow practitioners, and as a result, this tour was calmer than previous ones.

Before concluding, I would like to add that writing this experience sharing has helped me see my deepest attachments more clearly. By doing so, I also hope it may help other practitioners on their cultivation path.

I would appreciate it if anyone could point out anything I have said that is inappropriate.

Thank you, Master!
Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Speaker at the European Fa-Conference 2026 in Prague)