Having Faith in our Master

Dear Master,
Dear fellow practitioners,

I am a practitioner from Slovakia. I obtained the Fa in 2012. In early 2023, when my wife and I were at The Epoch Times headquarters in New York for a few weeks, the head of The Epoch Times told me that I should stop working at my current position and that me and my wife should establish a Slovak edition of The Epoch Times.

Even though I majored in journalism, I wasn’t sure if I could launch a new media outlet in Slovakia. Also, since I started practicing Falun Dafa, I’ve almost completely stopped following politics. Colleagues in New York sincerely congratulated me, but I didn’t quite share their enthusiasm. I knew that it is a very good thing that we could have an edition of The Epoch Times in our country, but at the same time, I could see the many difficulties that lay ahead of us. I asked myself: “Why does it have to be me?”

One day I came home to the apartment in New York where I was living, and there was a practitioner from Taiwan there. I told him that my wife and I were to go home, move to the capital, and establish the Slovak edition of The Epoch Times. It’s great news, but at the same time we felt a little uncertain, since we have no experience and don’t really know how to start such a big project.

The Taiwanese practitioner shrugged his shoulders and said to me in simple English: “Just believe!” He said just two words, but at that moment it seemed to me that he had expressed everything there was to say. His words were so accurate and deep in that situation that it seemed to me as if Master himself was speaking to me through him.

Resisting Unrighteous Thoughts

Three years have passed since the Slovak edition of The Epoch Times was founded. I’ve been observing how Master gradually arranges everything for us, and I’ve noticed that everything happens at just the right time. As we improve in character and professionally, new things may happen that we probably wouldn’t have been ready for at the very beginning.

In the autumn of 2023, Slovakia signed a contract with the Chinese company Gotion to build a large electric battery manufacturing plant in Šurany—a small town in southwestern Slovakia. Gotion is known for its close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The United States has blacklisted Gotion as a company banned in the U.S., as it is suspected of using forced labour, particularly in Xinjiang.

The battery plant in Šurany is the second-largest foreign investment in Slovakia’s history. The Slovak government has granted it the status of a strategic investment, which allows Gotion to move through all administrative and regulatory processes much more quickly, with significant assistance from Slovak institutions. In addition to the construction of the plant, a local branch of the Chinese Communist Party is even expected to be established in Šurany.

During 2024, various preparatory works for the construction began. In Šurany, however, a grassroots initiative by local residents gradually began to voice opposition to the battery plant. Let’s call them “the Initiative.” They warned primarily of the negative environmental impacts that the battery factory would bring to the region and began pointing out the falsified statistics and data that the Chinese company was providing to Slovak authorities to hide the fact that this will be an exceptionally polluting industry.

There was a remarkable consensus among the Slovak media on the topic of Chinese investment. Media outlets sympathetic to the opposition are also supporters of green policies, so they welcomed the Chinese electric battery factory. They labeled citizens protesting against the construction as “hoaxers”.

Pro-government media outlets were also reluctant to criticize the prime minister’s actions. Citizens protesting the construction received almost no coverage in these outlets. I observed this situation and felt that it was precisely the gap that the Slovak edition of The Epoch Times could fill.

I decided to contact the Initiative opposing the construction of the Chinese battery plant, and I asked them several questions. Given their past experiences with other media outlets that had smeared them, their response was somewhat distrustful and not entirely friendly. However, they invited me to the parliament, where a committee meeting on the battery plant was scheduled to take place. We could meet there and talk.

I had never been to parliament on my own before, nor had I ever spoken with any politicians. I tried to study the materials they provided me on the environmental risks posed by the battery factory and the administrative processes that the Chinese company had circumvented, but doing so alongside my other regular work was extremely challenging.

As I sat on the bus heading to the parliament, I had serious doubts about whether it was really worth going there and whether I would be able to communicate effectively on this topic. I recalled this passage from Zhuan Falun: “And at a certain point in time you might be made to doubt whether the teachings are true, whether you have higher energy, whether you are cut out for spiritual practice and can really make progress at it, or whether higher beings really exist. You might be made to go through this in the future, and be given a false impression that leads you to question and doubt all of this. It’s done to see whether you can stay committed. If you can hold fast to the thought, “I must stay firm and not waver,” then you will, with that determination, indeed do so when going through this kind of test, and naturally handle it well, for your character will have grown.” (“The Sixth Talk”, Zhuan Falun)

Despite all the unrighteous thoughts that were forming in my head and my doubts about my abilities, on a deeper level I knew that I had to go there and that the topic of Chinese investment was one we needed to cover in detail. “Why did we even start the Slovak edition of The Epoch Times if I’m not going to go there?” I asked myself.

However, I wasn’t able to get into the committee meeting. Only 15 members of the public were allowed to attend, and all the seats were already taken. I called the man from the Initiative, but he didn’t answer the phone. I was a little confused as to why things turned out that way, but I did everything I could to give the Initiative a platform to express their concerns.

My phone suddenly rang in the afternoon. It was Mr. G. from the Initiative. We talked for over an hour. I clarified the truth, told him the history, and the mission of The Epoch Times and he explained to me a lot of things about the construction of the Chinese factory. Mr. G. then expressed interest in doing a video interview with Epoch Times. It was another test and an even bigger challenge. But I decided to continue on the path I was already on.

We had to set up the studio for the interview. It was the first interview we’d done in our office. The preparations and the interview are a story for another cultivation experience sharing. In short: we did the interview at the end of 2024; it received a positive response from viewers, and we strengthened our relationship with Mr. G. from the Initiative.

Since then, Mr. G. has been keeping me regularly updated on the latest developments. The Initiative began promoting our articles on its social media channels, and these were often our most-read articles. We were one of the few media outlets in Slovakia providing balanced coverage, giving a platform to both supporters and opponents of the project.

More and more people began to take an interest in the issue. Several other civic organizations expressed their reservations about the construction of the battery plant in an open letter they delivered to the Chinese Embassy. However, the Chinese Embassy refused to accept the letter and expressed concerns that the letter might contain a bomb or be laced with anthrax. People were slowly beginning to experience the methods of the Chinese Communist Party firsthand.

In the summer of 2025, we interviewed another member of the Initiative, a former judge. He explained in great detail how a Chinese company circumvented European standards and regulations, and how safety data regarding the entire factory had been repeatedly falsified. He also said that every local council member in Šurany who voted in favor of building the Chinese factory miraculously ended up with a new apartment.

In the meantime, some smaller opposition political parties that have reservations about the green policies have begun to take up these issues. The more we wrote about the topic, the more people began to take a massive interest in it.

A protest was subsequently held in Šurany, right in front of the site where the battery plant is to be built. It was organized by the Initiative, and Mr. G. invited us as well. Once again, I had some concerns, since there could be all sorts of people among the participants—including those who, while opposing the construction of the battery plant, also attack The Epoch Times for various reasons. The greater the reach of our content, the more frequently negative remarks began to appear, attacking The Epoch Times and Falun Dafa. I took this as a sign that we were doing our job well; otherwise, the evil forces wouldn’t have bothered to show themselves.

Master said: “While they’re clarifying the facts some students often run into people who don’t want to listen, don’t accept things, or are even antagonistic. You shouldn’t let one person’s opposition be a mental setback for you or make you lose the courage to save sentient beings. A Dafa disciple… what’s a Dafa disciple? He’s a being created by the most magnificent Fa, and he’s rock-solid and as indestructible as diamond. How could a few words from an ordinary, bad person count for anything? “However evil you are, you can’t change me. I simply must accomplish my historic mission, and I must do what a Dafa disciple should do.”” (Fa Teaching Given at the 2003 Washington, D.C. Fa Conference)

When we arrived at the protest, Mr. G. greeted me right away. I approached a politician who had just finished his speech to ask if he would grant us an interview. It was the first time we had conducted a video interview with a Slovak politician. He told us that he was familiar with The Epoch Times, since we also report on the battery factory issue.

Mr. G., who was moderating the entire protest, soon announced over the microphone: “I would like to welcome The Epoch Times to our event, the fourth largest media outlet in the US, which is one of the few to professionally and objectively report on the construction of the battery plant.” This was met with a long round of applause from the approximately 300 people in attendance. We were filming an interview with the politician at the time, but I observed it all with the corner of my eye.

After the speeches, people formed a human chain around the site where the battery plant is to be built. As my wife and I walked past them to film the human chain, some of the people shouted at us: “Thank you, Epoch Times!” After the protest, two young men told me that they had joined the Initiative after watching our first video with Mr. G., which had opened their eyes, and that they had become involved in activities opposing the construction of the Chinese battery plant.

Construction of the Chinese factory is currently at a standstill. In the spring, the Minister of the Environment repeatedly stated that the Chinese battery plant would not be built in Slovakia because the company is falsifying documents and is unable to comply with European environmental standards, and the entire construction project is already at least 13 months behind schedule. Our prime minister, however, continues to insist that everything is proceeding according to plan, that the battery plant will be built, and that Slovakia plans to invite several other Chinese projects to the country. I don’t want to be attached to whether or not the Chinese battery plant will be built in Slovakia. I don’t know the higher arrangements. Master said: “The events of this human world unfold according to historical patterns. So while you might wish to foster progress in some form or other, or realize a certain goal, your wishes might not tally with those of the beings above [who decide such things].” (“The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

What’s important, however, is that we’ve given a voice and a platform to people who haven’t received it from others, and we’ve shown them that they can trust The Epoch Times. They also have the opportunity to experience the practices of the CCP firsthand. Everything is arranged by Master, and we play our part in it.

Falun Dafa and Religion

Recently, while we were studying Master’s articles, I read a passage that explained how to respond when ordinary people refer to Falun Dafa as a religion. About two days later, I was studying the Fa with another group of practitioners. We were studying the same article and I read the same passage about religion and Falun Dafa again. I became alert. I wondered if I, too, considered Falun Dafa to be a religion. And I realized that in some situations, that is indeed the case.

People in today’s religions often believe they belong to a certain chosen group of people. All they have to do is to perform the necessary rituals—such as attending church services, celebrating important holidays, and so on—and they are guaranteed to go to “heaven”. They don’t need to make any extra effort to improve themselves, work on their character, make sacrifices, and so on. As long as they can fulfill the basic duties their religion requires of them, they think they will most likely go to heaven.

In Falun Dafa cultivation, however, this is not the case. The emphasis is on the practitioner himself—on his own cultivation and character improvement. The responsibility lies with the practitioner himself. Master said: “I have already told you that cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (“Lecture One” Zhuan Falun)

Master also said: “Yet whether one’s practice comes to fruition depends on how much heart is put into it; this holds true for everyone, and there is no way around it.” (“The Seventh Talk”, Zhuan Falun)

That’s when I realized I had a shortcoming that I call “irrational faith in Master”. Much like people who believe in religion, I justify my own failures by telling myself that Master will take care of me anyway. When I don’t want to improve my character, I tell myself that it doesn’t matter—after all, I’ve been a Falun Dafa practitioner for many years and have already done so much for various projects to clarify the truth, so Master will surely save me.

It’s a kind of thought karma that justifies my attachments by telling me that nothing can happen to me. After all, I belong to the chosen group that Master will take care of. I don’t necessarily have to improve right now; I can improve next time. It’s no big deal. After all, my future will be bright anyway; that’s for sure.

While a rational faith in Master helps me maintain righteous thoughts during difficult times and not give up, an irrational faith in Master can lull me into a false sense of security. I don’t have to try, since Master has guaranteed me a bright future anyway. I know these aren’t my own thoughts, but I must work to eliminate them and not follow them.

Working in the media requires constantly coming up with new content, which is mentally exhausting. You have to constantly make breakthroughs to keep moving forward. When I finished my journalism degree, I told myself that I’d like to work for a righteous media outlet, but there aren’t any in Slovakia. At that time, I wasn’t yet a practitioner. Today, I am fortunate to be able to work for The Epoch Times, which has a mission far more glorious than I could ever have dreamed of.

I would like to express my gratitude to Master for guiding my path, for taking care of me all along, and for enabling me to improve. I would also like to thank fellow practitioners for their help and cooperation.

This is my limited understanding at my current level. If I have said anything that is not in accordance with the Fa, please kindly point it out to me.

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