My Understanding of Serving Others

(Minghui.org) Master said in “The Standards for Falun Dafa assistants” in The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection:

“The assistants should cherish Falun Dafa, be enthusiastic to work for it, and be willing to serve others voluntarily.”

As the main coordinator for my country, I think I’ve cherished Dafa and had a lot of enthusiasm to work for it, and I still do. I organize Fa-study, motivate practitioners to share their experiences, organize practice and study for newcomers and all local activities to promote Dafa; when we travel, I drive and carry the equipment. It has been like that for years. However, only recently did I understand what “serving others” truly means.

This year, for the first time, our local practitioners expressed their desire to participate in the European Fahui (Experience Sharing Conference). I was delighted, as I was usually the only one from my country who attended. I was helping everyone book flights and start to prepare when the Fahui organizer informed us that the conditions for getting tickets to the Fahui had changed from previous years and that each practitioner also needed to write a sharing paper.

My first big task in serving our local practitioners was to announce which ones met the criteria and which ones didn't. One of those who didn't meet the criteria was mad at me and even said some unpleasant words, but being aware that my role was to help others meet the criteria instead of disqualifying them helped us all to overcome this tribulation.

I promised to assist everyone in the process of writing papers. I guided them, reminded them of their own past oral sharings, edited their texts, and even learned to use a word processor. In the end, all of the papers were finished before the deadline.

The next task was to select the best papers and translate them into English. No way, I thought. I have my ordinary job, my family obligations, and other Dafa projects. How could I do it all by myself?

As the translation process moved along, however, and I gained insights into others' cultivation experiences, my xinxing improved as I proceeded. One paper in particular helped. The practitioner said in the paper that he didn't have enough time and slacked off in Fa-study. After he started to study three lectures per day, he not only had time for all that he was supposed to do but even some extra time left over for reading articles on the Minghui website. It couldn't be a coincidence that this was the very first sharing I translated. Equipped with this new understanding, translating the next one went more quickly, and the next one even quicker. It was as if time was compressed. I managed to catch up, and when another practitioner offered to help, the goal was totally achievable!

After rushing to meet deadlines, when we finally flew to the conference city, I thought this would be like a vacation for me. However, during the three days of conference activities, I also had to take on the responsibilities of guiding local practitioners around the city, coordinating them, and carrying the luggage of an elderly practitioner up and down the stairs of numerous metro stations. Also, as most of them were new practitioners, I also had to understand their various needs, including food.

During the conference break, the coordinators waited in line to collect orders for food, while other practitioners were chatting in the lobby, waiting. For my group, no more chopsticks were left, and I went from counter to counter in a very crowded room until I finally found chopsticks.

That’s when I enlightened to what serving actually meant. Master said:

“But a junior monk who cooks meals might not be of poor inborn quality. The more the junior monk suffers, the easier it is for him to achieve the Unlocking of Gong. The more comfortable the senior monks’ lives are, the harder it is for them to reach the state of Unlocking Gong since there is the issue of transforming karma. The junior monk is always suffering and tired. He will repay his karma and become enlightened more quickly.” (Zhuan Falun)

I thought that a Dafa coordinator absolutely should not act like a senior monk if he wants to reach enlightenment.

In the past, kings served their people–at least kindhearted kings did. In modern art and literature, however, kings are depicted as those who abuse privileges to be served. In the modern world, the great majority of leaders, from company leaders to state leaders, all act the same way–they are there to be served instead of to serve. They gladly use the words “serving the people” or “serving the nation,” but I don't think they really understand that serving includes doing trivial things for others, making sacrifices, and not placing oneself above others.

Master said:

“…the principles of cultivators and those of ordinary people are opposite...” (from “Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”)

On our way home, while checking in at the airport, we were told that the flight was overbooked. One person in our group would have to stay overnight and catch the morning flight, along with some other passengers.

This time, I had no doubt... I’d be happy to stay. Others could go home.

While heading to the hotel, one of the passengers I met asked me why I so willingly gave up my seat. I explained to him that I practiced Falun Dafa.

We spent the rest of the evening over a nice dinner, while he insisted that I explain the Dafa principles to him more thoroughly. All through our dinner, and over breakfast the next morning, and during the next flight that we had together, he kept the Dafa flyer in his hand, as if he wanted the flyer to remind him to use the time to learn more about Falun Dafa.

I tried to serve him as best as I could.