(Clearwisdom.net)

I heard an interesting story about the difference between heaven and hell. The story goes like this:

There is actually plenty of food in hell. People who live in hell have large quantities of delicious food, but each of them only has a pair of very long chopsticks to eat the food. Since everyone uses his or her chopsticks to get food for him or herself, everyone is starving because the extremely long chopsticks make it impossible for them to get the food into their mouths. This goes on day after day at their dining table full of tasty food. In heaven, there is also plenty of delicious food and everyone also has a pair of equally long chopsticks. The difference is that everyone in heaven thinks about others. They feed one another using the long chopsticks and everyone gets enough food and feels very happy.

Balancing the Numerous Dafa Projects with "My" Projects

I have noticed that as more and more practitioners become diligent, and with our deepened understandings of Dafa, an increasing number of practitioners are participating in truth-clarification projects. Several years ago, only a few practitioners were very busy. Now, almost all practitioners are extremely busy. We are clarifying the truth and providing salvation to a larger number of sentient beings. We have also learned to use more and more methods to clarify the truth.

At the same time, however, I notice that it is not easy to balance the relationship between "my" projects and other Dafa projects. The following is a specific example:

Six Topics Discussed Within Two Hours

I live in a big city in Germany. Local practitioners have a weekly group Fa study. Because ours city is a major German metropolis and there are many things going on here, we usually spend two to three hours on sharing and discussion after Fa study.

Last week we touched upon many topics in our two-hour discussion. Because time was limited, we only briefly mentioned some projects such as making phone calls to China to clarify the truth, the European "Coming for You" choir, what had happened during Hu Jintao's visit to Germany and Spain, and our Saturday downtown truth-clarification booth. Because of the tight schedule, we were unable to have a deep sharing based on Fa for the majority of these projects.

During the discussion, I noticed that some practitioners came to group Fa study with the intention of discussing a specific topic with fellow practitioners. I think it is understandable that they had such an intention. However when the intention was too strong, some practitioners hastily brought up their topic before the group had completed an in-depth sharing on some other topic. I feel that it is also a manifestation of the attachment to one's self, that is, the attachment to one's "own" project.

My understanding of this matter is that when we have discussions, or when we act on anything, it is not simply meant for having a discussion or taking an action. It is an opportunity for us to cultivate ourselves. If we are able to listen to others wholeheartedly, look inward, learn from others' good experiences or lessons, and actively involve ourselves in the discussion of other projects, we can also improve ourselves, and improve our xinxing even though we are not talking about "our own" projects. When our xinxing is improved, we are able to do our own projects better. If we spend enough time discussing our understandings on a single issue, we will be able to have an in-depth sharing. Only when we have a clear understanding on the Fa can we do well in our projects.

As for issues we don't have time to address during group discussions, we may discuss them by emails, phone calls or among a few practitioners. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, for activities to be held during some major events need to be discussed in advance and cannot delay the sharing.

Expecting More Practitioners to Participate in "My" Project

I also noticed that most practitioners, when bringing up their projects for discussion, emphasize the importance of the projects they were participating in, in the hopes that more practitioners would join their project teams. I personally believe it is necessary to share with everyone the progress and importance of each project so that we truly act as a whole body. Of course, the active participation of more practitioners will benefit the project. However, because we have limited manpower, we cannot allocate more practitioners to all the projects. Also, it won't do if we all participate in the so-called "most important" project and abandon other important projects, because all projects complement one another, and none of these projects can be neglected. We should not "leave behind a melon when trying to pick up sesame."

Teacher taught us in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York,"

I think when discussing the importance of a certain project, that there are two possible approaches. One is that the practitioner involved in the project shares with everyone the progress of the project without any expectations. The other is that the practitioner hopes to get more practitioners involved by discussing his or her project with everyone. In my opinion, the practitioner with the latter approach has already subconsciously put his or her project above all other projects. Such practitioners hope that others will attach importance to their project. But have they asked themselves how much importance they have attached to other projects?

I feel that when I put too much emphasis on the project I am involved in, oftentimes I do not mentally support other projects when we have sharing. Maybe I am hearing the words, but I do not think actively how to do a better job on these projects and how I can try my best to give a helping hand. I also notice that some fellow practitioners, when they see that others don't participate in the projects which they themselves think are very important, easily get disappointed or even angry. Thus, estrangement among practitioners arises.

Exploring Our Own Potential First - Looking Inward

In addition, I also noticed that some projects with the initial involvement of only a few practitioners went very well without further involvement of other practitioners. It was because those practitioners who were involved in these projects improved themselves in cultivation and were able to do much better in their projects. I realized that the practitioners already involved in a certain project may have even greater potential than the power of having more practitioners involved. Dafa practitioners have the wisdom cultivated from Dafa. With advancement in diligent cultivation, one practitioner can do the jobs of ten people or even one hundred people. We should first look inward to get rid of attachments, break through our own notions, and think about how we can explore our own potential and do better. We should think more and put in more effort from this perspective rather than seeking more participants.

A practitioner brought up the issue of "coherent force" during the discussion. I think it is mainly a matter of our attitude toward one another. If we all give more consideration to other projects, all projects will have "enough food" and we will not "starve."