Seeing the Magic Powers of Fireflies
Sin-Ing Lee 2011-08-29
In the past, we only knew that Shifu led us in doing good deeds such as promoting cultures, human rights, and love and peace. I used to think that the place I come, with its small size, had limited influence, and thus I sometimes could not help but feel that we were alone. At the end of 2010, I went with the “Cultural Goodwill Group for the Love of the World and Peace” to India to participate in the 11th “International Conference of Chief Justices of the World” and “Global Symposium 2010: Awakening Planetary Consciousness,” where 116 justices from 63 countries and NGO representatives from various countries convened. The conference gave me a chance to meet with them. They looked serious on the outside, but I found that they were kind and had been thoughtful in promoting their ideas in the past. However, they are too dispersed in the world; therefore, they were very much like fireflies dispersed everywhere in a forest, and we couldn’t feel the light from them without someone gathering them together.
The meeting was held for five days from December 10th to December 14th. During the conference, our Shifu, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, pointed out a direction to unite all of us. On this trip, we sponsored a variety of activities, such as the ceremony of ringing the “Bell of Peace,” the event of writing good articles to safeguard the Earth, and the endorsement campaign for the promotion of love and peace. This showed NGO representatives a clear and feasible path to effectively influencing the whole world. His Holiness the Dalai Lama rang the “Bell of Peace” at the conference and prayed for blessings for Tibet and its people, India, and all beings in the universe, and said in a wish, “True peace is from within; therefore, we must rid of the fire of hatred in our hearts. This must begin with education.” This touched many people deeply. The bell-ringing ceremony can influence leaders of the world. How about ordinary citizens? Through the event of writing good articles to safeguard the Earth and the endorsement campaign for love and peace, individuals are inspired to offer their love and caring and positively impact those around them. Shifu led us to influence, in several ways, leaders and average individuals alike; therefore, our influence suddenly became strong and powerful. This is very much like the analogy that the fireflies have been gathered together and thus give out very bright light. Shifu Dr. Hong reminded the world, “Heaven will perpetuate the ideas of love and peace and human rights. A pure heart is the blessing that Heaven bestows upon people with wisdom. Through the practice of learning good and ridding bad in many lifetimes, there is a journey back to the origin, back to the very beginning of life, in this lifetime.” All the chief justices and NGO representatives applauded loudly his speech, and many people said that they were deeply inspired.
There are 40 people, including many youths, in our delegation. I found that Shifu had taught us well; we worked as a team, covering for each other, and achieved the state of “one heart.” Thinking back, I remembered when we were at home, there were many other Tai Ji Men dizi who helped us. Now we were abroad, we had to do everything ourselves, from the smallest task of moving equipment and luggage to the larger task of planning performances and coordinating seminars. As we were in a foreign country, there were many variables and many situations that were beyond our control. If we still held on to our personal preferences, it would be difficult to consolidate our efforts. While we were in India, none of us complained or ridiculed others; we only cooperated with one another and put forth more efforts. We stood out there as a team and did our best. I feel this attainment of “one heart” is the best gift our Shifu gave us.
At each gathering, we hoped that we could have good interactions with other participants. Our Energy Boys and Energy Girls designed an “Energy” dance to invite other attendees to dance and clap with us. I found that most people would hesitate, not because they didn’t like us, but because they were used to having a defense mechanism to arm and protect themselves. When we appeared in front of them with intense energy of joy, they froze for a second, and then smiles appeared on their faces and they started to clap their hands. At the moment of contact, I always engaged the person with sincere eye contact to let him know that I meant well. I then used my happiness and energy to influence him. Because we have energy, we would like to pass the energy to him. Even the serious-looking NGO representatives showed their smiles. Every activity concluded in smiles and laughter. The chairperson of a Brazilian environment protection organization, Mr. Divino Roberto Verissimo said, “Your organization changed the whole conference. You have enabled the attendees to relax, and let everybody understand what it means to be blessed.” City Montessori School special receptionist officer for Finland Grand Justices, Ms. Gitan Jari Capoor said, “Everybody was tired from the meeting; your performance brought back the sense of vigor.”
In fact, not only other participants, but also myself, were moved. If it were not for the energy that had been given to me by Shifu, I wouldn’t be able to easily break the barriers in people’s hearts. Modern society is cold. Even with my own good friends, it takes me a lot of time to get through them and to get them to share their true feelings. Under the guidance of Shifu, it took me only two seconds to invite people to do the energy dance and open up their hearts. This is incredible kungfu. I feel that the things Shifu guides us to do are very great. These things let the fireflies that are dispersed in the world to see each other, joyfully open up their hearts, and attract with warmth more people to join this circle of light and hope.
