Cultivation as a Member of the Tian Guo Marching Band
I have been with the band for a long time. Today, I would like to share three experiences with you that are important to me and that I have made during my time with the band.
Persevere, Even in Difficult Times
In the past, Fa conferences in the United States featured performances by a kind of ‘international marching band.’ These were practitioners from different bands from all over the world who had been brought together. Along with a few other members from the European band, I also took part. I appreciated being part of the international band because a lot of emphasis was placed on the brass section, which seemed to create a kind of foundation for the entire band with its sound. There were six rows of six people playing my instrument alone.
Since I was one of the few Western band members there, I was always supposed to walk on the outside, and often in the front row of our instrument group. In contrast, I was the only baritone horn player in the European Tianguo Marching Band, and there were very few bass players in general. During rehearsals, only the euphoniums were mentioned, but never the baritone. It seemed to me that it was completely unimportant whether I played the baritone or not. And, as far as I could tell, the coordinators made no effort to change the situation for the baritone horn. So, I enjoyed playing in the USA more and more, and I played in the European band mainly to be able to play in America.
The fact that my attitude towards the European band and my dissatisfaction were not correct was then made clear to me: after a few years, auditions were introduced for the first time in the European band. The fact that I could no longer participate in the European band bothered me less than not participating in the USA. The brass section coordinator at the time, who had played in America herself, practiced with us in Hamburg. She examined me first because she thought I played quite well. Because she didn't realize how significant the exam was, she set me impossible requirements, and I failed. Later, she said that she would have failed herself. She said her aim was to point out areas for improvement and to encourage me to become better. When the other practitioners and I talked to her about the consequences of failing the examination, she repeated several times that the examination had nothing to do with participation in the USA; I was good enough for that and I could take part there. When several practitioners told her that the main coordinator had explained the situation differently, she became uncertain. However, she did not reverse her decision. Instead, she allowed everyone else to pass the exam, regardless of how well they performed.
I felt this was very unfair. Since I was already dissatisfied with the European band, I saw that my opportunity had come to quit the band. Given these circumstances, even the other members of the bass group, who had always encouraged me to persevere, were at a loss as to what to say. But just as I was about to put my decision into action, I received a hint from Master: In my mind's eye, I saw that my thoughts of dissatisfaction were like black clouds in my head, and I realized that I would slacken in my cultivation and might even end up giving up cultivation altogether. This is because it is a Dafa project, and not just a normal band, and is therefore closely connected to my cultivation. So the test was serious.
Master wrote the following in the Jingwen “Further Understanding” from Essentials for Further Advancement:
“I couldn’t have explained the matter of Buddha-nature and demon-nature to you any more clearly. The tests for you to pass are in fact meant to remove your demon-nature. Nonetheless, from time to time you have used various excuses or Dafa itself to hide it, and failed to improve your xinxing while missing opportunities again and again.
Do you realize that as long as you’re a cultivator, in any environment or under any circumstances, I will use any troubles or unpleasant things you come across—even if they involve work for Dafa, or no matter how good or sacred you think they are—to eliminate your attachments and expose your demon-nature so that it can be eliminated, for your improvement is what’s most important.
If you are able to succeed in improving yourself this way, what you do then, with a pure heart, will be the best and most sacred.”
Although I had received a hint from Master, I was not yet aware of my fundamental attachment at that time. So the test continued.
I accepted the suggestion of some fellow practitioners and the brass section coordinator to participate in America anyway. But contrary to my expectations, the main coordinator saw me in a video of the event and confronted me at the next opportunity. He did not believe what I said about the test in Hamburg, and repeatedly advised me to quit the band.
Since he did not forbid me from participating, I knew after receiving the hint from Master that I should not quit despite the unpleasant situation. It was part of my cultivation, and it is painful when we do not let go of our attachments. What followed was a difficult relationship with the chief coordinator and a unique situation for me: I actually wanted to quit the band with all my heart, but I was not allowed to. Instead, I had to keep improving and pass the tests in order to stay with the band. It was only over the years that I realized that my craving for recognition was causing my frustration. It took almost ten years to gradually wear away this attachment. Now we have many more baritones, sometimes even more than euphoniums.
Learning to Appreciate My Participation in the Fa-Rectification Process
In addition to my activity with the marching band, I was involved in organizing Shen Yun in Germany for several years. My responsibilities there grew steadily until my wife and I were ultimately responsible for an entire city. However, with the changing of the main coordinator in Germany, those responsibilities gradually disappeared. Whereas I had previously had many worries and little time to sleep due to the large amount of work I had to do for Shen Yun, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands.
However, it was clear to me that the time given to Dafa disciples is there to do the Three Things well, and clarifying the truth is an important part of that. Again and again, I thought about how I could best do this, since I was no longer involved in the project.
Regarding our participation in projects, Master has said:
“Each Dafa disciple who has not been involved in a project must do it, try to find time to get involved in this undertaking of saving people.”( Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference)
and
“This is simple. It was just as if everybody were acting, and the old forces absolutely would not let you act it out according to your own will. They definitely arranged everything about it, as if there were a script. In other words, in different historic periods what kind of state this drama would reach, what human beings would have, and what would happen after a period of history was over, all the way until obtaining the Fa in the end and how it would assist in obtaining the Fa—that’s how they arranged things, and that’s why a lot of things didn’t turn out the way you hoped.” (Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference, 2003)
From this Fa teaching, it was clear to me that one cannot just take part in every project as one wishes. Everything is arranged by the gods and by Master. At the same time, one must not cling to a particular project or to projects in general, but must cherish the time for saving sentient beings.
So whenever I could, I went to the Chinese consulate or the information stands and distributed newspapers in letterboxes. Since my wife had been assigned other projects, I had to pull myself together on my own. This required a lot of discipline. Since the band was the only Dafa project I had left, I learned to see it in a different light: I can reach many people through music during larger activities. Since then, I have been grateful and cherish this opportunity for cultivation and truth clarification. It made me realize how precious it is to be able to participate in Fa-rectification projects.
London 2025
Another significant experience was our performance in London this year. We had booked a cheap flight without checked baggage and registered our instruments for transport to London by van. Since the performance in Bielefeld - where we were originally supposed to drop off the instruments - had been cancelled, we had to put our instruments in the van in Berlin. Since I don't have a replacement instrument, I couldn't practice for two whole months. I didn't give it any further thought and took it lightly. But my performance in London was terrible. The cost of travelling there for two people was around 1,000 euro, which wasn't exactly cheap. When I thought about what I should learn from this afterwards, it became clear to me: I am not using my resources responsibly. If I'm spending that much money, I should also play well. Moreover, it is irresponsible to treat Dafa resources lightly. Since then, I have taken practicing seriously and have also tried to close the gaps in my cultivation that I have had for many years.
I thank our benevolent Master and my fellow practitioners. Please point out my gaps in my cultivation to me.
More experience reports
My Cultivation Journey With the Tian Guo Marching Band
I joined the Tian Guo Marching Band around June 2007. Initially, I didn’t know that I was to coordinate the marching band for the UK, and that we were to become part of the European Divine Land Marchi...
Read more »
Master is Right Beside Me
I first saw the Tian Guo Marching Band in Frankfurt in 2019. At that time, I had no thoughts of joining the band, because I had no musical background and felt that this project had little to do with m...
Read more »
Changing my mentality and letting go of my resentment
Greetings Master, greetings fellow practitioners.
Read more »
Prioritizing cultivation and the salvation of living beings
Greetings to Master. Greetings to fellow practitioners.
Read more »