(Minghui.org) New York’s Barclays Center was home to the 2017 Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference. On May 14, over ten thousand Falun Dafa practitioners from 58 countries and regions came together to hear the conference speeches.

While the majority of attendees were Chinese, there were many practitioners of various ethnicity in the audience. Some of them were interviewed about the insights they gained from the conference.

Falun Dafa practitioners from 58 countries and areas come to the 2017 Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference in New York on May 14.

1. Changed by Truth-Compassion-Forbearance

Falun Dafa practitioner Imanna from Moldova

Imanna came from Moldova with her husband. It was the first time she had attended an international Falun Dafa conference. She said that when the founder of Falun Dafa, Mr. Li Hongzhi, gave a lecture at the conference, she could feel his immense compassion.

Imanna became a practitioner six years ago, in college. She learned about the practice from a practitioner who invited her to the Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition. She was struck by a painting that depicted a Chinese woman reading Zhuan Falun while holding her sleeping baby. Imanna asked for a copy of the book and has been a cultivator of Falun Dafa ever since.

Imanna said that her ideology and moral values improved significantly after she took up the practice. “I used to lie, say and do bad things, and was a very jealous person. I improved so much after learning Falun Dafa that my friends noticed,” she said.

When she came across problems, Imanna was able to look within and see her own shortcomings instead of blaming others. “Whenever a challenge arose, the words in the book appeared in my mind and I immediately knew what to how to handle it. My physical health also improved a lot,” she said.

Imanna's mother was inspired by her positive changes and began to read Zhuan Falun as well.

2. Cherish the Practice and Be Diligent

Falun Dafa practitioner Natalia from Greece

Natalia, who has been a practitioner for seven years, said she was most touched when she heard Teacher Li encourage practitioners once again to cultivate like when they just started.

“Teacher reminded us again that we should cultivate like when we just started. I have been slacking off in my practice and I know that I must take Teacher’s reminder seriously. I am determined to become how I was when I just started seven years ago,” said Natalia.

3. We All Have a Mission

Falun Dafa practitioner Daksha from India.

Daksha has been practicing Falun Gong for 16 years, since she was 8 years old. She said that when she listened to Teacher Li speak, “I felt the great importance of us saving more people. It is our responsibility.”

The stories of other practitioners inspired Daksha to be more diligent, “Practitioners around the world are doing their best to raise awareness with their unique abilities.” She used her mother as an example. “She was a teacher and believed that the children would benefit enormously if they could learn Falun Dafa. When I saw the students do the Falun Dafa exercises in her classroom, I was very moved by the pure energy,” Daksha said.

When Daksha was little, her mother had been severely ill and was unable to stand for six years. Ten days after her mother learned Falun Dafa, she could stand and walk again. This was why Dasha decided to become a practitioner at such a young age. Soon her brother and father joined them.

4. Given Hope and Encouragement

Falun Dafa practitioner May Bakhtiar from Switzerland.

May Bakhtiar traveled to the conference from her home in Switzerland and has been a practitioner since 1997. She knows that no matter how many hardships there are, as long as she holds on to her faith, there will always be a path forward.

May said that during Teacher Li’s speech, she could feel that he has devoted everything he has to help practitioners. She also came to understand that the Fa rectification progress has entered a new stage and that she still has much to improve. There were still a lot of attachments she hasn’t eliminated and many people she needs to save.

She also noted that Teacher encouraged the practitioners in his speech and let them see hope, which gave May assurance that she could handle the challenges ahead. She said she was grateful to be in an environment where practitioners shared their experiences and encouraged others improve in their practice.