(Clearwisdom.net)

This is the first time that I have written an experience sharing article for Clearwisdom.net. I remember reading an article saying that, after the "Falun Dafa - Teachings to Australian Practitioners" DVD was released, practitioners from other countries submitted many experience sharing articles to Clearwisdom.net, yet there were very few articles from Australian practitioners. I would like to take this opportunity to call on all my fellow Australian practitioners, regardless of cultivation status, to please open your hearts, remove your fear of losing face, and to share your experiences on Clearwisdom.net. We should all share our experiences, identify our shortcomings, and do the three things well.

The following are a few of my personal experiences with regard to group Fa study here in Australia.

Teacher has time and again stressed the importance of group Fa study. Speaking to us directly on August 4, 2007, He again clearly explained how important it is to study the Fa together. The local Falun Dafa Association takes this issue seriously. During several Fa conferences, the Association has repeatedly stressed the importance of group study, hoping that everyone can treasure and help maintain the group study environment. Indeed, the group study environment has now become more pure, and more people now attend group study sessions. On several occasions, the experience sharing went very well and many didn't want to leave after the meetings. The situation in general, however, is inconsistent. After a period of time, there is a tendency to revert to earlier habits Such inconsistency spilled over into many projects as well as individual cultivation practice. The projects were run well during one period, but then again not so well. Personal cultivation practice has also fluctuated over time.

Last month during a group study and experience sharing session, the entire venue appeared to be quite out of order. Some practitioners were late (including myself), some left after a brief stay, some were talking among themselves about projects during the meeting, and some were even reading the Fa by themselves. Children roamed in and out of the meeting room freely. Some practitioners pulled others outside to talk. There were so many distractions! I remember wishing that I had a video camera to record the entire scene and play it back for everyone, and realized that it was time to submit an article about it all to Clearwisdom.net. These thoughts show that my own heart was not tranquil at the moment. I was looking outward rather than inward. After awhile, I felt that the entire situation was chaos, so I left early.

The next day someone told me that the host of the group study shed tears seeing the disoriented scene. Hearing this, my heart was very heavy. I had been asking myself - Teacher has put so much emphasis on group study, why can't we do it well? Why is it always the case that things will improve for some time after the coordinators talk about an issue, then return to the way it was before? It is time for us to really look into ourselves rather than relying on the coordinators. I examined myself and found that I had not adequately understood the importance and sacredness of group study. Additionally, I have retained bad habits developed from my days in Mainland China. When I hear something that I dislike or have no interest in, I think about or do other things. I asked myself, if this were a regular business meeting held by non-practitioners, would it be like this? Surely it would not.

In business meetings, at least we are concerned that we might be reprimanded by our superiors. At group Fa study, there is no such exterior pressure to behave. But why is there such a big difference? Doesn't this indicate that our inner selves are being manipulated by outside forces? Teacher said that we should partake in group Fa study, but often we treat this as merely a job we need to get done. We do not truly feel the importance of group study from the bottom of our hearts, nor do we truly understand why Teacher places such importance on group study. Everyone of us should act the same as the coordinators, and take the initiative to treasure and maintain the group study environment.

I also thought about the fact that many Dafa practitioners in Mainland China do not have the opportunity nor the environment to openly hold group Fa study sessions. To have such environments in Mainland China would be very, very precious. Many of us have come abroad, yet we do not treasure the environment we have here!

Regarding my own issues, I think that I was still very attached to my self. I was not exerting a positive energy to help maintain the group study environment; rather, I was arrogantly observing the things happening around me. As long as I did not talk to other practitioners during the meeting or conduct a side meeting, I would be fine. I did not care how other people were doing as long as I behaved well myself. This was actually separating myself from the larger group, and I was not aware of it. This is dangerous.

While writing this article, I read another article by a practitioner from Sydney titled "Let's Make our Group Fa Study More Sacred." The issues addressed included how we should dress nicely for Fa study, using Churchgoers as an example, and how they always dressed up to attend church. I realized that I had not been treating Fa study sacredly. When I looked deeply into my heart, I found that the root causes included not enough Fa study, not being able to always look into myself, and that I had a big attachment to self. I hope that all practitioners can work to provide an appropriate group study environment.

These are some views of my personal understanding. Fellow practitioners, please kindly point out any inappropriateness.

Thank you!