(Minghui.org) The 2018 Australia Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference took place on September 9, 2018. Feedback from attendees revealed a common theme: the powerful impact personal diligence and positive collaboration have on the efforts to reach the world's people with the message about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China.
Timely Reminder to Look Within
An experience-sharing paper from a 69-year-old practitioner left a deep impression on conference attendee John Deller. The practitioner quoted from Master Li's lecture “Teaching the Fa in Washington D.C. In 2018:”
“Human society has karmic relations. The good deeds you did in your previous life will transform into blessings in this life. This blessing may become a government position, or it may also become money, and so one becomes wealthy. It doesn’t matter that a businessman claims how experienced or capable he is; it’s because he has that blessing, so he has what he has. There are also many people who think they are very talented and very capable but can’t make any money and feel indignant. He doesn’t have that blessing. It’s said that human society is taken care of by Gods; that’s what it means. Everything is fair.”
John said, “Watching from the second floor, I felt a wave of kindness breeze across the entire venue. A strong ray of light came with it. I saw this repeating as the practitioner said again, 'Everything is fair.'
“To me, this is the tremendously pure and righteous energy field from Master. Along with it came an important message: Master hopes that Australian Dafa practitioners can let go of attachments to self, cooperate with each other, and form a one body with righteous thoughts.”
John said that sometimes rifts would form among practitioners. However, we failed to keep in mind that everything was arranged for us. If we reflect on ourselves by searching inward, we would understand “everything is fair” at a deeper level.
“Why can't I lead my life with the mentality of 'everything is fair?'” John said he asked himself. He said the energy field he sensed and the strong ray of light he saw was also a reminder for him: How do we accept everything that happens to us? Why do I complain? Why do I have resentment? Something must be wrong with me.
Master told us, “For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference”)
“When I look inward, I can see 'everything is fair.' So how do I manage to truly understand and accept it, and handle everything? I need to look inward to see the problem or obstacles within myself.”
Overcoming Whatever Is Holding Us Back
Eric Jia
Eric Jia has been practicing Falun Dafa with his family since childhood. Sadly, his family has been torn apart by the persecution for the past 19 years. His father, aunt, and grandma were detained quite a few times. His father was taken away again by the Chinese communist police upon his latest release last September. Eric has not been able to have a normal life with his father since he was three years old.
Eric was encouraged and inspired by the conference articles of other young practitioners. He said, “I often felt discriminated against in middle school when I tried to inform my classmates about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. I developed a notion that our efforts were not having an impact. Today's sharing papers were eye-opening, as I heard so many young practitioners clarifying the facts to the mainstream and upper societies and being well-received.
“Young practitioners should apply their talents to Dafa projects to help people be informed about the persecution. Some of us may have been persecuted in China. Therefore, our self-esteem has been affected. I have realized that low self-esteem is a notion. How do I overcome it? I think cultivation is the foundation. I shouldn't slack off in cultivation, and I should be diligent in my study of media in college.
“I can do better with Fa study and exercises. I give my own ideas too much weight sometimes. Then I'm validating myself and not validating the Fa. Once I let my guard down, I shift towards validating my own capabilities. This is not my initial intention. I know that all my capabilities are given by the Fa and for the purpose of validating the Fa. I will try my best to improve my cultivation.”
Importance of Fa Study
Louise Morrison
Louise Morrison from Gold Coast shared that she was very inspired by practitioners' speeches. Many of them brought up the importance of Fa study. Some also shared their experience of memorizing the Fa. “I have also started memorizing the Fa. It really helps me to improve. I can feel the energy of the Fa when memorizing it, as if my entire person has melted into the Fa.”
Barbara Thompson
Barbara Thompson from Adelaide echoed, “Attending a Fa conference inspires me each time. The cultivation stories of fellow practitioners help me identify gaps and room for improvement. We are practicing in ordinary society and have to balance many things. We may slack off in cultivation sometimes. The Fa conference is an occasion for us to set everything aside and focus on cultivation. This is a very rare and precious opportunity.”
Warding Off Interference
Abhi Suri started practicing Falun Dafa in Sydney. He said that it was important to ward off interference to Fa study and cultivation. It used to take one to three months for him to finish studying Zhuan Falun once. He participated in a group that studied Zhuan Falun once in nine days, just a month ago. He was amazed, saying, “I was able to finish reading Zhuan Falun in nine days! This was something that I wasn't able to do for three years.” As he studied the Fa more, talking to people about the practice and the persecution became easier.
Abhi Suri mentioned that a sharing by a young practitioner helped him the most, “She said that she realized it was wrong to have so many ordinary apps in her cell phone alongside Fa-related items. She removed those ordinary apps and felt so much lighter. She realized that those ordinary apps wrapped her up and that she needed to get rid of them to avoid them harming her as a cultivator.
“I realized that I had a lot of social media apps on my mobile phone. I even downloaded a documentary about the universe. Such things consume a lot of time and are interfering with what I truly need to focus on. I need to take my time back and use it on Fa study. I know that when I study the Fa more, the Fa gives me more wisdom to reach people with our message more effectively.”
Focus on the Positive
Pearl (left) and Kuting (center)
Pearl is an optometrist. She said that she was touched the most by practitioners' sharing regarding how they collaborate with each other. Many shared how they overcame negative thoughts, focused on looking inward unconditionally, and reached another level of teamwork.
“I am too attached to results and often get upset by small mistakes others make. The speeches today helped me see my problem. Wasting time on negative thoughts is pointless. I need to pay more attention to others' strengths and handle things more positively. ”
