(Minghui.org) The 2019 Southeast U.S. Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference took place on August 17 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was held at Alpharetta City Hall, and 14 practitioners shared their experiences of clarifying the truth and improving in their cultivation. Conference attendees came from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina, and other nearby states.
The Southeast U.S. Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference
Improving Mind Nature
Mr. Liu has worked as a bus driver since he came to the U.S. If he comes across money that isn’t his, he remembers he is a Falun Dafa practitioner and won’t take it. He has noticed, however, that his tone of voice and choice of words are not always compassionate when he talks to his passengers. “I’ve been like that since I was a child, but now, as a practitioner, I need to improve,” he said.
Mr. Xie from Atlanta talked about several incidents that had initially appeared insignificant. “When reflecting on them further, I knew they were not trivial, because they highlighted some key areas that I needed to work on,” he remarked. As he saw other practitioners telling people about Falun Dafa and explaining why people should quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for a better future, he realized that there was a gap between them and himself, and he needed to improve. More specifically, he lacked a pure heart and the compassion to save people. Another time, he experienced a test regarding the attachment to material interests. Because he was able to let go of human notions, all the money miraculously reappeared through different channels.
Ms. Wang came to Atlanta a year ago. She began to practice in 1996, when her mother started to practice. She had met a few other practitioners in Atlanta who were around her age. “When working with them, for us to cultivate diligently together, I realized that it is critical to handle issues with compassion, not emotion or sentimentality,” she said.
Mr. Lu from Atlanta said he had learned that a practitioner should pay attention to good manners and remain consistent both internally and externally. One example was that he treated other people better than he treated his wife. “That isn't right, because I did not follow truthfulness,” he explained.
Mr. Lei is a weaponry expert and found Falun Dafa very profound and a true science. When telling his friends who are highly educated about Falun Dafa, he found that many of them disagreed with the persecution in China but were hesitant to accept the practice scientifically. One day he quoted the following:
“Particles of varying sizes make up lives of varying sizes as well as the worlds of varying sizes that permeate the cosmic body. Lives at any of the various planes of particles perceive the particles of the next larger plane to be planets in their skies, and this is true at each and every plane. To the lives at each plane of the universe, it seems to go on infinitely.” (Zhuan Falun, “On Dafa”)
He gained new understandings on how to explain Falun Dafa to intellectuals in a way that would accord with their notions.
Importance of Studying the Fa and Doing the Exercises
Fourteen practitioners spoke at the conference about their experiences.
Mr. Sun from the Falun Dafa Association has been coordinating Shen Yun promotion for several years. When things did not go as well as expected, he often looked within to improve his xinxing. From that he had a better understanding of saving people and the importance of Fa-study. “Especially when I was busy with Shen Yun promotion or when there were lots of things to do, the quality of my Fa-study was poor,” he recalled. He said this problem had existed for several years. Without good Fa-study, the state of his cultivation was compromised, keeping him from being able to look within and identify his own issues.
Mr. Chen, who traveled from South Carolina to attend the conference, also recognized the connection between saving people and cultivation during the Fa-rectification period. He began to practice in 1998, and over the years he has participated in numerous projects. “Through the tribulations of illness karma, I learned the importance of Fa-study and doing the exercises. We cannot neglect Fa-study just because we are busy with projects,” he said.
Ms. Zhang talked about a lesson she had learned. When she was in nursing school, she somehow failed the final exam. She had been thinking that, as long as she always kept Dafa in her mind and did the three things well, Master would help her get good grades. “But I did not know that if I had a strong pursuit and asked Master to help me pass the exam, it would not work,” she explained. This reminded her of something Master said:
“Some people don’t realize any of this, though, and they repeatedly ignore warnings from their master to stop trying for the inner eye, and end up with the opposite of what they hoped for.” (Zhuan Falun, The Second Talk)
From this lesson, she learned it was critical to do things without pursuit since any impure thought could make her efforts fruitless.
New Practitioners: The Power of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
Chloe from Vietnam has practiced Falun Dafa for two years. During this time she has recognized many of her attachments related to cosmetics, food, and health. Through continued Fa-study, she found herself immersed in the Fa. “Dafa has become part of me, guiding me towards being a better person,” she said, “The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance teach me what is right and what is wrong. It is so precious and powerful, and I am deeply grateful to Master Li.”
Melina, an Atlanta resident, began to practice in November 2017. She was very gratified to start practicing and had hoped that as time went on, she would naturally become more and more diligent. “Now I have learned that it does not work like that. We must maintain strong righteous thoughts all the time—without that, our minds can easily be distracted or misled,” she said.
Van from Vietnam also became a practitioner two years ago. She traveled to Washington, D.C., in July for a rally and march and found herself tired because of the heat. Noticing that the practitioners around her were all excited during the event, she asked herself why she should feel different. “This is a Falun Dafa event, and we are here to tell more people about it so that they can all benefit from it,” she said. “Plus, Master gave me this opportunity to improve through enduring hardship. With all these good things happening during such a precious opportunity, shouldn’t I cherish it and be happy and invigorated like them?”
When the conference concluded at 5:00 p.m., practitioners took a group photo and expressed their appreciation to Master Li for being able to practice Falun Dafa.
