Sydney, Australia: Over 1,000 Practitioners Attend Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference

(Minghui.org) The 2022 Australia Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference took place on October 9 at the Hurstville Entertainment Centre Auditorium in suburban Sydney. More than 1,000 practitioners from Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam attended the conference. Eighteen practitioners spoke at the event and described how they applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their work, daily lives, and efforts to tell people about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China. By following Falun Dafa’s teachings, they were able to become selfless and better citizens.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public in 1992. This conference was also the first time many practitioners met in person since the COVID pandemic started three years ago. Several speakers were in tears when they talked about how much Falun Dafa changed them for the better. Some attendees were also moved to tears. The atmosphere at the conference was described as peaceful and sacred.

The 2022 Australian Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference was held in Sydney on October 9.

Practitioners spoke at the event.

Looking Within During Shen Yun Coordination

Several practitioners talked about their experiences during Shen Yun promotion, production, and reporting. Ms. Mei from South Australia explained how she and other practitioners signed a contract with an Adelaide theater despite the pandemic lockdown. Fortunately, everything went well. “This taught me to have faith in Master and Dafa at critical moments. After all, we have to harmonize everything that Master wants,” she said.

When there was an emergency issue with a hotel booking for Shen Yun artists, Ms. Mei decided to calm down and look inward instead of blaming others. Within 24 hours, she was able to sign a contract with a hotel that was much better than the hotel she initially considered. “From this I learned to look within and remain calm when difficulty arises,” she said, “As long as we have strong righteous thoughts and handle things we are supposed to, Master will help arrange everything.”

Ms. Deng from Melbourne experienced some challenges when coordinating Shen Yun performances this year. When looking within, she found herself reluctant to step forward because of her attachment to comfort since she tended to rely on others. When there was a lack of manpower before, she used to complain that other practitioners were not cooperative. When she looked inward she found it was related to her ego. “Practitioners have understandings at different levels, therefore, the way they look at the same issue may vary since they are from different backgrounds,” she said, “How could I force my opinion on others?”

The Pandemic Poses Challenges for the Media

Practitioners who help with the media also shared their stories. Among them was Mr. Xu from Queensland who works on marketing. After reflecting on himself during setbacks, he noticed that he often looked down on others instead of appreciating their support. That is, he divided people into two groups, one he liked and another he did not. “I have come to understand that, the problem does not come from them. It is me who is biased when I look at issues due to my poor mentality,” he explained. As a result, he set up two goals for himself, one to improve himself and the other is to contribute more to the team.

Mr. Wang, also from Melbourne, said the media he works in could make ends meet before the pandemic and his team was even able to develop a new media platform. After the lockdown started, however, the advertisement revenue dropped sharply. Every one was pessimistic and it was hard to look for new business opportunities. As a coordinator, he knew it was because he had been primarily busy doing things and putting out fires. That is, he slacked off studying Falun Dafa’s teachings and cultivating himself. He also looked outward when issues came up.

“My understanding is that, we are a cultivation community and that is our strength,” he continued, “That is the source of our wisdom and it is how we are able to overcome all kinds of difficulties.”

After regularly reading the teachings with other practitioners, Mr. Wang was able to identify his loopholes, such as validating himself and showing-off. When the team improved their cultivation, the advertisements stopped declining and new online markets started to open up. Gradually, the media was able to operate well again.

Validating the Fa

Several practitioners talked about how to be considerate of others. One 9-year-old practitioner in Sydney has received many awards including New South Wales (NSW) Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Languages. She was also champion of South Western Sydney region during the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition that is open to all NSW government primary schools. During each speech she mentioned the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance because she felt the information is very important to fellow students, teachers, and government officials. “Interestingly, the teachers and government officials not only agree with the principles, but also consider them universal values,” she said, “I know this is Master’s encouragement, founder of Falun Dafa, because I am a practitioner.”

Ms. Chen started to practice three years ago. She said the Falun Dafa teachings have inspired her to be a good person and a good employee. Due to lack of staff members during the pandemic, she worked very hard and took on responsibilities that normally would have been handled by three people. Her boss knew she was a Falun Dafa practitioner. He was very thankful and said, “Falun Dafa is really great and it has helped us so much!”

Memorizing the Teachings and Putting Them into Action

Many practitioners said they cherish the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. In fact, they try to memorize Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of Falun Dafa, to guide them in their daily lives.

Mr. Tan from Vietnam traveled to Sydney to attend the conference. After witnessing his mother’s miraculous recovery from uterine cancer, he started practicing in 2016. To better understand and align with Dafa’s principles, he started to memorize Zhuan Falun – for the fourth time now. He is also able to recite On Dafa in Chinese.

He said this helps him a lot. “Through memorizing Dafa’s teachings, I have a better understanding of everything. When I encounter conflicts, I am able to remember the teachings and do better,” he said, “Benevolent Master also showed me the sacredness of Dafa and its profound meanings. This is something I could not achieve by merely reading the teachings.” In addition, his job as an attorney and helping with a truth-clarification media project also went better.

Mr. Yan from Sydney talked about his experiences while coordinating the Tian Guo Marching Band and Minghui School. Similar to Mr. Tan, he said memorizing Dafa’s teachings helped him to let go of selfishness and do better with coordination work. “After I began to memorize the teachings, I became clearer on the importance of doing the three things and the urgency of assisting Master with Fa-rectification,” he explained, “This opportunity is precious and our mission is sacred. I cannot slack off. I have to remain diligent.”

Making the Best Use of Every Day

Several practitioners discussed about the importance of sharing cultivation experience and insights among practitioners. Irma said she noticed some practitioners said they had nothing to share. “We are practicing Falun Dafa and we are cultivating our main consciousness. We know from Master’s Fa that what we encounter every day is related to our cultivation,” she said, “Suppose two weeks have passed and you do not find anything in your life related to cultivation, that could be warning that you may not really be cultivating.”

Irma said she initially thought one practitioner’s sharing might be too serious. But when thinking deeper, she found his thought process made sense. “Such a long time has passed and it is important for us to learn from each other and encourage each other,” she said, “We need to make the best use of these opportunities to really take our cultivation seriously and fulfill our responsibilities.”