Cooperating in Big and Small Projects and Helping Organize the First Fa Conference in Croatia

(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2007 while I worked in the Middle East. I soon moved back to Croatia. It was there that I spent the first eight years of my cultivation, and it was there that I began clarifying the truth, introducing Dafa to locals and working on translating Falun Dafa books. Seven years ago I moved to Australia.

Insights Regarding Talking about One’s Cultivation Experiences 

Another practitioner and I talked recently, and she said something about not wishing to share any more experiences after Fa study, because it is mainly her and one or two more people, me included, who regularly talk. She said that she started feeling a bit resentful towards those who do not say anything because she openly shares her shortcomings and flaws, while she feels that others may be judging her and hiding their shortcomings. 

However, we agreed that both of us should look within and unconditionally continue sharing, without expecting anything in return from others and without fear of being judged. 

Rather than criticizing others, we should find ways to motivate them and help them open up and talk about their cultivation. Not everyone is a good speaker or writer, so some help with verbalizing or organizing their ideas may go a long way. We should kindly offer help, without having any expectations.

We also realized that it’s beneficial to hear oneself state our understandings based on the Fa out loud because in the process of saying things, something gets activated and one’s understanding is deepened. Truly sharing experiences is beneficial for oneself and for others. 

After our conversation I felt that we both learned a lot about not judging others based on our notions, and finding ways to be proactive in helping others talk about their experiences. A few days ago, another message came in our group chat encouraging Westerners to write down their cultivation experiences for the upcoming Fa conference. I had already submitted my paper, but the fact that the same topic was discussed in different groups, just two or three days apart, prompted me to think more about why we share experiences as practitioners.

Master has asked us to share experiences in cultivation. We all know that Master said the following: 

“During the Fa Conference, you will be sharing personal cultivation experiences with your fellow practitioners, and, thereby, finding your own shortcomings so as to improve yourselves in cultivation down the road. This is terrific! As Dafa disciples, this is necessary because only by improving yourselves in cultivation can you do well what you should do.” (“Greetings to the European Fa Conference”)

When I read this, I really felt Master’s encouragement. Then I had a deeper understanding. Master has given us Zhuan Falun (the book comprising the main teachings of Falun Dafa) and asks us to read the Fa, as the Fa’s truths will reveal themselves to us as we read. We practitioners all enlighten by reading Master’s Fa, but the enlightenment does not come from ourselves. Master does not teach the Fa in detail to individuals, one by one. My understanding from His teachings about this point is that, the more detailed His explanation, the more resistance the old forces would create for us, and He is mercifully protecting us. So, in addition to reading the Fa, He has left for us the format of sharing our understandings which come to us from studying His Fa. 

This is a somewhat indirect transmission, in my understanding. In this way, it may incur less interference from the old forces. Therefore, when we discuss our experiences, based on the Fa, we expand the comprehension capacity not only of ourselves but of the entire body of cultivators.

An individual needs to enlighten to the Fa, and rationally understand it with his or her main consciousness. In the process of doing so, I feel that we are slowly filling up the space each of us corresponds to in the new universe with the Fa we have enlightened to. One person may find it hard to fill up this space all by himself or herself, so we need to act collectively. 

When we share with other practitioners there is still a process of believing versus not believing, agreeing or not agreeing, so there is still enlightenment involved. 

Master has asked us to share experiences and there must be many layered, deep reasons which are ultimately tied together with compassion and wisdom. I believe nothing is in vain or only for one purpose.

The practitioner I mentioned shared her insights again after this morning’s group Fa study. She said that if some time passes by and she has no cultivation experiences to talk about after Fa study, this is a big alarm for her. She explained it this way: “We study the Fa and we cultivate the Main Consciousness, so everyday situations are there to help us improve. If two weeks go by and I haven’t connected anything that has happened in my life as a lesson in cultivation, as some insight, I think that at that point I am no longer cultivating.”

I initially thought her words sounded too serious, but when I thought about it, I saw the logic behind what she said. How many weeks or months go by without sharing our experiences? With Fa conferences being held annually, we should take submitting a sharing paper as a requirement and an opportunity to gather our thoughts and fulfill our duty to our fellow practitioners and to Master. 

Helping Organize the First Fa Conference in Croatia

Even though I moved to Australia in 2015, I never felt that I was no longer part of the group of practitioners in Croatia and other countries in the former Yugoslavia. Even though there is a considerable distance between us, it has not stopped us from communicating and cooperating.

When it is early morning here in Australia, it is evening in Europe, so I can join their online Fa study, while my little son and non-practitioner husband are still sleeping. This is a very benevolent arrangement by our Master, and I try to attend that Fa study regularly. 

When I heard that the practitioners in Croatia wanted to organize their first-ever Fa conference, I wanted to help. Some said they wished to invite the Tian Guo Marching Band to come to Croatia for the first time and organize large-scale activities to be held the two days before the Fa conference. I liked the idea of the band coming to Croatia, but I thought – this is something that really requires a lot of work, and a dedicated team of practitioners. I was a little apprehensive, because the number of active practitioners in the country is rather small. Seeing the optimism and the drive of a few key practitioners, I decided to help them as much as possible, even though I am in Australia. 

As the preparations were underway, many text messages were exchanged, usually when it was nighttime here in Australia. 

I rejected the notions of being “inconvenienced” by this and I made sure to read the messages and respond. I realized that my attachments to comfort and “having personal time” were being agitated, so I didn’t want to feed them. 

After we began preparing, it became clear that the workload was indeed big. We needed to get all the necessary permits for parades and activities, visas for band members, transportation options while in two different cities in Croatia, accommodation options, space for the band to practice in, etc. The few local practitioners in Croatia had a lot to coordinate. There were also differences of opinion and administrative hurdles to pass, but everything moved along. The cooperation was good overall, and it showed in the results. 

I observed that a lot was being done regarding the two days of activities, but somehow organizing the Fa conference was lagging. Then I thought—if I observed that something was missing, instead of just thinking about it or pointing it out, I should actively help to get it completed. So, I contacted the activities coordinator, offered my help, and he accepted. 

During that phone conversation, we realized that we needed to look for a bigger conference venue as the number of participants was growing day by day. We also realized that the sound and lighting for the venue was also not appropriate, and the equipment for translation had not been arranged at all. When we finished the call, I realized that my work had already been laid out for me long before, it was just waiting for me to take on my role and get started. 

I already told the team that I would help translate the conference experience sharing papers into English. This was something I was used to doing. However, as for organizing the sound for the conference hall, as well as booking translation booths and receivers—that was something I had not done before, especially since I was not even in the same country. The local activities coordinator had tried contacting companies that rent translation booths, but most of them never got back to him with a quote. 

I realized that me being in Australia should not be an obstacle, because all companies have e-mail addresses and most are happy to communicate via online apps, as long as we are a serious client who will pay them. 

I adjusted my schedule and started contacting companies in Croatia who do sound and rent out translation booths and equipment. I realized that the local activities’ coordinator never got a quote from any of those companies because that must have been part of my vow, something I had to do. If it is my role, I have to take all the necessary steps to see it through, and it would not work for others. That understanding inspired me to keep going. I felt that every step had already been arranged. 

The final asking price for the hall, as well as all the other equipment, ended up being much higher than I had expected. I knew that the local practitioners were already covering the majority of the costs, and when I looked at my bank account it became clear – I had exactly the amount needed to cover the asking price, without it affecting my family’s needs. Therefore, I would not be going to extremes. 

Still, a part of me felt a little uncomfortable paying the amount. I had some negative thoughts such as, “You will not even be there, physically participating, yet you’re donating so much money.” I looked within and discovered that I had the attachment to security, to having a bit of “extra money” in my account to fall back on. Letting go of that money made me feel a bit uneasy. At the same time it was as if I could observe that entity that was uneasy, and I saw that it was not my true self. I strengthened my righteous thoughts, made a firm decision, and let the uneasiness go.

With the finances in order, it was time to go ahead with the booking, but it turned out that the conference hall needed to be booked by a business entity, and not by a non-profit organization or an individual. The local activities’ coordinator told me that we could not proceed with the booking according to the rules. 

I contacted a business owner I knew, a former practitioner in Croatia, whom I had spoken to a few days earlier. I invited her to come and watch the Tian Guo Marching Band perform. She was happy to hear from me and said she wished to see the band. I asked her whether she could help us out, because she has a registered business name. I emphasized that we would cover all the costs. She said that she was willing to help and gave me her business details. 

After our conversation, I felt a bit uneasy. I wondered whether it was truthful to book the conference hall under her business name. Then I thought – “Well, if that is the hurdle blocking us, and we have a solution where this former practitioner willingly chose to support us, then it should not be so bad.” I sincerely said to Master, “At this point, we have no other way, otherwise we will not have a conference hall.” I accepted that even though the solution may not be perfect, we had no better option, or in other words – we had no higher wisdom to think of anything better at that point.

Later that evening, while I was speaking to a practitioner from a neighboring country, he told me his experiences when they organized their first Fa conference. He mentioned that whenever he asked new practitioners to complete something while setting up the conference, that thing would somehow not get done, or something would go wrong. He said that whenever he asked veteran practitioners to do the same thing, the problems would not exist and things would be completed smoothly. His understanding was that, “to get things done successfully, the person must have the required gong (cultivation energy), and the gong comes from genuine cultivation.” 

After our conversation I wondered – what will happen with the conference hall booking, if the person who needs to sign the contract is not even a practitioner anymore? I soon got my answer. 

The next day I tried calling her a few times, but there was no answer. That evening we finally talked and she told me that she could not go anywhere or sign any documents because she was having severe abdominal pain the entire night and day. As she was telling me about her difficult situation, I immediately realized – yes, asking her was inappropriate, and it was such a big loophole. 

Ordinary people ask others for such favors, and in Croatia it is common to use friends’ or family member’s business connections to get around administrative hurdles or issues with taxes. I was being so irresponsible, because practitioners have to be in line with Zhen (Truthfulness) in everything we do, and not use corrupt, ordinary people’s ways. On top of that, she no longer practices, so where is the required gong? I immediately told her to just focus on getting better, and not worry about signing anything under her business name. We would get everything properly arranged. I encouraged her to only focus on getting better. Very soon she told me that her discomfort had nearly disappeared. 

I communicated my understanding with the local activities coordinator and insisted that he go and speak personally with the venue manager, and explain the situation. I truly felt that I could not look for any roundabout ways to deal with the situation. If the manager would lose tax incentives for not renting the venue to a business, then I should just offer to cover that amount. He would not lose out financially and we could proceed and book everything honestly. In the end we managed to book the venue under the activities coordinator’s name, at no additional cost. This was truly a big lesson for me.

University Falun Dafa Club Activities

I work at a university in which there are various clubs and activities that students can join. Our club members are mostly practitioners who have already graduated from that university, or students who are in the process of learning the exercises and who are interested in Dafa but who have not really started practicing. Those veteran practitioners, who graduated years earlier, are members of the club out of a righteous desire to support the club, but I have also felt that they are not very active in regular club activities.

My understanding is that it is important that a well-known university has an active Falun Dafa Club, especially since there are a lot of international students at the university, especially from China. It’s really the perfect opportunity for them to see that Falun Dafa is freely practiced outside of China and it is an opportunity for them to finally hear the truth. They have a predestined opportunity to study abroad, and this is a reflection of Master’s saving grace.

Master said,

“When I was born, many Gods came down with me. From then on, this happened every year and Gods have been coming down. By the time I started to teach the Fa, those Gods came down like snowflakes—it was just that many. I calculated their ages now, and from when I started to spread the Fa till now, they would be young people around twenty-five years old, many of whom really have not been saved. They were all Gods, coming down to Earth, and they scattered to all areas of the world.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)

In terms of age groups, the vast majority of students belong to this group of “snowflakes,” so there is no doubt that we need to make an effort to save them. 

However, when it comes to organizing club activities, things don’t always go so smoothly. It often happens that when I book meeting rooms only two of us show up or there are very few who can help at the booth when we have activities on campus. Most people do not respond to emails or group text messages. Over time, I became tired. I also had resentment and thought: “How come no one cares about this? Why is there so much silence and unanswered messages in the group chat?” I began having negative thoughts and looked at the club as a burden.

Just as I was going through a phase of feeling unmotivated about club activities this year, the university sent out an invitation for interested clubs to apply for a three-day student presentation. Finally, the activities were to be held on campus rather than online. I passed on the information to all the practitioners who are members of the club, but they said they could not help because they were too busy. Of course, they were busy on other projects for validating Dafa, as well as work, so I understood. 

Then I objectively looked at myself and, actually, I am not very active in local projects in Australia to clarify the truth. The one thing I am active in is this club, so I cannot only view things from my standpoint. The other practitioners are involved in many other things. We should supplement and support each other, helping wherever possible. I thought that I would only register club activities online because that way I could cover them all by myself. 

I signed up the club as only having activities online. However, when the university sent out a list of clubs that were given approval for a booth, we were also on that list, even though we had not applied for it! I realized that this was not an accident but a sign and encouragement from Master. I must not give up so easily! 

The Falun Dafa Club must be visible on campus all three days! The desire to support the activities on campus flared up in me from the bottom of my heart!

It suddenly dawned on me that we could hold activities both online and on campus, and that it was just a matter of organization, because practitioners who are not members of the club can help with online activities. I decided that if necessary, I would be at the booth all three days and that a way would be found to organize everything on time. 

Then, unexpectedly, I received an e-mail from work asking me to hold classes for three days, during the time I was supposed to be at the club booth. Because my work hours had been reduced during the COVID pandemic, I would have otherwise been happy to receive this news. However, it’s not possible to be in two places at the same time – how can I work and be at the booth at the same time? I thought, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner at the time of Fa-rectification. I have decided to go and support activities for Dafa and that will not change.” However, I realized I couldn’t go to extremes. It is important to be a good worker and not create confusion at work by asking for a day off when they need someone to teach, especially if they then see me at the Falun Dafa Club booth that same day. What should I do? 

I was clear that I was not afraid of giving up the money I would earn during those three days at work. However, I would not passively accept that the old forces are taking away my money on the pretext of so-called cultivation through difficulty. Looking within, I saw another negative notion which was disguised as a selfless thought on the surface. It was: “Oh, I will give up both work and money, all for Dafa.” That was an extreme thought, not rational, and at its core, it was seeking fame and self-affirmation. Such a thought was not truly righteous, because I used it to validate myself. 

Ultimately, with a calm mind I thought, “If something needs to be sacrificed, it’s fine if it’s Master’s arrangement. But if it’s the logic of the old forces to punish me financially, then I don’t accept it! The right path will be there!” 

In the end, some club members contacted me saying they could help out at the booth. I was present at the booth for two days during the morning activities on campus, and the rest was covered by other practitioners. I also managed to teach the classes for all three days! Everything was truly harmonized. 

Clearly Seeing the CCP Culture

Participating in club activities always brings opportunities for improvement in xinxing and reaching new understandings. These sometimes surface during big Welcome Week events, but they also surface in small interactions between club members or club supporters. One such seemingly small point surfaced recently, and I feel it needs to be shared with everyone. 

A young Chinese practitioner contacted me asking about money that is available for our club activities. The university provides clubs with a certain amount of money annually, so she wanted to see whether some of that money could be used for the young practitioners’ gathering, as they were looking for ways to cover the costs. I asked her for more details and realized that she was talking about the gathering during the national Fa conference activities, and not club-related activities.

Then I openly replied that, even though we do have some money available in the club account, I do not feel comfortable using that money for any activities other than specifically club-related activities. Just because it was a young practitioners’ gathering, and there may be our club members present, it was not actually a club activity. I explained that using the club money for something other than what the university supported would not be in line with Zhen (Truthfulness). She agreed, and there were no further discussions or issues. 

However, I felt that it was no accident that I was asked this question. Isn’t this situation similar to the one in which I resorted to ordinary people’s ways when I contacted the former practitioner to use her business to book the conference venue? I realized that at roughly the same time there were a few articles published on Minghui on the topic of handling money properly, so this must be something I needed to reflect on.

I come from a former socialist/communist country where people just took things from their companies to use at home, or they would use company materials for personal activities, thinking it was no big deal. This notion of: “it is communal property,” “this is for everyone,” or “it’s not a big deal if we take from one to give to the other” is communist in nature, according to my understanding. I have behaved like that on occasion with small things like printing personal things at my office, thinking it is not a big deal, and that I was not misappropriating their resources. That young Chinese practitioner asked me if there were funds which could go from one budget for something else, only partially related. 

Practitioners often talk about CCP (Chinese Communist Party) culture, but I feel that this description makes it easy for Westerners to think they are immune to this. In my experience, this is not only a Chinese communist problem, it is a communist problem, which can be seen as socialist ideas which Westerners are certainly not immune to. 

In everyday society, if money or resources are not used precisely within established parameters, it’s misappropriating funds and it is illegal. While I know that the young practitioner did not have any bad intentions, I did feel that the insight was relevant and that it was my duty to also include this point in my sharing. Hopefully, it will be useful in exposing and purging any elements of CCP culture in all of us. 

Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners! 

(Presented at the 2022 Australia Fa Conference)