(Minghui.org) As practitioners around the globe celebrated World Falun Dafa Day, Polish practitioners held their 20th Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference in Warsaw on May 11, 2024.
Practitioners in Poland celebrate World Falun Dafa Day in Warsaw on May 11.
Having benefited from Falun Dafa physically and spiritually, practitioners consider the experience-sharing conference to be a sacred event. They brought flowers, fruit, and freshly-made desserts to Warsaw and exchanged ideas on how they could do better by following Falun Dafa’s teachings.
Practitioners told their stories during the conference.
Twelve practitioners spoke about how they applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives. Some have practiced for many years, while some only began practicing a year or two ago. By looking within and constantly improving themselves, they are able to eliminate their attachments and assist Master in saving people.
Basia has coordinated the Shen Yun gift shop for nearly two years. Facing many urgent issues, she often felt stressed and worried. For example, some orders were placed months before, but the shipment did not arrive in Warsaw until just days before the show. Just as she was breathing a sigh of relief, she learned that customs clearance needed government approval, which takes over 10 days. She was in a state of anxiety.
In addition, inventory for the Shen Yun gift shop is based on the number of shows. But three cities added additional performances, so there were not enough items. To solve the shortfall, she reached out to the general coordinator in Europe and other countries, but there was no progress. Her concern turned into fear.
There were other challenges, too, from shipping and loading to parking and lack of manpower—she was very worried. Gradually Basia realized that this was cultivation, not an everyday job. After she focused on reading the Falun Dafa teachings, she came to understand that cultivation is a process of letting go of human notions and attachments. In the end, all her worries were unnecessary, since Master arranged everything. Basia said that Falun Dafa is extraordinary, and it’s important for us to have faith in Falun Dafa and Master.
Basia is grateful that Master gave her the opportunity to improve. More importantly, Master helped her along the way so that she made steady progress and eliminated her attachments.
Huang has practiced Falun Dafa for many years, but two years ago he began to experience physical discomfort. The situation worsened over time and he even urinated blood. He finally made an appointment with a doctor.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, Huang knew that Master said that a practitioner has no illnesses; rather, they are manifestations of karma. So what should he do? By studying the Falun Dafa teachings further, he understood that a doctor can temporarily relieve pain but cannot resolve the fundamental problem since he cannot eliminate karma. Only with solid cultivation can a practitioner truly improve him or herself. Plus, Master Li has endured half of it and divided the remaining karma into portions along our cultivation paths to help us improve. That is, the road is narrow but we can succeed. It is up to us what path we take.
With that understanding clear, Huang canceled his doctor’s appointment and decided to look inward and cultivate himself. In these two years of painful experiences, he constantly looked within to see in which areas he had done poorly. Finally, he felt as though a stone had fallen out of him, and all the “illness symptoms” were gone. He said his experience proves that Falun Dafa is miraculous.
With gratitude to Master Li and Dafa, Huang said he is determined to be a genuine practitioner who continues improving himself and fulfilling the mission of assisting Master with Fa-rectification.
Living in southern Poland, Irena is proficient in both Russian and Ukrainian. One time she received 2500 lotus flowers that had been sent from Taiwan and were supposed to go to Ukraine. Because of the war, they remained in Irena’s home. Thinking of the Taiwanese practitioners sitting in meditation before making these flowers and often without eating or talking to keep positive energy while they made them, she knew she needed to make good use of them.
What should she do? Irena asked Master this question in her heart while continuing to study the teachings. She then realized that every lotus flower belongs to someone and she had to find them. With language as an advantage, she looked around for Ukrainians and began to contact them. As she explained how valuable the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are, she saw their eyes light up, and their depression was replaced with hope. Some people kept reciting “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” while others wrote them down. Some of them hugged Irena to thank her.
As she did this, Irena found her own attachment. That is, she was unwilling to give the flowers to people she did not like. Master corrected this misconception. When Irena meditated, she saw a group of people next to her feet pressing their palms together with gratitude. They had walked through a field filled with thorns and passed through a narrow door to get to her.
When she finished meditating, Irena was filled with regret and burst into tears. From then on, she was able to treat everyone with compassion.
Irena wanted to tell Master that she found the owners of those 2500 lotus flowers and she thanked Master for this opportunity. She said she will do better on the remaining cultivation path, improve herself, and help save people.
Jin began practicing Falun Dafa in 2014, and Master Li quickly cleansed her body. All her ailments, including stomachaches, headaches, shoulder pain, and neck problems, disappeared. She began indulging herself and slacked off in her cultivation.
Several years later, Jin had the symptoms of allergies, which only got worse. From flowers and seafood, she became allergic to fruits and vegetables and even certain weather conditions. Life was miserable and extremely painful. Doctors said there was no cure and she would have those allergies for the rest of her life.
Jin could not understand it and even had doubts about Dafa. It was not until her son had similar issues that she understood this was related to her cultivation state. Through studying Falun Dafa’s teachings, she realized her xinxing had fallen to the level of everyday people.
Jin increased the length of time she studied the teachings and rectified her thoughts. During a group practice, she saw a big ant climbing around in her eye and her allergies were gone the following day. Interestingly, her son’s allergies also disappeared the following day. It was unbelievable that her and her son’s eyes were very itchy the day before and now everything was fine. Their allergies never came back.
From this experience, Jin learned just how extraordinary and powerful Falun Dafa is. The requirements for practitioners are also high and serious. If one is not strict with him or herself, they are no different from an everyday person. Only by following the teachings and remaining diligent can one be a genuine Dafa disciple.
Having been the coordinator in Poland for many years, Yang organized many activities for practitioners to clarify the truth to people and expose the persecution in China. But thinking about the many people that were still unaware of Dafa or the suppression in China, Yang knew he had to do more.
He decided to distribute flyers every week at the train station in the center of the city and at popular supermarkets. During past activities, some practitioners demonstrated the exercises and displayed informational posters. He wondered if it would work if he just went there himself. After some hesitation, he decided to try. Another practitioner decided to join him, and the two of them have been doing this for over a year now.
During this time, Yang noticed many of his attachments that he hadn’t yet eliminated. For example, he was afraid acquaintances might not understand what he was doing, he did not want to go out if the weather was bad, and people responded in all kinds of ways. Now, Yang is able to remain undisturbed whatever the situation. That is, he treats everyone with compassion.
Yang said he would do better in the future so that more people could learn the facts about Falun Dafa.
Group discussion after the conference
After the conference, practitioners held a group sharing session. Many new practitioners were pleased to meet practitioners who had practiced for many years. Although they come from differnt backgrounds and have different experiences, they all know that Falun Dafa is wonderful and Master Li is great.