A Dafa group study event in Central Taiwan area was held from Aug. 11 to Aug. 13. Because the number of Dafa practitioners in this area has grown rapidly in the past year, and also because it has been a year since the last grand event of Dafa activities held in this area, many practitioners enthusiastically participated. There were about 310 practitioners present at the study site, including some people who did not sign up beforehand. They were split into 36 small groups to study Dafa and share their experiences. The event may well be described as spectacular, which came as little surprise, as it was in concert with the current cosmic changes with Dafa being spread far and wide.
A new atmosphere
There were many new things adopted in this group study event, which made it very different from other group study activities ever held in Taiwan. First, to many peoples glad surprise, a lot of local participants were very new practitioners who had been learning Dafa from between one to four months. Practitioners that came from other areas to support the event, on the other hand, were mostly veteran practitioners. For instance, seven people from Jilong, nine people from Taipei and more than 30 people from Pingdong, have been cultivating Dafa for quite a long time. Originally the assistant center was concerned about whether or not the new practitioners could adapt to this intensive way of group study. In fact, with the influence of the strong, compassionate, serene and peaceful energy field of Dafa, the results turned out to be really good. Through studying the Dafa, many new practitioners had their questions answered. Their heart of cultivation became more solid, and they gained deeper understanding of Dafa. At the end of the event, when we saw people beaming with smiles, expressing good wishes, exchanging words of encouragement, and reluctant to part with each other before leaving, we knew that this event had been very successful.
It is worth mentioning a college student who was exposed to Dafa for the first time at the event. He saw a notice about the forthcoming event on the Internet. Initially he was quite reluctant to come, as he was afraid of being cheated under the influence of the unhealthy phenomena of the society. As he said, he was very afraid of being forced to become a monk when attending the meeting in the evening. Our assistant won him over; he eventually turned up at the study site to find out what was going on. As it turned out, he stayed for all the activities. Through studying he has also built the right understanding and confidence in Dafa. Many veteran practitioners were very delighted about it. This has also validated the fact that Dafa would not leave behind any person with predestined relationship. Naturally, we have also realized that as for the activity of group study, we need to further publicize it on the ordinary peoples level and not limit ourselves to a set pattern.
Not only were the participants new, the group assistants were also new, for most of them were first-time volunteers. No matter how little experience they had and how they had done their jobs, they all said at the experience sharing meeting held on the last day that being an assistant was a rewarding experience. To the common questions raised by practitioners, like worshipping ancestors, taking medicines and buying stocks, etc., most of the assistants could provide good guidance. For some special questions, such as the sensitive issue of some peoples deaths after they learned Falun Dafa, the assistants also got further and deeper understanding through studying Dafa and sharing experiences. The volunteering experience will surely help them become more involved in Dafa activities, and this will in turn lay a good foundation for further spreading of Dafa in Central Taiwan.
The third "new" thing in this event was the group study in Taiwanese. This new arrangement was set up to meet the background of Central practitioners. Some of them, especially the elderly people, cant speak Mandarin. Therefore, of the 36 study groups, two large study groups were set up to study Dafa and share experiences in Taiwanese. Both of the two groups assistants approved of the arrangement very much afterward. According to the two assistants, most of the practitioners in these two groups were the elderly with good self-restraint and attained Dafa relatively early. Although it went very slowly when they took turns reading the book in their own dialect, and they spent quite a long time reading the book and sharing experiences, no one felt tired. Everyone felt energetic and delighted. This is another example of the fact that Dafa has no fixed rules and regulations. We think the new arrangement can be continued and developed.
Rectifying human society with Dafa
Right before the commencement of the group study event in the afternoon of Aug. 11, we saw teachers new scripture, "Rationality." In the scripture teacher wrote: "Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolencethis is establishing the mighty virtue of an enlightened being."
On the previous day, Minghui editors published a statement on the net titled, "The Purpose of Stepping Forward is to Validate Dafa," which declared in concert with Teachers new scripture, "Under such cosmic changes, and at this historical moment when the wicked and evil will soon be eliminated, whether one can go beyond the boundary of individual cultivation, whether one can truly adopt the standpoint of the Fa, and whether one can give the highest priority to validating Dafa and letting more people know the truth about Falun Gong, and thus fulfill one's historic duties in the process of promoting and safeguarding the Fa, have become of utmost importance for every practitioner in China and oversea."
"In order for the cosmic changes to manifest at the level of the human world, it requires that Dafa disciples step forward to validate Dafa.
"People are already laying a good foundation for their own future, when they sympathize with Dafa disciples for the persecution they have endured, when they admire and respect the strength and courageous conduct that Dafa disciples have shown for the sake of the truth, when they give their support for Dafa and Dafa disciples, when they have more correct understandings of Dafa, when they start their own cultivation practice, and when they help other people attain the Fa or connect with the Fa after realizing its merit. From the perspective of Dafa disciples, that is exactly what needs to be achieved in validating Dafa."
Considering that many practitioners might have not yet understood the present cosmic changes of "assisting the Teacher in the human world," the assistant center decided to add the new scripture, "Rationality," to the study session, hoping that both veteran and new practitioners could go beyond the boundary of individual cultivation, carry forward their great spirits of compassion and kindness, and utilize various means to let more people know about Falun Dafa so as to fulfill the sacred duties of assisting Teacher in "rectifying human society with Dafa." We are very grateful for this precious opportunity. Through studying Dafa, many veteran practitioners have given up their limited understanding about the ways to spread Dafa. We can also clearly see the new practitioners eager wish to step forward to validate Dafa as it showed on their kind and sincere faces. The power of compassion is unmatchable, and this was an extra gain of the group study.
Getting both Dafa and the rain
In the morning of Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, we held the routine group practice and Dafa spreading in the croquet field of Zhongshan Park in Taizhong. As the Dafa music played on the open and beautiful lawn, practitioners started their movements in an orderly manner. The compassionate and spectacular scene was deeply moving. At the entrance of the park, a TV, a materials booth and other facilities were set up for spreading Dafa. There were practitioners who distributed materials, taught movements and introduced Dafa to people. There were also assistants who helped correct practitioners movements. Smoothly and quietly, everyone was doing his bit. Although it seemed like nothing special, we were fulfilling our duties of "assisting the teacher in the human world" in mighty waves.
We also had a special test during the morning practice in Zhongshan Park on the second day. It began to rain not long after practitioners started the sitting meditation. This rarely happens in our Dafa activities. The assistant center asked practitioners to decide for themselves whether to continue or take shelter from the rain.
Some practitioners said, "Practicing in the rain would probably cause the public to misunderstand us."
Some other practitioners said, "This is a test!"
Still some other practitioners said, "Even some pedestrians are walking light-heartedly in the rain; this is not even a tribulation for our practitioners!"
A person walking by said, "People who practice this exercise are very special in that they persist in the rain, I also want to learn and to know more about it."
Returning from a rewarding journey
I believe that all the events participants strongly feel benefited. In Dafa cultivation, what we have gained is still far more than this.
Lastly, many participants contributed to the success of this group study activity. The preparation work was done very well. Things like making the study plan, assistants reminders beforehand, arrangement of hotel accommodations and other sundry duties were all well taken care of. Of course, all Dafa work is voluntary and forms part of our cultivation, yet on behalf of all the practitioners that participated, I still want to express our deep appreciation to these unknown heroes.
Taiwan practitioners, 8/14/2000
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Category: April 25 Events
