(Minghui.org) During an experience-sharing conference held in Auckland, New Zealand, on June 19, Falun Dafa practitioners shared how they followed the teachings of Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) to do well the three things practitioners should do and constantly improve themselves.
Some of them talked about how they strove to live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and how their families became more harmonious as a result. Others shared how they overcame all kinds of difficulties and distributed information about Falun Dafa. Among the presenters were also young practitioners who were able to resist the temptations in today’s chaotic world and maintain a pure mind, thanks to following Falun Dafa’s teachings.
Falun Dafa experience-sharing conference in Auckland on June 19, 2021
Remaining Bold When Encountering Difficulty
Mr. Lin Shan is a young practitioner who has been working for a news media for 12 years. At first, he was a volunteer working on reporting, translation, and typesetting. When the workload increased and the media expanded, Mr. Lin quit his day job and began to work full time for the media.
When he was first told he would be responsible for newspaper distribution, Mr. Lin had some concerns since his strength was in writing and he had never done any manual work in his previous day job. Through continued Fa-study and improving his xinxing, however, he took on this new role without complaint. From this, he also came to understand the importance of distribution and let go of the attachment to fame.
In the past, Mr. Lin did not think he had an attachment to material gain. In fact, in cultivation practice, he was well aware of the importance of cherishing virtue. But in the face of financial pressure, he found he still had a strong attachment to material gain. This was especially the case when he could not make ends meet or when he felt he was being treated unfairly.
“One time when I was reading Zhuan Falun, I saw that Master said, ‘These sorts of people are so anxious they miss meals and lose sleep over it, and feel distraught.’ (The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun) I had a new understanding of the attachment to jealousy,” he explained. “It is not just limited to your feeling bad over others’ success. If you think something is unfair, that is also jealousy. People may think they deserve this or that. Divine beings will not think that way.”
Looking back, Mr. Lin said there had been many challenges. “Every tribulation was hard and took a long time to overcome. All of them were opportunities to cultivate xinxing until I was able to let go of attachments and remain undisturbed,” he said. “I also felt that Master was right next to me and the path was already paved. We can get through it as long as we are willing to improve.”
He said there were situations that seemed to have no solution. “But when we remain determined, things would change. To me, there are no alternatives for cultivation. When encountering difficulty, we have no choice but to move forward,” he explained.
Practitioners share their experiences.
Family Conflicts
Ms. Liu Hongxia is a mother of two. Because of all the responsibilities and household chores, she often complained about her husband. For example, she was upset that he spent little time with their children and never took the initiative to help around the house. By cultivating, she identified her own attachments and was no longer resentful. When her husband had a bad temper, she could remain calm and did not argue with him.
“One night in a dream, Master showed me my karmic relationship with my husband. He had saved me in a previous life. It was very touching and he was so kind,” Ms. Liu recalled. Upon waking up, she was moved to tears. Thankful to Master for letting her see this, she reminded herself to treat her husband well. Since then, she and her husband have been able to respect each other. She always discusses things with him and has stopped raising her voice. He has also become more respectful of her.
Ms. Liu said she also encountered a lot of tests in educating her children. There were many problems. When the children did not listen, she could manage to control herself most of the time when talking with them and guiding them. But whenever she saw them playing computer games, she lost her temper. Over the past two years, she had been competing with computer games for their attention. Shortly after her son began to study the Fa, his time was always taken up with computer games, which was the first thing he did when he got home from school. “It was like an endless war that I could not win,” she explained.
Later on, Ms. Liu realized she needed to look within instead of just handling it like an everyday person. “If I think about it from their angle, I would know that after returning home, they had to do their homework, practice their musical instrument, and study the Fa. Sometimes they do feel bored and tired,” she said. With this understanding, after they completed their homework, she would spend time with them playing some simple games, chess, tennis, or badminton.
In addition, Ms. Liu paid attention to her tone of voice and what she should say before saying it out loud to her kids. Her daughter, who is also a practitioner, reminded her to speak gently in a low voice. “Very often before I say it out loud, the problems are already resolved. Not only has my son become less and less interested in computer games, he can calm down and read Dafa books,” she added. “There is still a long way to go and many attachments I have to let go of. I am grateful to Master for the opportunity to practice together with these two young practitioners.”
Distributing Materials
Already advanced in years, Ms. Li Jianqun does not understand English or know how to drive. Nonetheless, she remembers Master’s words and does the three things every day.
Lately, she has been going out to distribute informational materials to local residents. Unable to read English, she could not understand the maps very well and often made mistakes. As a result, she often missed some places or covered some households twice. This upset her.
Through Fa-study and looking within, Ms. Li found she had an attachment of relying on others, something rooted in selfishness. With help from other practitioners, she was able to read the maps better, even some that are relatively complicated. She also became more efficient and could distribute many materials every day.
Besides distributing materials to households, Ms. Li also goes to Chinese grocery stores to hand out materials and talk to people about quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Whenever she has time, she also helps distribute materials in areas outside Auckland.
Getting Involved in the Community
Ms. Liu Xiaojie began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997. About three years ago, she moved to a small city in New Zealand where she is the only practitioner. Thinking of how to introduce Dafa to other people, she applied for a booth in the marketplace every week. After seeing her doing the Falun Dafa exercises there and reading the posters and other materials, over 60 people showed interest in Falun Dafa in about three months and left their contact information. Later on, more than 20 came to learn the exercises. In addition, she made friends who helped her later in reaching out to the community.
Over the past three years, Ms. Liu has been doing the exercises outdoors near her residence, which has worked well. Two years ago, when she told a stranger far away from home about Falun Dafa, that person asked if she had been doing exercises near a lake. “Later on, I heard that comment more and more often. About 70% of the people I introduced Dafa to said they had seen me doing the exercises by the lake,” she said. Some passing drivers also tapped their horns to show support.
After the pandemic lockdown was lifted, Ms. Liu went out to do the exercises again. The first day she resumed doing the exercises outdoors, many vehicles honked their horns to greet her. One woman came up and thanked her for doing the exercises and showing the banners and flyers to inform passersby of the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. Many people do not know what is going on in China yet, so it is important to have more events like this. “It seems like they do not treat me as a stranger. Rather I am someone they know,” explained Ms. Liu.
But simply doing the exercises and introducing Dafa to people at a marketplace is not enough. Ms. Liu said she was thinking of how to get involved in the community further. Every week she gets two local newspapers to find out about local events. Based on her schedule, she attended some of them.
One time at an ethnic costume exhibition, she met the president of the local multicultural council, the organizer of the event. Ms. Liu then told the president about Falun Dafa and activities related to Dafa at the Auckland Botanic Gardens. The lady invited Ms. Liu to become a member of the multicultural council. After becoming a volunteer, Ms. Liu held numerous events to introduce Dafa. Some attendees were heads of other associations, and this gave her even more opportunities to let people know about Dafa.
The Joy of Genuine Cultivation
Ivy was born in the 1990s and began to practice Falun Dafa in 2005. She realized she had strong attachments of showing off, jealousy, and competition, which manifested in many aspects of her life. Through constant Fa-study and improving her xinxing, she became more easygoing and kind.
In late 2017, she came to New Zealand for graduate study. Because of her academic excellence, she found two jobs after earning a master's degree. One was helping a Chinese professor at a college study the trade war between the U.S. and China, and the other was working for a government-affiliated firm to investigate non-compliant behaviors in the real estate business. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, she applies the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in her daily life.
When she was working with the college professor, Ivy helped him learn about Falun Dafa as well as the CCP’s track record of human rights violations. The professor published many articles in mainstream New Zealand media, urging Western governments and companies to stop doing business with China. He said New Zealand should follow principles instead of bowing to short-term gains. At the conclusion of his collaboration with Ivy on his research, the professor quit the CCP organizations and said he respected practitioners for their courage. He admired Ivy for finding the true meaning of life at such a young age when he had only stopped being an atheist and begun to believe in the divine only two years before.
When reviewing and auditing building permits for homes, Ivy often interacted with developers and builders from China. She told them not to look at things with the CCP culture; instead, they should be transparent and fair like the people in the West, which would help build trust and long-term success. Both coworkers and management praised her ability and work ethic.
Looking back at these three years, Ivy said she has gradually sensed the joy of being a genuine practitioner. “Whenever I enlightened to new Fa principles, I could feel myself truly improving. The continued purification and uplifting always make me happy,” she explained. “Right now, I am not worried about how long the remaining path will be. Master has made the best arrangement, and what I need to do is just use my wisdom and abilities to save sentient beings and validate Dafa.”
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