(Minghui.org) August 2022 marked ten years since I started practicing Falun Dafa.
In 2012, Falun Dafa was just introduced to Cyprus, and our cultivation environment was gradually created. People with predestined relationships, of all ages and ethnicities, met in Cyprus to cultivate. By organizing activities we clarified the truth about the Chinese Communist Party’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting and the persecution of Falun Dafa in China and told people about the beauty and benefits of the practice. We also learned to cooperate.
Master said,
“Another thing is, you have really had a tremendous impact in making the truth known and saving people with all of the truth-clarification teams and activities you have initiated as Dafa disciples. It’s wonderful! It’s not about the size and scale of what you do. It’s about the results, the heart you put into it, and whether you go about it as a cultivator.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)
In the fall of 2013, at the urging of our coordinator in Cyprus, we decided to organize the first "Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truth, Compassion, Tolerance) International Art Exhibition" held in Nicosia. Two more were held, one in Limassol and one in Agia Napa. The mayor of Nicosia was officially invited to inaugurate the exhibition. At the last moment, intervention by the Chinese Embassy stopped him.
From 2012 to 2019, even though practitioners in Cyprus lived in four different provinces, we met at least twice a month to read the teachings and hold activities to introduce Falun Dafa. We read in four different languages and this required a lot of concentration. There was some difficulty when we exchanged understandings and experiences since some practitioners did not speak English.
But we all had the heart and enthusiasm to tell people about Falun Dafa and how it’s being persecuted. Over time we managed to create a cultivation environment and after Fa study we discussed our experiences.
New Cultivation Opportunities
Just before the pandemic and during it, a third of the practitioners returned to their home countries. A few months ago, our coordinator also moved to her husband’s country. This change brought a temporary upheaval and some tension in our group environment, and our attachments were exposed. I strongly felt the emotional loss, sadness, and loneliness, as if everything around me had suddenly collapsed. I felt the fear of abandonment and loneliness, and I was sad.
At the same time, I had to face changes on a personal level. During the pandemic, I completed the turnover of the children’s art workshop that I ran for 33 years and I also moved. I left behind the noisy and chaotic center of the capital and moved to a quiet neighborhood. My feelings of impatience, excitement, and a hidden joy for the new beginning and for the course of cultivation, began to emerge. I tried to look inside myself and find my attachments.
The process of settling into my new home and the new environment and my impatience to have it all over quickly created gaps in my cultivation. I seldom did the exercises or read the Fa. My lower back began to hurt, and I could not sit in the lotus position to meditate. Listening to the recordings of Master’s lectures helped me a lot.
These gaps in my cultivation also caused me to stop paying attention to cultivating my speech. I casually commented on the affairs of everyday people and as a result I began having negative thoughts.
Master said, “When we speak, we should simply speak in a manner befitting a practitioner, and not say anything bad or divisive.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Around 10,000 Chinese people live in my district. I knew two Chinese practitioners and we started a weekly Fa study. Together with our coordinator, we do the exercises once a month in a park. We post the announcement on our social media page so that people who are interested will be informed in advance.
There are now only a few of us who speak Greek—and one couple with their two children live in another city. We try to come together at least once a month and hold activities in public. After getting permission from the city, we hold events in a different town each time.
I’d like to tell you about a recent amazing encounter. A little girl who looked to be about 10 came to the new practice site in Paphos. We had already started to do the exercises. She very politely asked if she could do them with us. She immediately closed her eyes and did the second exercise (Falun Standing Stance) with a serene and calm smile. She seemed to have practiced for years! I was very moved and encouraged.
I’d also like to tell you that Dafa changes people in a positive way. After I started practicing, my relationship with my mother changed. Before, our relationship was tense. By cultivating my xinxing during the 10 years I took care of her, I eliminated my attachments to comfort and the desires of everyday people. I felt my compassion emerge and our relationship changed. My mother knew about Falun Dafa and was very happy to see beautiful pictures of the practice and listen to Master’s music. Just before she died, I told her not to be afraid and that everything would be beautiful and bright wherever she went. I sat with her when she took her last breath and read “On Dafa” to her. I whispered in her ear Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She exhaled very calmly.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Please correct me if I’ve said anything inappropriate.
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