(Minghui.org) Volunteer assistants from group practice sites all across Taiwan held their annual meeting in Taipei at the Chientan Youth Activity Center on June 15 and 16 to read the teachings and discuss their cultivation experiences. They talked about how they applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives and, as coordinators, how to act according to the requirements of Dafa so that practitioners could improve together.

Practitioners did the exercises during their gathering at the Chientan Youth Activity Center on the morning of June 16

During the group discussion on the afternoon of June 16, practitioners talked about the physical health and spiritual guidance they’d derived from Falun Dafa. By looking within and improving themselves, they were able to guide other practitioners to improve together.

Group study and discussion on the afternoon of June 16

A Better Environment

Xiurong from Kaohsiung talked about how she helped practitioners in her region with group study and discussion. She noticed the number of practitioners who participated in group study had decreased recently. When she looked inward, she realized the volunteer assistants for the group practice sites in the area, including herself, needed to do better. So she asked the other assistants to meet more frequently to read the Fa and discuss how they could improve their xinxing. “I gained a deeper understanding in the process,” she said.

One day when she was driving on the highway Xiurong discovered her brakes weren’t working. A force suddenly turned the wheel so that her car drove to the center of the road where there were no vehicles, thus avoiding an accident. She immediately thanked Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) for protecting her. She looked within after she returned home and realized she always looked at the speedometer to check her speed. When there were no traffic cameras, she would exceed the speed limit. “I understood this was wrong,” she said. “As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I should be truthful at all times.”

Xiurong said she was not only grateful to Master Li for his protection, but also realized the incident happened because of the areas where she deviated from Dafa’s principles. After she shared her understanding of what happened, other practitioners were willing to talk about their thoughts and look within as well.

As a result, more and more practitioners joined the group study and discussion. In addition to daily group study, another session was added in the evening so that those who have day jobs could attend. “Practitioners like this environment very much,” she said.

Looking Within

Zhongpeng from New Taipei City said that, in addition to sharing his own experiences, he made plans for practitioners to take turns and discuss theirs. After some time, the atmosphere at the group practice site improved and more practitioners were willing to talk.

Zhongpeng said that, because he did things quickly and his wife was slower, he sometimes lost his temper. Thinking of how to fix the problem, he told his wife that he would slap himself in the face twice if he lost his temper again. One day when this happened and he was about to slap himself, he thought, “My wife doesn’t know that I’ve lost my temper again. Do I really have to do what I said?” Realizing this thought wasn’t truthful, he told his wife what happened and slapped himself twice.

Because he was determined to improve himself, Zhongpeng noticed the situation changed and he seldom lost his temper.

After this incident, he noticed that more practitioners were willing to share their own thoughts. For example, one practitioner had not attended group study for seven or eight years. After studying with the group recently, he was moved to tears. Regretting the opportunities he had missed, he posted messages in their group chat, encouraging others to attend group study.

Zhongpeng was moved by this experience. “More practitioners are participating in the group practice and, as the cultivation environment improves, coordination is also easier,” he said.

Responsibilities as Assistants

Shuzhen from Tainan had been thinking of creating a better environment for group practice sites. After the pandemic, she noticed fewer practitioners at group study and exercise sites, and the situation worsened over time. She started with looking at herself first and realized she cared less about others due to her busy work schedule. So she and other coordinators began to follow up with other assistants to find out about their situations.

“During this process, I learned that I have to cultivate myself well to be able to help others,” she said. “Therefore, I require myself to do well when it comes to studying the teachings so that I can really improve.”

Based on feedback, Shuzhen adjusted the schedule for group study and discussion and made plans for practitioners to prepare for sharing in advance. This helped the quality of group discussion. She and other coordinators reached out to assistants at practice sites so that practitioners could improve as one body.

“It is an honor to be a volunteer coordinator or assistant at a group practice site,” Shufen said. “It is also our responsibility to provide a stable and better cultivation environment.”

Letting Go of Attachments

Antao from Taoyuan works for a news media. During the group discussion, she shared something that happened several years ago. When she was busy with business planning, a client contacted her for a proposal. Because she was so busy, Antao just put the proposal request aside and did not follow up.

When she reflected on how she behaved, Antao realized her attachment to fame and material interests. If a coworker interacted with her clients in the past, she would graciously give the business to the coworker even if it meant she lost the commission. This time when the client asked for a proposal, she didn’t make the effort to assign it to a coworker. “Thinking deeper, I know I still have the attachments to fame and material interests, and I need to do better,” she said.