(Minghui.org) The San Francisco Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference was held at the San Mateo Hillsdale Theater on August 11, 2024. Nineteen practitioners talked about how they studied the Fa, saved people, and strove to improve their cultivation.
A Falun Dafa cultivation experience sharing conference was held in San Francisco on August 11, 2024.
Practitioners talked about their cultivation experiences.
Looking Within Is a Magical Tool
Cao Wei began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997 and said she went from not knowing how to cultivate herself when she lived in China to cultivating diligently in a peaceful environment overseas.
She said,“I knew the principle of looking within, yet I kept looking outward. There was a disconnect between studying the Fa and doing things. I wanted to improve but couldn’t.”
She realized that her problem was using the Fa to judge others instead of seeing the good points of fellow practitioners. “Whether I’m alone, coordinating with others or at work, I must learn to see my shortcomings. The minute I identify my bad thoughts, I should repeatedly negate them until they are eliminated.”
She said we often encounter big and small tests in cultivation. Through self reflection, we are able to find joy in cultivation and be in a good state. “As long as you genuinely cultivate yourself, Master will look after you.”
Breaking Through Sickness Karma
Cao Jingzhe, who began to practice in 2000, has worked on media projects. Subscription and viewership of his channel increased significantly after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. In one month, subscriptions increased by 20,000 and then increased to 100,000 subscribers. Monthly viewership reached 3 million. His workload increased and he became attached to results.
To maintain his subscription and viewership levels, he kept reading reports on social media, looking for content ideas. He became depressed when his viewership numbers did not reach certain numbers, and he was overjoyed when many people viewed his channel. He became focused on figures, and was moved by gains and losses and often had negative thoughts.
When the COVID pandemic began, the media company he worked for allowed employees to work from home. “My attachment to comfort grew and I slacked off in studying the Fa and doing the exercises. Furthermore, my attachment to work results led to health problems. My hair began to fall out, I developed hay fever, my eye hurt and my vision deteriorated, etc.”
He realized the importance of studying the Fa and actively took part in group Fa study. He used the Fa to rectify his thoughts. Months later his cultivation state improved and his health problems gradually disappeared. His hair grew back and he felt energetic.
“These changes helped me recognize once again the importance of studying the Fa with a quiet mind and constantly regarding myself as a cultivator. Studying the Fa is also the fundamental assurance that we’ll do well in our truth clarification projects.”
Persisting in Telling People About the Persecution Outside the Chinese Consulate
Gao Huanqi, a practitioner from the east Bay Area in San Francisco, said in her speech, “I have a new understanding of practicing cultivation as if I had just started. It means returning to the pure state when our lives were first created.”
She joined activities to raise awareness about the persecution outside the Chinese consulate after realizing that she should be responsible for promoting and validating the Fa.
As more and more truth clarification projects were started, fewer practitioners were able to go to the consulate. “Those who persisted reached a common understanding: We must have faith in Dafa and walk well on this path until the persecution ends.” she said.
Practitioners encouraged one another when there were difficulties. At one point, her hearing deteriorated. Even though she ate, she was constantly hungry and had no energy. She shook after standing outside the Chinese consulate for only two hours. She managed to return home after asking Master for help.
Her husband, Mr. Peng, who is also a practitioner told her, “Dafa disciples are not afraid of death, why would you be afraid when you’re eliminating karma?” It was then that she knew her husband was suffering from sickness karma as well. Both his legs festered, and oozed pus. It was difficult for him to walk, yet he continued to push a cart of materials and supplies to the truth clarification site every day. He had strong righteous thoughts and did not think about life or death. “He let go of his suffering yet I was moved by my physical discomfort—the gap between us was so great.”
Through studying the Fa, doing the exercises and looking within, she felt a layer in her body gradually dissolve and said, “Later when I did the exercises, I truly felt I was doing them.”
Going Out to Clarify the Truth
Wang Ruixin, who began to practice in 1996, cherished the relaxed cultivation environment after she came to the U.S.
She said talking to people about Falun Dafa outside China is very different. “Your safety is not at risk here. However, I sometimes encounter people who don’t know the truth and even swear. I realize it’s a cultivation opportunity,” she said.
In China, she usually talks to one person at a time. In the U.S., tourists arrive in groups. Many people take photos but sometimes before she has a chance to talk, they’re gone. Some are unfriendly and even curse at practitioners.
In the beginning, she was upset when things didn’t go well. As she studied the Fa more, she realized that saving people is what we should do. We need to practice cultivation at the same time. She thus changed her mindset and greeted everyone with a kind, tranquil mind and always had a smile on her face.
She first greeted them before handing out information. She tells them the facts about the persecution and invites them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The results were amazing. Most people were friendly even if they didn’t take the fliers and they thanked her. Some smiled, nodding their heads, while others gave her a thumbs up, bowed or shouted “Falun Dafa is great!” Some people took photos with practitioners and learned the exercises. “We were happy for sentient beings who realized Falun Dafa is good, Master has already arranged things for us,” she said.
Cooperating Well is a Magical Tool in Saving People
There’s a truth clarification site at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown, that has been there for many years. Chinese tourists from the Bay Area and all over the world come here. Ding Xiangying talked about how she cooperated with practitioners and persisted in going to the site to clarify the facts to people.
Three months before President Xi came to San Francisco to attend the APEC conference, the Chinese consulate sent an elderly woman who sat in a wheelchair to Portsmouth Square to sabotage the truth clarification site. The woman scolded practitioners and used her cane to smash their display boards. She sat on the displays, ran over them and tore them up. When practitioners tried to stop her, she hit them with her cane. She assaulted several practitioners.
Ding Xiangying said that practitioners who began to practice Falun Dafa outside China never encountered such a scene or experienced the brutal means the CCP uses in China to persecute practitioners. They decided not to pursue the matter and moved their displays to another location.
Through studying the Fa, Ding realized that truth clarification sites are an environment to save sentient beings, and validate the Fa. Everyone is choosing their own future through distinguishing good from evil.
Practitioners repeatedly explained the situation to the elderly woman and asked her not to help the CCP persecute practitioners. They also reported the incident to the police. “Police officers in Chinatown recorded how we were assaulted by the woman and told us to call them if she continued to harass us, and they would send officers at once,” Ding said.
Through the efforts of the practitioners and protected by Master, the situation was resolved. Many people who saw what happened understood the facts about the persecution and praised practitioners.
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