On May 23, 2020, Falun Dafa young practitioners from around the world gathered for an online cultivation experience sharing conference hosted by Students for Falun Gong and the Falun Dafa Club at Fei Tian College Middletown. A total of eighteen practitioners from the USA, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Latvia, Argentina, and Vietnam shared their personal cultivation stories about how they improved in their cultivation of Falun Dafa and in clarifying the truth about Falun Gong.
The purpose of this conference was to connect young practitioners around the world during the Chinese Communist Party virus (coronavirus) pandemic and encourage one another to be more diligent in cultivation as well as in clarifying the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong to more people. The conference was held in four languages simultaneously as more than 500 practitioners from over 20 different countries around the world listened to the experience sharing articles in Chinese, English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Clarifying the Truth About Falun Dafa in College
American practitioner Jasmina is the only Falun Dafa practitioner at her university. During the young practitioners experience sharing conference, she discussed how she clarified the truth about Falun Gong on her school campus. As she realized meditation was a trendy and current topic, Jasmina bought a yellow sign and attached a meditation poster to the front, printed out flyers to post on university bulletin boards, and meditated for one hour twice a week on the main quad–the busiest grassy spot on campus. Many people took her flyers, asked her about Falun Dafa, and some joined her in the meditation as well.
Jasmina also used class assignments to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong to her classmates and professors. Her first embroidery class assignment was to embroider cloth with an image related to the current refugee situation. Jasmina decided this would be the perfect way to inform more people about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its persecution of the peaceful meditation practice Falun Gong. When she presented her embroidery, Jasmina explained how she practiced Falun Dafa, a peaceful meditation practice currently banned in China. She then told her class that she personally knew some Falun Dafa refugees who escaped from China, and how it was no easy feat for them to arrive at where they were today.
Graduate Students Improve Through Cultivation of Falun Dafa
Canadian practitioner Prashant shared how being a Falun Dafa practitioner helped him improve his character and cultivate himself as he completed his PhD during the last five years.
Prashant wrote, “I noticed that many professors and students in my department would fall ill due to the stress of their work. After reflecting on this, I realized that it was the attachment of competitiveness which was affecting their health. As a practitioner, I always endeavored to take competition lightly and remain levelheaded when facing difficulties in my research work.”
Especially during the final examination of his PhD program, Prashant faced the difficult challenge of being questioned on his research in a public setting by a panel of six examiners for three hours. After reminding himself that he was a cultivator of Falun Dafa, Prashant was able to remain calm throughout the process, keep his composure, and explain his research clearly and convincingly. Prashant was able to graduate from his PhD program successfully, and was offered a job as a research scientist upon graduation.
American dental student Emily discussed how she removed her attachments to prestige and self-interest through her cultivation of Falun Dafa. She had a strong desire for fame, and wanted to stand out among her peers.
For a long time, Emily agonized about changing her career path and pursuing an additional six-year residency in the most rigorous post-graduate programs in order to advance her career and stand out from the crowd. However, as she continued reading Zhuan Falun and developed a deeper understanding of Falun Dafa’s principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance”, she was able to recognize her strong attachments to fame and self-interest. Emily realized that instead of obsessing over how to change her cultivation path, she should do her best to walk her path well. This understanding allowed her to broaden her perspective and take these issues lightly.
Emily said, “I now understand that all I have achieved is through Dafa. My true responsibilities lie in Dafa and not in my career.”
Vietnamese Practitioner Improves Self and Clarifies the Truth To Family
Danni, a Vietnamese practitioner currently studying in Australia, shared how she cultivated herself through clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to her family. Danni’s family was originally against her practicing Falun Dafa due to the heavy Communist Party culture in Vietnam. Her parents especially tried to get her to give up her practice and return home to Vietnam.
After reflecting on this situation and the teachings of Falun Dafa, Danni realized that she should use their criticism as opportunities to look within and improve herself. She realized that to convince her parents of Dafa’s goodness, she must first cultivate herself and play her role as a responsible daughter well. Danni began to change her behavior and practice compassion towards her family by taking care of her grandparents and sharing her understandings from the Fa with her father when he would tell her about his troubles at work.
When Danni’s grandfather’s health began to decline, she suggested that her father help him recite the nine words: “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness – Compassion – Forbearance is good”. Through the phone, she read her grandfather stories of people who had quickly recovered from their ailments after reciting those nine words. Danni’s father did not believe in Falun Dafa, and at first she did not expect her father to believe her or repeat the words to her grandfather. However, she found that he gradually transformed.
“Slowly, he decided to have my grandfather read the nine words. My dad took the initiative in reading each word slowly, reading them over and over to help my grandfather read them over and over. He also wrote the nine words on paper so that my grandfather could read them when he forgot.”
One month ago, Danni called her father and he excitedly told her that her grandfather’s condition has been improving. Her father had memorized the nine words, and he would read them with Danni’s grandfather every time he visited. Danni’s father joked that Danni had now convinced three family members to believe in Falun Dafa.
Danni wrote, “It took me a year to change my parents’ wrongful notions about Dafa. I think that is the result of good personal cultivation, and constantly improving my xinxing (character). My father was not convinced by my words, he was convinced by my actions. I realized that for others to believe that Dafa is good, I myself have to act like a good person in accordance with Dafa’s requirements.”
Practitioners Who Attended the Conference Share Their Inspirations and Express Their Gratitude
The conference deeply moved the attendees, with several saying they were moved to tears while listening to the different stories. Many attendees also expressed their gratitude for having a conference to bring young practitioners together during a worldwide pandemic: “The conference was held during this time when things are a little bit chaotic in the world, so hearing others talk about how they maneuvered around the situation and improved themselves during this testing time as cultivators were really uplifting and encouraging.” One college professor who was listening to the conference said, “You remind us, the adults, of cultivating as if we were just starting.”
As this was an international conference, some young practitioners woke up very early in the morning to attend or stayed up very late to listen to all of the experience sharing articles in their entirety. Many young practitioners commented that they felt inspired by how relatable the experiences were and how strong everyone’s righteous thoughts were: “I was very inspired by everyone’s sharing and each of them helped me find my own shortcomings. I realized that I have so much to improve in terms of my xinxing and I am very thankful for this cultivation environment.”
