(Minghui.org) The New England Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference was held on July 28 at Harvard University in Boston. Practitioners did the exercises in the morning on campus, followed by an indoor conference. Thirteen practitioners discussed how they followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and encouraged each other.
The New England Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference was held on July 28, 2024, at Harvard University
Practitioners did the exercises in the morning
Practitioners talked about their experiences.
Righteous Thoughts
Anh attends Harvard and talked about her understandings when she encountered difficulties. By changing her human notions and letting go of fear, she was able to handle issues with righteous thoughts.
Anh knew the Falun Dafa Club had insufficient funds and needed more manpower. Through the Falun Dafa teachings she understood the correct way was to apply for an activities fund from the school. Information about the club’s activities could also be distributed by the student affairs office directly to student dorms and various departments, and solved the problem of lack of funds and manpower. Anh also learned the importance of handling issues with righteous thoughts.
Eliminating Attachments to Fame and Material Interests
College student Huihui had studied dance since she was a small child. She thought she was the best in her class and much better than the others. As jealousy and her attachment to fame surfaced, her competitive mentality became stronger.
During a dance competition before she left China, Huihui won third place while another student won first place. When she complained about it, her mother (also a practitioner) pointed out Huihui’s attachment to fame and material interests. Her mother told her that she should be thankful for this opportunity and think of how she could improve herself instead of criticizing others.
After she began attending college, there were no more competitions and Huihui thought her attachments were gone. But hoping to graduate with honors became another worry, and things did not go as she expected. From this Huihui realized that her attachment to fame was still there, just that it was hidden.
She realized that she had an attachment to showing off and only wanted to be praised. “Now I know this was wrong. Being a student means I need to study hard and get good grades since this is my duty,” she said. “But I cannot go to extremes and pursue fame; otherwise, it's an attachment.” She is thankful that Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) offered her these cultivation opportunities so that she could improve.
Helping Others Overcome Tribulations
Junjun described how she helped her uncle overcome an illness tribulation during the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, the medical facility did not allow family members to visit patients. Fortunately, her uncle learned how to answer video calls. So Junjun and her uncle agreed to call twice each day, at noon and in the evening, to read the Fa.
In the beginning, her uncle could not see well. Every time after Junjun read one sentence, her uncle repeated it. Later, when Junjun read half of the sentence, her uncle was able to finish the rest. They finished reading Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of Falun Dafa. When her uncle was released, he was not bedridden and he could walk a short distance with a cane.
Improving Oneself During Activities
Yiwei has practiced Falun Dafa for many years and talked about how she let go of sentimentality. When her parents (practitioners) visited her in Boston last autumn, she invited them to go out and put up Shen Yun posters with her. Once after her parents put up a poster at a coffee shop, Yiwei went there to buy coffee. The poster had been removed.
Her first thought was frustration, thinking the coffee shop staff was fooling her parents, and Yiwei wanted to get the poster back. As she thought about this further, she realized the purpose of putting up posters was to help save people. So she decided to stop, and not fight with others.
Yiwei recalled that she and other practitioners had experienced similar situations in the past, and her reaction was not as strong. But this time she couldn’t take it because this happened to her parents. She realized that this was sentimentality. This experience pointed out where she could improve.
Handling Conflicts While Participating in a Project
Liu Hao began to practice Falun Dafa in 2017 and he later participated in a media project. At first he was afraid and anxious, but he later calmed down and identified his attachments.
Liu said that he occasionally encountered conflicts, but realized these were cultivation opportunities. They usually happened when he was not prepared and targeted the area he was most sensitive to. As time went on, Liu found that when he was able to reflect on his xinxing and guide his behavior with Dafa’s teachings, the conflicts faded or disappeared. Looking back, Liu knew that these seven years were precious because he could not only help with the media project, but more importantly he was able to improve and eliminate his attachments.
Looking Within
After Jiajia started a new job in January, she had a conflict with a coworker. When she called a practitioner and complained, the coworker pointed out that she only wanted to be praised and didn’t want to hear any negative feedback.
In the beginning, Jiajia tried to solve the problem by complaining, hoping the environment would change. Although on the surface the situation seemed to improve, Jiajia knew she hadn’t passed the test since she focused on changing others instead of herself. Her attachment was still there.
After she realized this, Jiajia noticed that she was busy with work and didn’t seem to have time to read the teachings. This made her cultivation lag behind. After this incident, Jiajia read one lecture of Zhuan Falun every day and read Master’s other lectures. She was also able to look within and improve herself.
The conference concluded in the afternoon. The practitioners who attended the event said they had learned a lot and planned to improve their cultivation.
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