(Clearwisdom.net) The 2008 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference convened at 9:00 a.m. on December 14, 2008, at National Chung Hsing University, in Taiwan. Nearly 7,000 Falun Gong practitioners from across Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Macao, New Zealand and Korea attended the grand event.
At dawn, hundreds of tourist vans and small vans from across Taiwan arrived at National Chung Hsing University, and the practitioners, dressed in formal attire, entered the conference hall. There were also five secondary halls to accommodate the large number of practitioners. In the center of the main venue was a huge banner bearing the text of Lunyu with gold characters on a red background. On both sides of the huge banner were banners bearing Falun emblems in different colors. The atmosphere in the conference hall was sacred and solemn.
2008 Taiwan Fa Conference venue
More than twenty practitioners presented their cultivation experiences, understandings, and insights to the audience. Among them was one practitioner who had just started practicing Falun Gong two months ago, and another practitioner who is nearly 80 years old. They discussed how they clarified the truth and offered salvation to sentient beings, while cultivating themselves by letting go of their attachments and doing well the three things that Master requires them to do. Many practitioners told about how they painstakingly removed their attachments, and how they improved their xinxing and broke through difficulties and tests. Other issues addressed included balancing the relationships between family, work and life, and how to display good demeanor in daily life and when doing truth-clarification work.
Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners shared their cultivation experiences at National Chung Hsing University on December 14, 2008. The pictures show the main conference hall, a secondary conference hall, and a hall for simultaneous translation.
Cultivating While Validating the Fa
Lan Pei-gang is a military man from Hualien. He spends most of his life and work in the army. He had previously been distressed due to the difficulty validating the Fa in a military environment. Later, however, an editor from TheEpoch Times newspaper contacted him, and asked him to write a series of reports on the history of the Anti-Japanese War. Through this, he finally found a way to validate the Fa. With his promotion and positive changes, more and more people in the military have learned about Falun Gong and now read TheEpoch Times newspaper.
Tsai Pei-fang from Taoyuan said that since she started practicing Falun Gong, in order for her husband to have a positive impression of Falun Gong, she made their home clean and tidy, and prepared nice dishes every day, but she still hadn't gained her husband's approval. She also found that her husband was having an affair, and her emotions were overwhelmingly impacted. Fortunately, because she is cultivating, she understood that she should calm down and look within. She realized that she still had a competitive mentality and that she had not let go of her emotions. She studied the Fa more, sent forth righteous thoughts for a longer period of time, and viewed her situation from a cultivator's point of view. She was considerate of her husband and that young woman. She had a long conversation with the young woman and clarified the facts to her. In the process, Ms. Tsai experienced the wonderful realm brought to her by being tolerant and forbearing. The young woman was moved to tears and said, "Falun Gong is really great! People who practice Falun Gong are really great!"
When practitioners were clarifying the facts to Chinese tourists at Taoyuan Airport, the airport police officers received instructions that the practitioners were not allowed to carry their truth-clarification display boards. The practitioners contacted the higher authorities, and kept explaining to the airport police officers the facts about the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong, to awaken their kindness. The airport police officers finally acknowledged the practitioners' truth-clarification efforts. Some tour guides praised the practitioners, saying, "Falun Gong can also be here (at the airport)! Falun Gong is indeed powerful!" Ms. Tsai has learned that clarifying the facts is the master key. When encountering difficulties, if she unconditionally looks within, rectifies herself according to the Fa, and maintains her xinxing, the master key will open a path to any possibility.
Ms. Lin Gui will be eighty years old in several months. She looked young and was in high spirits, not at all like an elderly woman. Before practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Lin had a chronic cough. She had also had an eye disease and high blood pressure. After practicing Falun Gong, regardless of the cold winter or hot summer, she walked for over thirty minutes every day to the exercise practice site. Over the past eight years, she has not had to apply a single eye drop, neither has she taken a single pill of medicine. Ms. Lin had received a Japanese education when she was young, so she didn't recognize Chinese characters. At the beginning when she studied the Fa, she used Japanese to help pronounce the Chinese characters. In this way, it took her two months to finish reading Zhuan Falun the first time. She can now read Zhuan Falun in two days.
Ms. Lin A-ying, who is in her seventies, had been bothered by illnesses for a long time. Since starting Falun Gong practice she has experienced tremendous positive changes both physically and mentally, and her family and relatives were surprised at her changes. She could also not read Chinese, but she had a strong desire to study the Fa, and it took her two months to finish reading Zhuan Falun once. After entering Fa-rectification cultivation, she often traveled abroad to take part in Fa-validation activities. She focuses on truth-clarification in Hong Kong. The audience was amazed by her miraculous experience, from being unable to read Chinese to taking part in Fa-validation work.
Chuang Chia-chin learned Falun Dafa over a year ago. She spoke about her experience clarifying the facts to Chinese officials who came to Taiwan. She realized the importance of offering salvation to people and overcame her fear of clarifying the truth to visiting Chinese officials. She also has been interviewed by the media, and helped the Taiwanese people learn about the facts.
Young Practitioners Melt into the Fa
The afternoon session of the Fa conference began with a recitation of the Fa by young practitioners from Chiayi Minghui School. Ms. Lai Huang-chen has encouraged young practitioners to memorize Zhuan Falun for a period of time, so that the young practitioners can assimilate the Fa in their lives. One young practitioner said, "When others treat me badly, I can tolerate it, and I don't argue with them. I take the initiative to help my classmates and teachers. I want to be a good person, so I can return to my original, true self. Please let everybody know, 'Falun Dafa is good.'"
Young practitioners recite from Zhuan Falun at the Fa conference
Improving by Comparing with Each Other in Study and Cultivation
Mr. Hsie from Taichung was deeply impressed after attending the Fa conference. He had been unable to take part in group Fa study and exchanged experiences with other practitioners due to his work. From this Fa conference, he found where he fell short, and felt he was lagging behind. He said he would consider adjusting his work time so that he could catch up with other practitioners.
A young couple from Neili drove to the Fa conference. Upon seeing many new practitioners enter cultivation practice and some practitioners return to cultivation after being away from Dafa, they were deeply moved. They regretted not bringing along a friend who had read Zhuan Falun several times to this Fa conference, so that she could walk a step further in truly practicing cultivation.
Ms. Chen brought her two young children to the Fa conference. The practitioners' experience sharing moved her to tears. In particular, the two older practitioners' experiences about being diligent, and the Minghui School young practitioners' recitation of the Fa compelled her to decide to be more diligent. She and her children agreed to recite the Fa together and encourage each other in their cultivation practice.
The Fa conference concluded successfully at 5:00 p.m.
