Austria: Experience-Sharing Conference Held in Vienna

The annual Austrian Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference took place on September 2, 2018, at Baden, near Vienna. Both Western and Chinese practitioners talked about their experiences and lessons learned during their cultivation practice.

Many practitioners, including scheduled speakers and those in the audience, said that they were impressed by the profoundness of Falun Dafa and are grateful to Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa, for his compassion. Several practitioners traveled over five hours to attend the conference.

Righteous Thoughts and Selflessness
Ani from Vienna takes part in the peaceful appeal in front of the Chinese Embassy on a regular basis. One day as she handed out informational materials to pedestrians about Falun Dafa and the persecution of the practice in China, a man confronted her and said that practitioners were “too political.” “I felt nervous, as something like this had never happened to me before,” Ani said.

In response to the person's accusations, Ani refuted them one by one. But the man was not convinced. “It was like I spent all my energy to handle this one-on-one question and answer session. While doing that, I forgot that I needed to awaken him to the facts about Falun Dafa,” she recalled.

After realizing this, Ani adjusted her mindset and the nervousness went away. She paid closer attention to that person's words and noticed that his attitude was changing. The man was very surprised to hear about the brutality against Falun Dafa by the Chinese Communist Party. Upon leaving, he thanked her for talking with him for such a long time. From this experience, Ani learned that as long as we have righteous thoughts and are selfless, we will be able to awaken sentient beings.

Practitioners share their experiences of improving themselves through Falun Dafa cultivation practice

Compassion from Master
Renate grew up on a big farm in the mountains. When watching Shen Yun Performing Arts in Vienna in 2008, she was deeply touched by the grace, traditional elegance, and strength portrayed in the dances. Several weeks later, she began to read Zhuan Falun and do the Falun Dafa exercises regularly.

Through Shen Yun promotion, Renate learned how to improve herself and do the three things better. When Shen Yun came to perform at Salzburg earlier this year, she noticed her attachment to comfort. When selling Shen Yun tickets at a gift shop, she encountered many challenges including technical difficulties. However, a customer waiting for her to resolve the issues was very patient, which deeply moved her.

This experience taught Renate that when we do things with righteous thoughts, the challenges we face may not be real troubles, as Master Li is always looking after us with compassion.

Fundamental Attachment
One practitioner talked about how she began practicing Falun Dafa in 2003. Back then she was looking for a practice to become a better person. Gradually, she joined a few truth-clarification projects, which took lots of time. A few years later, her fundamental attachments became very severe, making her long for a life with more comfort. As a result, she slowly drifted away from Falun Dafa. When the tests became more and more intense, she did not want to let go of her fundamental attachments and fell sharply, she shared.

When she resumed practising a few years later, the tests for her were also difficult. To pass the tests, she kept reciting Master's words in Zhuan Falun, “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” Right now, she is determined and her faith in Master Li is firm, and she promised herself not to add unnecessary burdens.

Maintaining a Sincere Heart
Another practitioner talked about how she made phone calls to elected officials to make appointments with them to talk about Falun Dafa and raise awareness of the persecution in China. “The most difficult thing for me is to maintain a sincere heart with a strong determination. This is not only when I am making phone calls, but also throughout the whole process until the person I speak with confirms the appointment,” she said. This process can be stressful and is an opportunity for her to improve.