Opening Speech for the 2003 European Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference in Berlin

In Year 2001, the Gothenburg Fa Conference marked the beginning of the practice of holding two pan-European Fa Conferences per year, i.e., after the Geneva Fahui in the Spring, a further one is held in the summer or autumn of the same year. In 2002 we were in Copenhagen, this year we gather in Berlin.

The Gothenburg Conference in 2001 was a momentous moment in the European Fa rectification process. The Teacher telephoned the conference to give a message specifically to European practitioners. This is the later published article “To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference”. Teacher began by saying “For Dafa disciples, Consummation is the conclusion of cultivation, and Fa-rectification is the great responsibility history has bestowed upon you during the Fa-rectification period.” In the subsequent “North American Tour Lecture” and many other lectures, Teacher revealed where Dafa Disciples come from and what they come here for. We came from distant and enormous celestial bodies, we came to obtained the Fa so as to save sentient beings, we came on behalf of the lives in our universes who placed on us the enormous hope that we would extend salvation to them at the moment of Fa rectification, and also, we came here to honour our vows and enormous wishes to assist the Teacher in Fa rectification.

In the past few years, we have been carrying out our historical mission of “clarifying the facts thoroughly, eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts, and saving sentient beings”. We are increasing able to act, as Teacher hoped, “like the North American practitioners” and “every Dafa disciple will fully take initiative and fully play his role as a Dafa disciple.” Many of our projects have emerged from nothing, increased in number, enlarge in size and matured quickly. For example, in this year, practitioners have started lawsuits against the evil head and his gang members in seven European countries, thereby effectively suppressed the evil and clarified the facts. But in comparison with North American practitioners, we need to let more practitioners to fully take initiative and fully play his/her roles as Dafa disciples; we need to keep up closely with the progress of Fa rectification, through improved Fa study and cultivation as well as better coordination.

Amidst busy projects, studying the Fa with peaceful hearts is not easy but must be done well. In the article “To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference”, Teacher told us “Pay attention: no matter how busy you are, you cannot neglect Fa-study. This is what fundamentally assures that you move toward Consummation and do Dafa work well.” In order to enhance the quality of Fa study, practitioners in many regions increase the frequency of group Fa study, and establish regional, national, and project-based regular study groups. As a result, we become more clear headed, more rational, more able to deter interference, and more efficient in our work. Many problems such as Xinxing frictions among practitioners, inadequacy in coordination, lack of practitioner participation in a project, etc, were much better resolved.

Teacher reminded us, at the 2003 Chicago Fa Conference, to “coordinate with each other even better, and communicate with each other more and more.” This is particularly important to Europe which has many countries, many languages and practitioners are widely scattered. We need to further breakdown the national and language boundaries, enabling closer communication and coordination among the 45 countries in Europe through Fa conferences, email groups, joint projects, multi-country projects and inter-regional projects, thus allowing practitioners in different countries to encourage each other in cultivation, and support each other in Dafa work. We will thereby form a better one-body and achieve the best effect in validating the Fa in all European countries.

This is a critical period in Fa rectification. Our righteous thoughts is not only reflected in clearly recognising and carrying out our historical mission of Fa rectification, or in rigorously measuring our thoughts and actions using the Fa on all occasions; our righteous thoughts is even more reflected in how we regard the Teacher. We should not take our achievements too seriously, because without Teacher, no matter how diligently we cultivate, we would not be above to ascend beyond the three realms, let alone arriving in the New Universe; and no matter how great our noble ambitions and efforts are, we would not be able to save the sentient beings connected to us. We must fundamentally deny the Old Forces, because what they want is not the New Universe, but to preserve that they wanted. What we are facing, is not just ascending in levels through cultivation; what we are facing, more fundamentally, is whether we will enter the New Universe - it is the choice between the New and the Old. And the essence of choice and the essence of anything and everything of us is the righteous believe in Teacher; because if we departed from this, anything we do would lose its meaning, and if we forgot it, the Old Forces would seize the loophole to interfere and sabotage. When commenting on the experience-sharing article “Praising Teacher and Dafa”, Teacher said “This article displays clears thoughts, and a very clear understanding of Master's Fa-rectification and Dafa disciples' validation of the Fa. If all Dafa disciples can be as rational and clearheaded, and have righteous thoughts and righteous actions in validating the Fa, the persecution will not exist, and the evil will not have gaps to exploit.”

“We must not forget the Teacher”

Finally, I would like to share with everyone a poem by Teacher:

And the pervasive haze is gradually dispersing
While righteous thoughts display the might of Gods
Returning to Heaven is no longer just yearned for.