European Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference Held in St. Petersburg

On September 30th, 2006, the European Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference was successfully held in St. Petersburg, Russia. Practitioners from European countries like Russia, the Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia, Poland, Israel, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark, and from Taiwan, gathered to share with one another their experiences cultivating according to Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, as well as exposing the persecution.

The stage in the conference hall	European and Asian Dafa practitioners gathered in a hall to share with one another their experiences of cultivation

Dafa practitioners made speeches about their cultivation experiences in the past few years

To begin with, the Chairman of the Russian Falun Dafa Association made an opening address. He recollected Master Li's congratulatory message to the Dafa disciples attending the Russian Dafa conference in 2001. “Master said, ‘You should communicate with students in other countries often, encourage each other, and progress together with diligence.’ Today we are together with many other Dafa practitioners from other countries and areas to share with one another our understandings This is a very precious opportunity for us Russian practitioners. No doubt this Dafa conference will greatly inspire Russian Dafa practitioners. Master expressed his eager expectations for us. Through this Fa conference, we will for sure learn something from others’ experiences so that we can live up to Master’s expectations and shoulder up our holy responsibilities. To fulfill our historical wish, we will work harder than usual.”

During the conference, eighteen practitioners made speeches on the stage to share with other fellow practitioners their understanding and experiences of cultivation. They reported to the audience not only enlightenment that dawned on them in the process of their personal cultivation, but also how they adopted various approaches to validate Falun Dafa and expose the persecution. Their speeches were inspiring and rich in content. Those who attended were mostly Western practitioners who made continuous efforts to let people in their own countries understand the facts about Falun Dafa. In addition, many Western practitioners walked toward overseas Chinese blinded by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) deceitful lies to tell them the facts and kindly offer them a chance of salvation.

Just as Master said five years ago, “The people of Russia have been severely influenced by the propaganda from China’s evil political group.” Desperately struggling for its survival, the CCP used economic interests to bribe the Russian government. Being lied to and under the pressure exerted by the CCP, the Russian government agents of all levels had no choice but to help the CCP with its wrongdoing. Prior to the conference, a group of the Ukrainian practitioners were refused entry to Russia by the customs officials on the Russian border for no specific reason. Also, practitioners from Sweden and other countries were denied visas for no reason. These serious incidents remind us that the task to tell the facts to people and the governments in Russia and the East of Europe will still involve hardships.

Three practitioners described their experiences in the East. On their journey, they were subject to pressure and stern tests because the security departments concerned purposefully gave them a hard time. Victor, a practitioner of Russian nationality who lives in America, narrated his personal story. Before his journey to the East, a bird had knocked at his window at dawn for a week in a row. Not until he determined to join in the journey to the East did the bird stop knocking at his window. During his journey, he had been followed and monitored by the Russian police. Though under pressure, he still kindly talked to the police and staff of security departments who had been blind to the truth. After learning what was going on, they changed their attitudes. Victor still visited tourist spots crowded with Chinese visitors to tell them about the persecution. The Chinese tourists to Russia were deeply shocked when they heard the news. Through these unforgettable experiences, he came to realize that the bird knocking at his window had been anxiously inviting him, a Western practitioner, to Russia to tell people there the facts.

A practitioner from Israel shared with his audience how he deserted his stereotyped concepts in the process of coordinating efforts to validate Dafa. He had learned to trust his fellow practitioners and got rid of his attachment to validating himself.

A Russian practitioner talked about how he had learned to be selfless and handle his family relationship in the process of his personal cultivation.

A Slavic practitioner delivered a speech, entitled Move One Step Backward and View Problems at Another Angle.” She described how she had managed to eliminate her attachment to her self-righteous viewpoints. She used to stick to her own opinions.

A Swiss practitioner talked about her efforts to enable people scattering around remote mountainous areas to understand the facts about Falun Dafa. Mountainous residences were hardly accessible, but she finally overcame difficulties and delivered her self-made pamphlets to thousands of families.

Pan Shuzen, an overseas Chinese practitioner in Switzerland, talked about how she introduced to Chinese tourists in scenic spots Nine Commentaries of the Chinese Communist Party, an editorial published by The Epoch Times newspaper, and asked them to quit the CPP. When commuting from her home to office every day, she used the two hours to tell people about the situation in China. Once she used her personal experiences to tell a tourist about Falun Dafa. She described how she had been transformed from a patient suffering from serious illness to a Dafa practitioner who is physically and mentally healthy and lives a happy life. After learning the truthm the tourist could not help but say, “Falun Dafa is good.”

At the end of the Fa conference, a German practitioner came onto the stage to sing a song entitled Dedu (Be Saved.) The Fa conference came to a perfect ending, with all the audiences singing a song composed by a practitioner, entitled Coming for You.