(Minghui.org) The 13th China Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference (Fahui) on Minghui.org concluded on November 8. Forty-four papers of this annual online event were published on the Chinese site since the first of the month, while the site in English and other languages continue to translate and publish the articles.

The authors told stories from their cultivation journeys and new understandings of the Fa teachings.

Practitioners outside China shared in interviews how these articles inspired them to improve, noting that no matter the environment, the principles for diligent improvement are the same.

Seeing Where I Can Improve

Wang Jinju left China 14 years ago. She has been raising awareness about Falun Gong at local tourist attractions. Ms. Wang said, “I read every article. The one that touched me the most was 'The Extraordinary Power of Falun Dafa.' I was in tears from the beginning to the end. I was truly touched by the author's amazing persistence and pure heart for saving people.”

“I often thought that I've been pretty diligent in the last 14 years in terms of saving people, ever since I left home. But after reading this article, I see that I am way behind.”

“We are not in any danger here, and our financial situation is much better than those in China. But I sometimes slack off and look for excuses for it, such as bad weather or being too tired. After reading this article, I made a new daily schedule. A fellow practitioner and I made a cart to pass out materials at tourist attractions. We will make more carts like it, which will help other practitioners.”

Overcoming Challenges, No Matter the Environment

Ms. Zhang Yun, who started practicing in 1997, said, “The authors of the articles come from all walks of life. They solidly cultivate in different circumstances.

“Practitioners outside of China are living in much more benign settings, but we can sense the experiences of the practitioners in China, and we can see how they feel, think, and act. We need to think about it—could we do the same in that setting?

“No matter what our environment, we need to study the Fa well. Only then we will have righteous thoughts and break through the old forces' arrangements with the power of the Fa. Practitioners in China have proven this point with their own experiences.

“We should collaborate with each other to clarify the truth to Chinese people. Practitioners in China have given us great encouragement.”

Zhang Haixing, who started practicing outside of China, was also inspired by the article “The Extraordinary Power of Falun Dafa,” the author of which is disabled.

“It gave me tremendous encouragement. I used to be handicapped, too. Dafa has given me the courage to change myself, and cultivation has made great changes in me, mentally and physically.”

“In the last decade of cultivating, I sometimes thought that the changes were not that great. This article made me think—if I didn't cultivate Falun Dafa, what would my life be like today? All of sudden, I realized that the changes brought about by cultivation start from the most microscopic level and gradually extend to the surface level. In many cases, when a great change happens, it gets isolated in the other dimension, so we cannot see it. What we can see in this dimension is the old part of ourselves which has not been changed by cultivation.

“This practitioner's sharing gives me more confidence in cultivation,” he said. “It also gives me some hint—how I should look inward for my own problems when running into difficulties or conflicts and how I must study the Fa well to improve myself.”

Ms. Wang Li talked about the article “How a College Professor Looks Within and Clarifies the Truth.”

She said, “Looking within is very important. From this article, I realized that one can develop compassion only by getting rid of selfishness.”

“One day during Fa study, I felt that my body expanded like a tall building with countless rooms. It reminded me of the project fellow practitioners and I work on. It is like a tall building. We each have a room, and each room has its function. Everyone is necessary. We must clean our own room, for ourselves and for others.”

“No matter what our difficulties, we should first consider whether we have some attachment, which is like the trash in the room that we must throw away.”

Mr. Bai, who left China four years ago, said, “Every article is like a mirror that reflects my shortcomings. For example, after I read the article “Keeping My Heart Unmoved in Seemingly Hopeless Situations,” I recalled that I had similar experiences in China. But I didn't do as well as the author. The fundamental reason was that my belief in the Fa was not as solid as the author's. I reminded myself to have righteous thoughts and not to be moved in the new overseas environment. Only then can I break through all kinds of difficulties.”

Western Practitioner: Touched by the Sincere Sharing

Madalina was touched by the article “Master Is Always by My Side.”

She said, “I was truly touched by the practitioner's sincere sharing and her heart of wanting to improve herself. It reminds me of how righteous thoughts can help practitioners to cultivate and help each other in prison. It also tells us that, as a cultivator, we should not acknowledge this persecution.

“My understanding is that the author should not just be satisfied with the fact that she was able to read the Fa in prison. She should not acknowledge the imprisonment. Although she was able to read the Fa in prison, she could not do other things that a practitioner should do and wasted some precious time. This is a good lesson for practitioners.

“At the end, the author mentioned that a fellow practitioner softened a policeman's heart with her compassion, and the author compared her angry attitude towards the police. She reminded us to treat everything in daily life as a chance to cultivate and a chance to save people. In my mind, she is truly cultivating along the path arranged by Master and breaking through the old forces' arrangements.”

Madalina said that the article helped her reach a better understanding of Master's teaching: "Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master." (Zhuan Falun)

“This reminder is precious. We have responsibilities to cultivate ourselves well and follow the direction Master points out to us. All the miracles that we may experience on the path of cultivation are from Master. Keeping this in mind, we will never get frustrated or over-confident. Instead, we will steadily improve ourselves and do well what we should to in helping Master to save sentient beings.”