(Minghui.org) The annual Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference in Germany was held in Kassel, a town in mid-Germany, on January 10, 2015. The conference was attended by many practitioners from Germany and surrounding areas, and nineteen practitioners gave speeches about their cultivation experiences.

Group exercise before the conference.

Attendees send New Year greeting to Master Li Hongzhi.

A Chinese practitioner talks about his experience of adapting to Western society.

A 71-year old Western practitioner talks about how she improves xinxing while clarifying the truth to tourists from China.

Eliminating Party Culture and Adapting to Western Society

A Chinese engineer came to Germany eight years ago as a refugee, after being tortured in China for his belief. Since he didn't speak German, he had to work as a mover.

He tried very hard to learn the language however, and adapt to western society. His effort was well rewarded. He became an engineer at a German company. As a successful immigrant, he was interviewed by many media, and had opportunities to talk to the mainstream society about Falun Gong.

He said at the conference that during this process, he tried to eliminate the Party culture, fear, and the attachments to fame. He encouraged fellow Chinese practitioners to read “Additional Notice on Putting Up Door Hangers (with Comment from Master)” published on the Minghui website, strive to adapt to western society, and change the extreme ways of thinking and behavior.

A young practitioner said that she saw the Party culture in herself when promoting Shen Yun, and in her daily job.

A customer once wanted to buy Shen Yun tickets for her daughter and herself. After picking the seats, she wanted to call her daughter to make sure that she would go. The practitioner was worried that the daughter would say no, so she considered printing out the tickets before the customer got an answer. This way, the customer would likely buy the tickets even if the answer was no.

The practitioner then realized that this was not right. We cannot force anyone to buy the tickets. It is not something a practitioner should do. She realized that this crafty thought actually originated from the polluted mindset that she developed from the deceptive environment in China.

This practitioner works at a luxury fashion store. When a customer has a question, to which she does not how to answer, she often randomly makes up an answer. She noticed, however, that her German co-workers in this situation would honestly say, “I don't know,” while trying the best to find the answer. This helped her see the influence of the Party culture in herself.

A senior Chinese practitioner also talked about her experience of eliminating Party culture.

This practitioner had been tortured during the Cultural Revolution, when she was young, and was often forced to repent in public about what she did. She had therefore developed a mentality of feeling guilty all the time.

She was always worried that fellow practitioners would look down on her if she didn't cultivate well. So she has tried her best to do things well and gain the acknowledgment of other practitioners. But recently, she realized that she was influenced by the Party culture, and needed to change this mentality in western society.

She said, “As a practitioner, one's heart should be peaceful, natural, and open.”

New Practitioner Starts the Journey Back to One's True Self

A 71-year old western practitioner who started cultivating not long ago, described herself as a “one-year and four-month old” new life that was learning to walk. She said that cultivation makes her full of energy, and more patient and nice to her family. Seeing the changes in her, her 96-year old mother also started reading the Fa with her.

In one year of cultivating, her view of world has changed dramatically. After reading the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, she quit the former Eastern German Communist Party on New Year’s day 2015.

Another new practitioner shared a miraculous event that happened to her. She had heard about Udumbara flowers from another practitioner, but she never thought she would see such flowers herself. Soon after she started reading Zhuan Falun, she found two Udumbara flowers in her refrigerator. The flowers need no water and can resist the stress of heat and cold. This miracle encouraged her to embark on the journey of cultivation.

Developing Compassion When Clarifying the Truth to Chinese Tourists

An older western practitioner shared her experiences of clarifying the truth to Chinese people at tourist spots. She does not speak Chinese, but she tries to smile to everyone.

At the beginning, she found it difficult to be nice to those who were cold or mean to her. When she saw such people, she just wanted to leave. But she later realized that these people might have experienced many difficulties in China, beyond her imagination, and that this could be why they developed such cold personalities. She also realized that she should be compassionate to everyone, no matter how they treat her.

She said that when her mindset changed, she was able to smile to everyone, and the attitudes of Chinese tourists also improved. Many people are now willing to take materials from her.

The speakers at the conference also shared their experiences of reading the Fa, looking inward, and collaborating with fellow practitioners to form a whole body.

After the conference, practitioner Ms. Wang said, “The speeches about Party culture made a deep impression on me. From their sharing, I saw that I also have the Party culture. For example, I make up excuses for the things I don't do well. The sharing will help me recognize this and eliminate it.”

Altagracia was happy about her decision to take a few hour train ride to attend the conference. “This is my first time attending a Fa conference. I recognized many of my attachments through the speeches. I will cultivate more diligently.”

Petra, a German practitioner, also saw her shortcomings. She said, “All the fellow practitioners are trying to improve their xinxing. I will do better too. I will try to memorize the newly published "On Dafa" (Lunyu) after the conference.”