(Minghui.org) “Fa-rectification is near its end, and every cultivator is fulfilling their prehistoric vows,” is the opening line to “Doing Our Utmost to Uphold Falun Dafa,” an article selected for the 22nd China Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference.

It is also a sentence that awakened Svitlana, a 69-year-old Ukrainian Falun Dafa practitioner, who lives a world away from China.

“Wherever we are, the mission and responsibility of practitioners is the same—to save living beings, validate the Fa, and tell people that Dafa is wonderful!” she said.

Since 2004, Minghui.org has hosted an online experience sharing conference for Falun Dafa practitioners in China. Under the brutal suppression of their faith by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), practitioners in China can no longer publicly gather in large numbers. This virtual experience sharing conference, in the form of articles published on the Minghui website, has given practitioners in China a valuable outlet to share what they’ve learned while cultivating.

For practitioners around the world, it’s also a rare look into the world of their counterparts in China, and a chance to glean insights from how they have managed to persist in cultivating Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance despite such dangerous conditions. The 90 articles selected for the experience sharing conference are being translated into 24 languages for practitioners throughout the world to read and contemplate as they work to improve their character in their own lives.

Svitlana’s native country, Ukraine, has been at war since 2022. Although there is no persecution of Falun Dafa in Ukraine, the dangers of the war have also been a challenge to many Ukrainian practitioners as they navigate their cultivation paths. The current situation also provides a unique perspective for how these practitioners interpret the insights of practitioners in China.

An Example of Bravery

When the war began in Ukraine, Svitlana and her husband (also a Falun Dafa practitioner) left for Germany, then Spain, then Poland. They recently returned home to Odesa. As an older practitioner, she was motivated by the author of “Doing Our Utmost to Uphold Falun Dafa,” who is also of advanced age but continues to find ways to raise awareness of the persecution regardless of where she is.

“Thanks to our faith in the Fa and Master, we, who are so different, are able to overcome any adversity,” said Svitlana. She believes that the articles from practitioners in China often contain examples of steadfastness and courage in enduring persecution, and this inspires her also to be steadfast in the face of life’s trials.

Svitlana and her husband

Compared to Svitlana, who has practiced for 20 years, Maryana is a newer practitioner from Kiev who started practicing Falun Dafa in 2023. However, she was also deeply moved by the bravery shown by practitioners in China.

“Thanks to the experiences of Chinese disciples, I truly understand what unwavering faith in Dafa and Master means, and that this is crucial in overcoming any obstacles,” Maryana said. “Their fearless participation in the conference confirms this—no evil can affect Master’s plans. So, should a true practitioner be afraid of anything?”

Maryana does the fifth Falun Dafa exercise.

Weaving Cultivation Into Every Aspect of Life

Through the conference’s articles, Maryana felt she gained a deeper understanding of what it actually means to be a Falun Dafa practitioner. “Reading the articles from the Fa Conference of Chinese Practitioners, I am even more convinced that a true practitioner is not just someone who reads the Fa, does the exercises, and talks about how good it all is. A true practitioner is someone who, under any circumstances, remembers who they are, where they are going, and why they are here,” she said.

One article that left a deep impression on her was “Master Resolved My Karmic Debts,” where a practitioner’s mental fortitude and faith brings her back from the brink of death after undergoing repeated injections of unknown drugs in prison.

“This article helped me understand more deeply that in any situation that is difficult for you, it is important not to forget who you are. Master can do everything, but only for a true practitioner, so it is very important to put yourself in the right place. Sometimes, in unexpected situations, I don’t immediately find myself. I may start solving the problem from the position of an ordinary person, and this is fundamentally wrong,” said Maryana.

Svitlana also saw the importance of holding oneself to a practitioner’s standards in the workplace, as described in the article “Making Firm Choices at Critical Moments in My 28-Year Cultivation Journey.”

“The practitioner in this article, like me, worked as a teacher, and I saw a lot of similarities with my own cultivation process in it. This included treating children with patience and kindness and refusing to take gifts from parents,” said Svitlana.

Like the author, she also used her teaching job as an opportunity to share the principles of Falun Dafa with her students. Between the years of 2014 and 2016, she was able to organize bus trips for her students to see Shen Yun performances in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, and her students gave great feedback.

“Thanks to the fact that I behave in accordance with the standards of a practitioner, the school management and children also treat me well,’ Svitlana said.

New Practitioner Learns from Veterans

Many of the Chinese practitioners whose articles were selected for the conference have been practicing for over 20 years. Through their experiences, Maryana saw where she still needed to improve. In “Going Out Every Day to Tell People About Falun Dafa,” she saw the consistent efforts and diligence of a veteran practitioner.

“For me, this is an example of a veteran practitioner’s steadfast faith and the fulfillment of vows from a pure heart.”

Thanks to this article, Maryana saw her own lack of confidence: “Sometimes, succumbing to the influence of thought karma, I can miss the moment to clarify the truth, making a choice in favor of an insignificant matter. I think the question here is the power of righteous thoughts, which need to be strengthened, working to ensure that the main consciousness does not relax and always maintains control.”

Another article, “Eliminating Fear and Changing Our Notions While Using the Legal System to Expose the Persecution,” showed Maryana the power of a practitioner’s righteous thoughts—but also the principle of doing without pursuing.

“This article helped me better understand that if you don’t feel you are a victim, no one will dare to interfere with or persecute you,” she said. “I realized that I don’t need to search persistently for something, run somewhere, and grab at everything, but calmly remember that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I have my own path, and I must not interfere with myself. Just do what I have to do. This understanding came to me not at the level of my brain, but at the level of my heart.”

Cherishing the Opportunity to Improve as a Group

For Svitlana, the China experience sharing conference is a special occasion. She regularly reads the articles and treasures them greatly. “These are invaluable works of cultivators. Their achievements and insights are tremendous and serve to support and motivate my cultivation!” she said.

Maryana views the conference as a chance to connect with the practitioners in China, and an opportunity for practitioners all around the world to elevate as a whole.

“I believe that the foundation of our one body are the practitioners in China. They were the first to hear about Dafa and gave impetus to the spread of the Fa,” she said. “Thanks to this conference, we can feel them, look at ourselves and our group of practitioners, see our shortcomings, and try to fix them. This is how we strengthen our one body.”

Svitlana also feels more motivated to continue her cultivation after reading the articles. “I continue to cultivate myself in order to help Master save sentient beings, and I really want more good people to be saved and obtain the Fa!” she said.

Svitlana and Maryana would like to express their gratitude to the Chinese practitioners and Minghui for making this experience sharing conference possible.

Maryana would like to encourage the practitioners who participated in the conference: “Nothing happens by chance. I am confident that every word you wrote with a pure heart resonated and illuminated precisely what each reader needed to read.”

“The role of this website is invaluable in supporting practitioners’ level of cultivation,” said Svitlana. “The experiences of Chinese practitioners awaken a sense of responsibility and motivate us to cultivate seriously, to get rid of fear and uncertainty, and most importantly, they remind us that Master is always with us and supports us!”