United States: Experience Sharing Conference Held in San Diego, California

On May 14th, 2011, Falun Dafa practitioners in San Diego and surrounding cities participated in an experience sharing conference held at the University of California in San Diego. Fourteen practitioners shared their cultivation understandings and experiences while working on various projects, especially recently hosting Shen Yun Performing Arts.

One practitioner read an experience sharing paper titled: “Reaching the Mainstream Is Not Hard - With Determination We Will Find the Predestined Ones.” The paper reviewed experiences during the past several months when a group of practitioners devoted their efforts to promoting Shen Yun to mainstream society in San Diego. Their promotions had a very good result. In the theater, they recognised some of local business owners with whom they had spoken.

Ms. Wang is over 70 years old. She shared her experiences of righteous thoughts in the face of tribulation during the promotion of Shen Yun. Her task was to prepare Shen Yun promotional materials. One day, she found she had a pustule on her abdomen and it grew bigger quickly. Due to the pain, she asked the coordinator if she could take some time off to rest. Later, practitioners shared with her and helped her to look inward to find the attachment. Realising her attachment, she grew determined to continue her work no matter how painful the pustule was and even increased how much she took on. She said, “Gradually, my abdomen was no longer painful. Then the pustule dried into a big scar. Soon, the scar disappeared. After that, I felt energetic and my face became rosy with a healthy glow.”

Mr. Li is a coordinator of the Shen Yun project. He shared his experiences of utilising his speciality to promote Shen Yun and cooperating with other practitioners. Some practitioners contacted clubs to schedule him to give speeches. He started his speech on Chinese culture in general and naturally turned to Shen Yun Performing Arts, whose mission it is to reclaim and renew the divinely-inspired cultural heritage of humanity and bring to the world a show that is not only beautiful and memorable, but also enriching and uplifting. After his first few speeches, the audiences responded warmly, but didn't buy tickets. With reminders from fellow practitioners, he looked inward and found his attachment of pursuing an outcome. So he changed his mentality and began to focus on saving sentient beings. Then, more and more club members who listened to his speech bought tickets right away. He said that some attendees met him after watching the show and said, “Your introduction was very good, but the show is better than you described.” One club member heard his speech and wanted to buy tickets, but a Chinese friend had told him that “it was political” and told him not to. However, he bought the tickets anyway and was glad that he did.

A western practitioner shared his experience of overcoming fear and other attachments while clarifying the truth to the administration of a private catholic university. He registered a Falun Dafa Club at the university and hosted the Art of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance painting exhibition on campus twice. He also assisted the university in inviting Mr. David Matas and Mr. David Kilgour, the authors of the book Bloody Harvest, to speak at the university about their research on the Chinese Communist Party's harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. There were about 130 teachers, students and staff members at the lecture, including some well-known professors and deans of schools.

A western practitioner from Tijuana, Mexico shared her experiences of overcoming difficulties to deliver and mail newspapers to hundreds of Chinese restaurants and grocery stores in Mexico. She also set up a Falun Gong exercise site, and helped with Shen Yun promotions in San Diego.

Other speakers at the conference also shared their experiences of how to do the three things well and harmonise as one body, raise xinxing [Editors note: Heart nature; Moral character], cooperate with each other, eliminate attachments and be persistent with local efforts to promote Falun Dafa.