(Minghui.org) For Falun Dafa practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area, October 5, 1996, was a special date. Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, met practitioners at Sunnyvale’s Ortega Park that day and gave a lecture that was later published as “First Fa Teaching Given in the United States” in Collected Teachings Given Around the World.
Thirty years later, on October 4, 2026, practitioners returned to Ortega Park to commemorate that historic lecture. They did the exercises together and took photos near the octagonal pavilion where they’d met Master Li. Several practitioners recounted their experiences of attending Master’s lecture 30 years ago.
On October 5, 1996, Master Li Hongzhi gave his first public lecture in the United States, at Ortega Park in Sunnyvale in the San Francisco Bay Area, speaking to nearly 200 Falun Dafa practitioners and answering their questions. (Minghui.org)
Master Li took a group photo with Falun Dafa practitioners. (Minghui.org)
The Location Was Changed at the Last Minute and Master’s First US Lecture Was Held in a Park
After arriving in the United States, Master Li traveled from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area on October 5, 1996. Due to the large number of practitioners who wanted to see him, he gave a lecture at the octagonal pavilion in Ortega Park.
Kevin An, the volunteer Falun Dafa coordinator for Northern California at the time, was also a former teacher at Tsinghua University. When Master Li came to the US, he first went to Los Angeles and originally planned to just pass through the Bay Area to greet everyone. Mr. An asked practitioners to come and do the exercises in the park. “So many practitioners came that day. When everyone saw Master walking over, they all stood up,” he recalled.
When Master Li saw the big group of practitioners waiting to meet him, he was “very happy and started to talk. He talked a lot and for a long time,” Mr. An said.
Kevin An was the volunteer coordinator for Northern California when Master Li visited Ortega Park. (Minghui.org)
Li Zhiwei is a volunteer assistant at the Ortega Park practice site and is a computer engineer in Silicon Valley. He recalled that the original plan was to meet everyone at the home of the volunteer assistant, but that morning they realized the house could not accommodate all the people who wished to see Master. There was no time to rent space at a hotel, so they decided to change the meeting place to Ortega Park.
“We were all really excited,” Mr. Li said. “I started practicing Falun Dafa in January 1996 and, after nine months of practice, I met Master. I thought: Wow, this is so exciting!”
Li Zhiwei recalls the time he first met Master Li 30 years ago. (Minghui.org)
On October 5, 1996, nearly two hundred Falun Dafa practitioners gathered near the octagonal pavilion in Ortega Park. Master Li lectured and answered practitioners’ questions for about two hours. Afterwards, he took a group photo with them and signed practitioners’ copies of Zhuan Falun.
A Heartfelt Commemoration
On the morning of October 4, 2026, Falun Dafa practitioners from the San Francisco Bay Area commemorated that gathering of 30 years ago by meeting again in Ortega Park.
On the morning of October 4, 2026, Falun Dafa practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area gathered at Ortega Park to commemorate Master Li’s lecture given there 30 years before. (Minghui.org)
At around 8 a.m., practitioners did the exercises in the shade next to the octagonal pavilion. After completing all five exercises, they took a group photo in front of the pavilion, holding up a banner with Master Li’s handwritten signature. They called out in unison, “Thank you, Master!” This banner had been brought to the United States by a practitioner who had attended Master Li’s lectures in China in 1994.
Falun Dafa practitioners unfurl a banner bearing Master Li’s handwritten signature at an event to commemorate Master’s lecture given at that same site 30 years ago. (Minghui.org)
Falun Dafa practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area take a group photo in front the pavilion in Ortega Park where Master lectured on October 5, 1996. (Minghui.org)
Lu Zhonghua was in her 30s and had just been practicing a few months when she attended Master’s lecture 30 years ago. She brought her eight-month-old child to the site that day. Ms. Lu recalled, “I remember that was a bright and sunny day, and many birds were chirping. Then practitioners saw Master arrive, and everyone was very happy.
“I think there were more than 100 people. Everyone was very excited that day, and I think Master was also very happy. A fellow practitioner found a chair. He put it in the middle of the octagonal pavilion and asked Master to sit down. Then Master began to teach us the Fa.”
The octagonal pavilion still stands today. Ms. Lu said, “It’s been thirty years, and a lot has changed, but I still feel very close to this place because it hasn't changed at all.”
Lu Zhonghua recalls her experience of attending Master’s lecture at Ortega Park 30 years ago. (Minghui.org)
Gao Deguang, who began practicing Falun Dafa on December 25, 1995, also attended the lecture that year with his wife, Wu Suwen. He recalled that at that time, “many white swallows came to the top of the octagonal pavilion and sang on it for a long time. The whole scene was very special and peaceful.”
Gao continued, “Master was very approachable. He taught us the Fa and then took pictures with us. After Master left, those swallows also left.”
Ms. Wu said that she started practicing Falun Dafa after coming to the United States in July 1996. “I was able to see Master in October. I was very happy and excited to see Master!”
Gao Deguang and his wife Wu Suwen recall their experience of attending Master Li’s first lecture in the United States. (Minghui.org)
A Meeting 30 Years Ago Is a Precious Memory
Zeng Guobao, 85, also attended the lecture that day. She recalled that everyone was gathered in a circle, and when Master Li arrived, someone called out, “Master is here! Master is here!”
“But I couldn’t see him,” Ms. Zeng recalled. “Then I realized everyone was looking at me. I turned around and, oh my, Master was right behind me. I quickly made way for him to go into the middle of the circle.
“After Master sat down, I sat very close to Master, on his left. I am very grateful. I started to practice in 1996 and saw Master that year,” Ms. Zeng said.
Zeng Guobao, 85, recalls her experience of attending a Fa lecture at Ortega Park. (Minghui.org)
Ms. Lu Zhonghua added, “Thirty years! Whenever I think of the moment of meeting Master for the first time and listening to Master’s teachings, I feel that I am still in the happiness of being bathed in Buddha’s light. My gratitude is beyond words.”
She also said that when she saw Master Li signing autographs for practitioners, “My heart was filled with warmth, and my faith in cultivating in Falun Dafa was strengthened even more.”
Mr. An remarked, “Master really treats everyone equally. He didn’t give anyone special treatment.”
Musical Performances
During the commemorative event on October 4, 2026, several members of the US West Tian Guo Marching Band gave a rendition of “Sacred Song” and “Thank You, Master.”
Members of the US West Tian Guo Marching Band perform at the commemorative event on October 4. (Minghui.org)
The waist drum team also performed, playing such pieces as “Falun Dafa is Good” and “Celebrating Dafa Day.”
The waist drum team performs. (Minghui.org)
At the end of the event, Falun Dafa practitioners sang “Ode to Master’s Grace” and “Falun Dafa is Good.” Ms. Lu said that looking back on her experience of attending the Fa lecture 30 years ago, she still finds it unforgettable.
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