(Minghui.org) Practitioners in the Greater Washington DC area held a Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference on July 11, 2026, in Rockville, Maryland. Sixteen practitioners talked about how they applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their lives. By looking inward to improve themselves and treating others with kindness, they have been helping people learn about Falun Dafa and the ongoing persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They are grateful to Falun Dafa and Master Li (founder of the practice).

Practitioners held a Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference on July 11 at a high school in Rockville, Maryland (Minghui.org)

Becoming Selfless

Ms. Luo, a young practitioner, said she had known Falun Dafa was good since she was a small child, but she began practicing so she could have a good future. That is, she was seeking protection.

“Very often I felt as if I was in the cultivation community so that I wouldn’t be left behind. This was very selfish. Compared to other practitioners who have pure hearts to cultivate, unconditionally assist Master with Fa-rectification, and help save people, I did very poorly. I have so many attachments, including jealousy,” she explained.

By reading the Fa Ms. Luo knew the nature of the old cosmos was selfishness, while the new one is selfless. “How could I enter the future with so many filthy, selfish thoughts? I have to let go of these to become a person who belongs to the future,” she continued.

She said she repeatedly negated her selfish thoughts. “I want to be a selfless person; those thoughts, such as selfishness, fear, and attachment to comfort, are not part of me,” Ms. Luo continued.

She felt that Master helped remove many of those substances. “I suddenly understood what it meant to be truly compassionate and selfless. It is very pure, peaceful, and comfortable,” Ms. Luo said. “When encountering issues, I no longer need to use my wits to protect myself; instead, I just need to think of how to help others, and help Master save people.”

Ms. He also found that numerous human notions were interfering with her. She did not want to be harmed or be taken advantage of, so to protect herself, she had developed a strong notion of needing to stay on top of things instead of being weak.

“I had jealousy and a strong competitive mentality. I always wanted to excel. I thought these ideas came from jealousy and the mentality of competing, but I know they were actually rooted in fear,” she explained.

Ms. He said that these thoughts directly contradict Falun Dafa’s teachings, so she has been actively working to eliminate them. “I realized what it means to be a genuine practitioner and become selfless. As a woman, for example, I should always be gentle and kind,” she said.

Working Together

Mr. Zhang talked about his experience working with practitioners in other states. “We encountered many difficulties, But I am truly thankful to every practitioner. Through this process, I also improved a lot and became someone who ‘...takes hardship as joy.’ (“Realms,” Essentials for Further Advancement) This is because all these are part of my cultivation,” he said.

He realized that the conflicts came from his human notions. “All of us can analyze a situation with our knowledge and experiences. The key difference is, do we choose to complain or do we work together with others?” he said.

From his experience, Mr. Zhang found that for a team to achieve something, the team members had to collaborate well with each other. “Very often, we might feel that others are not collaborative, but when we look inward we may realize we are the main reason why others act that way,” he explained. “By looking within and identifying our own attachments, we can do better ourselves. When everyone improves, the project is effective.”

He said that this way, the project would help everyone, including ourselves, to improve. “More importantly, it’s a process of aligning ourselves with Dafa’s teachings, not our human notions,” Mr. Zhang added.

Ms. Wu said she always emphasized what she wanted to do. “If someone proposed an idea that would waste my time, I would say no. Also, when something happened once, I wouldn’t give that person a second chance. But now I have come to understand that this is not the case in cultivation practice,” she said.

Over time, she learned to let go of her negative thoughts about others; instead she tries to make the best use of every opportunity to help people. “Master has taught us numerous times to focus more on the positive side of others. I now have a better understanding of this,” Ms. Wu explained.

She said she would do better in aligning with Dafa’s teachings and eliminating her notions. “This way, we can work together better in helping save people—this is what Master wants,” Ms. Wu added.

Introducing Shen Yun

Every season during Shen Yun’s tour in DC, Ms. Yao contacts the Pentagon to introduce the performance to staffers. “I always pulled one cart of materials and I entered the building myself. At the loading dock, there is a police body search, a K-9 sweep, and driver’ license check to obtain a pass. After that, I have to a present the pass at a metal gate for specialized personnel to transport the equipment to the destination,” she explained. “Then I have to park my car, get there on the subway, and enter the building through the tourist entrance and security check. The entire procedure takes over two hours. After I set up a table, chair, and television, I am often exhausted. At the end of the day, I have to do the same to get out. I had to take the day off from work every time I went there.”

Looking back, Ms. Yao thanked other practitioners for their selfless collaboration and help. “I often remind myself that whether promoting Shen Yun or doing other projects, I have to do my best. Master talked about ‘Doing, but without pursuit.’ (“Abiding in the Dao,” Hong Yin) As long as we go out, Master will help bring people to us so they can learn the facts,” she said.

Sharing the Facts of Dafa

News reporter Mr. Xu said that in this chaotic world, the vicious communist specter often disguises itself to deceive people. Technology keeps advancing and also creates more illusions and makes it harder for people to be saved.

Mr. Xu often argued with others in the beginning, attempting to convince them, but this usually failed, and he was frustrated. “One time, I argued with someone and saw the same experience on that person’s face. How was I any different than him? I thought,” he recalled.

Mr. Xu learned to let go of the attachment to being competitive. “I needed to figure out how to communicate with people from different backgrounds. I am now able to do so with wisdom from Dafa,” he explained. “As time continued, many people I talked with were able to understand me and accept the facts. I realized that people in Western society are also waiting for Dafa.”

Photographer Madelina said she often stays with photographers from everyday media when she reports on events at the Capitol, White House, and other places. She was nervous at first, and worried that the other media might ask questions or try to attack Falun Dafa. “I later realized I was too eager to prove myself. Sometimes I looked down on others, wondering why they believed the internet so easily instead of listening to me,” she said. “After identifying my problem, I decided to remain calm when I tell people the facts.”

A few weeks later, several cabinet members appeared at a congressional hearing, and various news media came. She was able to clarify the facts about Dafa to another photographer. “Because of previous experience, I reminded myself about kindness. After the Q&A session during the event, I told that photographer that our media was established to expose the CCP’s persecution of human rights including the persecution of Falun Dafa. I then explained the practice, and how the persecution started,” Madelina said.

The photographer asked if Madelina practiced Falun Dafa, and she said yes. Seeing surprise on that photographer’s face, Madelina said that Falun Dafa gave her a calm mind and helped her improve through difficult times. “That photographer was very touched. He said he had tried some qigong systems too. His gaze was gentle and his eyes were bright—I felt this might be his only chance to hear about Falun Dafa,” Madelina explained.

Looking back, she was very touched. “It was a busy place on that day. With so many people, I happened to stand next to him. Despite the crowd around us, he listened to me attentively. I am also thankful to Master because I was able to answer all his questions,” Madelina said.

Young practitioner Ms. Zhou said her mother was recently detained for practicing Falun Dafa in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Every day, she worked with several other practitioners collecting signatures to support the US Senate legislature S.4009, Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.

“The temperature is hot and we are outdoors 7 or 8 hours a day. But we do not feel hot because we know practitioners in China need our help, and people in this society are waiting for the facts,” she said. “I am happy to be there collecting signatures and rescuing mother. I cannot slack off because people are counting on us to let them know what is going on.”