(Minghui.org) Practitioners in California attended the 2026 Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference in San Francisco on August 15 at San Mateo Hillsdale Theater. Twenty-three practitioners from the San Francisco Bay Area and nearby regions shared how they aligned themselves with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance by studying Falun Dafa’s teachings and looking within.
The 2026 Falun Dafa Experience-Sharing Conference in San Francisco was held on August 15 at the San Mateo Hillsdale Theater (Minghui.org)
Practitioners talked about their cultivation experiences. (Minghui.org)
Helping People Learn the Facts
Li Liping began to practice Dafa in mainland China in 2004. In order to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, she also distributed materials to people.
After she came to the US, she realized giving out materials was just one step. It’s also important to talk to people and explain what Falun Dafa is and how the CCP misleads people. This also helps overseas Chinese to sever ties with the CCP and not be held accountable for its crimes.
Li gradually realized many people she encountered were not coincidental, and they were arranged for her to talk to. After she shopped and was waiting in line, she apologized to a woman due to a misunderstanding. After she helped the woman retrieve some items and they talked, Li helped her quit the CCP organizations.
Another time, Li missed her bus. She did not complain—instead, while she waited, she talked with people at the bus stop. After they learned the facts about the persecution, one agreed to renounce his membership in the CCP.
“When we talk with people, we cannot be judgmental or impatient,” Li explained. “By thinking from other people’s perspective, we can help clear their concerns with compassion and wisdom.”
She had some fear, so she skipped talking to a woman. After she reminded herself she was a Dafa practitioner, she went back and helped the woman learn the facts. “Telling people about Dafa is also a cultivation opportunity. Dafa has improved our health and made us better people. I need to do better fulfilling my vow to help Master Li save people,” she said.
Overcoming Fear and Other Attachments
Steve first heard about Falun Dafa 26 years ago. “My friend and I happened to walk into a bookstore in Mountain View, and we saw a flyer about a Falun Dafa workshop,” he recalled. Falun Dafa teachings are very profound, and they helped him with things related to science, religion, and many more. He also participates in media projects.
Steve has practiced Falun Dafa for more than 20 years. (Minghui.org)
In the conference, Steve discussed how he let go of various attachments. One of them was fear. When an earthquake broke out in San Francisco more than 20 years ago, he was the first one in his room to run out for safety. When traveling to Las Vegas several weeks ago, the cell phone suddenly gave a warning alarm of an earthquake. Steve was so nervous that his hands kept shaking. “From this I have realized that it is easy to talk about courage when things go well. In front of danger, however, our true mind nature will be revealed,” he said. Continuing in that direction, he was able to make progress and overcome fear.
Overcoming sickness karma was another challenge. Steve had been through back pain. Knowing they were processes of eliminating karma and improving xinxing, Steve found it difficult to pass those tests. Through continued study of Falun Dafa teachings, he came to understand that looking inward and identifying his own attachments are very important. That is, simply enduring to pass the test was not enough.
Thirdly, Steve found he had a competitive mindset. When conflicts arise with fellow practitioners, especially his wife, he often insisted on his own point of view. Now he has increasingly realized that conflicts aren't about proving who's right or wrong. Instead, they are opportunities that help him see his own attachments, let go of his ego, and improve his character.
Looking back on his cultivation journey, Steve realizes that everything Master Li has arranged for him is to help eliminate attachments. The key is to truly look inward when encountering problems, rather than looking outward. He said he would cherish his cultivation opportunities even more, let go of selfishness and attachments, and walk the final path of cultivation well.
Let Go of Fame and Material Gain
Mr. Wang, who started to practice in March 1998, has walked the path of cultivation for 28 years under Master’s compassionate blessing. Looking back over the years, his greatest realization is that only by constantly letting go of fame, gain, and sentimentality, plus looking inward, can one walk the path of Fa-rectification cultivation well.
After the CCP launched the persecution in 1999, he was illegally sentenced to forced labor twice, for a total of six years. After arriving in San Francisco in 2012, Mr. Wang found it difficult to let go of his attachments to family, career, fame, and fortune. Through studying Dafa’s teachings, he understood that these were all cultivation tests. So he decided not to return to China. Instead, he stayed here and continued doing the three things Master wants us to do.
Because he lives in San Francisco, Mr. Wang regularly goes to the Chinese Consulate to send forth righteous thoughts, practice the exercises, and clarify the truth. He sometimes encountered interference and temptations, which made him realize the importance of righteous thoughts even more. He came to understand that as long as one’s righteous thoughts are firm and one is not swayed by fear, one can overcome any interference.
Mr. Wang felt resentful because his artwork wasn’t used by local media. Looking inward, he realized he pursued fame, and he wished to be acknowledged. He understood that personal gain shouldn’t be mixed into Falun Dafa projects; only by letting go of self could he truly make a difference.
Twenty-eight years of cultivation made him understand more clearly that cultivation is not about proving oneself, but about assimilating to Dafa, eliminating attachments, and developing compassion. “In the future, I will cherish the cultivation opportunity given by Master even more, constantly looking inward and letting go of fame, gain, and sentimentality. I should fulfill my responsibilities as a practitioner, and walk the final path of Fa-rectification cultivation well,” said Mr. Wang.
New Practitioner: Eliminating Resentment
Harold Sconiers, who began practicing Falun Dafa in 2023, is grateful to Master for constantly giving him opportunities to improve his character.
Harold Schoniers shares his experiences at the conference. (Minghui.org)
For years, Harold harbored resentment because his wife and children consumed a great deal of his time and energy. His wife desired a large, lively family, so they adopted four more young children. As his responsibilities increased, he had almost no time to quietly study the teachings and practice the exercises. The children’s rebellious behavior also made him increasingly irritable, critical, and negative. He knew these thoughts were not in accordance with Dafa’s teachings, yet he couldn’t shake them off. Resentment gradually began to control his thoughts.
Later, Harold asked Master to help clear these bad thoughts. Soon after, he experienced facial swelling for five days. On the fifth day, some thick substance suddenly came out of his mouth; the swelling subsided, and the resentful thoughts that had troubled him for so long almost disappeared.
Harold realized that in the past he had always blamed his family for the difficulties in his life, without truly looking inward. The challenges his children brought him actually provided opportunities for him to cultivate patience, kindness, compassion, and awaken. Although his life was busy, these circumstances were arrangements to help him improve his character. As a cultivator, he should make use of all trials, let go of resentment, face life positively, and continuously improve himself.
“In the future, I will cherish the opportunity to cultivate even more, let go of resentment and other attachments, do the three things well, continuously improve myself, and firmly walk the path of cultivation,” Harold said.
