Falun Buddha Society of Singapore held a public experience sharing conference at the People's Theatre in Chinatown on November 18, 2000. About 500 people attended the conference. They included local practitioners, as well as practitioners from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and the public. The conference aimed to provide an opportunity for practitioners to share their experiences and to introduce Falun Gong to the public.
The event was advertised in major Singapore newspapers. Invitations and Falun Dafa introductory materials were handed out at nearby subway stations. On the day of the conference, practitioners put up posters all around the theatre. A service desk was set up at the entrance displaying Falun Dafa books, introductory materials, and lists of practice sites, etc. Colorful balloons with the words "Falun Dafa" and hotline numbers hung from large poles nearby. Three large banners hung from the front of the stage, one read, "Truthfulness -- Compassion -- Tolerance"; another, "Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence"; and the third "Falun Buddha Society of Singapore Falun Dafa experience sharing conference". It was a solemn occasion.
The conference began at 9am. Nine practitioners aged 5 to 11 recited Master Li's poems on stage, then all the practitioners recited the teacher's new articles aloud. The articles were projected on the screen at the same time. This was followed by showing of the videotapes "Falun Dafa in Taiwan" and "Falun Gong -- the Real Story". More than 20 practitioners from Singapore and Malaysia shared their experiences, in English as well as in Chinese. They all expressed their gratitude to Dafa and our teacher. They shared a collective voice: "Falun Dafa gave us new lease on life, a happy family and we hope more people would learn about the truth and obtain Dafa. We hope all the practitioners would cultivate diligently and reach consummation." Their speeches were very inspiring and received thunderous applause.
Speeches continued throughout the afternoon, followed by questions and answers. In the evening, there was a group practice with exercise instruction.
Approximately 50 people signed up for the 9-day seminar. Simultaneous translations of English and Cantonese were provided during the conference. It is pleasing to see so many people show up for the conference and possibly begin their cultivation.
Of the practitioners from Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia, some had also attended the September activities in Singapore. Some of the Thai practitioners, that we were acquainted with when we visited Thailand, wore T-shirt with the words "Falun Dafa" written in Thai.
All the practitioners are working very hard to promote and validate Dafa. We all have the same goal: return to our origin together.
November 21st, 2000