(Clearwisdom.net) On November 30, 2002, the Eastern United States Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center near Chinatown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two thousand Falun Gong practitioners from the Eastern United States and all over the world attended this momentous occasion. At a little after 2 p.m., Master Li came to the conference site to give a Fa-lecture. Amidst the thunderous applause from the practitioners, Master Li opened the lecture with two lines from a famous Tang poem:

"On either shore the gibbons' chatter

sounded without pause

While my light boat skimmed past

ten thousand somber crags."

He told the disciples, "After three years of persecution, the evil has already exhausted its tricks, and Dafa disciples have already become mature after going through the tests." Master Li's Fa-lecture lasted approximately 35 minutes.

More than a dozen practitioners from Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and New Jersey of the United States, as well as practitioners from Taiwan and Canada shared their papers at the conference. A Washington DC practitioner shared experiences about clarifying the truth to Chinese people at tourist hot spots, and a group of Taiwanese practitioners discussed their progression from not daring to call Mainland China to proactively calling China to clarify the truth. The "Rescue Our Family Members and Bring Them Home" team shared their understandings on the effects of the rescue effort on the Fa-rectification. American practitioners also shared their experiences during the Fa-rectification activities in Chicago and Houston. Other practitioners discussed more topics such as how to balance the relationship between cultivation, work and daily life, and how to be in harmony with society while validating Dafa. 

This conference received more than 20 proclamations and congratulatory letters from government officials, including Pennsylvania's US Senator Arlen Specter, the Philadelphia Mayor, the Pennsylvania state senate, numerous state representatives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and various levels of government in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Mayor John F Street sent a congratulatory letter to welcome the conference's attendees. He pointed out in his letter that many people all over the world accept Falun Gong, which can lead to inner peace and improvements in behavior. He expressed that no matter where someone lives, he should not be persecuted for his beliefs or expressing these beliefs. He conveyed his sincere wishes that this conference will deliver a message of hope to everyone who is making a contribution to making this world a better place.

The experience sharing conference concluded at around 7 pm. The next day, the practitioners plan to hold several group discussions focusing on clarifying the truth to the precious Chinese people, introducing Dafa to Western society, and how to elevate as a whole and keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification. The practitioners also plan to hold a press conference between noon and early afternoon and a large-scale walk with the theme of "Rescue Our Family Members and Bring Them Home."