SAN FRANCISCO—Falun Dafa practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area held a parade in the city on May 3, celebrating the upcoming World Falun Dafa Day.
May 13 is the anniversary of the day the Chinese spiritual practice was first taught in public 33 years ago. It is also the birthday of its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, includes five meditative exercises and spiritual teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
Before the parade, practitioners did the exercises together and took group photos.
The parade set out from the Ferry Building at Harry Bridges Plaza and ended at Maritime National Historical Park. The Tianguo Marching Band, which is composed of Falun Dafa practitioners, played music while other practitioners carried banners and flags reading “World Falun Dafa Day” and “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” in English and Chinese.
A parade float carried lotus flower decorations and pink and yellow lanterns, and some participants wore traditional Chinese costumes while others performed a dragon dance. Some held banners calling for an end to the persecution Falun Dafa has faced in communist China for 25 years.
“When a person understands these spiritual principles, their entire life becomes better and becomes improved,” Anna Skibinsky, a U.S. government scientist and a Falun Dafa practitioner, told The Epoch Times.
Skibinsky was a graduate student at Boston University when she started practicing Falun Dafa 27 years ago.
“Because of Falun Dafa, the challenges, disappointments, and setbacks I face in life, they’re presented to me as opportunities to become better, lighter, even younger,” she said. “I feel like I walk through life in a completely different way than others around me who have no spiritual path.”
Passersby stopped to watch people doing the Falun Dafa exercises before the parade, and some of them spoke to The Epoch Times.
One was social media influencer Darren Stallcup, who said, “I love seeing our fellow Asian Americans come together, not only to celebrate life, but to also stand up for justice.”
Another was Daniel Dabek, co-founder of the cryptocurrency company Safex. Dabek said he resonates with the principles of Falun Dafa.
“These are the pillars upon which a good person can interact with other good people,” he said. “I’m moved by the movement. I win because I know what is good, and Falun Dafa is that good.”
He said he hopes that people in China, where Falun Dafa is being persecuted, will understand what’s important and good. He also hopes people around the world will follow truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
