Epoch Times Staff
Hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners celebrate 20 years of the spiritual practice in the world at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the UN on Saturday, May 11. (The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—What was an anomaly near the UN on Friday morning used to be a daily occurrence throughout China in the mid-90s.
Hundreds of people lined up in neat rows, a sea of peaceful faces with eyes closed—meditating.
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 1st Ave. was filled with people who had traveled from all corners of the word to celebrate 20 years of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) as part of a weekend-long observance of World Falun Dafa Day.
“[Falun Gong] is…the greatest single spiritual movement in Asia today. There is nothing that begins to compare with it in courage and importance,” Mark Palmer, former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and board member of Freedom House, said a decade ago.
Exactly 20 years ago on Sunday, Mr. Li Hongzhi taught his first public class of Falun Dafa in a schoolhouse in Changchun, northeastern China—introducing a practice with roots extending back thousands of years, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC). By early 1999, there were 100 million people practicing Falun Dafa in China alone.
The rest of the world has been catching on, too—Falun Dafa is practiced in over 70 countries around the world, according to the FDIC. Outside the UN practitioners from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and Asia could easily be found, alongside practitioners from the United States and Canada.
Hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners meditate in front of the UN buildings in New York City. (The Epoch Times)
Practitioners of Falun Dafa seek to live by the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The practice consists of doing five meditative exercises, studying the teachings of Falun Dafa—the main text is “Zhuan Falun,” and applying those teachings to everyday life.
“Although Falun Gong is part of an ancient tradition, tens of millions around the world have found it to be ideal for the modern day,” says Erping Zhang, spokesperson for the FDIC. “In Falun Gong, we have not only found a practice from the Buddha School that brings health, serenity, and wisdom to our lives, but even more so, we have found a way to return to our original, true selves…to get back in touch with our kind, divine side.”
For Mr. Bill Xie, a 42-year old photographer from mainland China who was granted asylum by the United States, being at the plaza in New York on Friday was significant. Xie said Falun Gong has brought him a lot of good things, most notably, “Health in my mind and my soul, and the purification of my body.”
Xie said he took up the practice in 1995 when he was 25. His whole family began to practice, and all benefited—including his father who suffered from chronic illness. China was a very different place to live in during that time, he said. “A lot of bad people became good people—many, many.”
After the persecution began in 1999, China changed, Xie said. Like many others, his twin brother was arrested and tortured by the regime in its endeavor to get practitioners to renounce the practice. His brother was imprisoned for 8 years and, on his release, managed to escape to Thailand, where he now waits for final approval so he can be united with his brother in the United States.
Outside the United Nations building in New York City on May 11, two Falun Gong practitioners hold a banner emblazoned with the core principles of this spiritual practice: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. In the background, hundreds of practitioners meditate. The event is part of a celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the introduction of Falun Gong in China. (Epoch Times Staff).
Australian Rajna Jollie spoke of how Falun Dafa had changed her character, “I think I am a lot nicer person, more considerate, less selfish.”
For Georgi Pleshko, a 30-year-old man from Sofia, Bulgaria, Falun Dafa and abiding by the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance—zhen, shan, ren in Chinese—had provided answers to the big questions of life.
“I can understand everything—what is life, what is my purpose, why are people doing something—everything,” Pleshko said.
From India with two other colleagues in the IT industry, Deepak Yadav laughed at his previous life before he practiced Falun Gong.
“I was a guy who used to tell lies, every second—every single second—I used to lie,” he said. Yadav said that once he read the teachings in the book “Zhuan Falun,” “I understood how good it is to have these principles in your heart.”
Yadav said the friend who had taught him the practice had suffered from severe drug and alcohol problems. His friend’s parents had heard about Falun Dafa and had sent him to learn the practice. His parents could not believe the change. “They had never seen such calmness on this guy and he understood that should not take those things,” he said.
Falun Gong is now so popular in India it is being taught in schools, Yadav said. “It has been going for about 8 or 9 years… many schools have taken up the practice and they are doing it every day.”
From Iran, whose people are dealing with internal repression, a university lecturer attended the New York event. Unable to give her name for fear of persecution in Iran, Falun Dafa has been a source of nourishment for her in a country where social media has become the primary means of communicating.
“Falun Gong has made me stronger and able to handle life with good wisdom and understand what is right and wrong,” she said, while helping her to stay calm and less stressed in a country that rules with fear.
Benny Brix came from Denmark. A former university teacher he said, “On the surface, I’m looking like me, myself, but I’m totally transformed,” he said recalling how he used have a bad temper before he started to practice Falun Gong. “Now, when there are conflicts … actually, it’s easy. So yes, I have changed, really a lot,” he said.
Amongst the gathering was also a flotilla of Korean women in traditional dress with many pastel colors.
“My body has not always been healthy but after practicing my body became very healthy,” said Zhang Shuk through a translator. She had come for the event accompanied by 100 other Korean practitioners.
Falun Dafa has given meaning to her life, she said, “I found peace and calmness in my inner self.”
Of the corruption scandals and leadership changes happening in China, the diminutive woman said, “The Chinese have a saying ‘good will be rewarded with good and evil with evil.’ When the time comes, due retribution will happen.”
There were live performances outside the U.N, including dragon dances and much singing. The event marked the beginning of a weekend of activities that include a parade, demonstrations of the Falun Dafa exercises, and a vigil outside the Chinese consulate.
Erping Zhang said the events are a celebration, but he also offered a more somber note.
“It’s an opportunity to shine a light on how our fellow Falun Gong practitioners in China face detention and torture simply for pursuing the same spiritual path we are openly celebrating here in New York,” he said.
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The Truth About Falun Gong 关于法轮功的真相
