Falun Dafa is Good!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
From Europe to Brooklyn: Hundreds Stream Across Brooklyn Bridge for Human Rights in China
By Larry Ong, Epoch Times | May 13, 2015
Falun Dafa practitioners cross the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan, New York, on May 13, 2015. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—They flew in from over the Atlantic to Brooklyn, and silently marched across one of America’s oldest suspension bridges bearing a simple, poignant message: People in China should be free to meditate.
On a clear, breezy Wednesday morning, nearly 600 practitioners of the Chinese spiritual practice Falun Gong set off from Cadman Plaza Park and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to Foley Square. Mostly from Europe, they hailed from 47 nationalities.
They wore yellow T-shirts with the words “Falun Dafa is Good” and the hashtag “#Free2Meditate,” and carried brightly colored banners that read: “Falun Dafa: Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” and “Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong in China.”
The march is part of World Falun Dafa Day celebrations this week, where an estimated 8,000 Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world are taking to the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan to remind New Yorkers that millions of peaceful meditators in China aren’t free to keep their faith.
Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, involves slow moving exercises and the observance of moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Although the practice provided health benefits for millions of Chinese after its introduction to the public in 1992, the Chinese Communist Party launched a sweeping suppression in 1999—millions were persecuted, vilifying messages were spread in international media, and tens of thousands are suspected of having been executed in a state-run organ harvesting program.
“We hope that people in New York will note the severity of the persecution in China,” said Jana Skovajsova, a 31-year-old translator and interpreter from Czech Republic.
A Solemn March
“We want to let Americans know about the heinous crimes being committed by the Chinese Communist Party,” said Betty Hunter, a Brooklyn resident who organized Wednesday’s march.
Hunter, a retired law firm librarian, feels that a solemn, silent march is a good way of getting the attention of people who have never heard of the persecution and engaging them in conversation.
Hunter’s plan worked: On Brooklyn Bridge, Falun Gong practitioners handled out pamphlets about the practice and traumatic events from the past 16 years to passersby, and quietly explained to enquirers why they were marching. A policeman overseeing the proceedings was heard telling an elderly participant that it was “beautiful to see people from Germany, Finland, and other countries come together” to march.
Falun Gong practitioners also hope New Yorkers can appreciate the “beauty of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance,” said May Bakhtiar, a designer from Switzerland.
Bakhtiar, a youthful looking 52-year-old, was introduced to Falun Gong by a friend in 1997. After doing the exercises for three months, her allergies disappeared and her health improved, she said. Being mindful of Falun Gong’s moral teachings, she said, even tamed her fiery temper.
“Falun Dafa is good for the mind and body, and truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance is the answer to ending the violence in the world,” Bakhtiar said.
Then and Now
Many passersby accepted the pamphlets, and a handful stopped to listen to the Falun Gong practitioners.
This wasn’t the case the last time Falun Gong practitioners marched across Brooklyn Bridge in 2000, one year after the persecution began. The Communist Party’s propaganda against the practice was still in full swing, and the violent nature of the persecution and the peaceful nature of Falun Gong had not become clear to the world.
Qiu Ying, a 48-year-old Chinese teacher at a senior middle school in Italy, who has attended large-scale Falun Gong activities in New York since the early 2000s, recalls that New Yorkers then wouldn’t accept material from practitioners or even hear them out.
At an event outside City Hall on Tuesday, however, “casual strangers in the streets asking for directions accepted our pamphlets, were curious to hear about the persecution, and even expressed interest in learning the practice,” said Qiu, who is an Italian citizen.
The Beginning
An hour and a half after the march began, the last Falun Gong practitioners—a mother with a little girl in tow—stepped into Foley Square, the end point of the march. Banners were folded and stored away, and most of the marchers headed off in different directions.
“They’re going to Bowling Green Park, Central Park, and Times Square,” said David Tompkins, one of the organizers of World Falun Dafa Day.
Tompkins and co-coordinator Yi Rong have plenty planned for the week—Falun Gong exercise demonstrations in Central Park, candlelight vigils outside the Chinese Consulate, and a parade on Friday.
Some of the Brooklyn Bridge marchers stayed behind at Foley Square where festivities were already under way: performances of classical Chinese dance, traditional instruments, and a helping of Western music.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Iranian Scholars: Two Paths Converge at Shared Belief in Falun Dafa
April 06, 2015 | By Minghui correspondent Wang Mei
(Minghui.org) Mahnaz and Mohammad Esmaeili, an Iranian couple now living in Vancouver, Canada, met each other at a Falun Dafa activity. “Mohammad said to me, ‘I’m not going to get married this life.’ I responded, ‘No one would want to marry you, don’t worry.’” Mahnaz recalled with a smile, “Yet we fell in love and got married two years later.”
Iranian scholars Mahnaz and Mohammad Esmaeili
Two Paths Converged at Shared Beliefs
Different paths led these two scholars to start practicing cultivation in Falun Dafa.
Mahnaz was teaching at Semnan University in Iran after completing her Ph.D. in psychology. Yet academic success didn’t bring her happiness. “I wasn’t able to solve my own psychological problems even though it is my field,” Mahnaz recalled. “I was constantly in anxiety. The anxiety caused me to have stomach and kidney problems. A car accident 20 years ago added back pain to my list of problems. I was often unhappy.”
“I hoped that something would save me someday.”
Mahnaz learned about Falun Dafa through a friend. They went to watch the nine-day Falun Dafa lecture video series in 2003. Practitioners from Sweden visited Iran a few times during 2002 and 2003 to introduce Falun Dafa.
The video lecture was in English. Mahnaz didn’t understand English back then. However, she was impressed by the energy field—it was strong and comfortable. Her back pain was significantly reduced. She realized that the practice was very powerful. She soon got a copy of the Persian version of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, and began practicing cultivation.
Mohammad is a process management scholar. He said, “People thought I was successful, but I wasn’t happy.” He, too, was troubled by stomach problems and shoulder pain and resorted to smoking and drinking to ease his suffering. He went to Turkey and hoped to find a way to go to Europe, but didn’t succeed.
After he retuned from Turkey, Mohammad was in low spirits. His colleague gave him a copy of the Persian version of Falun Gong, Falun Dafa’s introductory book. Falun Gong is another name for Falun Dafa. He finished reading the book in one day and was happy to have found Falun Dafa, especially the tenets of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
“I’ve obtained answers to a lot of my questions in life,” Mohammad said.
He quit smoking and drinking in a week. “I didn’t even know when my pain and diseases disappeared! One day, I suddenly realized that I was pain free! I also became lighthearted.”
Mahnaz Esmaeili introducing Falun Dafa at an international conference
Mohammad Esmaeili doing the Falun Dafa meditation outdoors
Better Relations with Others
Mahnaz attributed her different state of mind to her Falun Dafa cultivation, “I’m peaceful and able to forgive those who wronged me. I am no longer angry at them. I sincerely hope to help them because I feel their pain.”
Applying the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance was difficult at first. Mahnaz works in a very competitive environment. Professors compete for research topics and students. They often get into arguments during thesis evaluations.
“Many students want to study under me. Other professors weren’t happy about that. Some even ignored me when I greeted them. Our relations were once quite tense,” Mahnaz recalled.
“I often thought others were to blame for my problems. I thought I was right. After practicing Falun Dafa, I started looking within and realized that I had much to improve on my end. I still greeted my colleagues warmly, gave them my sincere compliments, and was able to improve my work relations. A colleague who used to be in a ‘cold war’ with me became a good friend of mine in the end.”
Mohammad had similar experiences, “I used to think that I was better than others based on my intelligence. I was attached to my skills. However, I understood the principle of looking inward and reevaluated my past success. I learned to be more down to earth and gained more trust from my friends and colleagues.”
Relaying the Truth
Ever since he learned about the persecution in China, Mohammad has made it his mission to clarify the truth. He raises awareness about how Chinese Communist propaganda has misled Chinese and people around the world and prevented them from knowing what Falun Dafa is. Due to economic relations between Iran and China, a lot of Iranians don’t know about the severe human rights violations in China, nor the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners.
Mohammad told his friends, colleagues, and local media about the persecution, especially about how Falun Dafa practitioners detained in China are subjected to state-sanctioned organ harvesting.
Mahnaz, with other practitioners’ help, translated Bloody Harvest, a book by Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour on the subject of organ harvesting, into Persian. The first print was published in 2012 and sold out.
Mahnaz made a presentation about forced organ harvesting at an international human rights conference in Tehran in November 2012. The issue was reported by local media and had a notable impact on the public.
Moving to Canada
Practicing Falun Dafa has also sparked the Esmaeili’s interest in Chinese culture. They felt close to Chinese people and the culture, so they had the idea to move to a place where they can practice freely and be in touch with many Chinese. In the end, they chose Canada.
They arrived in Vancouver in January 2015. They were happy to see so many Chinese. “I very much want to let my new Chinese friends know that they should get to know Falun Dafa on their own, independent of the communist propaganda. Don’t be deceived by the Chinese Communist Party that persecutes innocent people for its own political gain,” Mohammad said.
The Esmaeili’s feel certain that, just as predestined connections brought them to the practice and together on the journey, their move to Vancouver will facilitate many more predestined encounters with Chinese who are yearning to learn the truth about Falun Dafa.
伊朗学者的大法缘与中国情
【明慧网二零一五年四月五日】（明慧记者王枚温哥华报道）玛赫纳兹（Mahnaz）和先生穆罕默德（Mohammad Esmaeili）来自伊朗，不久前移民到加拿大，目前落户在温哥华。他们为自己能成为法轮大法修炼者而无比自豪。对法轮大法的热爱，使他们对传出大法的东方神州和那块土地上的中国人也充满了深深的情意。那么这两位远在中东的学者是如何走进大法修炼的呢？
 伊朗学者玛赫纳兹和先生穆罕默德。 |
 玛赫纳兹在国际学术会议上介绍法轮功 |
 穆罕默德冬天坚持在户外炼功 |
成功者的心灵焦虑
玛赫纳兹和先生穆罕默德都可以说是有所成就的学者，在社会上有相当的知名度。玛赫纳兹在印度读完心理学博士，回到伊朗后，在伊朗西蒙大学（Semnan university）任教，多次参加国际会议，在会议上发表学术论文。
但是，玛赫纳兹说，学术上的成功并不能给她带来快乐，自己虽然是个心理学者，也不能解决自己的心理问题。一种不安的心情总围绕着她，身体上病痛不断，胃和肾都有病，还经常头痛，感冒；特别是二十年前的一场车祸，又惹上了背痛，使她心情很沮丧。
身体和精神上的双重折磨，使她生活得不愉快。玛赫纳兹说，那时候，她总是在心里期盼着有什么会来救她。
穆罕默德是一位工程管理学者，从事过工程分析、咨询及财务管理等多种工作，读过很多书，知识渊博。他说，“人家都认为我很成功，其实我生活得并不开心。”他也有胃病、肩膀痛，为了缓解情绪，他不得不靠抽烟、喝酒来解闷。他曾经想逃避这种生活，脱离那个环境，去了土耳其，希望从那里可以去欧洲，但没有成功。
法轮功太神奇了
二零零二到二零零三年期间，瑞典的法轮功学员曾几次到伊朗弘法。零三年的一天，玛赫纳兹的一个朋友从另一个朋友处知道了瑞典法轮功学员来了的消息，告诉了她，一天晚上，她就和朋友一起去看了介绍法轮大法的视频。
玛赫纳兹说，那天看的视频是一个英语的录像，那时她还不懂英语，就觉得在那个场里能量很强，很舒服，看着看着觉得压在后背上的那个东西没有了，身体轻松了许多。她说，法轮功太神奇了。她立刻就买了波斯文的《转法轮》，开始学炼法轮功，不久几乎身体上的病痛就完全好了。
穆罕默德则更直接，他说，从土耳其回来后，他心情很低落，正在他感到绝望的时候，同事给他一本波斯文的《法轮功》，他当天就把这本书看完了，心里可高兴了，特别是真、善、忍三个字，深深吸引着他，他觉得任何东西都包含在真、善、忍里，他过去不解的问题似乎都在书里找到了解答。
于是穆罕默德马上就开始学法轮功，在一周内就戒掉了烟酒。他说，他自己都没有留意什么时候病好了，只是有一天，他突然意识到，身体好舒服，没有病痛了，心情也舒畅了。
那时他们俩人还没有相遇，天各一方，修炼法轮功使他们走到了一起。玛赫纳兹说，她和穆罕默德是在法轮功学员的活动中认识的。玛赫纳兹笑着说，“我们交往不久，穆罕默德跟我声明：我这辈子不想结婚。我说，谁想跟你结婚呀，我还不想呢！但是两年后我们相爱并结婚了。”
向内找，人际关系越来越好
玛赫纳兹说：修炼后心态完全不一样了，心里很平静，即使过去得罪过我的人，我都在心里原谅他们了，不生他们的气了，反而觉得他们迷在名利中很苦，希望他们能解脱。
开始时也很难，在大学工作，教授之间的竞争很厉害，抢研究课题，导师抢学生，论文评价争执等等都时有发生，“不少学生愿意在我这里，其他教授就有意见，我和他们打招呼，他们甚至都不理，同事之间关系很紧张。”
李洪志师父说：“炼功是向内找，自己多修炼自己，从自己身上找原因。自己哪方面做的不足，自己得争取提高，向内使劲。”师父还多次告诉我们：“你们在修炼过程中修的自己越来越善，善到想问题都在为别人着想，修成一个无私的生命。”
玛赫纳兹说，“过去总认为自己做得对，是别人的问题，修炼后开始找自己的不足，不理我的人，我自动和他们打招呼，经常脸上挂着笑，常常夸奖同事，慢慢和同事的关系融洽了，一个原来关系很僵的同事还成了好朋友。”
教师中有多个不同的群组，都来拉玛赫纳兹参加，玛赫纳兹说，我哪一个也不参加，但也等于哪一个都参加，平等对待他们，都对他们好。当然玛赫纳兹也有损失，评职称的时候，每个群组都为自己的成员说话，就没有人为她说话了，她说她也不在乎，名利有没有已经无所谓了。
玛赫纳兹讲到自己去妒嫉心的过程。她和先生结婚后组成的小家庭不是俩人之家，还有穆罕默德的妹妹和他们住在一起，他们兄妹感情很好，遇到不同意见时，丈夫总是说他妹妹是对的，玛赫纳兹说，“我就很生气，心里埋怨他们。”后来她找自己，认识到自己有妒嫉心，清除它，和妹妹关系也就融洽了。妹妹在二零零九年也开始修炼法轮功了。
向民众讲真相 揭露中共活摘器官
伊朗和中共在经济上有许多贸易关系，一些政府官员和普通民众对中共有朦胧的好感，而对中共迫害民众的恶劣人权状况，不知道真相。
为了帮助伊朗人了解中共的邪恶本质，玛赫纳兹在其他法轮功学员协助下，用波斯文翻译了加拿大人权律师麦塔斯和前亚太司司长乔高出版的揭露中共活摘法轮功学员器官的书籍《血腥的器官摘取》，在二零一二年出版，已售罄。
二零一二年十一月，玛赫纳兹出席了在德黑兰的国际人权会议，并在会上就中共活摘器官及此书的出版作了报告，经媒体广泛报导后，在伊朗这个与外界比较封闭的社会里引起了强大的反响。
会议期间，中使馆知道了此事，开始制造麻烦，阻止在会议中讲述在中国法轮功学员遭到的迫害，他们给会议组织者施压，导致玛赫纳兹的文章没有全部出现在会议册子中。但玛赫纳兹在会上的报告，已经使所有的与会者感到震惊。
玛赫纳兹还曾多次到印度弘法，许多印度人因此闻到了佛法，走进了法轮功修炼行列。
穆罕默德的经历
穆罕默德修炼法轮功后在心性的提高上与妻子玛赫纳兹有相同的经历和感受，他说，由于自己阅历广，工作能力强，所以以前总认为自己比别人好，修炼后明白了向内找的法理，开始重新审视自己过去的成功，找到了自己的不足，心态变得越来越平稳，人们更信任他了，他跟周围人的关系也越来越好。
穆罕默德把讲真相看成是自己的使命，对家人、同事、媒体讲述在中国发生的迫害，还撰稿揭露中共的谎言，有两篇文章在网上发表，收到不少反馈，人们表示震惊，对中共表示了抵制。
因修炼大法生出的中国情结
玛赫纳兹和先生都表示，对法轮大法了解的越来越深入，就越来越为自己是一名法轮大法修炼者而自豪，对法轮大法的热爱，对法轮大法的发源地——中国和那块土地上的人民，产生了一种感情，看到中国人觉得特别亲，于是就萌生了到一个能够自由修炼、中国人比较多的国家去的念头，最后他们选择了加拿大。
二零一五年一月，他们如愿来到了温哥华，看到温哥华这么多华人，他们高兴极了。穆罕默德说，他特别想对华人朋友说，不要相信中共的谎言，要自己亲自去了解法轮功。中共诬陷法轮功，是为了它们的政治利益，不要上它们的当，一定要自己亲自向法轮功学员去了解，作出自己的判断。
English Version Available: http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2015/4/6/149625.html
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