(Minghui.org) Buddha Purnima is a holiday that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and attainment of samadhi by Buddha Shakyamuni, who is also known as Siddhartha Gautama.

Bodh Gaya, a village in the state of Bihar, is where Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Thus, it is one of the most important sites for Buddhists, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from India and all over the world visit Bodh Gaya on the occasion of Buddha Purnima every year.

Falun Dafa practitioners from Nagpur visited Bodh Gaya on May 18 this year to introduce Falun Dafa to the large congregation of pilgrims.

Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Dafa exercises at Bodh Gaya.

Young children learn the second exercise.

The practitioners put up banners, distributed flyers, and taught the Falun Dafa exercises to the public. Many took videos of the exercise demonstration and expressed interest in learning the exercises, including many Buddhist monks.

Many visitors were shocked to learn of the persecution of Falun Dafa in China and connected the human rights atrocities to those faced by Tibetans and Tibetan monks.

A monk learns the second exercise.

Practitioners demonstrate the exercises.

Practitioners met a Ph.D. in physics who was a strong believer in Buddhism. He had many questions about the persecution in China. After hearing more from practitioners, he returned the next morning and asked for more materials.

A freelance journalist took photos of the practitioners’ event for his publication, which covers different meditation practices.

At 6:00 a.m. the next day, many monks, nuns and tourists were already worshiping at the venerated Bodhi Tree. Practitioners performed the Falun Dafa meditation exercises there.

A practitioner teaches the second exercise.