(Minghui.org) Traditionally celebrated by many Asian cultures, this year the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 21, 2021. Falun Dafa practitioners in Toronto gathered in Nathan Phillips Square in front of the Toronto City Hall on September 18, 2021, to wish revered Master Li a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and to express their gratitude for his compassionate salvation.
Practitioners in Toronto respectfully wish Falun Dafa’s founder, Master Li, a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
Practitioners who go to the truth-clarification site in Toronto’s Chinatown send Master Li greetings on the occasion of the 2021 Mid-Autumn Festival.
Zhao Yuping, 72, began to grow black hair after practicing Falun Dafa.
Ms. Zhao Yuping, who is 72 years old this year, has a head of black hair. She said with a smile on her face, “I never dye my hair. Master gave me this after I practiced Falun Gong.”
Zhao Yuping was born in 1949 in a Christian family in Tianjin. Because she was weak and had many illnesses, “My mother asked a relative who studies the I Ching to predict my fortune. Mother was told I would not live past 50 years old. Because I was taught by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not to believe in anything spiritual, so I did not take the relative’s words to heart.” The year she turned 48, “We'd just celebrated the Chinese New Year and I began to have internal bleeding. Almost overnight my appearance changed and I looked like I was in my 70s. My face was full of wrinkles and my hair turned grey.”
On top of her sudden illness, she was let go by her employer and was unable to claim medical expenses. She had to look for another job. She also had to support her child who was attending a university. Burdened by a series of misfortunes, she did not know what to do. Her older brother recommended Falun Dafa to her and gave her the main book of the teachings, Zhuan Falun.
She said, “On May 1, 1997, I went to the park to learn the exercises. I fell asleep on the sofa after lunch. When I woke up, I felt full of energy. My exercise movements were inaccurate, yet I still benefited from the practice. From that day on, I felt fine and was able to sleep well. After practicing for six months, my internal bleeding stopped. Two years later, in 2000, I completely recovered and began to grow new, black hair. I haven’t taken a single pill since then, and I am healthy. I have been practicing for 24 years now. Master extended my life.”
When the CCP launched the persecution on July 20, 1999, assistants in charge of various practice sites in provinces and cities around China were arrested. She went with another practitioner to the government to ask for their release. When asked if she still practiced Falun Dafa, she said, “Of course! It’s so wonderful, why would I stop? Why are we not allowed to practice something so good?” She was arrested and sent to a forced labor camp for two years for producing Dafa materials.
Zhao Yuping arrived in Canada in November 2009. She said, “I began going to the truth clarification site outside the Chinese Consulate office and Chinatown on January 15, 2010. I have been going for 11 years now.”
On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival she wants to tell Master, “I am very grateful to Master! I wish Master Happy Mid-Autumn festival. He has worked so hard for us. I must follow him in cultivation to the very end!”
Sanaz Bahadori from Iran began to practice Falun Dafa two years ago.
Sanaz Bahadori from Iran started practicing Falun Dafa two years ago after a friend introduced it to her. She is currently studying at York University. Today is her first time attending a gathering of Falun Dafa practitioners. She said, “I underwent a huge change after practicing Dafa, just like the experiences of many other practitioners. Even my mother said I became a totally different person. Prior to that, I often acted impulsively and had picked up many bad habits. After I began to cultivate, I slowly corrected my shortcomings. I am calm and relaxed, and my relationship with my family keeps getting better.”
Sanaz said that, before she became a practitioner when she was 16, she went through a low point. Dafa helped her return to the bright side of life. She said, “I was depressed because I did not know the purpose of life. I thought our lives were so superficial, that we had to follow rules, and in the end, die. I thought life had no meaning. I remembered the night after I finished reading Zhuan Falun, I went to bed and felt a powerful energy moving in my body from head to toe. I felt really at peace and relaxed. When I woke up, I understood that I was released from my suffering. The energy I felt that night as well as the wonderful feeling I had never experienced before the next morning became a major turning point in my life. Before, I'd tried mental health therapy and other treatments, but none of them could solve my problems.”
Sanaz said that the infiltration of communist ideology in Iran is quite severe. “Falun Dafa practitioners in Iran cannot wear yellow clothes or hold activities like this in public. Today was the first time I’ve seen so many practitioners sending greetings to Master Li. I am grateful to Master for everything I gained after starting the practice. I hope those who are still misled by the defamatory lies fabricated by the CCP about Falun Dafa can realize how wonderful Dafa is.”
Peter and Jerry express their gratitude to Master Li.
Twins Peter and Jerry left their native country because of their parent’s jobs in 2015. The family first lived in the U.S. before moving to Toronto.
Peter said, “My mother told me about Dafa when I was in primary one. It was the first time I heard about it. Although I read Zhuan Falun together with my mum, because I was so young, I did not truly understand the teachings.”
Jerry, on the other hand, learned about Dafa through the TV drama “Journey to the West.” He said, “I watched the drama ‘Journey to the West’ when I was young. Monk Tang Sanzang read tens of thousands of scriptures in order to attain Buddhahood. However, when I looked at my mother, she only had to read one book. I became very curious and wondered why it was different from what I saw on TV. I asked my mother about Dafa and the book Zhuan Falun.”
Since they were young, the twins were distracted by external things happening in the world. Soon after arriving in America, the twins were drawn to various interests and activities at school and gradually slacked off in Fa study.
Peter said he returned to Dafa after watching a Shen Yun performance in 2019. He said, “My grandparents came to the U.S. to visit us in 2019. There was a Shen Yun performance nearby and I accompanied them to see the show. I could not stop crying as I watched. I am not one to cry easily, yet I kept crying. I felt wonderful after the show, and righteous.
“I admire the performers for working so hard. I too want to progress in cultivation like them. From that day on, I resolved to get up every morning to do the exercises and study the Fa. I also persisted in copying as well as memorizing the teachings. I felt great freedom in the process.
“A miracle happened. My math results were not good and I was under a lot of pressure. After watching Shen Yun, though, I easily was top in class in the next math exam. Everyone was surprised at my results.”
Peter and Jerry joined the truth-clarification activities at the Niagara Falls tourist attraction after they moved to Canada. Peter said he wants to share his experience practicing Dafa with others, “I have gained a lot from Dafa. I am delighted to share my story with others so that they can know how great Dafa is.”
To celebrate the coming Mid-Autumn Festival, the twins thanked Master Li for always looking out for them and for not giving up on them when they were not diligent. Peter said, “I hope I can make fewer mistakes and reach the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” Jerry said, “Dafa has been guiding us all along into becoming a people with high moral values.”
Ms. Li Fang Fang and her husband Ma Yan work for NTDTV in Toronto. They wish Master Happy Mid-Autumn festival!
Ms. Li Fang Fang is the lead actress in the movie, “Coming for You” produced by New Realm Movie Production Company and NTDTV in Toronto. She talked about how she became a Falun Dafa practitioner.
She said, “My husband Ma Yan and I met in China in 2004. He went to Canada to study in 2007. He found me on the Internet in April 2012. He told me upfront that he is a Falun Dafa practitioner and explained what it is, and how the CCP has vilified and persecuted the practice. I listened intently. I was convinced by his honesty and sincerity.”
“We talked non-stop for several hours. In the end, I renounced my membership in the CCP. Through the long conversation we had, I felt that he changed tremendously. He became a trustworthy, steady, and mature person. He is completely different from the man I knew in the past! There is a saying, a leopard doesn’t change its spots, I thought it must be Falun Dafa that turned him into such a good man. If Falun Dafa is so wonderful, then I too wanted to learn it!” she said.
She continued, “I left China to marry him in January 2013. I asked my husband, ‘What kind of predestined relationship do you think we have?’ He thought for a moment before answering, ‘Ours is a holy relationship given by Falun Dafa.’”
Fang Fang began to work in the media after arriving in Canada. “I often have to play different roles. Sometimes when there is a character I dislike, I hope the director will not ask me to play that role. But we lack manpower, so how can we pick and choose? I know that is a mentality of an everyday person and I should eliminate such thoughts. Thus I pray in my heart that people can see through the evil nature of the CCP through this character and quit the CCP. I am happy as long as I can be of use in the project. This is the path I must take to assist Master in Fa rectification.”
Fang Fang wished to tell Master: “Thank you Master for giving me the chance to clarify the truth through movies!”