Zurich, Switzerland: Practitioners Share the Joy of World Falun Dafa Day

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners’ speeches and peaceful exercise demonstrations drew the attention of many passersby on May 3, 2025, at Zeughausplatz (Armory Square) in downtown Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city.

The practitioners were celebrating World Falun Dafa Day and the birthday of the founder of Falun Dafa, Master Li Hongzhi.

Falun Dafa is an ancient cultivation practice of mind and body that was brought to the public in China on May 13, 1992. Due to its remarkable physical and mental benefits, it spread by word of mouth, and more than 100 million people in China began to practice it within seven years. Since 2000, Falun Gong practitioners around the world have held various activities every year to celebrate May 13, World Falun Dafa Day, to share the wonders of Falun Dafa with more people.

“We are here today to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. Falun Dafa teaches people to be good people according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It has now been spread to more than 100 countries around the world,” a practitioner explained.

Practitioners in Switzerland celebrate World Falun Dafa Day in the center of Zurich.

Practitioners demonstrate the peaceful exercises in the busy city.

Practitioners introduce Falun Dafa and the origin of World Falun Dafa Day in their speeches.

Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance Are Universal

Ms. Benker, a retiree, was very interested in the celebration and came over to the information booth to chat with practitioners.

“I am very interested in this, especially Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. The whole world should be like this. Not only in China, but Switzerland and the whole world should be like this. This is universal,” she said.

After speaking with practitioners about the practice in depth, she said: “Falun Gong is not just about these physical movements, but it also changes (cultivates) the heart.”

Watching practitioners calmly meditating and exercising in the busy area, she said: “Their demonstration of the exercises alone brings peace to people, which makes people feel calm. This is very good.”

“Practicing in public in the middle of a square like this, especially in this square, I think this also requires courage,” she said.

“Watching them practicing here is very good and peaceful. I like it very much. It makes both the body and mind feel at peace, which is very important to me,” she said.

“I think the whole world, including all religious groups, should live according to Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” To this end, she took a magazine with her to learn more about Falun Gong and share it with her friends. “Of course I will tell my friends, and they should also learn about the relevant information,” she said.

She told the practitioners that she did this because of their kindness when spreading the truth: “Because of compassion, and because you work hard for this [spreading the truth]. This is very good. Great, thank you very much. Please keep going.”

Practitioners share the wonders of practicing Falun Dafa with people and the joy of celebrating World Falun Dafa Day.

Many passersby, upon learning about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China over the past 26 years, were happy to sign the petition to support Falun Gong practitioners.

“I Support Falun Gong Practitioners”

Nea, who is Brazilian and works in nursing in Barcelona, saw the event and went to find practitioners to learn more. After listening to the practitioners’ introduction in Spanish, she signed the petition to support Falun Gong practitioners.

“Their [Falun Gong practitioners’] smiles, and after hearing about Falun Dafa, the inspiration I received made me only want to support them,” she said.

“My signature may be just a drop of water in the ocean, but I hope it can help Falun Gong practitioners achieve what they’re asking for,” she said.

“Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance are one. If we can achieve truthfulness, all doors will be open to us; we can have better development; and we can embark on the road to heaven. Each of us should have more compassion toward others. Tolerance is something everyone should have,” she said.

She likes traditional Chinese culture very much. “China has wisdom that transcends nature and can accomplish many wonderful things. But the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] knows nothing about this and has even destroyed traditional wisdom,” she said. However, in her opinion, the CCP has no future and things in China may change overnight.

Although it was difficult to communicate smoothly due to the language barrier, it was not difficult to see her joy after learning about Falun Dafa, based on how she spoke with great enthusiasm, especially the light in her eyes when she talked about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. No wonder she said she really wished she could speak Chinese so that she could talk to practitioners freely.

“It Is So Important to Hold Such Events”

Victor, a college student majoring in automobile management and business management, stopped to learn more about the activities.

“When I passed by for the first time, I was very interested. When I saw them again and found that they were still meditating attentively, it was very relaxing and very good,” he said.

After seeing Falun Gong practitioners’ exercise demonstration for the second time, he learned from the practitioners what Falun Gong is and what Falun Gong practitioners are currently suffering in China. He signed the petition to support Falun Gong practitioners. “I even wanted to donate some money, but I was told that [Falun Gong] does not accept donations,” he said with a smile.

Talking about the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance that Falun Gong practitioners adhere to in their daily lives, he thought: “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the most important in the world. The persecution they [Falun Gong practitioners] are experiencing is exactly untruthful, unkind, and completely without love.”

He said he hoped that his signature could help practitioners in China. “If many people sign it, perhaps the Swiss government can also participate in taking action. If many countries unite, especially in Europe, perhaps they can exert pressure to stop the CCP.”

He also talked about how he is very interested in meditation, but he had not heard of Falun Dafa. He thought the event that day was the best event. “Especially since such information has not been widely spread on social media. If people don’t want to talk about these things on television, it is so important to hold such events. This kind of events that come in contact with people is needed to let more people know what is happening,” he said.

After hearing about an upcoming free nine-day online Falun Dafa class, he said he would definitely join because he is very interested in Falun Dafa.

Sharing the Wonders of Falun Dafa with More People

After learning about Falun Dafa, many passersby specifically asked about the time and location of the group exercises. An old lady stood quietly on the side of the road and listened to all the speeches. She also talked with several practitioners for a long time. She told that practitioners that she really wanted to learn Falun Gong and planned to learn more about it before learning the exercises. Before leaving, she said she would see the practitioners at the practice site.

After Falun Dafa was introduced to the public in 1992, many people who benefited greatly from practicing it shared it with their family and friends. Therefore, the number of practitioners has continued to increase day by day. Victor, a Spaniard who participated in the World Falun Dafa Day event for the first time, heard about Falun Gong from his family member who practiced Falun Dafa.

Victor recalled how his sister introduced Falun Dafa to him three years ago. “My sister introduced Falun Dafa to me. She said to me at the time, ‘You are a little depressed. Come and practice Falun Dafa as well. It will help you,’” he said.

When he first heard about the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance taught by Falun Dafa, he thought, “These are undoubtedly very correct values that will help people and the world develop better. What is important is to persistently adhere to these principles and move in the right direction.”

After receiving the book Zhuan Falun, Victor also began to practice Falun Dafa. It was during the pandemic. As someone who engaged in nursing work, he was very busy and stressed, and his physical and mental energy was consumed greatly. “But practicing Falun Dafa helped me a lot. Although the workload and work intensity were very high, I was not affected at all. I have basically always been healthy. It also allowed me to be relieved from stress and feel very relaxed,” he said.

Although he is a shy person, Victor still told himself to participate in the event that day because he knew: “World Falun Dafa Day can let people know about Falun Dafa and know that they can live by and judge what they encounter according to Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. What is important is that people can look at their own mistakes and learn lessons from them.”

After participating in the event, he said, “It was beautiful and peaceful. I especially felt everyone’s humility. Everyone followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, cooperated with each other, and were very friendly to passersby. I don’t think there could be a better situation than this.”

Although it rained briefly during the event, the sun soon broke through the dark clouds. Perhaps the sun did not want to miss seeing the joy of people after hearing about Falun Dafa and the smiling faces of children who received balloons with “Falun Dafa is good” written on them. Who would want to miss the celebration of World Falun Dafa Day?