In Brooklyn, New York, Some Troubled Teens Have a Positive Experience Learning Falun Gong

We have been giving a Falun Dafa introduction night at the local YWCA twice a month. Recently, a teacher attended our introduction and invited us to show the exercises to her class of troubled teens and young adults, between 16 and 21 years old. Two of us arrived at the classroom, and saw about 12 students who looked bored and skeptical. Some students were even sleeping. They looked like really tough kids.

We spoke briefly and simply described what Falun Gong was. We also discussed how living by the principles of Zhen-Shan-Ren "truthfulness, kindness and tolerance" and trying to be a better person can improve your life. We also shared an "experience" from a practitioner who gave up drugs after learning Falun Gong. Then we showed them the introduction video and every student watched with interest. After the video we showed the exercises to the whole class.

Most of the kids wanted to learn the exercises, but were embarrassed and started making jokes and teasing each other. Although it was difficult for them to settle down and concentrate, we began teaching the first exercise set. After learning the first exercise all of them seemed surprised and wanted to continue to learn the other exercises. One girl began teasing and making fun of the practitioner who was helping her learn the exercises. Although this student was disrespectful, the practitioner continued to be very kind and encouraging her to correctly hold the positions and keep a tranquil mind. After a while the girl calmed down and seemed rather shy instead of tough.

The students learned all five sets of exercises. During our introduction we noticed that they were very weak and needed to rest in between each exercise. They all had difficulty keeping a tranquil mind. Those who were trying seriously to learn the exercises had to face much teasing and disruption. We were very sad to see the weak condition of their bodies and spirits, for such young people. We weren't sure if they had grasped the main points of Falun Gong.

Two days after the class, I saw two girls from the class on the street showing another person the Falun Gong stretching exercises. Both girls wanted to know when we would come back to their class because they really

enjoyed our introduction. A week later we received thank-you letters from the students. We were touched by their enthusiasm and understanding. In their letters they said that their headaches disappeared while learning the exercises, they felt more alive, more relaxed and learned a better way to handle stress and conflicts. One student practiced the stretching exercise at home and said his mother wanted to learn it, too. Another student wisely thought that all little children should learn about Falun Gong so they don't have to grow up fighting.