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| Instructing the movements of Falun Gong | Spreading Falun Dafa in the harbor |
On July 16th, over 100 practitioners from around New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut gathered in Jersey City's "Liberty Park" and held a daylong practice and Hong Fa activity. A few practitioners went to the harbor that leads to the Statue of Liberty, and as they practiced they gave out materials regarding the real stories of Falun Dafa to the tourists and visitors. Some people became very interested and asked where they can find practice sites and buy Falun Dafa related materials.
Before noon, most practitioners stayed in the park to practice and Hong Fa. In the afternoon, we studied the Fa for about three hours. After that we continued the practice as well as did Hong Fa to the people. There was also a huge Hong Fa and practice activity held here last August. Compared with that one, it appeared this year more people were looking, asking, and learning the practice . Some even bought the exercise instruction tapes on the spot. Among them, there were people from Latin America, Philippines,
Mainland China, Hong Kong and even people from India. Many of the people learned the movements that day. Many Americans already knew about the illegal crackdown in Mainland China. They expressed their sympathies toward practitioners there, and were critical of the inhumane treatments toward the practitioners.
Around noon, the wind started blowing around the pier, and it blew a Dafa information poster board off balance. Before practitioners could get over and reposition it, a passer-by already picked it up for us. They were a group of four with two ladies and one child. A practitioner thanked them, and asked if they want to practice. They agreed spontaneously. They were very serious too. Even though they said afterwards that their legs hurt quite a bit, they continued to practice for a long time. After they learned the movements, they joined the sitting meditation with practitioners.
During the afternoon practice, some practitioners responsible for passing out flyers noticed that a Caucasian lady was practicing behind the group. She was very into the practice but none of us knew who she was. We thought that maybe she was a new practitioner from somewhere else. After we finished practicing, she came over and asked for more materials. That was when we found out that she was just a passer-by. She saw us and thought that our movements were quite nice, so she joined the practice. She asked, "How much will it be for future lessons?" And we told her that the instruction of Falun Dafa is free. She was quite shocked, but her doubts soon vanished when she saw the sincerity of the practitioners.
There was a little girl who practiced the five sets of movements, and afterwards she called for 4 or 5 of her other friends to join. Many inquired whether or not there are practice sites in the city, and they said that they wanted to learn the meditation method. Some took a lot of Dafa materials, saying that they want to let their relatives read them. We told them that we can go to their places and teach them the movements. Many who just practiced said that the feeling was great and the energy field was really strong. Some who had practiced other meditations previously said that they had never experienced such a feeling before.
Such a huge Hong Fa activity was the first time ever for a new practitioner from Poland. She said that she didn't expect that many people were willing to learn Falun Dafa, and she felt that this kind of activity is very good. Before she started practicing Falun Dafa she was involved with a Taoist meditation for many years. By chance she learned about Falun Dafa, and bought the books "China Falun Gong" and "Zhuan Falun". After a few months of comparing and contrasting, she decided to practice Falun Dafa.
A reporter from the Chinese press came to report this activity in honor of our invitation. He took a lot of photographs and interviewed a few practitioners. He asked one of the practitioners about the gains from practicing Falun Gong. The practitioner said that his physical body changed a lot and he was more tolerant now. Two practitioners who had practiced other meditations for many years are now practicing Falun Gong. They said that they practice Falun Gong because it is a high level cultivation method, and its guiding principles are very deep and profound. A practitioner who used to learn Tai Chi Chuan from a famous Tai Chi master for over ten years told us a very moving story: his wife and a few relatives of his wife all had Hepatitis C. When they introduced Falun Dafa to their relatives, the relatives said that if his wife can get rid of the Hepatitis C through the practice, they would certainly join them.
One day his wife went to the hospital for a checkup, and found out that all the medical indexes were normal. The doctor said that he was not confident regarding the results, and suggested that his husband should go for a checkup as well. The result showed no indication of Hepatitis C virus. It is difficult to explain this in terms of medical science. This practitioner also said that he used to have heart attacks. Tai Chi Chuan helped a bit, but couldn't cure it. And it was completely gone after he practiced Falun Gong, just like what Master Li said, that the root of the sickness has been taken care of in the other dimension.
Many practitioners felt that there were less barriers for everyday people to accept Dafa than before. But who would know that all this come from our compassionate Master's enormous suffering and sacrifice for the people? The practitioners in Mainland China are still suffering greatly in their efforts to help the Master. We should treasure the fruit of these countless sacrifices and emit the greatest amount of light and warmth in helping our Master during the Fa rectification process.
New Jersey Falun Dafa practitioners
July 26, 2000
Category: Rallies & Protests
