HongFa in Small Towns Using Workshops, Proclamations, and the Media

The process of rectifying Fa has advanced to a new stage. We must tell the truth to the public about Falun Dafa and the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners by the Chinese government. Much work has been done in large cities, while Hongfa and telling the truth to the people in small cities (where people are down to earth, spiritual, and eager for Dafa) have not occurred as often. Based on the experiences of practitioners, we suggest that the triad of holding Dafa workshops, applying for a proclamation recognizing "Falun Dafa Day," and involving the media is an efficient and effective way to accomplish our goals in smaller towns. Advantages of this method

1. The workshops provide opportunities for predestined people to obtain Dafa. Since they are a form of community service, the workshops also serve as a reason for applying for the proclamation and encourage media involvement. Usually 2-3 practitioners (at most 4) can conduct the workshop as well as deal with the media, thus it is very efficient.
2. Mayors usually grant proclamations of "Falun Dafa Day" or at least give a letter of commendation. These proclamations are very important and beneficial to the people in the towns and shows the Chinese government how cities and towns outside of China respect and are concerned for Falun Gong. Thus, they have great value. Imagine what it would be like if many towns proclaimed "Falun Dafa Day"!
3. TV stations and newspaper reporters are usually interested in running a story on Dafa. Many of the reporters already know about Dafa, but have not had a chance to really learn Dafa in-depth due to the lack of local practitioners and events. Their reports usually reflect the real situation about Dafa and the persecution in China, and this would result in telling the truth and HongFa on a large scale across the country.
4. The process of application as well as dealing with the media itself is a good chance to introduce Dafa and the truth to all of the people involved: the mayor, city officials, reporters, etc. It also provides a good opportunity for us to cultivate ourselves.

How to Do It?

1. Usually the local public library is available for a workshop. Talk to the person in charge of programs and events in the library (or more directly ask who is in charge of the room usage since availability is limited) and book a date and time. Make sure you have enough room before the workshop begins. Some libraries do not have a room for public use, in which case you could ask the librarian to suggest an alternate location (for example, a senior citizen's center, arts center, etc.) and a contact phone number. Such a place should be well-known to the local citizens.
2. Application for a proclamation may seem difficult but in fact is very easy. Find the phone number of the mayor's office, and call and ask who handles the proclamations (sometimes this information is posted on the web). When speaking with that person, introduce him or her to Dafa's benefits, state your reason for applying for a proclamation, and indicate that you also want to hold a beneficial public event at no cost to participants. Supply all of the requested information by faxing the materials. Remember to follow up his is very important. Find an opportunity to talk with the mayor on the telephone, or if you live close enough, make an appointment and talk to the mayor in person. Ask if there is a procedure for the proclamation. Sometimes the mayor will present the proclamation during a council meeting. If you live close enough, be sure to attend the council meeting.
3. Obtaining media participation is probably the most time-consuming part. Ask the librarian or check the web to find the telephone numbers of local newspapers and TV stations. For newspapers, call and talk to a city editor or news editor. For TV stations, call and talk to a news reporter. After contact has been made, fax the required information. If the reporter or editor knows nothing about Dafa; you might also need to send an information package. Following-up is very important. Sometimes we need to present the truth of Dafa and the situation in China in a very short time since they are very busy or don't read the information we faxed them. Also, the weekday editor may not take care of the assignment of weekend activities. You need to contact the weekend editor. (For details, please contact us at [e-mail])

Additional Comments

1. Due to peoples' unfamiliarity with the Dafa, or sometimes karmic or demonic interference, reporters might use inaccurate ways to describe Dafa, such as, "breathing exercises" and "...ideas drawn from Buddhism and Taoism." We should rectify this actively in advance. Sometimes they even called us "instructors" or even "leaders," thus we should let them know we are volunteer practitioners.
2. Applying for a proclamation is the great compassion that the Teacher and Dafa give to that city. So, we should hold a pure heart while doing it, without fear of losing anything. We should present the whole truth to them and face the possibility of misunderstandings and be ready to explain further. It is a privilege for them to hear the stories of the future deities who are being persecuted in the shameful human world. Never beg them in heart!
3. The same procedure can also be employed in larger cities since there are still many large cities that have not granted Dafa such honors.
4. Using these processes, without expecting any results, are by all means a good opportunity for Hongfa and cultivation.

These are just our limited understanding and experiences. Please share your ideas and wisdom with all of us to make this better. Heshi TX practitioners PS: The files we used to apply for a "Falun Dafa Day" are the following (you can add more to make it stronger):

1. A letter of request (please see the sample letter, in poor English only as a reference)
2. Very brief Dafa introduction (one page, from minghui)
3. List of proclamations and sample proclamations in our city and other larger cities (Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C.)
4. U.S. Senate Resolution 218
5. Two open letters from Texas congressmen (let us know if you need them, using your own representative's is better)

August 31, 2000

Mr. Kel Seliger

Mayor, City of Amarillo

Dear Mr. Kel Seliger:

On behalf of a group of Falun Dafa practitioners in Texas, I am respectfully writing this letter to request a proclamation of "Falun Dafa Day" in Amarillo.

On September 23^rd, 2:00pm~~4:00pm, we will be conducting a free exercise workshop in the Amarillo Public Library to teach the local citizens a very peaceful, health promoting exercise called Falun Dafa.

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) is a traditional Chinese Qigong/meditation practice designed to improve the mind and body and to genuinely upgrade the heart-mind nature, using exercise and meditation. The practice not only has far-reaching effects on stress-relief and overall mental and physical health, but also ultimately has the higher goal of bringing people towards wisdom and enlightenment. It is a virtuous system of body-mind-spirit, emphasizing the universal principle of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance), which has helped many people pursue more meaningful lives.

Since Master Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa to the public in 1992, it has attracted more than 100 million people throughout the world, and it is being widely recognized and practiced by more and more people outside of China. In San Antonio, we have held numerous free classes to introduce Falun Dafa in libraries and bookstores, and these classes have been well-received.

As Falun Dafa has brought us tremendous benefits, we are very glad to share it with the citizens in Texas. Besides San Antonio, we conducted many free Falun Dafa workshops in surrounding towns and cities. We would be pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this wonderful thing to the people of Amarillo. To better promote the benefits of Falun Dafa to the local citizens, we respectfully request proclamation of September 23^rd as "Falun Dafa Day" in Amarillo. We would like to introduce Falun Dafa to more citizens and let them also benefit from it.

Attached are some related materials about Falun Dafa. Some of them explain the situation in China. Due to the Chinese government's longstanding policy of rejecting ideas and beliefs that are different from Marxism and Communism, all meditation ways in China are banned and persecuted. Falun Dafa has received the most severe persecution because of the large number of people who pursue "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," which makes the government feel unnecessarily threatened. The Chinese government suppresses the meditation exercises and persecutes the practitioners using all kinds of inhumane ways, such as labor camps, imprisonment, forced stays in psychiatric hospitals, beatings, electric shocks, forced use of drugs (heroine), and forced abortions. To date, at least 107 practitioners are known to have died during the persecution, mostly because of continuous beatings. At the same time, the government is spreading many rumors and fabricated stories that defame Falun Dafa and its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, in order to justify their persecution The Chinese embassies in the US are spreading these slanderous materials to local government offices.

The reason I pointed out the current situation and attached the related materials is to present the facts to you, thus avoiding the possible negative effects caused by the propaganda spread by the Chinese embassies. We are not asking you to support Falun Dafa or to be against the Chinese government. If you would like to support righteousness and justice, it would be great, but it is not what the request for a proclamation is about. The proclamation is purely for promoting the benefits of Falun Dafa to local residents.

If you want further information, please let me know. You and your family are also cordially invited to join us in the workshop. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely, XXX Contact information: XXX..XXX For the media, we used:

1. Event schedule: Time, location, and content
2. Sample media letter that can be used for TV, for newspapers you can also ask for publicity.
3. Brief introduction (as above).
4. Official recognition letter from San Antonio (could be changed to your local proclamation).
5. Two experience-sharing articles by practitioners (optional and changeable).
6. Wall Street Journal article documenting Ms. Chen's death (4/22 English Minghui)
7. A copy of Resolution 218.
8. Copies of the letters from two congressmen.

Workshop Schedule Time: Sept. 23, 2:00 - 4: 00 pm Location: Amarillo Public Library (413 E 4th Ave.) Content:

1. Introduction to Falun Gong
2. Falun Gong exercise teaching
3. Persecution of Falun Gong in China

September 15, 2000 Dear Ms. XXX: My name is XXX, a research fellow at UT XXX Center in San Antonio. It was nice talking to you on the phone. Thank you for allowing me to write to you and sending you information about Falun Gong. I hope will publish a story, which I believe, your readers would find very interesting. On September 23, Falun Gong practitioners in Texas will hold a free workshop in the Amarillo Public Library. Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is a high-level Chinese Qigong exercise. Qigong, passed down as an important part of traditional Chinese culture, is a way of self-improvement for mind, body, and spirit. Chinese people have enjoyed practicing Qigong exercises for health benefits for a long time. Taichi and Yoga (which might sounds more familiar to you) are among them. Falun Gong is not known to many people since it was made public only recently in China. Falun Gong practice is good for people of all ages and different physical conditions. Through practicing Falun Gong, practitioners have gained tremendous benefits in health improvement, stress relief, morality upgrade and spiritual enlightenment. I have been practicing Falun Gong for more than 3 years. The 5 sets of slow and elegant Falun Gong exercises really make me feel peaceful, relaxed, and energized. My wife used to have several health problems such as chronic headaches, chronic ovarian inflammation, allergy to coldness, and a benign breast tumor. After practicing Falun Gong, these diseases were totally eliminated without any medical intervention. My mother-in-law suffered from protrusion of the lumbar intervertebral disci several years ago. She was in so much pain that she could not sleep on a bed. She received hospital treatments and tried traditional Chinese medicine as well as several Qigong exercises, yet none of them really helped her. However, two months after practicing Falun Gong, she has completely recovered from the pain. In fact, such examples are numerous. In this day and age, people work in an environment of high stress, causing many people to feel drained and exhausted throughout the day. However, Falun Gong brought us a happier and fresher life. Practitioners of Falun Gong uphold the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, while conducting themselves as good people in society, at work, and with their families. As a result, we have tried to give up various bad habits and attachments such as any kind of addictions, anxiety over the mundane, jealousy towards others, and the mentality to fight and to show off. The effect of spiritual uplifting is another important aspect of Falun Gong that attracts many people. After practicing Falun Gong, many people have given up violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and begun to pursue more meaningful lives. Some people told me that they have been searching for something during their lifetimes, and after they started learning Falun Gong, they found that it was exactly the thing they were looking for. Since its public introduction in 1992, Falun Gong has touched more than 100 million lives in 40 countries. As far as I know, in San Antonio, nearly one thousand people were attracted to Falun Gong within a short span of one year or so, most of them are of non-Chinese descent. It is becoming known and treasured by more and more people. To let more people know Falun Gong and benefit from it, some volunteer practitioners have presented many free workshops in Texas cities, and these workshops were very well received. Falun Gong recently became the focus of the media and international human right organizations because of the Chinese government's cracking down on it. Since last July, out of self-serving purposes, the Chinese government banned Falun Gong and began their brutal persecution of 100 million peaceful people in China. They have adopted various Fascist ways such as: sending people to jails and labor camps without trial, physical beatings (sometimes to death), loss of personal property and the right to legal representation, sending people to psychiatric hospitals and injecting them with drugs used to treat mental disorders, and forced abortions. To date, according to media reports, at least 107 practitioners have been persecuted to death. The persecution has not been limited to China, as the Chinese authorities have spread a lot of fabricated stories that defame Falun Gong and its founder. In addition, agents follow and harass practitioners and take pictures of them for future persecution. US practitioners' cars have been damaged, and their phones have been monitored. The Chinese embassies have also used their political muscle to press US local governments to rescind existing awards given to Falun Gong. No matter how Chinese authorities defame Falun Gong, they have no way of truly deceiving the American people. Wherever we have presented the workshops, the attendees have always enjoyed it. For the purpose of introducing Falun Gong to Amarillo citizens and letting them also benefit from it, we will be presenting a free exercise workshop in the Amarillo Public library. You are cordially invited to have an interview and run a story, which I am sure the local citizens will enjoy also. Some related materials are also enclosed. Thank you very much for your time. If you need more information or have any questions, please let me know. Sincerely, XXX Contact: XXX For further information, please e-mail: [e-mail]