Spreading Dafa in Finland

We felt the urgent need to spread the Fa, to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and reveal the cruel persecution of the practitioners in China, to the people in Finland. So on the 6^th of July, four Finnish-speaking practitioners from Sweden drove aboard a ferry in Stockholm, and the very next morning we arrived in Helsinki. Together with practitioners from Finland, we planned to visit 8 cities (Helsinki, Jyv skyl , Kuopio, Oulu, Vaasa, Tampere, Lahti and Turku) in one week. That trip would be around 1800 km long. On the way to the car deck the next morning we passed by some Chinese people. We started to talk with one of them and he said he knew Falun Gong. He said he was a Catholic living in Hong Kong. He told us that in Hong Kong they supported Falun Gong. He wished us good luck.

Curious Finnish people

We received permission from the police to show the Falun Gong exercise movements and hand out flyers at different town squares and markets. During this week the weather was so hot and sunny, so we went to the beaches as well. Finnish people were surprised to see this kind of "performance" at town squares and beaches, and they got very curious. Many people had not heard of Falun Dafa before. Some passers-by smiled, some came and asked what we were doing, some stood a long time watching us doing the exercises. However, there were also some people who had read in newspapers about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. People were quite shocked when learning about the cruel torture and deaths of practitioners in China. We handed out letters of appeal for help and gave them the chance to sign petition letters. Most of the time when we did hongfa in different cities the number of us practitioners happened to be nine. Towards the end of the trip the weather changed and it was raining on and off, but it never rained when we did hongfa.

Doing hongfa in different cities

In Helsinki three practitioners joined us. One of them decided very quickly to join our tour and later on he told us that he had felt so comfortable to be with veteran practitioners, that he wanted to follow us for a couple of days. Another local practitioner wanted to interview us. As a member of a local radio station, he had his own program. We played Pudu as the background music.

In a city called Kuopio, we went to the beach. When seeing so many people on the beach, we went directly to the sunbathing people to give them flyers, while two of us stood along the road handing out flyers. At the same time some of us practiced on the grassy area next to the beach. Many drivers and bicyclists stopped and wanted to get a flyer. Almost everyone on the beach took the flyers, and many asked questions. When we told them about the benefits from the practice and what Falun Gong is, some people got inspired and curious to learn more. They asked us where they could join introduction courses. Nine people learned the movements on the grassy area next to the beach. One music teacher told us, the movements were relaxing, and she wanted to learn to have more tolerance and forbearance in her life. Four young women, 16-years-old, learned all five exercises and looked very happy afterwards. We told the interested people how to find material and books, and to contact us if they wanted to have any introduction courses later on.

In Oulu (a city in northern Finland) four local practitioners joined us for the whole day. Many people signed the petition letter and some people learned the movements on the beach. Most passers-by took our flyers, among which were also tourists, luckily we had prepared for material in some major European languages as well. In Oulu at the town square, in the morning, one little boy, about 3 to 4-year-old, seeing the practitioners doing the sitting exercise, suddenly sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, and looked quietly at us for a long time. One of us went to talk to his young mother and gave her the flyers. There were also a few people who wanted to join introduction courses later on. Luckily there is a practice group in Oulu, which they can join.

In Vaasa, a newspaper reporter happened to pass on his bike, and he stopped to interview a practitioner. His cameraman took some pictures. We told them why we were in Finland, and the truth of Falun Gong. They were very kind, and really wanted to help us to spread the truth. They were also very interested in the SOS march that was about to start (on 12^th of July) in Sweden from the city of Falun to Stockholm. One lady, when learning about Truthfulness, Compassion and Forberance, said, "This is what we really need in society, because the human beings moral level has been sliding down so much."

In Tampere and Lahti, we got help from two young brand-new practitioners to distribute flyers. One was 12-year-old boy, and the other 7-year-old boy. The 12-year old boy said, "We must give flyers to everyone who passes by here," and then he ran happily to distribute the flyers to people who passed by. His happy smile and eagerness to hand out materials brought smiles to the faces of many people. In one shop he gave a flyer to the salesclerk. He eagerly told the salesclerk, "If you feel bored or feel down, practicing Falun Gong makes you feel good, and makes you energetic. The salesclerk smiled and said that he really gave good information, and that she would find out more about Falun Gong.

July 15, 2001