(Clearwisdom.net) From July 23 to 28, 2002, nearly 800,000 young people from all over the world gathered in Toronto to join the activities of the 17th Catholic "International Youth Festival." In front of the Toronto City Hall, Falun Gong practitioners encountered a group of young people from all over, from Poland to Mexico. This was the first time for most of them to attend the "International Youth Festival" and therefore in their eyes, this pilgrimage really meant a lot to them. Their sincerity clearly showed in their words and manner. When they were about to say goodbye, they expressed their interest in the Falun emblem that practitioners were wearing, so the practitioners naturally introduced Falun Dafa to them and gave them flyers that expressed appreciation to Pope Paul II for his blessing to Falun Dafa. They vied with each other in reading the flyers. The principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" aroused their sympathy. They said that "Tolerance and Peace" are exactly what the world needs.
Just after saying good-bye to one group of young people, another from Spain, also attending the "International Youth Festival," appeared at the practice site in front of the City Hall. The smooth and melodious Dafa exercise music and the strong energy field attracted them. In the beginning, 3 and then 5 young people, and later more than 10 and then 20 followed the peaceful music to attentively learn the 5-sets of Falun Dafa exercises. The language barrier did not reduce at all their interests in learning about Dafa. When they found out that all Falun Dafa exercise instructions and activities are free and open and are voluntarily conducted by practitioners, they were anxious to know where they could find a practice site in Madrid. Holding Dafa introductory literatures in Spanish, they did "Heshi" (a Buddhist greeting by pressing both hands in front of chest) to say good-bye to practitioners.
During the "International Youth Festival," over 20,000 Falun Dafa truth-clarifying leaflets were distributed on the street, in subway stations, Queen's Park and other places in Toronto. Practitioners then quickly had 10,000 more flyers printed. When the practitioners collecting petition signatures stood inside crowds, people surrounding would line up in a long queue to sign the petition. A young man gave a close and long hug to a practitioner after signing the petition to show his appreciation. We clearly felt from their expressions that the real purpose for these guests from all over the world traveling thousands of miles here on a pilgrimage was to learn about Falun Dafa.
