(Clearwisdom.net) Bathed in seasonal sunshine, San Juan Island is like a pearl in the bay off the west coast of Washington State. Some time ago, the residents of the island noticed the spreading of Falun Dafa, and gradually more and more people started on the path returning to their true nature.
It was in the spring of this year that three westerners read the Falun Dafa website and found what they had been looking for their entire lives. They learned the exercises from the instructional video tape, started to study the Fa together, and became Falun Dafa practitioners. They promoted Dafa to their friends and relatives, and shared their cultivation experiences with other people. There is a local book store that stocks English Falun Dafa books. Many local people were interested in Dafa, but also had questions. In order to answer these questions, the three practitioners worked with the book store and organized a forum to allow people to understand Falun Dafa, including cultivation, culture, and society, as well as the persecution in China.
One day of late autumn, four practitioners from Seattle and Olympia boarded the ferry and arrived at the beautifully landscaped island. San Juan Island is 55 square miles in size and has a population of about 3000. Driving through villages and woods, it is like a quiet paradise on earth. No wonder the residents have strong spiritual pursuits.
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In the evening, seven practitioners and about 16 attendees came to the little coffee room in the book store, filling the room to capacity. Along the four walls, practitioners set up display boards with photos and articles introducing Falun Dafa. It is a small island, and people know each other like a large family.
At the forum, the local practitioners made an opening speech. Next, the practitioners introduced Falun Dafa cultivation, played a truth-clarification video, read out loud "Lunyu," demonstrated exercises, and talked about the persecution in China. During the question and answer session, the audience asked many profound questions such as "How important is xinxing level in cultivation?" "Is it more difficult for people who have more karma to cultivate?" "Is there any means of cultivating in Dafa besides extricating one self?" "What standard is truly right?" "How do we see different versions of English Zhuan Falun books?" "Self-discipline in cultivation and modern liberty," "What is the relation between religion and Falun Dafa?" etc. They also asked questions about the persecution. The practitioners answered questions from their own experiences and understandings. The audience listened carefully and sometimes smiled happily, looking like many of their problems were solved. The forum lasted for two hours.
On the second day, the practitioners practiced exercises in a park on the island, and another person came to learn the exercises. During lunch, they ran into the managers of the newly established public TV station who wanted to broadcast videos about Falun Dafa every week. It was like there were people waiting for them everywhere they went on the island. A practitioner also wrote a poem in Chinese for the people of San Juan Island.
(Translation of poem may not reflect the exact original meaning.)
San Juan Island is like a precious jade of Washington State
People had relations with Dafa for thousands of years,
Two or three in a group they entered the "Tao,"
Those elites were pre-destined to Dafa in Ming Dynasty.
