(Clearwisdom.net) Arthur Storey Park, complete with a lake and pavilion, is located in central Houston, Texas. Many people go there to relax or to meet with friends. On the weekends, numerous people can be seen jogging, doing exercises, or holding birthday parties or barbeques. Sometimes art teachers take their students to the park to paint.

Falun Gong practitioners doing exercises at Arthur Storey Park

Every Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., people observe Falun Gong practitioners doing the Falun Gong exercises at the pavilion in the middle of the park. The practitioners hang a banner that reads, "Falun Dafa" on the pavilion and they have a shelf stacked with free flyers that provide Falun Gong information. Oftentimes people watch them, ask questions, take flyers or learn the exercises. Since October 13, 1996, the practitioners have become part of the park, rain or shine, and have played the role of a window through which people look at and understand Falun Gong. They have persisted for eight years. What has enabled them to do so?

Falun Gong spreads around the world

Practitioner Mr. Song said, "Throughout history, different cultivation methods have always been taught, particularly in the 5,000 years of Chinese culture. In the 1980s, a wave of qigong swept across China and caught the attention of us overseas Chinese. I used to practice other qigong after I got off work. I often thought, 'I am busy all the time, what do I live for?' I wanted to practice cultivation and wanted to find a true cultivation method."

"In May 1992, Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Gong to the public and the practice was immediately immensely popular. Within a few years, the number of practitioners increased exponentially, and soon Falun Gong spread overseas. I inquired about Falun Gong and joined the first nine-day session of Falun Gong classes held in Houston at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996. I learned that Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a cultivation method that improves both xinxing and physical well being. Falun Gong's principles of Truth-Compassion--Forbearance struck a chord with me. I immediately realized that this was what I had always wanted. From then on I had a goal in life, which was to return to my true, original self. I studied the Fa and did the exercises daily. By repeatedly reading Zhuan Falun I obtained answers to the questions I had had all my life. I learned the meaning of life and I conducted myself according to Truth - Compassion -Forbearance. I realized that improving one's xinxing is of the utmost importance, and I started to think of others and strive to become a better and an even better person. Falun Gong has helped me become kinder, purer and more tolerant," he went on to say.

"On August 3, 1994, The Houston City Government, Texas, the United States, issued a proclamation and honored Mr. Li Hongzhi as 'Honorary Citizen of Houston' as well as 'Goodwill Ambassador.' The date of Mr. Li Hongzhi's first public lecture in the USA on October 12, 1996, was officially proclaimed by the City of Houston as Li Hong Zhi Day. The proclamation reads, 'Falun Dafa transcends cultural and racial boundaries. It resonates the universal truth to every corner of the earth and bridges the gap between East and West. Li Hong Zhi has worked tirelessly to convey Falun Dafa from China to the rest of the world. Along the way, he has touched the lives of countless people in many countries, earning an acclaimed international reputation.'

"We set up a practice site in Room 106 of the Overseas Chinese Cultural Center on October 13, the second day after the Fa lecture. We met every weekend to study the Fa and to do the exercises. As the number of practitioners increased, we changed study/exercise locations several times. Eventually we moved to Arthur Storey Park, where we have been doing the exercises every Sunday morning for nearly eight years."

Some practitioners from Mainland China who came to Houston to visit their families or for work reasons had the opportunity to share experiences with local practitioners. A practitioner from Beijing told her story, "I used to suffer from severe heart disease and was often hospitalized. I had to take medication and injections. In addition, my family had to take leave from work to take care of me and the annual medical expenses were huge. After I practiced Falun Gong, I benefited tremendously and all my illnesses went away. There are countless others with similar experiences. Falun Gong enabled us to become healthy and saved the government large amounts of money by reducing medical bills. Falun Gong spread by word of mouth and the number of practitioners increased greatly. They could be seen everywhere in parks."

A practitioner from Jinan City said, "Falun Gong's principles taught me how to be a good person and to be tolerant of others. I was able to take personal interests more lightly. At work I didn't fight for self-interest when conflicts arose, and I always thought of others before thinking of myself. Falun Gong's principles benefited me greatly and I am a happier person. All of my colleagues have witnessed the changes in me." He also said, "In China, as the number of practitioners continuously increased, the police paid more attention to Falun Gong. Plainclothes police officers subjected practitioners in the park to body searches and participated in the activities practitioners held. They not only didn't get any incriminating evidence; some of them even started practicing Falun Gong themselves. They said, 'Falun Gong is great! It's so upright!'"

In the past eight years, Falun Gong practitioners in Houston held regular workshops and conferences, some of which were reported by the local media. The number of practitioners at Arthur Storey Park increased, and some practitioners established practice sites in other parks in Houston. All of this has attracted more attention from the local people.

Trials and tribulations

On June 10, 1999, Jiang Zemin ordered the establishment of an organization, known as the 610 Office for short, which specializes in the persecution of Falun Gong. On July 20, 1999, Jiang's faction launched a mass arrest of key assistants from Falun Gong practice sites across the country, and all of the propaganda machinery spread overwhelming amounts of lies and slander. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners were arrested, illegally sentenced to prison, tortured and even died from persecution. This hate propaganda has also been exported overseas.

The peaceful environment at Arthur Storey Park was also disturbed. Oftentimes unknown persons would show up around the practice site to take pictures and videotape the practitioners. Sometimes they verbally abused the practitioners. Western media reprinted and published news stories produced by the Chinese government. The situation in China and at the practice site tested the practitioners in Houston. Many [non-practicing] Chinese people in Houston believed the Chinese government's lies, but most practitioners persisted in cultivation.

Once, when most of the practitioners at the practice site went to promote Falun Gong, several people who claimed to be martial arts practitioners tried to force the remaining Falun Gong practitioners to leave the pavilion. The practitioners refused to be interfered with and continued to do the exercises in the pavilion every Sunday.

One day, a local resident came in a hurry and handed a newspaper to the practitioners. He said, "This newspaper has continuously published Falun Gong-slandering articles. I attended a Falun Gong introduction session before and I know Falun Gong is good. That's why I came to let you know. You should be careful!"

At first, some Chinese tourists didn't want to take Falun Dafa flyers and some Westerners asked, "What is happening in China?" Practitioners clarified the truth to them. They learned that Falun Gong practice helped practitioners become better people by following the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and that Falun Gong practitioners in China were deprived of their basic rights and their freedom of belief.

Practitioner Mr. Jin explained why he persisted in Falun Gong practice, "I am 75 years old. My wife and I used to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and other illnesses. We recovered through Falun Gong practice. I was able to do many things around the house and my whole family benefited. Jiang Zemin is jealous of Falun Gong's popularity and he is very wrong in ordering the persecution of Falun Gong. I want to share my personal experiences with others and I will never give up such a wonderful practice."

Practitioner Mr. Zhao wrote an article entitled "Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa" in which he shared his cultivation experience. He decided that he was right to practice Falun Gong and he is determined to continue practicing Falun Gong. He would bring a shelf and flyers every time he went to the pavilion to do the exercises. He was always one of the earliest to arrive each time practitioners went to the Chinese Consulate to protest the persecution.

Practitioner Mr. Cai always brought a banner with him which reads, "Falun Dafa --- Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," whether he went to the Chinese Consulate or to the practice site.

Practitioner Mr. Chen patiently taught the exercises to people who came to learn.

Once, after the practitioners finished doing the exercises, they saw a middle-aged woman standing outside the pavilion, looking on expectantly. A practitioner went to her and said, "This is Falun Gong. Would you like to learn?" She answered, "I am a Falun Gong practitioner and I came from Beijing. I never expected to see fellow practitioners here. In China we are not allowed to practice; our books were taken away and my family opposed my practice. My husband said to me, 'We must listen to the Party. Don't practice Falun Gong.' I said, 'You have seen for yourself how I benefited from Falun Gong practice.' He then said, 'I can't help it. If you continue to practice, our whole family will suffer because the government will persecute us.' I was in deep distress because I still wanted to practice but I had no book." She cried as she spoke. The practitioner took her to a computer lab and taught her how to use a computer and showed her how to access Minghui.net and read books online as well as how to solve safety issues and so on. She smiled and said, "Great! The first thing I'll do after returning to Beijing is to buy a computer."

One day a couple came to the practice site. The woman introduced herself, "We live in Taiwan and I have just obtained Dafa. I know Falun Gong is banned in China, but in Taiwan people enjoy freedom of belief and are free to practice Falun Gong. We are now visiting our family in Houston, so I came here to join the group exercise." She said, "My husband is a doctor and he doesn't practice Falun Gong." Almost a year passed and the couple came back to Houston again. This time the husband is also practicing Falun Gong. He said, "I saw great changes in my wife after just over half a year since she started practicing Falun Gong, so I started practicing too."

Year by year, people passing by the pavilion saw practitioners doing the Falun Gong exercises and distributing flyers in a peaceful and rational manner. The practice site has also become an information window where people can inquire about Falun Gong, and ask questions they may have. Some learned the facts, some gave the flyers to their family members and friends, and some came to learn the exercises. Practitioners always help them warmly.

Falun Gong is very popular

A middle-aged man went back to Taiwan to visit his family. His relatives introduced Falun Gong to him. When he returned to Houston, he immediately went to the practice site and started practicing Falun Gong.

Another man read an article about Falun Gong in the newspaper and became interested. He also joined the weekly group practice. One Sunday, most practitioners left town to attend an experience sharing conference. They asked this man to play the exercise tapes. He said, "I mustn't be late because this is very important." It was pouring rain that Sunday but they still did the exercises.

Once, another middle-aged man waited for practitioners in the park. As soon as they finished doing the exercises he approached them and said, "I attended your nine-day lectures class in late December 1997. When the Chinese government started persecuting Falun Gong I began to pay attention to Falun Gong. Once, a woman slandered Falun Gong at a public place and I was very angry that she was lying, so I immediately said to her, 'Falun Gong is great! I know about Falun Gong! Please don't speak untruthful things!' It has been four years now, but I never forget about Falun Gong's principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. At last, I came to look for you at the pavilion. I'm very touched that you are still practicing Falun Gong and have persisted for all these years."

Another time a Western woman read a truth clarification flyer as she watched the practitioners doing the exercises. She was happy as she said to the practitioners, "God sent me here." She learned the five sets of exercises and did the exercises for two hours. She said before she left, "Falun Gong is great! I'll come back next week!" Incidents such as these are a common occurrence at the practice site.

Once, a man came to tell the practitioners a story, "I'm often away to other places on business. When I was in Washington, DC, a Falun Gong practitioner gave me a flyer that read, 'Falun Dafa around the world.' When I went home, I immediately went online to see if there were any Falun Gong practitioners in Houston. When I saw you guys, I felt the flyer was telling the truth."

Falun Gong and the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance have gained support from many governments and kind-hearted people around the world. The ridiculous persecution and practitioners' persistent anti-persecution efforts have caught the attention of people from all walks of life, taking Falun Gong from being relatively unknown to many in the past, onto the world stage. Some people started to carry out research and studies on Falun Gong. People often came to the practice site to learn more about Falun Gong. They said, "There are so many practitioners in China. Even after the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong using all kinds of cruelty, and even after Falun Gong practitioners suffered so much, some even dying from torture, practitioners have never given up their belief and practice. They protest in a peaceful and rational manner and the number of practitioners continues to increase. There must be a reason for this." They wanted to know what power enabled the practitioners to persist in the practice. Practitioners gave them a detailed introduction to the practice and gave them materials to read. People who took the time to learn the facts know that Falun Gong and the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance help people improve morally and spiritually and that anyone attempting to destroy Falun Gong practitioners' righteous faith is destined to fail.

Falun Gong and the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance help the practitioners to return to their true, original selves. This is the true reason why the practitioners persist in practicing Falun Gong.