(Clearwisdom.net) Between July 14 and July 16, 2005, children from different parts of Sweden performed a dance called "Lotus Garden" during a folk music festival in the Swedish county of Dalarna. The young dancers, aged between four and ten years old, moved slowly and beautifully to sounds inspired by traditional Chinese music. Hundreds of people passed through the area. The local radio station interviewed two of the children and the children explained why they participated in the performances and expressed their hopes for the future.

The spectators each received a small handmade paper lotus flower with the following note:

Greetings!

You have a unique lotus flower in your hand. It was created by children and adults all over the world who appeal for peace and an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. During the last several years, millions of practitioners in China have met violence and terror with non-violence and a firm belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

The lotus flower is a common symbol in China and other parts of Asia. It symbolizes the original purity that every human being carries inside and how one can make it grow and bloom through cultivation. The lotus flower grows from mud, strives towards the water's surface and the rays of the sun, like a human being in a world of cruelty and suffering who can progress toward a clean and beautiful heart. The lotus flower is also a symbol of a human being's spiritual awakening.

Originally published in Swedish at http://se.clearharmony.net/articles/200507/15076.html

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200508/28215.html