(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in North Carolina gathered in the Raleigh area to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day on May 6, 2023. After doing the Dafa exercises together early in the morning, many participated in a local community event, “Meet in the Street” – a popular arts and crafts, food, and music festival. They used this opportunity to share the 31st anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction, where they told people about Falun Dafa and demonstrated the exercises. They also wished Falun Dafa’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, a happy birthday.
Practitioners do the Falun Dafa exercises in Pullen Park on May 6, 2023.
The practitioners started the day in Pullen Park. Accompanied by beautiful music and bathed in the morning sunlight, practitioners did the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises in the morning to begin their World Falun Dafa Day celebration. After the exercises, they exclaimed in unison: “Happy Birthday, Master! Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
People Interested in Falun Dafa
About ten thousand people attended the “Meet in the Street” festival in Wake Forest on May 6. There were over 100 booths and many people stopped at the Falun Dafa booth. Sometimes, an entire family stopped to learn about Falun Dafa. Practitioners demonstrated the exercises and distributed many fliers.
Many people were eager to know more about Falun Dafa. One elderly lady whose daughter is a healthcare worker learned about Falun Dafa and said that this was something she had been searching for. She asked where she could attend a Falun Dafa class.
One elderly couple also said that Falun Dafa was what they needed.
The parents of a big family said they wanted their children to learn the exercises so that they could have a beautiful memory together.
Children were interested in learning the Falun Dafa exercises.
New Practitioner Feels Inner Peace
John recently began practicing Falun Dafa. His wife told him about Falun Dafa and cultivation, but he didn’t quite understand what cultivation was. After he watched Shen Yun and listened to the MC’s introduction to Falun Dafa, he was interested in learning more. He read the first two lectures of Zhuan Falun after he saw Shen Yun.
He said that he felt inner peace after he practiced Falun Dafa. He used to watch TV and surf the Internet to relax. He said that after he began practicing Falun Dafa he found true peace.
John said that he changed his perspective and the way he looked at people and things. He hopes that more people will practice Falun Dafa. “Even a stranger who passes me, I sincerely hope he or she will come to learn Falun Dafa one day,” he said.
Professor Practices Falun Dafa for Decades
Feng Hao, a professor at North Carolina A&T State University, started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. While he was studying for his Ph.D., his health deteriorated. He developed an ulcer due to the stress and heavy workload of over a decade. He decided to try qigong to improve his health and read all sorts of qigong books but nothing helped.
He received an email in the autumn of 1996 and learned that there was a Falun Dafa class on campus. He started practicing, and his gastric ulcer soon disappeared.
“The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance touched me and resonated with my soul,” Feng Hao said. “I pondered the meaning of life when I was young. Falun Dafa’s principles enlightened me. I thought, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve been searching for. This is wonderful!’
“I no longer felt like I was empty and that I was wandering around. I feel solid. Master’s teaching covers every aspect [of life].”
Feng Hao no longer has any doubts in life. He walks the path to returning to his original self. His only wish is to assimilate to Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
He began clarifying the truth about the persecution soon after it started in China. Due to his firm belief in Falun Dafa, he was not moved by any outside factors. “As an intellectual, my understanding is based on the Fa principles,” he said. “I can understand it holistically. No matter who it is, no matter what happens, nothing could make me waver fundamentally, though occasionally I might not get over certain trivial things or superficial things. But I will sort it out after I have improved from the perspective of the Fa.”
Feng Hao has been involved in many Falun Dafa projects from newspapers, translations, flier distribution, clarifying the truth over the phone, sending emails to sue Jiang Zemin [the former Chinese leader who began the persecution], clarifying the truth in Manhattan, and promoting Shen Yun. Looking back on every part of his journey, he said, “I have to work hard in many of the projects. But I don’t feel that it is hard. I feel that I am a particle of Dafa. Master is just beside me looking after me and strengthening me. When I encounter difficulties, I reinforce my righteous thoughts. Then things become easy again.”
Finding the Meaning of Life
Anna Lu introduces Falun Dafa to people during the community event.
Anna Lu started to practice Falun Dafa in 2005. She is a technical consultant in a health insurance company. Anna used to be anxious about her future and was puzzled about life. She didn’t have a goal in life and didn’t know where she came from or where she was going. She was very sad and wondered if she was depressed.
She talked to religious people and read a lot of books. Yet, she didn’t find the answer. When Anna came to Boston and found the book Zhuan Falun, she was amazed. “This is what I was searching for,” she said. “So Gods and Buddhas do exist. There is a heaven. Human beings can cultivate and become divine. I felt so happy. My depression was gone. I now have purpose in life and no longer worry about the future.
“Master said that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are the fundamental characteristics of the universe. Everything is composed of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This directly spoke to my heart. The world no longer seemed so pointless. The universe is composed of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Kind people assimilate to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and will be rewarded. I saw hope.
“My life and work became smooth after I started practicing Falun Dafa. Everything is good.”
Young Practitioners' Understanding about Cultivation
Sophie started practicing Falun Dafa in 2011. At her mother-in-law’s suggestion, she read Zhuan Falun. She was immediately drawn to Falun Dafa and felt spiritually guided. “This book indeed guided me spiritually. What people pursue is temporary, while spiritual guidance will benefit a person their entire lifetime. So I decided to practice Falun Dafa,” she said.
Sophie said she’s benefited a lot after practicing Falun Dafa and found spiritual support. “I feel that my body and mind are connected. When my mind changed, my body changed naturally. If I lacked spiritually, I was barely able to deal with difficulties and hardships in life. I feel I have found spiritual support. I used to be afraid of hardship and difficulties. I can face them lightly after I began practicing Falun Dafa.”
Catherine started practicing Falun Dafa with her family when she was very young and said she became a better person by following Falun Dafa’s principles in her daily life. “When I start to lose my temper, I remind myself not to. When I do lose my temper, I’m filled with regret and realize that I didn’t do it right. I rectify my behavior,” she said.
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
