Melbourne, Australia: Awaken the Conscience is What We Must Do

(Minghui.org) To mark the 25th anniversary of Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, local practitioners in Melbourne held a rally and parade on July 20, 2024 despite the rain. They called on Australia and the international community to work together for an end to the CCP’s viciousness.

The parade contingent included a practitioner team dressed in white, looking solemn and dignified. They held portraits of Falun Gong practitioners who died after being persecuted for adhering to their belief and following the principles “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” Seventy-four-year-old Western practitioner Barbara McGuirrin walked as part of the team. Her steps were steady and her face looked peaceful.

Practitioner Barbara McGuirrin walked in the parade holding a portrait of a practitioner who was murdered during the CCP’s persecution.

Reading the Book Falun Gong, This is What I was Looking For

Ms. McGuirrin started practicing Falun Gong in April 1999. She recalled that it was “Just before the persecution was launched on July 20, 1999. I was introduced by a friend to Falun Gong. I actually knew nothing about Falun Gong until I read the book Falun Gong, the introductory book of Falun Gong, and I knew that this was what I was looking for.”

She immigrated to Australia from Poland when she was 28 years old, and worked as a pharmacy assistant before retiring. Although she has lived in Australia for 43 years, the scenes of people’s miserable lives, and depression during the Soviet rule, are still vivid in her mind.

She grew up in Poland, a communist country at the time. Life was difficult back then, Poles lost hope in a good future, and it was difficult to have a positive attitude.

She once practiced yoga and Tai Chi, but found that they were not what she wanted. She then came across Falun Dafa. Embracing the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, she learned how to be an optimistic person. In conflicts, she no longer blamed others, instead remaining considerate, and everything was resolved in a peaceful way. All of her skin problems disappeared, as did her anxiety.

Practicing Dafa also allowed her to witness even greater amazing things. She said that before practicing, she had a 7 cm wide and 10 cm long (2.8 x 3.9 inch) thyroid tumor on her chest, which grew 50% every year. A doctor told her that the tumor would compress her esophagus or trachea, and she might have difficulty swallowing or breathing in the future. But after practicing Falun Gong, she did not take any medication. She said, “For 25 years, I have been safe and sound. It is simply amazing.”

Practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance

After starting Falun Dafa cultivation practice, Ms. McGuirrin actively participated in group exercises and group Fa study at the group practice site. She said she wanted to try to spread Falun Gong information, so she actively participated in parades, rallies, and various festival activities to spread the information.

In order to protest the persecution and spread Dafa, she participated in many activities with great enthusiasm. But because her family did not practice, conflicts gradually arose.

“I have a very good marriage and we did everything together. However, when I was leaving for activities for the whole day my husband felt neglected by being left alone. He obviously couldn’t understand. Besides, he was not really willing to listen to me about why I was doing this.

“I didn’t know how to clarify the truth about Dafa to my family in the beginning. We had some problems because I was too involved and I didn't know much about Falun Gong. This caused small conflicts.”

She said she used to think she was a good person and that she never lied, but in real life, she would sometimes deliberately conceal something or refuse to answer. As for kindness, some people are kind to their family and friends, but fussy when dealing with other people. Dafa taught her to treat everyone equally. In the past, she didn’t know how to be patient. She often had arguments with her husband and children. When this occurred, she didn’t know where she went wrong. But once she learned Falun Dafa, she became able to communicate well with her family.

“I feel more compassion for my family, and I try not to be resentful if there are small problems or conflicts at home,” she said. “I used to get angry and resentful, but these things did not irritate me anymore and I started to be kinder.

“I was using more words like please and thank you, and my tone had changed. Using please and thank you is not in my Polish language. We don’t use them often. A lot of times we just use the tone of our voice. When your tone is light and kind you don’t have to say please or thank you all the time. For example, if I ask my children to pass me something from the table, I would just say give me this, but now I always say please and thank you as my children were born in Australia and speak English. How you talk in English is very polite. I don’t raise my voice anymore. I am more calm and I make sure that I don’t get angry over small things.”

With time she balanced her life with her family and her cultivation. Her life and family now live in harmony.

Appreciating Dafa

Ms. McGuirrin said she read Zhuan Falun every day because the Fa not only provides practical help, but also strengthens her self-confidence and guides her on how to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, to make continuous progress and become a better person.

“I experience many ups, downs, and interference. But it is my faith in Master and the Fa which I never considered to give up. Falun Dafa is my foundation. It keeps me strong, and I know where I stand in this life. I know my purpose. I know how I should behave. I know what determination I should have if I want to do something.

“I don’t worry about what people will say about me anymore. This practice is so fantastic because it gives me so much confidence and I don’t blame anyone for anything anymore. I look inside myself to see what I might have done wrong or how to change. The first thing that we had to learn was to be more positive because our lives were a struggle, so there was a lot of negativity in our lives. We were programmed to be negative and all the people walking on the street and the people you meet were not smiling. Everyone was sad. So I had to be positive, and Falun Dafa showed me how to be positive. To be happy you have to be positive first.”

She said she was fortunate to practice Dafa and appreciated Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, introducing such a profound and wonderful practice.

Ms. McGuirrin appreciates Dafa.

Protesting the Persecution

“Every activity I participate in on the anniversary date of July 20, 1999, when the persecution started, I wear white. We commemorate the practitioners who were murdered. We want to make people aware of this persecution, which is a terrible crime against humanity.”

She remarked before moving on, “I could see when I walked through the city of Melbourne as a member of the parade that people looked at the photograph that I was holding of the person who was tortured to death. I could see the people, and the look on their faces was showing their support for our actions. Some people shouted that they were with us – supporting our actions. They waved their hands and gave us a thumbs up. They showed that they understood what we were doing, and had very sad faces. We have to do this to make people aware of the horrendous actions committed by the CCP regime, and hopefully our government will wake up and do more to help us address China’s human rights.”