(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in New York gathered in Flushing’s Kissena Corridor Park on September 7, 2024, to wish their founder, Master Li, a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. They shared their stories about how they benefited from practicing Falun Dafa, and expressed their gratitude to Master. They hope people will remember that “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Some practitioners described how Master helped and saved them, and they were moved to tears.

Practitioners thank Master and wish him a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

Practitioners thank Master and wish him a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

Falun Dafa practitioners from New York, old and young, male and female, held balloons, colorful flags, and banners. With happiness and gratitude, they said loudly in unison, “We wish Master a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”

Yi Zhongyuan, a representative from the New York Falun Dafa Association, said, “Falun Dafa practitioners in New York wish Master a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and wish him all the best! They miss him very much and thank him for everything he has done for them. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the day for family union. Falun Dafa practitioners miss Master very much. I know the practitioners in China miss Master even more. They hope that one day soon Master will return to his hometown and reunite with practitioners.”

She said, “Falun Dafa practitioners in New York will cultivate diligently, do well what we should do, and spread Falun Dafa to every corner of the world, let people know how wonderful Falun Dafa is, and save more sentient beings.”

The practitioners are from different age groups and with different backgrounds. Some are in their nineties and some are toddlers. Some moved to the U.S. decades ago, and some are recent immigrants. Though their backgrounds and experiences differ, their gratitude to Master is the same.

Little Practitioner Cultivated with Determination

The persecution has been going on for 25 years, since July 20, 1999, and the once-little Falun Dafa practitioners have now grown up. They live healthy lives thanks to Master’s protection and Falun Dafa’s guidance. Although many have faced the high pressure of persecution, they practiced Falun Dafa with their parents with determination, and they display the spirit of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives. Some of them came overseas, and took this opportunity to express their thanks to Master.

Li Jingqing, 36, from Qing Dao city, said, “On behalf of Falun Dafa practitioners in my family, I wish Master a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Thank you Master for protecting me. In all those dark years in China, whenever I thought of Master, my heart was filled with warmth, confidence, and righteous thoughts. Our compassionate and great Master is the one I would like to thank most in my life.”

Li Jingqing from Qing Dao city expressed his gratitude to Master on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Li said he started practicing Falun Dafa with his mother in 1998 at the age of 10. But their happy life didn’t last long. After the persecution started, his mother was repeatedly arrested. Although his family was persecuted, the seeds of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were planted in his heart. He said, “Even though the persecution is brutal, practitioners still cultivate with determination.” He asked his classmates to withdraw from the CCP’s affiliated organizations.

He said, “On the occasion of Master’s birthday, Chinese New Year, and Mid-Autumn Festival, the practitioners in our Fa-study group in China sent their greetings to Master, and expressed their longing and gratitude to Master despite the pressure of persecution. I am now in the free environment of the U.S., and I can express my thanks to Master openly. I will cultivate diligently and solidly and be a qualified Falun Dafa practitioner.”

Yan Yuxin was born in 2000. With the help of adults, she read Falun Dafa books when she was in kindergarten. When she was in high school she went to Fa study with her parents each week and shared her experiences with other practitioners. She tried her best to rescue the practitioners in China.

She said, “I didn’t join the group who bullied others or did bad things. I helped the classmates who were bullied. My classmates thought I was easy going and kind, and they liked being friends with me. After I entered into society and had a job, I didn’t involve myself in conflicts. I strived to behave according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be a good person. I often look within to see if I can improve, and I remind myself to let go of the attachments that I am aware of.”

Yan Yuxin (right) and her mother (left) said practitioners in China miss Master and look forward to the day they can reunite with him.

She said, “Thank you Master for your compassion and salvation and letting me obtain this Fa. If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, I would have been like an everyday person, busy with life yet lost in the maze. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I understood the purpose of life, and my historic mission. My life is thus more meaningful.”

During the pandemic, Chinese people were more eager for freedom and to learn the truth. Many people visited overseas websites using anti-blockade software. “The Falun Dafa practitioners’ channels on social media play a major role in their learning the truth,” she said, “They know that Falun Dafa is different from what the CCP’s propaganda portrays.”

“I met a man from China at the truth clarification site several days ago. He said that he read Epoch Times online in China via the anti-blockade software. He asked me how to publish a statement to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and about the organ harvesting incidents. He knew of those stories but wanted to know more about them.”

Yuxin’s mother said, “I am fortunate to attend this activity. I hope the persecution ends as soon as possible. Practitioners in China are looking forward to the day they can reunite with Master!”

Escaping Persecution and Cherishing Freedom

Yang Feng was a computer teacher in a college in China. He was weak and had many illnesses when he was young, and he suffered from depression as well. His health deteriorated when he was preparing for the entrance exams to postgraduate school, but his health improved after he started practicing Falun Dafa. He was elevated spiritually as well. “I searched for a spiritual practice for a long time and finally found Falun Dafa. It enables me to improve my character and morality.”

Yang Feng was happy to find Falun Dafa.

“My mother brought home the book Zhuan Falun in 1997. I finished reading it in one night. I cherish it very much. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, many students said that I became more patient and willing to help them. One student brought back two fresh coconuts from his hometown in Southern China to express his thanks to me.”

He said he also felt stronger physically, and could walk faster and engage in various sports more easily, which was something he hadn’t expected.

He underwent a lot of hardships in China. Since coming to the U.S., he cherishes the freedom and opportunities to tell people about Falun Dafa. He said, “There are no activities like this in China, so I attend almost all the activities here.”