"Please Accept the Most Beautiful Rose from My Garden"

By Australian practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) The 5-day Journey of Falun Dafa Photo Exhibition held at Hobart City Town Hall ended on December 31, 2001. Since January 1, 2002, practitioners formed several groups to continue other activities during "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Week." One group went to St. David's Park to demonstrate the exercises and hand out truth-clarifying materials, and the other group went to a big local shopping center and set up a temporary stage to introduce Dafa.

Hongfa in the Shopping Center

Under the big banner reading "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" practitioners held a variety of activities, including music and dance, on-site calligraphy demonstration, handing out truth-clarifying materials, and questions and answers with awards. These activities attracted many people in the shopping center. Many people watched the exercise demonstration for a long time and asked for the materials; some started to learn the exercises immediately on site. A director of a community service organization said that he would arrange an exhibition hall in his community and invite Dafa practitioners to go there to teach the exercises. The manager of the shopping center warmly invited practitioners to come again in the future. Another group of practitioners focused on visiting every local non-governmental organization during the two days. On the afternoon of January 2, practitioners delivered the truth-clarifying materials to the home of the Chairman of the Australian-Chinese Friendship Association, and also went to the home of Mr. Zhong, the Chairman of Hobart Overseas Chinese Association. Mr. Zhong happily welcomed the practitioners, listened to their introduction of the truth of Falun Gong, and accepted the truth-clarifying materials. Mr. Zhong said that he would leave these materials at the Overseas Chinese Association Club for its members to read.

Interviewed by ABC Radio Broadcast Station

At 10:00 a.m. on January 3, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which covers the whole state of Tasmania, interviewed the practitioners from China who had been persecuted in labor camps. As practitioners had made preparations, the interviewers already knew a little about Falun Gong, so the questions raised were very specific, such as "What is Falun Gong?" "Why does the Chinese government persecute Falun Gong?" "Would you like to talk about the situation in the labor camp?" "Have you been physically tortured in the labor camp?" "Why is Falun Gong so important to you?" "Why do you come out to clarify the truth?" "If more people wish to know about your situation, would you like to tell your story again?" This helped the practitioners send the most important messages to the audience during the program, and introduce the Fa and clarify the truth effectively. After leaving the radio station, practitioners directly went to another non-governmental organization, Center of Refugee and Torture Survivors, where they visited the director and told him about the persecution of practitioners in China.

"Please Accept the Most Beautiful Rose in My Garden"

At lunchtime, some practitioners went to the beautiful Tasmania University with an appointment, and visited Ms. Anna Alomes, who teaches there and is a member of the Non-Violent Movement Association. Ms. Alomes warmly invited the practitioners to lunch, and when the practitioners were going to decline, she said, "This is to express my welcome for your coming to Tasmania for "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Week."

As Ms. Alomes taught an intensive class in the summer for students in the Department of Philosophy and was very busy, the appointment had been arranged for only 45 minutes during lunchtime. The practitioner who was persecuted in the labor camp told how she had still kept a great heart of compassion and forbearance, even when she was being brutally tortured in the labor camp, and the story of how she had moved the criminal prisoners in the camp. Ms. Alomes suddenly asked the practitioners if they would be available in the afternoon. She invited them to go to her class and talk to her students about how Falun Gong practitioners are actually practicing the principle of non-violence in person.

The practitioners went to the classroom and spent the whole class session introducing Falun Dafa, and telling how practitioners still selflessly and intrepidly uphold the principle of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," even when they are suffering the cruelest persecution, and how their noble spirits of great compassion and forbearance have changed the hearts of countless people.

Ms. Alomes did not summarize their talk until 5 minutes before the end of the class. She expressed her appreciation for the contribution practitioners have made to society and world civilization, and asked her students to think seriously about this and related issues. The practitioner wrote the website for Dafa books [http://www.falundafa.org] on the blackboard so that students would have a chance to read the books by themselves. Before saying goodbye, Ms. Alomes asked the practitioners to wait for a while. Several minutes later she came back in a hurry, handed a bright yellow rose to one practitioner, and said, "Please accept the most beautiful rose from my garden."

Related report:

Australian Practitioners Celebrate "Truth Compassion Forbearance Week" (27th December 2001 to 3rd January 2002) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/4/17433.html
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/1/5/22591.html

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