Reflections on Dafa Day Parade in Dublin (Photos)

Tuesday, May 14, 2002

This was one of the most touching of the many Dafa parades I have participated in. One of the things which really touched my heart was that although the number of people who took part was small, perhaps only twenty-five, the hearts of the practitioners shone brightly, filling the streets with their presence, so that the parade felt truly magnificent and grand in scale. The practitioners held large banners, and walked with a large gap between them. But space between the practitioners did not look or feel empty -- it was filled with their hearts. One could see clearly the dignity of Dafa displayed in each individual practitioner, and their whole-hearted wish to display to the people of Ireland the characteristic of Dafa.

When there are many people, one may think that the feeling of magnificence and grandeur, and the powerful effect of the activity comes from the large number of people. I have seen once again from this parade that this is not so. When there are few people, the heart of each individual is clearly displayed. When each practitioner puts himself or herself wholeheartedly into the activity, their hearts are truly enormous, and the effect is still magnificent.

A short while ago, I saw an everyday people's demonstration with perhaps 100 people - they paraded down the street with banners and placards, shouting slogans. Some of them looked a little uncomfortable, a little embarrassed to be seen by the public. Some chatted to each other. Others shuffled along half-heartedly, following they people in front of them, hardly raising their heads to the onlookers. Some stayed close to each other, feeling the safety of numbers, not wanting to separate themselves physically, afraid of exposing themselves, afraid of people seeing their hearts.

In the parade, the practitioners were far apart, and although the parade was a group activity, one could see clearly that it was composed of people who had the courage to step out as individuals, to truly manifest Dafa with themselves. They wanted people to see their hearts. The small numbers in the parade, and the dignity of the practitioners clearly showed that each practitioner was not following the crowd, was not seeking safety in numbers, but was doing it entirely from their own heart-felt wishes. This was no parade of ordinary people. Master says that Dafa is coherent and linked from the highest level to the lowest level. The parade as a whole was a harmonious reflection of Dafa, but the individual practitioners also were harmonious reflections of Dafa. It felt like going from the macroscopic to the microscopic -- at each level, Dafa was manifested clearly and harmoniously.

I felt touched and honored to take part in the parade. Precisely because of its size, one could see clearly the heart of each practitioner, and through this, everyday people could begin to sense the dignity and wonder of Dafa. In another dimension, I think that this parade was very large.

There was a beautiful sun ring from the start to the end of the parade. I felt enormously grateful to Teacher for this encouragement, and felt that we were being encouraged to understand that every event is truly significant and magnificent, no matter how it appears on the surface.

Dafa is boundless. If we truly have the pure heart to save people and to help Teacher with Fa-rectification, many of the notions we hold onto such as "size," and "effectiveness," melt away in the brightness of the Buddha light.

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