Report from a Senior Citizens' Home in Maryland (Photos)

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Maryland

(Clearwisdom.net) There is a special senior citizens' home in Maryland. It is a senior center for elderly Chinese that was established after painstaking efforts by the Greater Washington DC area Chinese community. The purpose of the Senior Center is to take care of the senior Chinese people in that area. Invited by the director in charge of activities of the center, some Falun Dafa practitioners of different ages went there to demonstrate the exercises and clarify the truth earlier last year. The activities were first published in local Chinese newspaper before the event and again reported after the event.

The activities went very smoothly. However, some seniors seated at the back who did not live in the building were quite unfriendly. When others were listening, they were talking and reading newspapers. When the practitioners began to answer questions, one lady came up to the front and began to repeat the lies spread by CCTV. The practitioners were not perturbed. They patiently clarified the truth and gave explanations, and all of the lies were exposed by the truth. Later, the director of the building apologized to the practitioners and appreciated practitioners' peaceful and serene attitude.

During this past summer vacation, another manager of the building met our practitioners at a dinner party. He said that for various reasons, the building couldn't hire gardeners to tend the garden. They wanted to the Falun Gong practitioners to help clean the garden and they would prepare a dinner to show their appreciation to the volunteers.

At 3 P.M. on Tuesday, September 10, a dozen practitioners old and young came to help. Among them were four western practitioners and one young practitioner from India. The practitioners trimmed the trees and cut the grass under the hot sun, as the temperature was over 90 degrees. While working some practitioners talked about their cultivation experiences. Soon, three hours passed. The practitioners did not stop working until the managers asked us to take a rest and invited us to have dinner together. The front and back yard of the building became clean and fresh. During the work, we were surprised to find that the director had invited a reporter from the Chinese newspaper to take photos and interviews to talk about the principle of Falun Gong -- "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" -- among the Chinese community.

The residents of the building had dinner with us. Practitioners dispersed to different tables to chat with the seniors. One practitioner played the musical pieces "Pudu" and "Jishi." The director came to tell us, "The music sounds very pleasant, and it let people feel the peace." The principal of the "Minghui School" also came with her child immediately after school. She is a doctor, so many people asked her all kinds of questions. She patiently answered their questions with the teachings of Falun Dafa. Another practitioners translated for the western practitioners. Later, an old lady said to her, "I see that you are so kind. I think Falun Gong must be very good. Can you tell me what Falun Gong is?" Another old lady wanted to learn the exercises right at the spot.

Through the activity we understood that every word or action from our practitioners represents Falun Dafa. Sentient beings wanted to know about Falun Dafa not only through hearing from us but also seeing our behavior. If the situation allows and if possible within our limited resources, we should do more similar things so that people can see us with their own eyes. The power of Compassion is magnificent.

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