Taiwan: Falun Dafa Summer School on Kinmen Island: It's Fortunate to Learn about Falun Dafa and Attain a New Life (Photos)
By a practitioner from Kinmen
[The 12 Kinmen islands are located off the southeastern coast of mainland
China's Fujien Province] (Clearwisdom.net) It was in the height of the hot summer in late June
and early July in Kinmen. The news about "Falun Dafa Summer School in
Kinmen" was widely spread through different channels in Kinmen as if a pure
stream were slowly flowing. "Where are you going to go in the hot summer?
Relax your mind and body and get cool!" This was the message on the flyer
about the summer school. It was said, "A peaceful heart naturally makes one
feel cool." We wanted to allow Kinmen residents to experience the real
physical and mental benefits that come through learning and practicing Falun
Dafa. In order to help Kinmen residents to learn about Dafa, before the summer
session Taiwanese practitioners came to support the event. They publicized the
event through TV advertisements, spreading flyers, and publishing a news
release. In addition, practitioners visited the Director of the Education
Department of Kinmen County, Secretary of the Kinmen County government, several
school principals, and a number of other institutions. They explained to them
the significance of the event and widely sent out invitations to local
residents. The Director of the Kinmen County Education Department highly applauded this
event. The procurator from the Supreme Court of Fujian Province (in Taiwan)
expressed his support to the Kinmen Falun Dafa summer school and thanked Falun
Gong practitioners who traveled a long distance to be there. The procurator
expressed that he would carefully learn about Falun Gong and requested a copy of
Zhuan Falun to read. The only newspaper in Kinmen, "Kinmen
Daily" announced the event on its news page one day before the event. At
the opening ceremony, a reporter from the newspaper came to cover the event. The
reporter expressed that this kind of event is loved by people and hoped that
through the news report, more people could take part. Outside the conference hall, posters introducing Falun Gong
are displayed. Hand-made paper lotus flowers convey the beauty of Falun Dafa to
the people. On July 2, Falun Dafa summer school was opened in the Kinmen County Social
Welfare Hall. Mr. Weng Chiming, Secretary of the Fujian Provincial government
and Mr. Chen Tianshun, Director of the Kinmen County Department of Health, were
invited to speak. Mr. Weng stated that from information he obtained, Falun Gong follows
Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and is rooted in ancient Chinese
culture. The Chinese communist government's suppression of Falun Gong only shows
that Mainland's human rights status lags several decades behind. He advocated to
have "concern about Falun Gong" and to "support Falun Gong". Mr. Chen said that he'd already read Zhuan Falun. He believed that
Falun Gong is a practice that helps improve health. It is good for improving
one's health and healing one's chronic illnesses. He thought that Falun Gong
should be promoted and is a good practice for both mind and body. He said that
he was glad to participate in Falun Gong activities. Left: While young practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong
exercises, the former Director of the Department of Health also follows them to
learn the movements. During the five-day summer school, we played Master Li Hongzhi's lecture
video series and exercise instruction video. We also had experience sharing in
between. Several practitioners who are renowned scholars and specialists were so
supportive that as soon as they learned about the Kinmen Summer School, they
booked air tickets and flew there, which manifested the cultivators'
selflessness. Medical doctor Ao Man-guan, from the Department of Orthopedics of Cheng Hsing
Hospital, gave a speech on "healthy living". Dr. Ao pointed out that
during his career as a medical doctor, he had seen so many examples indicating
the transience of life and the non-cultivator's cycle of birth, old age, illness
and death. After witnessing numerous Falun Gong practitioners breaking free from
their confusion about life, Dr. Ao recommended Falun Dafa to people as a
virtuous practice that one is fortunate to find in millions of years. Professor Chong Gulan from the Department of Economics at Donghai University
shared her specialty in "economics and morality". She mentioned that
people often said, "nine of ten merchants cheat." In reality, this is
not due having a career in business, but rather to people's morality. In ancient
times, economics had such a close relationship with morality that the two could
not be separated. The economist Adam Smith's first book talked about morality. Prof. Chong still has a childlike innocence. When she was a young girl, she
had a special wish to "be an immortal". However, just like today's
university students who cannot understand how economics has a close relationship
with morality, as she grew up, she once saw things that she could not see or
touch in this physical world as being superstitious. After she experienced many
difficulties and hardships, Prof. Chong began cultivating Falun Gong. Now, her
view of the world has changed. Under the guidance of the Fa, the old saying,
"It is easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to change a person's
nature" does not apply to her. Now, she is free from illnesses and she has
become gentler in nature. Chang Ching-his, professor of economics from Taiwan University, said that
when he read Zhuan Falun for the first time, he felt that Master Li spoke
in a grand manner. After thinking it through, he felt that learning Falun Gong
would at the very least allow a person to be a good person. Therefore, Prof.
Chang began his cultivation in Falun Dafa. After practicing, he found that Falun
Dafa is indeed broad and profound. The scholars' sharing helps attendees realize that Falun Gong
provides real education about life and thus enhances their confidence in
practicing cultivation. Ms. Hsu Hsiue-ying, Principal of the National Chenggong Elementary School in
Changhua County, shared her understandings about "the purpose of life and
education is to find one's true self". She said, "Every person thinks
about what life is." Such concepts as "virtue and karma",
"reincarnation" and that "one's primordial spirit will not be
annihilated" have been verified scientifically. Some world famous
philosophers and scientists, including Socrates, Newton, Halley, and Einstein
all came to believe in God after their life-long research. In contrast to the
ancient Chinese belief in divine beings, in Mainland China ruled by the
atheistic communist regime, people do not believe in God or Buddha and therefore
do not believe in the principle that "good and evil will receive due
returns." Consequently, people indulge in pursuing fame and fortune. After
she read the popular book, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, Ms.
Hsu said, "Atheism does not value people's lives; however life is so
precious!" Falun Gong practitioners' experience sharing moves people's
hearts. Professor Yang Shuo-ying from Chongshan University and Mr. Chang Fu-Chang,
columnist of the Epoch Times, also shared their experiences and
understandings. Their stories and unique points of view brought something fresh
and new to Kinmen residents who live on the Mainland across the strait. At the symposium after the summer school, attendees shared their
understandings and feelings. A newly married woman from Mainland China stated, "Falun Gong is very
good! What Master Li taught is really good. He taught us how to upgrade our
xinxing and his teachings are in total contrast to the authorities'
opinions toward Falun Gong in China." After the five-day summer school, she
asked whether there would be a follow up class after the five-day summer school.
We felt happy for this woman, who has learned the truth. Unfortunately, in
Mainland China, how many people are still deceived by the lies? Mr. Chen, the Director of the Health Department in Kinmen, expressed his
feeling of obtaining the Fa with the words, "I regret not being able to
have found Dafa sooner". Mr. Chen said that he has lived in Kinmen as a
medical doctor and later became the director of the health department for 23
years. He said that if he learned about Dafa earlier, he would have been able to
help more people. When he read Zhuan Falun, it was so interesting and so
easy to learn. He felt strong energy flowing in his body while performing the
five Falun Gong exercises. He said that this is really a good practice for both
mind and body. "Such a good cultivation practice, I would certainly listen to the
lectures from the beginning to the end!" said Mr. Chen, who helped to
videotape the event. Initially, Mr. Chen was invited to videotape only when the
eight invited scholars gave speeches. When Mr. Chen read the summer school
schedule, he decided to attend the entire event and said that it would be a
shame if he only chose to listen to the eight scholars and missed the chance to
learn about the principles of the Fa. Mrs. You had the deepest feelings about the five-day summer school. Her
husband was suddenly burned and injured during his work. Her younger son and
daughter kept vomiting for several days. After going through so much hardship,
she still attended the entire summer school. Each time when Mrs. You carried her
baby son on her back and came to attend the summer school, she was soaked in
sweat. Her restless daughter made the originally short-tempered Mrs. You feel
even more anxious and fretful. At one time, after she took her daughter to the
restroom and scolded her to teach her a lesson, she went back to the lecture
room and in the video program, Master was just talking about issues of educating
children. Master's words deeply touched Mrs. You. She thought, "Isn't
Master talking about me?" Mrs. You also said that the pain in her feet that
she suffered for several years suddenly disappeared shortly after she learned
Falun Dafa. Cultivation in Dafa directly targets one's heart. When encountering
conflicts, Master Li's teachings often unfold in front of her and guide her to
cultivate herself. After addressing the opening ceremony, the Secretary of the Fujian Provincial
Government often made time to attend the summer school. On the last day, he came
again and saw the teaching of the fifth Falun Gong exercise. Later, he asked
about the situation regarding the introduction of Falun Gong in Kinmen. He said,
"We cannot miss the chance to learn about Falun Gong because of the Kinmen
residents' fear of persecution." Mr. Weng sincerely wished that he could
offer his support to promote Falun Dafa in Kinmen. Mr. Chen is already 75 years old. He has participated in the morning
exercises for more than one year but did not yet begin his cultivation. After
learning about the summer school, he suddenly had a desire to ride his bike to
look for the site of the summer school. Unfortunately, he missed it. After the
summer school ended on July 7, Mr. Chen could not wait any longer to start his
cultivation. As a retired veteran, Mr. Chen is frank and honest. After he
happily attained the Fa, he started practicing Falun Gong wholeheartedly. After
he read through Zhuan Falun and practiced the exercises for six days, his
high blood pressure, which he had suffered from for several years, suddenly
dropped considerably. I felt that only through one's own practice can one really
experience the beauty of Falun Dafa. The five-day Falun Dafa summer school allowed practitioners to have a
miraculous journey. The summer school concluded on July 6. However, this was not
the end but a new beginning. This group of new practitioners also joined the morning practice and evening
Fa study after the summer school. We believe that in the near future, Falun Dafa
will be widely spread in Kinmen and guide all people with predestined
relationships to embark on the journey of returning their original, true self.
Mr. Chen (middle), who was invited to videotape the event, stops his
work and learns the second set of the exercises
Mr. Weng, secretary of Fujian Provincial government, (right) learns
"holding the wheel in front of the lower abdomen"
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/7/17/106330.html
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