Philadelphia: World Falun Dafa Day Celebration (Photos)
By a practitioner in Philadelphia, USA
(Clearwisdom.net) May 13, 2008, was the 16th anniversary of
Falun Dafa's introduction to the world and also the 9th World Falun
Dafa Day. Many practitioners from the greater Philadelphia area came to
Chinatown on the afternoon of May 11 to celebrate this special day. Sixteen
years ago, Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, started teaching publicly
in Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. In 1997, the practice arrived in
Philadelphia. As of today, Falun Dafa has attracted over one hundred million
people around the world. The practice transcends race, language, and culture and
brings people good health and high moral standards. Demonstration of the Falun Dafa exercises in
Philadelphia's Chinatown on World Falun Dafa Day Students from the Minghui School in Philadelphia perform at
the celebration A passerby learns the exercises Displays to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa At the celebration, practitioners demonstrated the five exercises, sang songs
written by practitioners, and young students from the Minghui School performed
dances and on waist drums. Some passersby wanted to learn the exercises, and
some quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after they learned about the
persecution of Falun Dafa in China. Others signed a petition to protest the
persecution and took truth-clarification materials. A few people
even brought over drinks for the practitioners. At the end of the day's activities, practitioners got together and took a
picture to wish Teacher happy birthday. During the event, a number of practitioners shared how they have benefited
from the practice. Several of the day's participants were once imprisoned or
tortured for practicing Falun Gong when they were in China. One practitioner has
a family member who is currently imprisoned. Finding her roots Ms. Tsai graduated from Beijing University and came to the U.S. in 1995.
After seeing that many people practiced Falun Dafa on campus, she read the book
Zhuan Falunand found that the teachings resonated with her.
Later she realized that when she followed the principles in the book, she could
resolve the things she encountered in school and in daily life better and
faster. Tsai also said she didn't know much about traditional Chinese culture and
history and did not know how profound the culture was when she was in China,
because she was only taught to love the CCP. After coming to the U.S., she saw a
lot of truths that were invisible in China and gradually she found her roots,
free of the CCP culture. She said she is proud to be Chinese when she learned
that Falun Dafa had spread to so many countries and won recognition from many
people. She knows a lot of practitioners from many countries and ethnicities,
and they all respect Mr. Li Hongzhi from the bottom of their hearts. Woman from Beijing calls upon the CCP to stop the persecution of Falun Dafa Ms. Wang from Beijing said at the rally, "China's economy has taken off
fast. How come a country with such great development couldn't stand an older
Falun Dafa practitioner like me? After the persecution started in 1999, one day
a police officer came to my house to prohibit me from doing the practice. I
asked him why he didn't stop me in 1994 when I started. All my illnesses had
disappeared because of the practice and I had no intention to stop. He wouldn't
even allow me to do the exercises at home." Wang came to Philadelphia in 2005 because she couldn't stay in China anymore.
Because of the practice, she was once imprisoned. Wang still knows many
practitioners who are imprisoned In China. They are kind people and the only
"crime" they committed is practicing Falun Dafa. "There were 100 million people in China alone that practiced Falun Dafa
in 1999. It saved the country so much money in medical care! The CCP went
against the will of its people and cracked down on the practice," said
Wang. Reborn because of the practice Another Ms. Wang from Beijing started the practice in 1995. "I was
suffering from many illnesses and lost my faith in life. Several months into the
practice, I was physically and mentally healthy. I was reborn." She was
imprisoned before coming to the U.S. in 2002. "In a dispatch center in Tuanhe, Beijing, a dozen practitioners were
locked in a room less than 100 square feet. There wasn't any air conditioning in
the summer. Windows were wide open in the winter and the blankets were so beat
up that we couldn't stay warm and fall asleep at night. There were only a few
toilets. All of us had to finish using the toilets during the same five minutes.
If you couldn't or didn't get to do it, you would have to wait for hours until
the next round. People often were forced to urinate or defecate in their pants.
We were not allowed to bathe or wash our clothes for several months. Living in
such terrible conditions, we were still forced to do labor like wrapping
chopsticks, stringing pearls, and putting together boxed medicine. We worked in
the place we lived, and we were not allowed to wash our hands before work. The
wraps and chopsticks often fell on the ground. Products made in China are so
cheap because of our free labor. Disposable chopsticks are extremely
unhygienic," said Wang. "I can never forget the tortures I went
through and the persecution I witnessed. I am free at last, but what about those
who are still in China?" Cui Fushuang: Zhuan Falun resolved my doubts about life Cui Fushuang works for DuPont Cui Fushuang came to the U.S. in 1998 and is currently working for DuPont.
Cui said that after he graduated from the Chinese Academy of Science in China in
1997, he was too weak to continue his PhD studies. He took one year off and
searched various means to heal his illnesses. After he came to the U.S., he
attended a Falun Dafa class and became a practitioner. He said that Zhuan
Falun resolved many of the doubts and questions he had in life. Russian Practitioner: All my illnesses disappeared after I started the
practice Russian practitioner Ms. Nina Meltser said that all her illnesses disappeared
after she started practicing Falun Dafa and she didn't have a bad temper
anymore. The practice helped her a lot in improving her character. She gets
along with others now and all her family members also practice Falun Dafa. She
said that the CCP's persecution of Falun Dafa is wrong and more than 36 million
Chinese people had already quit the CCP because they had lost hope in it. Doctor of Psychology: Falun Dafa brings a new goal to life Yang Jingrui is a doctor of psychology Yang Jingrui is a doctor of psychology at the Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital. He started the practice in 1998. He said that when he arrived in the
U.S. in 1998, he had to deal with problems such as making a living and passing
tests to be qualified to practice medicine. He was under tremendous pressure and
it was at that time when he came across Falun Dafa. "Falun Dafa improved my
health and stopped me from smoking, drinking and getting angry a lot. It
enhanced my moral values. Falun Dafa not only brings back traditional Chinese
culture but brought new goals to my life. In China, the CCP persecutes such a
benevolent group of people, including my sister, a 60-year-old lady who has no
political pursuit and just wants to peacefully practice. She is in prison right
now," said Yang. "Chinese people are industrious, kind and brave. After the CCP came to
power, it frequently created tragedies over and over again. I want to tell the
Chinese people living overseas to cherish the freedom and democracy we have in
the U.S." Dr. Corson: Falun Dafa helps people physically and mentally Dr. Yang introduced Dr. Corson, who is also a doctor, to the practice. Dr.
Corson said, "I specialize in curing Lyme disease and am always searching
for treatments for it. I even tried acupuncture. Dr. Yang introduced me to Falun
Dafa. I got the books and information about Dafa from the website. I have
changed a lot since I started the practice. Problems in life became a challenge
I had to conquer because this is the path one must go through if one wants to
improve. Looking at it from a doctor's point of view, Falun Dafa helps people
physically and mentally." Zhang Gaoren: Bone spurs disappear after the practice Zhang Gaoren regained health after practicing
Falun Dafa Zhang Gaoren, another practitioner, said, "I used to have bone spurs in
my neck and spine. It hurt so much. Doctors told me that the success rate of an
operation was 50 percent and I would become paralyzed if the operation failed. I
had been surviving on painkillers. I heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa
in 1999. I didn't trust the CCP because it said no one died during the June 4th
massacre in 1989. If it criticized Falun Dafa, then Falun Dafa might very well
be good. I found the book (Zhuan Falun) and became a practitioner since
then. I didn't want to cure my disease at the time but soon I found myself not
needing painkillers anymore. It's been nine years and I never touched any
again." Mia: Happiest day of my life when I learned Falun Dafa Mia started practicing Falun Dafa in 2002. She worked in a biology research
institute. Mia said, "I come from Romania. The happiest day of my life was
the day I learned Falun Dafa. Romania used to be communist and I knew how
communists persecute people with beliefs. I can imagine how inhumane and brutal
the persecution of Falun Dafa is in China. I hope it ends soon and practitioners
in China, where the practice started, can practice openly and freely." Ms. Sun: Falun Dafa saved my life Ms. Sun is 66 years old and she learned Falun Dafa in June 1994 in Zhengzhou
City. She described how she benefited from the practice. "Falun Dafa saved
my life and helped me to preserve my kind nature and improve my moral level. I
have been physically weak since I was little. People called me names such as
'half-life,' meaning my life was in danger any time. Two weeks into the
practice, my headaches, stomachaches, liver problems, enteritis, constipation,
insomnia and arthritis were gone. In less than two years, my pulmonary emphysema
that caused my chest and heart to be deformed was healed. Now I can cook for my
children and grandchildren, do laundry and vacuum the floor. I didn't dare to
dream about doing these before I started to practice Falun Dafa!"
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/5/14/178465.html
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