Our local practitioners were invited to attend an award dinner, in a disadvantaged and underdeveloped section of our city by the North Brooklyn Democratic Club. We decided to attend this event and at the same time express our thanks to the local politicians who kindly supported us through various activities. Our local environment is very unique and home to a diverse, multi-cultural, group of people. Our practitioners also represent the diverse groups of our city. The people who live in our city are known for their hard working, sincere and generous character. They speak very directly but from their heart. Many of them have discovered our Falun Dafa practice in the park and have shown an enthusiastic interest in learning more about it. We hoped that by attending this event we would have a different opportunity to get to know our community better.
The atmosphere of the award dinner was very lively. There was a buffet dinner and also dancing. The people attending were interesting and many wore colorful multi-cultural dress of their ethnic heritage. What made this event every special was how much the organizers appreciated our support and throughout the evening they introduced us to many different people from various levels in our community. The sincere desire to improve our city and make the local community a better place for everyone was the main theme.
I found the award ceremony to be quite moving. Achievement and recognition awards were given to special people in the community who made a significant and heartfelt contribution to improve people's lives in our city. Some of the people honored were a minister who started a program to put people on welfare back to work, a school teacher who started an after school tutoring program where she donated her time helping students seek higher education, a director of the YMCA for creating no cost community programs, and a policeman who lost his job while fighting corruption but got it back again after the community stepped forward for him. In each of these people their heart of benevolence and virtue was clearly demonstrated. I could feel how much I truly cared for these people, who had kept such a benevolent and selfless nature in the midst of the tribulations of ordinary society. As each person came up to receive their award, I could see that this was not a cynical political show, but an event where people in the community could sincerely express how much they cared about these good people. I realized that Falun Dafa has so much to offer our local community and they have so much to offer us. It was as if two great hearts finally had the opportunity meet.
At the end of the award portion of the program, the organizer made a special announcement introducing all of us practitioners to the people attending. He explained how learning about the persecution in China greatly moved him and how it was important for people to understand events beyond the local issues. He then encouraged everyone to take the time to get to know us better. Many people from the community and also our local congressmen came over to talk to us. They asked for our materials and promised to contact us about coming to their local neighborhoods or introduce the practice in their ongoing community programs. We were all very surprised at the number of contacts we made at this event.
Later in the evening there was dancing and we also felt it was good to participate in this formality and to get to know our community better. People were having fun and one person came up and said enthusiastically "Hey, Falun Dafa's in the House!" There was much laughter and smiles from all.
I learned so much from this experience and left with a deep feeling that the hearts of these people, in this community, were very precious and should be cared for and respected. I gained an even deeper appreciation of Teacher's benevolence in giving us this opportunity for cultivation at this time. Before I had always felt his benevolence in relation to myself, but after this event I had a more sincere understanding of why it is important to introduce Falun Dafa to all levels of society. To give the true hearts that still exist, and may have a predestined relationship, a chance to know Falun Dafa. This event offered all of us practitioners an opportunity to introduce Falun Dafa in a deeper way to many parts of our city, which we would not have known about by simply practicing in the park. In the future, we hope to introduce Falun Dafa to many more people in our diverse community, utilizing many different ways, and look forward to the unique cultivation opportunities we will face in the process.
Category: Parades & Other Community Events
