(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the 174th Orange County Fair held in Middletown, New York, on July 17-27, 2014. It was their first time joining local residents, celebrating in one of the oldest fairs in New York State.
Practitioners of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) brought an opportunity for people to learn about the ongoing persecution of practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), specifically its heinous crimes of forced organ harvesting from living Falun Dafa practitioners in China.
The fair organizers recognized the principles of Falun Dafa and commented, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, together with the tranquil and peaceful sitting meditation, is what everyone needs!”
The organizers provided practitioners with a double-sized non-profit booth free of charge to show their support for practitioners in sharing their practice with the community, a practice which benefits people physically and mentally.
Peaceful Exercise Demonstration Attracts Attention
Practitioners continuously demonstrated the five sets of the exercises during the hot afternoons, and the exercise music and graceful movements attracted the attention of many passersby.
Many people were amazed at the peaceful exercises, and some followed along with the exercise movements, including the children, who quietly sat beside the practitioners on the stage to learn the sitting meditation.
Many people obtained informational materials about Falun Dafa and the location of local practice sites. Dozens of people left their contact information and expressed a desire to attend the Falun Dafa nine-day study class.
One middle-aged couple talked with a practitioner about living healthy, and the practitioner told them the physical and mental health benefits of the practice.
The husband read the information on the information board, "Dafa practitioners have experienced great changes through assimilating to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, with tolerance replacing anger, calmness replacing anxiety, and frustration and greed giving way to contented indifference. What remains is inner peace and calm even in the most challenging circumstances..."
The husband was suddenly awakened, and said excitedly, "I know the cause of my poor health is anger and intolerance. People will achieve true health if they can be truthful, compassionate and tolerant!"
Appalled by Cruel Killing
The poster boards conveyed a picture of a peaceful practitioner doing the sitting meditation. It stated, “For doing the sitting meditation, she was tortured and killed in China," which quickly caught people's attention. Practitioners explained further how practitioners were brutally beaten in an effort to try to “transform” them, and coerce them into renouncing their beliefs.
Many found it hard to believe that the CCP initiated such a long-term and senseless persecution against millions of peaceful cultivators.
After listening to a practitioner explain the facts of the persecution, one middle-aged Chinese man signed the petition calling for an end to the forced organ harvesting crimes in China. The man left for a while before returning with his family members and friends. He said, "Please tell them what is going on in China."
Nearly ten of them learned about the goodness of Falun Dafa and the persecution of practitioners by the CCP. The practitioners told them that the 15-year persecution has torn apart countless happy families, and tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, and were killed on demand for their organs to fuel China's lucrative transplant industry, with the crimes still continuing.
They felt they had a responsibility to help stop the crimes against humanity. All of them signed the petition to show their support. The man finally left his contact information and asked the practitioner to notify him when the nine-day study class was available.
Righteous Support
During the ten-day event, from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. each day, practitioners handed out informational brochures, demonstrated the exercises, talked to visitors, and collected signatures. They were pleased to see that so many people learned the facts about Falun Dafa and showed their support.Some people mentioned that they would spread the informational materials at their workplaces or schools, some patiently waited in line to sign the petitions and asked for extra forms to bring to their workplaces for their colleagues to sign, and others returned multiple times to bring their families and friends to sign.
Many people were grateful to the practitioners for informing them of such an important message, and were happy that they didn't miss the opportunity to do their part in supporting something righteous.
