(Minghui.org) “As the hustle and bustle disperses along with the sunset and the Heaven and Earth melts into the universe, Falun Gong practitioners and kind people from around the world gather here beneath the Washington Monument, a beacon of freedom and hope. We sit next to each other, with candles in our hands, to commemorate those who have been killed as a result of persevering their belief, staying true to their conscience, safeguarding the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and informing people about the lies of the Chinese communist regime and the truth about the persecution. We call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong!”

Several thousand Falun Gong practitioners gathered for a candlelight vigil on the evening of June 22. The peaceful and compassionate energy field moved people who were present.

About 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the Washington Monument on June 22 to commemorate those killed in the persecution in China.

College Students: Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Forms a Powerful Union

Hunter Bergman and Zaine Gallagher, students from the Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, came across the candlelight vigil while touring in DC. “It's just awesome to see that honesty, truthfulness, and loyalty brings a group of people together like this,” said Mr. Gallagher. “Honestly, without those core values people wouldn't be able to come together like this, the world would be chaos. It's crazy that people would be [persecuted] for believing in this because without this, the world would be chaos.”

Hunter Bergman (left) and Zaine Gallagher

He continued, “Honesty and compassion--I think that nobody should stray away from that, and that should be supported. Nobody should ever be persecuted for speaking their mind and doing good around the world and to others.” Describing the energy of the event he said it “feels powerful, feels like everybody's coming together for something that they believe in very strongly.”

“It's really cool to see everybody come together for a greater purpose. It's motivating and needs to happen more in the world. Truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance... some core values in the world that are very important. It's really cool to see it spread,” said Mr. Bergman. The two students planned to share the information about Falun Dafa through social media.

Activist: Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Will Change the World

Danny and Eva Jackson from San Diego, California were on their way to the Vietnam War Memorial and saw Falun Gong practitioners' candlelight vigil. They stopped and chatted with attendees for about an hour.

Danny is a retired executive and political activist. He shared that seeing the vigil prompted him to think, as an American, how he could help resolve many ongoing issues. He thanked Falun Gong practitioners for hosting the event in Washington DC. He said, “It's very inspirational to see the number of people who're coming here to remember people who were lost [to the persecution].”

He made a video clip of the vigil and said, “Human rights is not an American issue only. It's a worldwide issue.”

He explained that he didn't leave for his original destination because he wanted to participate the vigil in his own way. He said that Truth-Compassion-Forbearance would change the world.

“When I see something like this, it gives me faith that we will persevere and that things will get better. When we see this many people come out and they have so much passion in their hearts for what they're doing. And it is good. It is good. It is love.” said Mrs. Jackson.

She added, “I'm thankful to everybody who came out here, and I'm so thankful that whatever brought us here today, brought us here, because we learned a lot and, we'll share that. We'll go back home and share that.”