East Meets West: Introducing Falun Gong at Community Events in America and Europe

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June 30, 2018 | By practitioners from U.S. and Europe

(Minghui.org) Every summer, Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world participate in various local community events, introducing this ancient practice for the improvement of mind and body to the public and spreading the message of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” the guiding principles of Falun Gong.

This report covers six such events in the U.S. and Europe.

Chicago, Illinois

From June 14 to 17, practitioners from Chicago participated in the Libertyville Days Festival in Libertyville, a small town north of Chicago.

A visitor (left) learns the exercises.

Introducing the practice to tourists

Practitioners set up a local exercise site here four years ago. Since then, local residents often see the group exercising in the park. This event provided a chance for people to learn more about the background of the practice.

A married couple asked about the spiritual component of Falun Gong. A practitioner talked to them about the deeper meaning of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”

“We have benefited from these principles,” the practitioner said, “and we want more people to benefit, too. The world needs this.”

The couple agreed: “Yes, that's true. We do need it.” They left with a few Falun Gong flyers.

Quite a few visitors were interested in learning the exercises, and asked for the contact information for the local exercise site coordinators.

Dallas, Texas

On June 16, practitioners from Dallas, Texas, set up a booth at the Dallas Yoga Fest.

Introducing Falun Gong to the visitors

Many visitors had heard about the practice. One woman said she saw the Shen Yun show twice, and liked it very much. She was concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China and asked for an update on the situation.

She was happy to learn that there is a local exercise site nearby her home. “I will join you next weekend,” she told practitioners.

Charlotte, North Carolina

The annual Asian Festival and the Dragon Boat Race are the largest events in the Asian community in Charlotte, North Carolina. This year, 48 teams with more than one thousand members entered the race held at Ramsey Creek Park.

Practitioners set up a booth at the festival and demonstrated the exercises.

Passing out Falun Gong flyers.

A boy listened to practitioners' introduction with his parents and took a flyer. After a while, he returned to the Falun Gong booth. A practitioner thought he'd returned to get one of the handmade paper lotus flowers they were giving away, but the boy said, “I have a special feeling after reading your flyer. I felt refreshed.”

Austria

Practitioners from Austria participated in two local events this month, the “2018 Justice Planet” in Linz on June 9 and the Multi-Cultural Festival in Vienna on the next day.

Learning the exercises

Many people stopped at the practitioners' booth and learned the exercises. One of them said he felt a strong and peaceful energy field when doing the exercises with practitioners.

“Falun Gong is a great practice,” he said, “ It helps people improve their physical health and also uplifts the mind and spirit.”

Frankfurt, Germany

On June 16, practitioners performed in the 11^th Annual Multi-Cultural Festival together with over 60 other groups.

The Falun Gong entry consisted of the Tian Guo Marching Band, a float, a dragon dance team, and a waist drum team.

The Falun Gong group's floatThe Tian Guo Marching BandThe dragon dance team

Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Last weekend, practitioners in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, demonstrated the exercises at the 9^th Green Summer Picnic. After the demonstration, practitioners held a free workshop for those interested in learning the movements.

Learning the exercisesReading the Falun Gong materials