NEW YORK—Under colorful bouquets of balloons and bright yellow banners proclaiming “World Falun Dafa Day,” New York area practitioners of the meditation and exercise practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, sat quietly in meditation on Saturday morning in Union Square Park. The several hundred meditators—some young, some old, many Chinese, and also many of other ethnicities—then stood up and practiced the slow-moving Falun Gong exercises in unison.
World Falun Dafa Day, which is officially on May 13, has been a day of celebration for Falun Gong practitioners around the world for the past 10 years.
As gentle music floated through the air, the practitioners moved slowly in unison, with their arms moving gracefully up and down. For a standing meditation exercise, they stood still, with their arms in a circular “wheel holding” position.
Following the exercise demonstration, two cheerful emcees welcomed people to join the celebration and learn more about the practice, which originated in China and is now practiced in many countries around the world.
According to Falun Dafa Information Center representative Levi Browde, Mr. Li Hongzhi first introduced the practice to the public in 1992 in the Northeast region of China. Mr. Browde said that the practice has its roots in ancient China, extending thousands of years in Chinese history.
Mr. Li, or “Master Li” as he is called by practitioners, held free seminars around China for two years and the practice quickly gained widespread popularity. The practice consists of slow and gentle exercise, meditation, and the daily practice of “cultivating” oneself according to three core principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.
Millions of Chinese people reported experiencing positive results in their lives, including improved health, happiness, and harmony in their families. By early 1999, there were an estimated 70 million to 100 million practitioners in China alone.
Mr. Browde also spoke of an ongoing persecution against Falun Gong in China:
“Tragically, this year also marks 10 years since the Chinese communist regime launched a systematic campaign to stamp out Falun Gong. A few leaders within the Chinese Communist Party saw Falun Gong’s popularity as a threat to their political power. Falun Gong was therefore targeted with a suppression campaign that is unprecedented in scope and horrifying in its execution,” Browde said.
Mr. Browde continued by describing the conditions of the persecution: “Hundreds of thousands sent to forced labor camps and prisons. We have documented over 85,000 cases of torture … thousands have died of torture or abuse in police custody.”
Mr. Browde then described the response of Falun Gong practitioners to the persecution: “Out of the dark shadow of this persecution another story has emerged, one of broad compassion and unheard of resilience … The people who practice Falun Gong have for the past 10 years maintained what is surely the largest peaceful display of grassroots civil disobedience the world has ever seen … They have quietly stared down the barrels of the Chinese regime’s arsenal of hate propaganda, torture, and killing, and said, ‘Not this time.’”
The festivities continued late into the afternoon. The activities included the Tian Guo (Heavenly) Marching Band, many speakers, local politicians, singers, traditional Chinese dance, lion and dragon performers, martial arts demonstrations, a fashion show of traditional Chinese costumes, as well as testimonials by practitioners about their experiences.
Several hundred curious spectators stopped by to enjoy the demonstrations throughout the day. Elena Vilkiene, an interior designer from New York, shared her thoughts: “That was absolutely great, I am happy to see in New York something of the authentic Chinese culture. It’s beautiful because this really represents their country. It’s very sad what has happened there since the Cultural Revolution; soon there will be no authentic architecture and history there—this is very sad for me.”
Kate Patriarck of New York enjoyed the afternoon entertainment and said, “I thought it was wonderful, and anything that can make us more aware of each other and more tolerant of our differences—that’s what it’s all about.”
Lawrence Rweyemamu of White Plains, N.Y., shared some of the changes in his life since he has recently started practicing Falun Dafa: “I had been a slacker. Within a month of reading “Zhuan Falun” [the main text of Falun Dafa], I had quit smoking cigarettes, an attachment I had had for 10 years. I also started being more active in my family’s affairs. My mother and I had hardly spoken for some time, and now we speak daily … I feel a harmony when I am with my family that I did not feel in the past. I used to be an extremely lazy person. These days, I do the exercises twice a day and my wife is very happy now about the extra work I help her out with around the house.”
