Looking at the Positive Side of Hardship: Hundreds Gather in Sydney to Create Unique Spectacle

Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Jubilee Park, Sydney on Oct. 8 to form four giant Chinese characters. (The Epoch Times)

Over 600 Falun Gong practitioners from Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam gathered together to create a unique spectacle representing peace, hope, and faith.

Dressed in yellow, practitioners were arranged to make up four giant Chinese characters “法正人間” (the Buddha Fa rectifying the human world) at Jubilee Park, Sydney, on Oct. 8

The four characters glowed in bright yellow amid the green of the park.

The event led up to an experience-sharing conference in Sydney.

First introduced in China in 1992, Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a Buddhist practice consisting of five sets of meditation exercises and moral teachings centred on truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

The practice quickly drew tens of millions of adherents in the 1990s and became one of the largest spiritual communities in the country. However, in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party deemed it a threat to its control and banned the practice.

The nationwide persecution has led to waves of practitioners being thrown into prisons, labour camps, and brainwashing centres, where many have experienced torture and abuse and have even died from forced organ harvesting.

Li Yuanhua, the event coordinator, said the preparatory work lasted for two to three months, including designing the pattern, investigating the venue, and procuring supporting materials.

Honouring a Tradition

The spectacle, known as character formation, is a decades-old tradition that started in China in the 1990s when Falun Gong practitioners could still freely practice the exercises in public parks across the country.

Since the persecution started in 1999, overseas practitioners have taken up the torch to keep the tradition alive, with Taiwan and the United States having the grandest sights, given a large number of adherents there.

In New York City, character formations have become an annual custom since 2013, and the number of participants keeps growing yearly.

Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Jubilee Park, Sydney, on Oct. 8 to form four giant Chinese characters. (Xu Shengkun/The Epoch Times)

Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Jubilee Park, Sydney, on Oct. 8 to form four giant Chinese characters. (Lingxiao/The Epoch Times)

Participant: Spread the Message Through the Event

Jason Uttley, a company owner from northern New South Wales, started practicing Dafa three and a half years ago. However, this is his first time attending a character formation.

Uttley said he wanted to help spread the beauty of Falun Dafa through the event. Meanwhile, he also wanted to make people aware of the persecution that is still taking place in China and the brutal nature of the CCP.

“We went to a lot of effort to bring this message out, and hopefully, people will be aware of that,” he said.

Uttley used to have back pain and scoliosis, which was hard to manage, and he had to go to a chiropractor every month, but after practising Falun Dafa for six months, he didn’t need any more treatment.

Jason Uttley participated in the character formation in Sydney on Oct. 8, 2022. (Li Xinran/Epoch Times)

“It’s completely recovered,” he said. “It’s deeply relaxing, cultivates your energy, and gets you to feel more energized.”

The spiritual practice has also helped Uttley develop a more harmonious family life.

“It does make you more tolerant, and you try and be more compassionate,” he said. “You look at the positive side of things of the hardships that you face.”

Living According to the Three Principles

Michele Webster from Western Australia also participated in the event.

Webster started to practice Falun Dafa in 2012 after seeing an advertisement for an art exhibit and was immediately drawn to the three principles of the practice, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. She started practicing a week later after visiting the exhibition.

Webster said she used to be impatient.

“I’ve always been a very impatient person. I always thought I wasn’t [tolerant] until I started practicing,” she said. “I’ve certainly become a lot more patient, a lot more tolerant to different people, different things.”

Michelle Webster participated in the character formation in Sydney on Oct. 8, 2022. (Li Xinran/Epoch Times)

Webster’s relationship with her children has also improved dramatically since the practice.

Her daughter, according to Webster, is prone to anger, anxiety, and depression. She always felt Webster was unable to help her as a mother.

After starting cultivating, however, Webster tried to use stronger moral values to influence her children, and they have slowly changed in the process.

“I was trying to bring them up with moral values, and even so more when I started practicing,” she said. “Those morals for me became stronger.”

“Now I’m the one who’s a helper in her life,” she continued. “When it comes down to serious things, she takes my opinions, my thoughts, and my advice more seriously.”

Eva, a local resident praised the character formation event by Falun Gong practitioners. (An Pingya/The Epoch Times)

The character formation also attracted the attention and interest of local residents.

Eva, a local resident originally from Poland, said she’s not a stranger to communist regimes and has learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Eva said what adherents say and do is inspiring and courageous. She is glad that Falun Gong practitioners are free to practice their faith in Australia.

Eva Fu contributed to this report.