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.
