NEW YORK—Thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners marched across Manhattan in a parade on May 9, celebrating 33 years since the spiritual practice was introduced to the public, now known as World Falun Dafa Day.
Starting in a rain that ranged from a drizzle to a downpour on the east side of the city at the gateway to the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, on 47th Street, the parade route ran through midtown, ending just before the Chinese Consulate on 42nd Street by the Hudson River.
Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice guided by the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, and incorporates five meditative exercises. It became immensely popular after it was introduced to the public in China in 1992. By 1999, at least 70 million people had taken up the practice in the country, according to official estimates at the time.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceiving the popularity of the peaceful practice as a threat to its rule, launched a violent persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in July 1999. Despite the ongoing persecution that often extends overseas, people in more than 100 countries have taken up the practice, and colorful celebrations are held around the world around May 13 every year to commemorate the anniversary of Falun Gong’s introduction to the public and counteract the CCP’s propaganda about the practice.
The parade included a marching band, waist-drum players, dragon and lion dances, colorful banners and flags with messages such as “truth, compassion, tolerance” in many languages, Falun Gong practitioners demonstrating the meditative exercises, and a section supporting the now 466 million-plus people who have renounced their membership in the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
“I want people to know the truth [that] Falun Dafa is based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and [let] people know how beautiful this practice is and how I personally benefitted from following these principles,” Rakesh Nayak, a Falun Gong practitioner participating in the parade, told The Epoch Times.
Nayak said he grew up Hindu in Mumbai, India, and had gone to countless temples but was never taught the virtues of living by truth, compassion, and tolerance. When he first discovered Falun Gong 15 years ago, Nayak said, he had been living in an apartment filled with some 20 religious figures. Despite this, he said, he was a short-tempered man and often angry.
When he heard Falun Gong taught the principles of “truth, compassion, and tolerance,” it felt like the most natural thing, he said, and he began to live by these principles. After taking up the practice, he changed, he said, so much so that his mother and sister were surprised and took an interest in the practice. He said the principles led him to always speak the truth, think of others first and compassionately, and view tribulations he comes across in a different light.
Holding a banner emblazoned with these three principles in the parade, Nayak said he hoped people could see Falun Gong for what it is and not be misled by the CCP’s propaganda.
Olivier Chartrand and his wife, Maud Bertholet, said they have also benefited greatly from practicing Falun Dafa, and it was something they wanted to share with others through the parade.
“This practice is really about self-cultivation. It’s very much something that is a personal journey,” Chartrand said.
“I got more focused, more and more calm, but also [got] a great sense of purpose and a way to elevate my moral values constantly.
“So it’s an approach, a method, to really push myself to be a better person.”
Bertholet said that since practicing Falun Dafa, she has gained a much deeper understanding of life.
“I feel a great connection with something higher than me, and then, because of that, I can really improve myself, to know who I am, and I can also appreciate, much more, people and think about them and have compassion,” she said.
“This practice is an extremely beautiful practice, but it’s been persecuted for so, so many years, and so many people suffer.”
Self-cultivation is something that has been taught and passed down for thousands of years in China, Chartrand said, but because of Falun Gong’s popularity after it was taught publicly in the 1990s, the CCP targeted it for persecution.
“One of the reasons why we do such big parades is, of course, to show the beauty of the practice and how everyone benefited from it, but also to raise awareness about the fact that people are dying, as we speak right now, in China,” Chartrand said.
“I think it’s important people ask themselves the question ‘How come so many people practice [this], ... people [who] come from every path of life?’
“I’m from Canada, [my wife’s] from France, originally. We live in New York. But people from Russia, from Africa, from everywhere around the world practice, because at the end of the day, it’s not a Chinese practice—it really touches upon the core of what being a decent human being is, and this is common to every culture, every spiritual path to self-improvement.”
Li Ming said it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Falun Gong saved her life.
When Li was introduced to the practice in 1997 in China, she was barely holding on to life, she said, having been a victim of a hit-and-run accident six months prior that left her with a traumatic brain injury. Practically bedridden, she could barely walk without collapsing into a crawl, Li said, and although she was only in her 40s, she would be mistaken for someone in her 70s.
Yet one day, she was seized by the idea that she had to go outside. After going outside, a stranger asked her if she knew about Falun Gong, a meditation that had become popular in part because of its health benefits.
Li became incredibly interested, and after going home, asked a relative if they could drive her to a park the next day so she could learn the exercises and meditation.
Now an energetic 76-year-old living in America, Li joined Friday’s parade as part of the waist-drum team. The drum is a traditional instrument, she said, and the team aims to communicate the beauty of Falun Dafa to listeners.
Not long after Li took up the practice, the CCP began its persecution, and Li was one of countless practitioners who were illegally imprisoned. She escaped later to Thailand, then moved to Malaysia, where she joined a waist-drum band for a World Falun Dafa Day parade for the first time. She has been doing so ever since, said Li, who moved to New York in 2013.
“I want people to know Falun Gong is good,” she said. “Don’t believe the CCP, which can only lead people to ruin.”
Nora Ravitzki, an onlooker at the parade, said she thought what Falun Gong practitioners were doing was very important.
“Actually, I find it very touching that they are fighting persecution, and I hope it will resonate with the right people,” Ravitzki said.
Truth, compassion, and tolerance are values that everyone in the world needs right now, Ravitzki said, adding, “It’s very inspiring, and I hope everybody will go by these three words.”
