Introducing People to Falun Gong In Costa Rica

On a recent trip to Costa Rica I had the opportunity to introduce Falun Gong to people and tell them the truth about the persecution. Travelling with everyday people for two weeks can be a challenging but good test for a Falun Gong practitioner.

I was pretty quiet about Falun Gong at the beginning of our trip. It just didn’t feel right at first to talk to people about it, but I knew the time would come when it would be. My intuition paid off as our group visited a local grade school in a small community. As the sixteen of us got off our minibus, the children were waiting for us and we were all assigned a child who took our hand and guided us to their schoolyard. They performed beautiful dances for us in their native costumes. They were so delightful and full of happiness. After their performance they came and took our hand again and lead us to another area where we played games with them and got to know them a little, even though none of us spoke good Spanish. I only had a couple of lotus flowers to give away and the little girl assigned to me was named Dayana. She had big beautiful brown eyes. After we finished playing games we did a couple of fun little dances together as a group, and then they sang their national anthem to us and we sang ours to them. We exchanged addresses and when we were departing I gave little Dayana a lotus flower. Her eyes grew very big and a huge smile came over her face. She ran over to her mother to show her the flower who was standing in the background watching. She then proceeded to show her friends. I also gave one to her teacher. Our guide translated to the teacher what the little message said about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance on the lotus flower. She nodded, smiled and thanked me very much. Dayana never stopped smiling after I gave her the flower, even after she took me back to the bus, she just stared at me with her big smile and we waved and waved to each other, never taking our eyes off each other, until the bus was out of sight.

After this activity we split into three groups where we were going to each visit a different local family who was preparing a special luncheon for us. I hurriedly made three more lotus flowers. The other two groups were feeling bad because they had nothing to give the families they were visiting. I spoke up and said I would like to give each group a lotus flower to give as a little gift and our guide read the tag. They were very thankful they had a gift to give their families. We all had a delightful luncheon prepared especially for us. We got to see how they live and learn more about their culture, and they received a gift from the Fa [law or principles in the Buddha school].

On one of our adventures we stayed at a hotel in a National Wildlife Refuge in the rainforest. I was really looking forward to our hike in the rainforest even though it was raining quite heavily. Walking through this magical place viewing the animals, flora, and unbelievably diverse plants, I couldn’t help but think what Teacher said about plants having sensory organs, thinking minds, feelings. What these plants do to adapt to different conditions within the forest is remarkable. What I observed was very sophisticated thinking and being very creative to make sure they got enough light, moisture, fertiliser/food, etc. They change and adapt to their environment and make the most of their situation. It seems some plants have surpassed people today in certain regards.

I didn’t have much Internet access on the trip but while we were staying at the base of a volcano high in the mountains I discovered they had Internet access. We had had a big day of horseback riding to thermal and mud baths, and then went swinging through the tops of trees on cables, called canopy rides (something like Tarzan and Jane style!) I had only a little time on the internet and lo and behold there was Teacher’s article, Eliminate the Dark Minions with Righteous Thoughts. I tried to get a copy but it wasn’t possible. I read it and tried to comprehend as much as I could.

When going on trips with everyday people my biggest challenge is getting my Fa-study and exercises in. When I let go of worrying about it, there seems to be no problem. I always fitted my study in somehow and managed to get the exercises and meditation in here and there. Instead of getting uptight if I didn’t get my study in, I let it happen naturally and somehow I manage to always find time.

Not speaking the language well, I would leave a bookmark where I thought appropriate and hoped whoever found it, if they didn’t read English, would find a translator. I did what I could in spreading the Fa and also made sure the people on our tour had a bookmark or a lotus flower before we departed.

We also got the chance to visit some small businesses on our trip. We visited a business that women started who were interested in growing healing herbs. After having no support whatsoever from their husbands, they have become very successful. We also visited a local organic farmer who prepared a delicious lunch from the garden for us. Another small business was a specialised macadamia nut candy, where they grew all the nuts themselves. We found the people to be very warm, caring, family orientated, and of high moral character. With all the growth and materialism in our country, some people think countries like Costa Rica are backwards, but what we observed were people who have a rich and meaningful life. I would often see the women and children sweeping out their homes every day. They were very clean in all respects and seem to take pride in what they do.