United States: Children with Smiles on their Faces Hold Lotus Flowers in New York

I took the following group of photos near Central Park in Manhattan, New York. Some of them depict some pure hearted children holding exquisite lotus flowers in their hands in the colours of magenta, pink, bright orange, baby blue. The children's lovely faces and the colourful lotus flowers provided me with elegant pictures one after another. The children were holding the lotus flowers carefully bearing a big grin.

Anti-torture exhibition forms a sharp contrast with peaceful exercises	Anti-torture exhibition forms a sharp contrast with peaceful exercises

Teaching the Falun Gong exercises to a member of the public	Children also join in with the fifth Falun Gong exercise	Signing a petition to help put a stop to the persecution
Children holding lotus flowers in their hands while their mother learns about Falun Gong

How did they get these flowers? Where did the lotus flowers come from?

It turns out they were from the "Anti-torture Exhibition" that was held along the street by Falun Gong practitioners. They had made them by hand using coloured paper.

On the right hand side of the exhibition, Falun Gong practitioners re-enacted scenes of torture that are taking place in China as you read. On the left and side, practitioners were demonstrating the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. The two scenes formed a sharp contrast: one was horrible to look at, whilst the other was so tranquil and peaceful.

A young lady with a stroller stopped in front of a poster and started reading it carefully. In a short while, a Falun Gong practitioner in a yellow T-shirt approached her and started talking with her. The young man talked to her about Falun Gong, and told her about the persecution in China. After hearing this, she signed her name on the petition book that called for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. In the meantime, another practitioner gave a bright-orange paper lotus flower to her little child in the stroller, who accepted the flower excitedly with glaring eyes.

A family of four from Spain stopped by. The baby in the stroller was two months old that day. The mother was very interested in Falun Gong and she learnt the standing exercises right away. After the couple signed the petition, seeing that I was taking the photo of their little girl, the father handed me his camera and asked me to take a picture of the whole family as well.

A pregnant mother with four little girls, three of which were her daughters, came by. Her three lovely daughters imitated Falun Gong practitioners and sat with their legs crossed in the meditation position.

Some of the mothers carefully explained to their children the purpose of the exhibit, and told them about the current situation in China.

Seeing these children holding beautiful lotus flowers in their hands and loving them with their hearts, I felt that the seeds of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" had been planted in their hearts.

Today's seeds will become tomorrow's beautiful flowers.