Switzerland: My Experience of Distributing Falun Gong Newspapers in My Neighbourhood

A Swiss Practitioner

January 28, 2002

I would like to share my experiences to encourage my fellow practitioners in China and to let them know that the thoughts of those of us in the West are with them day and night.

I am mainly involved in distributing Falun Gong newspapers to people’s homes. There are two practitioners in my home village. Therefore, it takes us a long time to accomplish our task, but when we have finished distributing the newspapers we are assured that we have informed that whole area about the persecution in China and explained about Falun Gong.

I began to practice Falun Dafa on April 1, 2000. At the beginning I had the impression that there were only a few things in Zhuan Falun,( the major work of Falun Dafa), that I did not completely understand but it has only been during the past few months that my comprehension of the Fa (the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance) has matured. This became particularly evident after I participated in the Falun Gong group activities and marches in Rome and Brussels. Now I am at the point where I can recognize more and more attachments in myself.

When I remember back to letting go of one of my big attachments I am almost ashamed. It was so easy to spot for fellow practitioners, but not for me. It was my aversion to computers.

At the conclusion of an information day in our small town we had gone to my home to share experiences about practicing Falun Gong and to write a short experience sharing report. During this activity, a fellow practitioner had set up his computer and encouraged me to operate it, but my mind objected to that request with every fibre of my being. The next night, after I had finished work, I did not want to return home because the computer was there. Suddenly I realized that this aversion was an attachment that I needed to let go of. Now, often, when I print the latest news from China or the experience sharing reports from fellow practitioners I am often moved to tears as I am so deeply moved. The computer, instead of being a foe, has now become a friend.

Deep down I have the feeling that I need to inform people of Falun Dafa who live in the most hidden corners of our valley in the Bernese Mountains. Particularly, older people in these areas seldom leave their villages. That’s why we go to them and deliver the Falun Dafa newspapers to their doors. The Loesch-Valley, for instance, was one of those remote areas. People there are strict Catholics. Most of the farmhouses are adorned with wild-looking, fear-inducing carved wooden masks. That area of the Bernese Mountain region very much keeps alive legends of sagas and myths about demons and ghosts. After each householder had received a newspaper, another practitioner and I drove to a steep mountaintop, situated high above the village and practiced the Falun Gong exercises there.

In our small town one can find Falun Dafa newspapers everywhere, for instance in sixty doctors’ waiting rooms, at dentists’ surgeries, insurance companies, health insurance companies, schools, a particular school called Rudolf-Steiner-School, at the court house, in the jail and in the old people’s home and even in physical therapy places. Before Christmas we had received permission to hand out a few thousand flyers and candles. Many recipients thanked us. Another pleasant experience was when myself and some other Falun Gong practitioners participated in the Bernese Esoteric Fair. Our three-day participation left a pleasant memory, because in this hectic, confusing conglomeration of information booths and tables, our corner was a serene beacon of light and joy. People who approached us did so without haste and we used that opportunity, with the help of videos and exercise demonstrations, to show people the truth of Falun Dafa. One woman commented, “I have already experienced a deep inner piece and well-being” when she saw us performing the Falun Gong exercises. The sponsor of the event even allowed us to use a conference room to inform people about Falun Gong.

We only have to follow path of Truthfulness- Compassion-Tolerance, and everything will take care of itself. Another pleasant memory while distributing newspapers was shared with two other practitioners when we were in Grindelwald (name of a Swiss town), which is a world-famous tourist destination in the mountains of Switzerland. Many people from all over the world travel to holiday there. They come from England, the United States, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China. Since there are many luxury hotels in Grindelwald, we decided that this town is precisely the right spot for distributing our Falun Dafa newspapers. I asked each person at the reception desks in all of the hotels for permission to distribute the newspapers. We finally stood outside the most posh of all the luxury hotels called the “Regina.” Inside, we explained the situation of the practitioners in China to all the hotel employees. A young man listened nearby. One of the hotel employees turned to him and said, ”You have to make the decision whether or not the newspaper may be displayed here.” Modestly, the young man took the newspapers in his car. He was this luxury hotel’s junior executive.

By the time we left Grindelwald it had already become dark, but we left with calm, thankful hearts to have found so many people here who will assist us to finally expose the evil to the light.

Even my family dynamics have become less tense through practising Falun Gong. But most of the changes have occurred at my workplace which is a restaurant. At the beginning I could not escape the feeling that I was in constant stress with my surroundings. After I learned Falun Gong, I have learned to look inward when problems arise. Many of my attachments were revealed to me in dealing with restaurant guests. Because of my own efforts, my work environment has become more relaxed, harmonious and friendlier.

This is what I have experienced and what I have come to realise in my practice of Falun Gong thus far.

(Original text in German)