Finland: A Story about Falun Dafa Practitioner Sinikka and Her Son Samuli

When I first met Sinikka, my impression of her was that she was a capable and introverted lady with attractive white hair and a slim build. After associating with her for a while, I found that she is steadfast in Falun Gong and is a diligent practitioner. Afterwards, it came to mind that I might introduce her to more practitioners by posting her story on this Web site.

However, I don’t speak Finnish and my English is only good enough for daily conversation. On the other hand, she doesn’t speak English either. As a consequence, I could only collect the information about her on my own. After all, it would be a great opportunity for me to learn from her during the process. As time flies, the opportunity had finally come five years later, when Northern European practitioners held a small-scale Falun Gong experience sharing conference in Sweden’s Gothenburg, which included group study of the principles of Falun Dafa, practising the Falun Gong exercises, sharing experiences and a New Year party. I invited my daughter and granddaughter to go with me as they like to be with our practitioners though they do not practise Falun Gong. My daughter speaks English and has picked up some Finnish. As I heard that Sinikka was going, I knew that it would be a great chance for me to get acquainted with her.
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Sinikka participated in a parade in Vienna in 2004	Sinikka poses at a photo session along with other Finnish practitioners	Sinikka attending group study with a young practitioner

Sinikka's story

Through my daughter’s translation, I learned that Sinikka began to practise when Swedish practitioners spread Falun Gong in Helsinki in 2000. Before practising Falun Gong, she used to be in poor health and often felt exhausted; however, she felt energetic the very first day she started to practise Falun Gong exercises and she didn’t take a nap that day. She said that this is what she had long looked for. At that time, there were no Finnish Falun Gong books. The only Finnish material she had was a hand-written copy of Zhuan Falun [the main text of Falun Dafa] mailed to her by a Finnish practitioner in Sweden. But she persisted in studying the Book every day. I asked her if she, as a westerner, could comprehend it. She said that in the beginning it was quite difficult for her to understand. But she firmly believed that this was what she wanted, and the more she studied, the more she was able to understand it. There must be some difficulties at its inception no matter what you do. In terms of studying Zhuan Falun, something deep in my mind keeps telling me that I must be steadfast in studying it, and the more I study, the more I am eager to get to know it.

When I asked about her son, Samuli, she said that since he was always with her, he naturally joined her practising Falun Gong exercises and became a young practitioner. He told her that he used to have very weird thoughts, and the scary illusions often made him cry. However, after being with practitioners and studying the Fa (principles of Falun Dafa) and practising the exercises together, he seems to have become another person. She said that she can tell he really wants to practise Falun Gong at heart.

She added that her current work needs to have contact with many youths aged between fifteen and twenty five, and her cultivation should have had a tremendous positive impact on them, as she often introduced the magnificence of Falun Gong and the facts about the persecutions of Falun Gong practitioners in China to these young people. On the other hand, with her cultivation of the practice based on the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassionateness and Tolerance,” she is able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of youth, so that she can inspire them and help them with compassion. All these things are what she could never do in the past.

The above is something based on my brief talks with Sinikka, and I will continue to write the story about her.