A Look Back at the Introduction of Falun Gong to Finland

May 13th was World Falun Dafa Day. Recalling the past 16 years of spreading Falun gong, we see that every practitioner, who has benefited in both body and mind, feels one strong sense of mission, that is, passing Falun Gong to people so that more people can also benefit. Under such a call, Finnish practitioners including new learners are dedicated to spreading Falun Gong.

Master Li Hongzhi personally taught Falun Gong in Sweden in 1995. Some Finnish practitioners, born in Sweden, went across the Baltic Sea to spread Falun Gong to the Finnish people.

In an earlier period, a young man, Hannu, who learned about Falun Gong from Swedish practitioners, lives in Oulu in northern Finland. He was a student then. He often traveled to Helsinki on weekends and holidays to teach the exercises to people without charge, but he had to pay travelling expenses saved from the little amount of his living expenses.

Anja, living in Oulu began practicing Falun Gong in 2001 She recovered from the heart disease which had almost claimed her life. Her husband, Veijo, and dozens of her relatives thus believe in Falun Gong and now also practice it. The couple has endlessly traveled through most cities in northern Finland to spread the truth. Spreading the truth and teaching the exercises become part of their life.

Chinese practitioners in Finland often teach the exercises with western practitioners owing to the language barrier. However, sometimes they teach the exercises by themselves. There is a story about it. One time, a Chinese practitioner, who lives in Helsinki suburb, heard that a local Finnish woman, who was in her 70s, got the information about Falun gong from her mailbox, and wanted to learn Falun Gong. The Chinese practitioner went to the old woman’s home to teach her the exercises.

What was miraculous was that when she was taught the 3rd Falun Gong exercise, the old woman indicated that she could not raise her right arm above her head. However, the practitioner remembered that when the old woman learned the 2nd exercise, her right arm could raise above her head. So she brought the old woman to a mirror and let her do the 2nd exercise first. She raised her right arm above her head. Then, she helped her to do the 3rd exercise, two arms up and down. Slowly, the old woman finally made it! She was extremely happy and immediately gave money to the practitioner, who implied that she could not take it. So the old woman gave her flowers. In such case, the practitioner cannot help but call a western practitioner to clarify that Falun Gong is free of charge. Afterwards, the practitioner learned that the old woman could not raise her right arm for many years, and it often ached. Upon learning Falun Gong, it recovered. How could she not be happy?

A Finnish practitioner who works in the U.S.A. went back to Finland for three weeks during 2002 Christmas. She brought a lot of Falun Gong material. She spread the truth most of the 3 weeks in her hometown. In one of the photos about her teaching the exercises at her hometown on the internet, there were more than 20 people learning the exercises.

Practitioners often prepare a form for people who want to learn Falun Gong to leave their names and phones in trade fairs and expositions. Afterwards, practitioners will rent a place and call those people and teach them exercises. The work load and expenses are born by the practitioners.

Over the past few years, Falun Gong practitioners teach the exercises everywhere from the capital Helsinki to the Santa Claus village, Rovaniemi, from Vaasa in the western coast where people speak Swedish to Imatra, a city in the eastern part, from the open air markets to pedestrian streets, from a variety of trade fairs to health Expos everywhere, from libraries to high school students’ classes, and from the busy train stations to peaceful parks. People continue to learn the exercises, especially in practitioners’ exercising sites. Some of the practitioners learned Dafa in the exercise sites and then walk their own cultivation path.