United States: "Do Not Give up Your Belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance"

The 26th Harvard Square May Day event was held at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 3rd, 2009. The festival featured five large stages and two hundred booths. Nearly 100,000 visitors attended the event. Falun Gong practitioners participated for the second year. They set up a truth-clarification booth, demonstrated the exercises, taught people how to make folded paper lotus flowers, and talked to festival visitors about the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A steady flow of people stopped at the Falun Gong booth and listened to the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution

Practitioners expose the persecution of Falun Gong

Falun Dafa is amazing

Many visitors stopped to watch practitioners demonstrate the five sets of exercises. A woman in her 30s was curious and asked, "How can they hold up their arms for such a long time?" A practitioner explained to her briefly about the five sets of exercises and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She listened and then said, "This practice is amazing and profound!" She continued, "Nowadays, the moral standard is getting lower and lower. Who would teach a practice for free, and also teach people to be honest, kind and tolerant!? The practice (Falun Dafa) is so precious!"

A man from China learns the Falun Dafa website address by heart

A man who had just come from China was visiting Harvard University. His mind had been poisoned by the CCP's propaganda and he had a lot of questions unanswered. After a practitioner explained the facts about Falun Gong, he understood and expressed his thoughts to this practitioner. He said, "What you said is correct! The CCP is deteriorated inside and corrupt politically!" He took a truth-clarification flyer and committed the website address for Falun Dafa to memory. He said that by memorising the address, he would not worry about the CCP causing trouble for him when he went through customs. He promised that he would check the website when he returned home to China.

Lotus inspires kind nature

A father and his two daughters, one four years old and the other six, approached the Falun Dafa booth. The girls were immediately drawn to the paper lotus flowers. They patiently learned how to make them. Their father was surprised and said that these two children were usually very naughty - how they could become so well-behaved? A practitioner told the father that Falun Dafa teaches people to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so practitioners will naturally become good people who are patient, considerate of others, and have a noble character.

Reluctant to leave without a lotus flower

It drizzled in the afternoon, but a steady flow of people continued to visit the Falun Dafa booth, and people's interest was still high. Many people stopped to listen to the story of Falun Gong. A woman brought her three-year-old daughter over. The mother was afraid of getting wet in the rain and wanted to go home, but the little girl was reluctant to leave. She was engrossed in observing a practitioner folding a paper lotus flower. She did not want to leave with her mother until she got a paper lotus flower from the practitioner. When she had a pretty lotus flower in her hand, she said to her mother, "Now I can go home!"

Do not give up your belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance

Three girls learned to make paper lotus flowers while listening to the facts about Falun Gong. When they learned that the lotus symbolises sacredness and perseverance and that it remains fresh and pure even as it grows out of the muddy water, just like Falun Gong practitioners around the world that have remained steadfast in their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance despite the decade-long persecution by the CCP, the girls were moved. They hoped that the practitioners would keep on with their efforts, and said sincerely, "Do not give up your belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."