A Staunch Heart - Story of an Australian Practitioner (Photo)

Myrna Mack was introduced to Falun Dafa on January 28, 1999, and said it was the most unforgettable day of her life. It was a sunny day, and Ms. Mack was strolling in a park with a friend. She saw a group of people meditating and fragments of beautifully shaped clouds and powerful energy circling above everyone's head. She was fascinated. An unknown force made her want to do this exercise. She approached these people and asked, "Do you charge for this?" She was happy when told it was free to learn. That was her introduction to Falun Dafa cultivation.

A Predestined relationship with Falun Gong

When a Falun Gong practitioner taught her the exercises, Ms. Mack felt that one movement, "Bodhisattva Touching the Lotus," was familiar. She recalled having done this a long time before, either in a dream or during a prehistoric time.

Ms. Mack experienced the cleansing process on the fifth day. She coughed and vomited lots of filthy things. She also had chills, even though she wore multiple layers. Just as Master Li said,

"From today on, some people will feel chilly all over their bodies as though they suffer a heavy cold, and their bones may ache as well. Most of you will feel uncomfortable somewhere. Your legs may ache and your head may feel dizzy. The ill part of your body, which you thought was healed before through qigong exercises or by a qigong master, will again have illness. This is because that qigong master did not cure the illness for you--he only postponed it. It was still there and would recur later if not at that time. We must dig it out and eliminate it completely from its root. With this, you may feel that your illnesses have recurred. This is to remove your karma fundamentally. Thus, you will have reactions. Some people may have physical reactions somewhere. Some may feel uncomfortable in one way or another as different kinds of discomfort will manifest. These are all normal." (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)

The discomfort passed quickly while Ms. Mack continued to study the Falun Gong books and do the exercises. Soon she felt great--free of illnesses.

The first book she read was Falun Gong, and it cost 9 dollars. She felt Falun Gong was unusual, yet the book was so affordable. She usually read books in the bathroom or during breakfast, but she knew that was absolutely not done with this book. She always washes her hands before she picks up the book. She felt she had a long-time historic connection to Falun Gong.

Firm belief

Ms. Mack finished reading Falun Gong overnight. When she learned there was another book, Zhuan Falun, she asked a practitioner to find it for her and "threw herself on it." She commented, "No one had ever told me you could put these three words,

Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, together." She was so excited that she started to cry as she read the book. Her mind expanded, and all of her questions about life were answered. Recalling that time she said, "Zhuan Falun answered lots of questions for me. Although I have not encountered any great tribulations, I always felt I have been showered with the grace of Buddha's divine light."

The Chinese Communist Party launched a brutal persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Practitioners were shocked. Ms. Mack said to the volunteer assistant, "Everyone of conscience must step forward to help end the persecution. When that happens, the persecution cannot last."

Exposing lies

By then Ms. Mack had begun protesting in front of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. She held banners that read "Falun Dafa Is Good" and "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong," and she also did exercises. Chinese residents who went to the consulate for visas said, "Look, there is a native Australian doing the Falun Gong exercises, and she is quite graceful, too!" Back then the Chinese Consulate was located on Elizabeth Street directly across from a coffee shop. Ms. Mack often talked to passersby about Falun Gong. Chinese officials often called the police and falsely claimed that practitioners were "intercepting" people on the street. The police talked to Ms. Mack. She pointed at a practitioner and said to the police, "We are just standing here and handing out flyers to people who want to read them. We never 'intercept' anyone." She also gave the officer a flyer. After the Consulate's claims were proven to be lies, the police sometimes even helped the practitioners.

Speaking up in Tiananmen Square

Ms. Mack and 35 other practitioners from 12 countries including the UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, the U.S., and Canada unfurled a banner that read "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" in Tiananmen Square on November 20, 2001. The police arrested and beat them. Ms. Mack said it was a "completely peaceful protest. Our goal was to call out on behalf of Chinese practitioners suppressed by the Communist Party who must confront state terrorism on a daily basis and have no way to appeal the injustice. We also wanted to tell the people of China: 'Falun Dafa is good.'"

As the persecution escalated, Ms. Mack and other practitioners travelled to different places to call for an end to the persecution. She joined three other practitioners and set off on an SOS Emergency Rescue Trip on September 4, 2002. They left Sydney and drove through many cities and towns. They talked to officials at the local governments, the media, and local residents about the persecution in China and asked them to help end the persecution. They received positive responses. Parliament Member Anthony Albanese set up a signature table in front of the parliament to support Falun Gong. The practitioners drove for ten days and arrived in Melbourne.

Ms. Mack regularly studies the Falun Gong books and follows the principles of Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance. She said this has been the fundamental motivation for her cultivation over the past decade, and it urges her to be more diligent. She arrives at the Chinese Consulate at 6:30 a.m. each morning and sets up exhibition boards, banners, and materials before doing the exercises. Locals often come to learn Falun Gong, and Ms. Mack will patiently teach them. She also hands out the flyers to passersby and says she will continue until the persecution comes to an end.