Czech Republic: Practitioners introduce Falun Gong at an Esoteric Health Festival

By a Czech practitioner

On the Czech bank holiday of 28th October 2002, a group of Czech practitioners took part in an Esoteric Health Festival in Pilsen, in the west of the Czech Republic, and introduced Falun Dafa to the public.

On this special occasion a lot of people stopped at our site and were looking carefully at the notices and pictures of Falun Dafa practitioners from all over the world. We put up a banner with the words “Truthfulness – Compassion – Tolerance” and pictures of Chinese Falun Dafa practitioners. Passers-by could see the contrast between the peaceful exercise movements and the violence employed by those who persecute Falun Dafa in Mainland China.

We displayed the exercises and answered people’s questions, talking to all those who showed an interest. There were some people who desperately wanted to learn the exercises on the spot and to read the book Zhuan Falun, the teachings of Falun Dafa. Most of the people who stopped by took all materials that they could. One young lady even asked if it is possible to go and live at a permanent Falun Dafa practice centre and practise the exercises every day with other practitioners there! She somehow felt that Falun Dafa is something really special and remarkable. Another woman said she had been looking for a form of Chinese exercise for a long time and she realised that she had just found it. She was surprised to discover that it costs nothing and she could learn the exercises on the same day that she found out about them.

There were many people who had already learnt about Falun Dafa either from the TV or while we were practising the exercises in different Czech cities. Some people silently watched practitioners doing the exercises. Some were very happy when they heard that they could learn the exercises at a seminar that was to take place on the afternoon of the same day.

The seminar passed off with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Everyone learned the exercises very quickly. Some of the participants had learnt Falun Gong at the previous summer’s festival and have been practising the exercises ever since then. One lady was very enthusiastic as she talked about how she likes to practise Falun Gong exercises and how well she feels whilst practising. Another young woman evaluated the seminar with these words: “I am very happy to be here. I feel sheer harmony.” One participant asked us to come to her village and introduce Falun Gong to people there. After they finished learning all 5 exercises, people asked where they can buy the book Falun Gong [introductory text to Falun Gong practice]]. Their faces lit up when they learned that they could immediately obtain both the book and Falun Dafa exercise music at the seminar.