Poland: Three Falun Gong Seminars at the University of Lodz

Reported by practitioners in Poland

Some time ago, some practitioners revealed the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong to the editor of a student magazine. Because the editor-in-chief was so touched by the details given, practitioners were given two full pages to write an article, and also were permitted to use a picture of a practitioner doing exercise five [a sitting meditation].

A friend of one of the practitioners read the article, and decided to arrange seminars to let the staff and students at Lodz University know about the persecution by Jiang’s regime. The result was three seminars, which each lasted about 90 minutes.

A married couple, whom were both Falun Gong practitioners, did the presentation. The husband has been practising for some time, but his wife has only been a practitioner for several months and was usually a bit shy. At the beginning, the husband thought that he would do most of the talking; he worried about his wife and so was a bit anxious. During the seminar, he tried to overcome his uneasiness. But his wife spoke with confidence and wisdom. She began to reveal the facts about the persecution and speak from her heart about how she personally benefited from practising Falun Dafa.

There was, however, one student in the audience who had spent 14 months in China. He was a bit hostile at first and said things like “Well, I was there. I even went on a tour of a labour camp and I didn’t see any torture devices or people being mistreated.” The female practitioner, who knew a lot about Polish history, said: “Do you remember stories about the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw during the Second World War? People walked by and went about their daily activities as usual outside the wall. But on the other side, inside the ghetto and sealed off from the world, was a completely different scene of murder, torture, and starvation. Yet people on the outside either just didn’t know the truth of the situation, or were so scared of the Nazis that they didn’t even dare to think about it or acknowledge it, much less to do anything about it. The more insistent outside observers were told that the Jews had good living conditions, or were taken on guided tours of areas. The authorities let people see only what they wanted them to see.” She also used other examples from history to discuss facts of the persecution in terms that were familiar to Polish people. Practically all the students nodded in agreement.

The female practitioner also talked about what Falun Gong meant to her. She told a story about how she looked at the picture of a little girl meditating on the cover of a Dafa flyer to help her learn how to cross her legs for the sitting meditation exercise. People warmed to the practitioners and the discussion became easier and more natural. She told everyone that during the presentation she frequently felt as though it was not just her speaking but a magnificent force was helping her.

After the events, the male practitioner said, "The last seminar in my view turned out to be the best. By then I had become quite calm and I let go of my worry. I realised my wife was doing fine. We eventually both talked naturally about our personal experiences and the information about the persecution and human rights violations just came out by itself. We chose the moments that felt right to use the materials we had prepared. Even a professor, who had only wanted to talk about groups and politics, and had tried to challenge and pick apart what we were saying, became silent and even started to ask questions about the practice of Falun Dafa. Soon we all became just like old friends chatting. I feel that it is very important to hold the right balance and not go to any extremes. I feel that it is most important share our experiences in a way that moves peoples’ hearts, rather than transmitting a certain quantity of information. That way I feel that more people will get to know what Falun Dafa is and whom Dafa practitioners really are. I also saw a lot of my attachments during this seminar. I wanted to say a lot, give as much information as possible in the shortest time possible, and I was afraid that my wife would say something wrong. I had too many worries and too many pursuits, which were all a bit pointless. I think it’s best to be calm, trust the principles of Falun Gong and always be true; true in what I say and who I am. I need to have compassion towards the people I talk to and forbearance when someone else is talking and I don’t want to listen because I believe he is wrong. These are what I’ve learnt from my experiences. Please feel free to correct anything that does not seem proper. Thank you."