By a practitioner in the UK

(Clearwisdom.net) As the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow holds an annual festival and invites different ethnic groups to participate in activities to display the cultural diversity of Glasgow. This year, Falun Gong was invited to take part in the festival, to represent Chinese culture.

On Saturday June the 12th, Falun Gong practitioners gave a talk and demonstrated exercises in the city library. Practitioners hung a banner reading, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" on the wall and prepared informational leaflets and Video-CDs about Falun Gong. Practitioners demonstrated the five Falun Gong exercises to music while one of the practitioners introduced the history and features of the practice. The audience was very attentive and only the sound of the beautiful Dafa music and the practitioner's introduction were heard.

After the exercise demonstration, practitioners answered questions raised by the audience. When asked why he practiced Falun Gong, one of the practitioners said, "The world needs Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. People think that an individual is unable to change the world. However, if one person lives his life according to the teaching of Falun Gong and searches within himself when encountering trouble instead of blaming others, then the surroundings around him will be improved. If everyone behaves this way, then our city, our country or even the whole world will become more wonderful. This is why I want to practice Falun Gong." Originally the time limit for discussion was one hour. But because of the enthusiastic response from the audience, the discussion lasted longer. Fortunately, the librarian did not mind and praised the practitioners for the wonderful effect of the presentation. Afterwards, many of the audience members came up to enquire about the location of our practice sites.

Meanwhile, practitioners outside the library used the situation of the Chinese army's invitation to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo to let passers-by learn the facts about Falun Gong. Many people knew something about China's worrisome human rights situation and expressed their opposition to the Chinese army's invitation by signing our petition. One such person was a Scottish Member of Parliament who happened to be passing by.

On Sunday June the 13th, the Glasgow Festival Parade was held and the streets bustled with noise and excitement. Because local practitioners had already explained the facts to those in charge of the festival, the festival staff came up with some very good ideas for us and had the Falun Gong booth arranged at the best location. They also offered us plenty of space for the exercise demonstration.

When practitioners began demonstrating the exercises, passers-by quietly gathered to watch. As the exercises were being demonstrated, one of the practitioners explained how people who practice such a peaceful and harmonious cultivation method came to be subjected to brutal persecution in China. Numerous viewers stood around the practitioners; when one group of viewers left, another group would come asking for Dafa leaflets. One lady told the practitioners, "This is very beautiful. I am almost moved to tears."

There were also many visitors around the Falun Dafa display and information booth. Many of them had heard from newspapers and TV that Jiang's army, which is involved in human rights violations, was invited to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. After seeing our posters, they came to sign their names to express their opposition. In just a few hours, more than four hundred people signed the petition.

Practitioners came from different cities in Scotland and England to participate in the activities and introduce Dafa, expose the evil persecution and let the Scottish people learn the facts. Though there was no deliberate planning, everyone coordinated well to distribute Dafa materials, demonstrate the exercises, assist at the booth and answer questions.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200406/20390.html

Posting date: 6/27/2004
Original article date: 6/26/2004
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/6/17/77268.html

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