Recently, practitioners at Minghui School, Sydney, organized a three-day tour of Canberra for young practitioners. 19 children took part in the activity, the youngest being six-years-old and oldest fifteen. They read Falun Dafa books together, practiced the exercises, sent forth righteous thoughts and were most earnest in what they did. They enjoyed the activities and had a good time. The trip was organized to let the young practitioners gain some personal experience and understanding of the cultivation of Dafa practitioners who withstand the rain and hot sun to continuously clarify the truth in front of the Chinese Embassy in Canberra twenty-four hours a day. It was also to help them gain some independence, the spirit of mutual assistance and to enhance their moral characters. Helping them understand the concept of endurance in bearing hardships, the trip also enriched the youngsters' experience during the school semester breaks.
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| Young practitioners practicing in a park | Children rehearsing in front of a camera | Writing their diaries |
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| Playtime | Singing in front of Parliament House |
Giving consideration to the playful nature of children, teachers of the Minghui School blended their "teaching" into recreation activities. A multi-layered bag was filled with various presents like candy, balloons and bookmarks with a picture frame in the innermost layer. Within each layer was a piece of paper with a poem from Hong Yin written on it. When the music began, the multi-layered bag was passed from each child to the next as they sat in a circle. When the music stopped, the child holding the bag opened a layer and when a chocolate bar was found the child was delighted. Some who could recite the poem from "Hong Yin" were very happy to find the poems in the layer they opened. Those who had not learned the poems became anxious when they picked them up. Those who knew the poems began to recite them together and taught, sentence-by-sentence, those who could not. By a very strange coincidence, a child named "Zhu Xing" (which means "assisting moral conduct") picked up the poem "Assisting Fa." When the bag was passed to a child who had persisted in sitting in front of the Chinese Embassy for 24 hours daily for more than eight months, the poem from the bag was "Tempering One's Mind and Heart." We feel that such an interesting form of activity tested each child's situation in learning Fa and raised their awareness of their disparity with others. It enhanced the spirit of each child in helping others and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
After the children shared and discussed experiences with those who are at the Embassy daily, they looked around and witnessed their difficult environment and their tremendous endurance clarifying the truth to tourists. The children realized the significance of practicing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Embassy. When a reporter asked, "Why did you come to Canberra?" some children answered, "The Embassy in Canberra represents the country of China. Practitioners coming to Canberra is like practitioners going to Beijing in China. It is also to clarify the truth to Chinese tourists." The answers given by the children and the way they conducted themselves while performing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts and distributing Dafa materials to Chinese tourists in front of the Embassy made the tour very worthwhile. Onlookers were impressed with the children and motorists often waved at them or honked their horns to salute them. The Canberra Times covered the event and took photos of the activities.
Amongst the young practitioners were some who assisted the TV group in arranging a choral program. The children braved the heat and cold and were tireless in performing in front of the cameras to enable a smooth completion of the filming.
The children even climbed up to the highest point of Canberra, the top of the Telecommunication Tower, and saw the myriad lights in the homes of the residents below. They realized the hard work put in the development of beautiful Canberra after visiting the exhibition centre at the heart of the city. A visit to the Science Center broadened their outlook and increased their knowledge. They learned the functions of the Parliament during a visit to the Australian Parliament House. They did not appreciate the exhibits at the fine arts center, showing their sincere difference of opinions and their own criterion for beauty.
Included in the activities were veteran and new practitioners. Although age and experience were not uniform, everyone blended in well and during the barbeque many of them took the initiative to help. When the younger ones fell down, the older ones quickly helped them up and cared for them.
The three days were exciting, amusing and full of significance. The character of every participant was tested and they had the opportunity to share all they knew with each other. They recorded all they experienced in their diaries. When they were asked whether they would participate in such an event again, they eagerly answered unanimously: "Certainly!"
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Category: April 25 Events
