(Clearwisdom.net) On March 17, 2012, the Auburn City Hall hosted the Africultures Festival in Auburn Park. Falun Gong practitioners set up a booth to introduce the beauty of the spiritual practice and how it is welcomed around the world. They also exposed the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China.
The Falun Dafa booth at the Africultures Festival in Auburn
The weather was at times sunny and at times rainy, but it did not keep the locals from enjoying the festival. Visitors crowded the park, visiting different booths with African food, crafts, clothing, and souvenirs.
The practitioners laid out books, fliers, and DVDs in both Chinese and English. They set up posters to show the brutal forms of torture used in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Many people took the brochures and read the posters. Some asked how they could help to stop the persecution.
Quite a few Chinese people come to take materials, and some of them quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations.
A Westerner said that he and his family wanted to learn the exercises but did not know where to go. Practitioner Ms. Cai told him where to find the two practice sites in Auburn and left him the phone numbers.
A young man who lives in Bankstown said that he felt that Falun Gong was special and different from other such practices. The Falun Gong banners that said “Falun Dafa is good” seemed somehow “familiar” to him. He decided to take off a week from work to come to Auburn to learn the exercises.
A man in his 30s from the Himalayas said that he practiced Buddhism and was at the park early that morning. He felt anxious, like he was looking for something he had lost. He walked around looking at different booths but was not sure what he was looking for. He was stressed out until he saw the banner saying “Falun Dafa is good.” His eyes opened wide with excitement and he said to Ms. Cai, “This is exactly what I am looking for.” Ms. Cai told him about Falun Dafa. He took the materials and said that he was going to read all of them that night.
“I have seen many people express interest in Falun Dafa, but no one like him. I think the real him knows what he wants. As I talked to him about Falun Dafa, I could see happiness and contentment written all over his face. It was time for him to learn Falun Dafa,” said Ms. Cai.
Ms. Cai said that she and several other practitioners have been going to the park at 7:30 every morning for the past 12 years. They exercise and study the teachings together. “There are many practitioners who moved from Auburn to other places and started practice sites there. I hope more and more people can learn about Falun Dafa.”