(Minghui.org) “Falun Dafa is good. Please don't be deceived by the Communist Party's lies. Heaven will disintegrate the evil Party.” Franz, a tall, blue-eyed German gentleman often plays this recording in Chinese to the Chinese tourists on Jannowitz Bruecke (Jannowitz Bridge) in front of the Chinese Embassy in Berlin.
Local Falun Gong practitioners often hold activities on Jannowitz Bruecke, and tell the Chinese people about Falun Gong. Their banners are hung on the bridge from one end to the other, and attract many tourists.
“There is a famous Chinese restaurant nearby. Many Chinese tourists pass by our site after lunch,” Franz said.
“In the past, people only took photos with the Chinese Embassy as the background. No one took photos of our banners. But recently, more and more Chinese are interested in us,” Franz said, “After taking photos of the embassy, they photograph themselves with our banners behind them. Interestingly, many Chinese people like to take photos of the banner that says 'Bring Jiang Zemin and Other Murderers of the Persecution to Justice.'”
Local Falun Gong practitioners have routinely come here since 2000. They demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and tell people about the persecution in China. In fact, we've been here every day for the past few years.
“The practitioner who was in charge of organizing the event on the bridge moved to another town. Before he left, he asked me if I would like to be in charge,” Franz said, “Master Li asked us to tell the Chinese people what Falun Gong really is. I also want to show the beauty of Falun Gong to everyone. So, I said yes.”
“I often read stories about practitioners in China. I admire their courage. Facing the severe persecution, they persevere in telling others about Falun Gong. What I've done can't compare with them. I can't imagine how they struggle through the brutal tortures in prisons.”
“We need to help them. Master Li Hongzhi asked us to expose the Chinese regime's lies, and tell the Chinese people what Falun Gong is. I know that everything Master Li has said is true. So, of course, I will do what he asks. That is a part of my cultivation.”
What makes Franz believe in Master Li Hongzhi so solidly? How did he start cultivating Falun Dafa? It's quite an interesting journey.
Franz had been searching for a spiritual practice since he was a little boy. He tried different ways of meditation. He even experienced some supernormal phenomena during meditation. Although no one explained to him what was happening during meditation, he never doubted that one can improve oneself through meditating.
“If it is a real cultivation way, my heart will tell me. I don't know how and why my heart can tell, but I know what my heart tells me will be the truth,” Franz said.
When he was 26, a student at Berlin Free University had learned an Indian form of meditation. He often had tears during meditation, but he didn't know why.
“I went to India, but got sick there. So I returned to Germany. After undergoing surgery, I still did meditation, and I had all kinds of wonderful experiences. I could sometimes feel a spinning system in my body. That was not illusory. This often occurred, but I didn't know why.”
Right before graduation, he quit school and started his own business. He became very busy. Although he still found time to meditate, he felt that his soul was moving further and further away from that wonderful realm. He finally became disconnected from that realm.
“My company went broke in 2005. I was not too frustrated. It was just an illusion that broke. I came back to real life,” Franz said, “I had more time to think and meditate.”
“All kinds of systems in my body resumed rotating, and I had those feelings again. I wondered how these phenomena were produced, and what the mechanisms were.”
“I sometimes saw a bright spot between my eyebrows. What was that?”
“How can a person obtain the Right Fruit and consummate through meditation? What are the details in this process? Exactly what kind of physical changes are brought about by meditation?”
“I had more and more questions, but nobody could answer me.”
Franz spent a lot of time looking for answers on the Internet. “What is the relationship between the material world and the spirit world? How do they convert to each other? There are some hints in historic documents. But they all hide something when it comes to the key. I really wanted to know the key reasons, so I searched for all kinds of information online.”
“A guy with supernormal abilities once told me that the Holy King, who was mentioned in many religions and folktales, had already come to the world. I was thinking, if he has really come, then I must find him.”
“Actually, my mother also told me, when I was a small child, that a god would come to save us during the ending period. I must find him.”
When Franz typed the words “the Third Eye” in an online search engine in early 2008, he found a link to a web page. It was a Falun Gong practitioner's experience sharing article, which described how his diseases were healed by cultivating Falun Gong.”
“I was not actually interested in disease healing. I never cared about those things. I was looking for a ladder to the heavens.”
“On that website, I saw Master Li Hongzhi's picture. To be honest, I didn't know that he was the god and Holy King that I was looking for. But I did know that Master Li taught cultivation at a very high level.”
“I didn't see the links to Master Li's books and articles though. Those links were at the bottom of the web page. For some reason, I didn't see them.”
“I went to that website every two or three weeks. One day, I suddenly saw those links. I opened them, and saw Master Li's books and articles.”
“Wow! My Lord! I felt that every cell in my body had expanded. I felt cold and hot flows going through my spine. I felt very strongly that I had finally found a real cultivation way.”
“I soon realized that Falun Dafa was different from all the cultivation practices that I had previously tried. Maybe I could reach a certain level following that Indian cultivation school, which I thought was pretty high, but after reading Master Li's books, I realized that even if I got to that level, it was still very low.”
Recalling his experience of obtaining Falun Dafa, Franz laughed out loud.
“I was starving to read Master Li's teachings. I bought the exercise instruction video and learned the movements. I believe that Master Li is a high level enlightened being, and he can bring cultivators to very high levels. It's exactly what I was after, as I had been looking for the real way.”
“All my questions were answered. Master Li explained the detailed mechanisms in cultivation with very simple language. Everything was so clear.”
“I remember how surprised I was when I learned about the issue of the Assistant Spirit and Dan Tian. I did think that dan was the essence and stored all the energy. Master Li taught me the truth.”
“I was incredibly lucky. There are so many people in the world, but I'm lucky to be a Falun Dafa cultivator. Master Li said,
'In the past, the Tao School held that a master selects a disciple instead of a disciple choosing a master.' ( Zhuan Falun )
“Master Li has selected me. I was so excited. I cannot wait to meet the local practitioners.”
But, where were they?
Franz had coffee with one of his neighbors one day in Fall 2008. He mentioned that he was looking for local Falun Gong practitioners. His neighbor told him that two miles from this coffee shop, there were often Falun Gong practitioners demonstrating the exercises on Jannowitz Bruecke. “When you see the Chinese Embassy, you will see them. They always protest there.”
Franze ran there right away. He was so excited when he saw a local practitioner there. He gave that practitioner a big hug.
He has since also become a Falun Gong practitioner, doing the exercises and talking to Chinese people on Jannowitz Bruecke.
“I like to talk to people, and tell them the wonders of Falun Dafa. Very few Chinese people refuse to accept materials from me. I always smile to the Chinese, because I know that they can only sense my kindness if I keep the inner peace in my heart.”
“The officials working at the embassy can see us every day. Our existence reminds them of the ongoing persecution. We will not stop until the persecution stops. The embassy is our platform to tell the public that we will not give in to evil.”
“We want everyone to know the crimes that the Communist Party has committed, so we will keep exposing them until the persecution ends. It is very important that we come here every day.”
“I play the audio recording when I see Chinese people. It tells them about the trend of quitting the party and other facts about Falun Gong. Although sometimes the tour guides try to stop the tourists from accepting materials from me, the tourists are curious. They want to get their hands on information that is not available in China. Broadcasting the audio recording is a good way for them to hear the truth.”
He tells the Chinese people, “Dear friends, please know that we are not against the Chinese people. We are happy to see that the Chinese economy is developing and people are living better lives. We do not look down on the Chinese people because of the persecution of Falun Gong launched by the Communist Party.”
“Please remember, we are very clear that China doesn't equate to the political party that is currently in power. That evil Party will be punished by the heavens, whereas the Chinese people will be blessed by gods and buddhas. Your bright futures are what we care about.”