(Minghui.org) To celebrate the 31st year of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public, Falun Dafa practitioners of all ethnic groups in Georgia met at Stone Mountain Park, a tourist resort in Atlanta. It was the afternoon of Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Stone Mountain Park is famous for a huge mountain of granite in the area, located at the southernmost point of the Appalachian Mountains. For many years, it has been a favorite place for Falun Dafa practitioners to hold activities and introduce the cultivation practice of Falun Dafa to the public. Local practitioners are honored that in 1997 Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa visited there and gave a lecture.

On May 13, 2023, some practitioners from Georgia, USA, demonstrated the exercises in front of Atlanta Stone Mountain to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the public introduction of Dafa.

On the bright day, practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises in front of the stone mountain. Some practitioners handed Dafa informational materials to the tourists, and clarified the truth about the cultivation practice. They also exposed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing persecution of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa).

Rally opening ceremony

Young Falun Dafa practitioners recite poems from Hong Yin.

Practitioners’ band performs.

Chorus “Falun Dafa is good”

After demonstrating the Falun Dafa exercises, all the participants went to a large pavilion in the park to hold a celebration. Young practitioners recited Hong Yin in Chinese and English, and then an orchestra of nine students of different ethnic groups played two European classical pieces and music written by practitioners, including “Be Saved” and “Falun Dafa Is Good.” The grand finale program was the chorus “Thank you, Master” and “Falun Dafa Is Good.”

The celebration ended in a peaceful atmosphere, and the participants felt gratitude for Master’s compassion. The students also recalled Master’s lecture in Georgia and shared their stories from that time.

Recalling Master’s Lecture at Stone Mountain

Ms. An recalls the scene when Master came to Stone Mountain to give a lecture

Ms. An, who started practicing in 1996, said that she was there when Master came to Stone Mountain to give a lecture. When she recalled the scene, she still felt the excitement she experience at that time.

She was one of the earliest practitioners in the United States. Everyone cherished this rare opportunity in the local area. She remembers that Master and practitioners took the cable car to the top of the mountain, where Master gave a lecture, encouraging the local practitioners to cultivate well.

Ms. Zhang described white clouds gathering when Master came here to lecture.

Another Chinese practitioner, Ms. Zhang, also started practicing in 1996. She was fortunate to accompany Master to Stone Mountain in 1997 and heard Master’s teachings, which she said was still fresh in her heart. 

When Master was giving the lecture, she saw a surprising amount of white clouds rolling in from all directions, and she vaguely felt that the divine beings and Buddhas had gathered here, so she asked Master about the wonders of the sky at that time. Master replied that Buddhas, Taoists, and divine beings also came to listen to the lecture. 

She also recalled that Master told the origin of the stone mountain and the origin of mankind, and also revealed to the disciples why the universe must rectify the Fa, and Falun Dafa practitioners’ mission.

Falun Dafa’s Healing Power

Truong, a Vietnamese practitioner, is very grateful for Master’s teachings.

Ms. Truong, a Vietnamese practitioner, drove three hours from South Carolina to take part in the celebration. She learned about Falun Dafa in 2017 from watching a video. The video told the story of a woman in Vietnam. She was bedridden for 12 years due to illness, but after practicing Falun Dafa, she was able to get up and walk after practicing for only three months, which amazed Truong.

At that time, she did not know how to get information about Falun Dafa, so she asked her sister in Vietnam to send a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, but unfortunately she did not pay much attention to it at that time, so she shelved it. 

After eight months, she became seriously ill, and all kinds of treatments failed. She remembered the book Zhuan Falun. After reading Zhuan Falun and doing the exercises, she quickly recovered. Not knowing any local practitioners, she taught herself and studied alone for a year. She attended a Shen Yun performance in South Carolina in 2019 and got to know local practitioners. She was very grateful for the teachings that Master gave her.

Western Practitioner Is Grateful to Master 

Logan B., a Western practitioner, is grateful to Master

Logan B., a Western practitioner who started to practice in California in 2009, moved to Atlanta last year. Talking about cultivation, he said that in the early days of the practice, he felt that he finally understood the meaning of life and knew that everything in the world had a purpose. After he began to cultivate, his health improved, and he found the answers to many of his deep questions about life. 

He was indescribably grateful to Master. He said that the more he studies Zhuan Falun, the more he realized that what Master did for his disciples was something that his disciples would always be grateful for.