(Minghui.org) Romanian Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in Bucharest on May 13 and 14, 2023 for a series of activities to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day.
Falun Dafa Day is observed on May 13, and represents the anniversary of Master Li Hongzhi’s introducing the practice to the public in 1992. This year marks the 31st year since Falun Dafa was first brought to the public in Changchun, China.
Romanian practitioners celebrate the 31st anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction.
To celebrate, practitioners demonstrated the exercises at King Michael I Park in the mornings of May 13 and 14, so that more people could get to know the practice and the exercises.
In the afternoon of May 13, they organized a peaceful protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Bucharest to call for a stop to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa in China. On the afternoon of May 14, practitioners organized information booths at two high foot traffic areas in Bucharest, Charles de Gaulle Square and Roman Square.
At all the events, practitioners chatted with passersby about the practice and the persecution in China and also distributed information about Falun Dafa. Many people praised the practice’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and showed sympathy for practitioners who face suppression in China for their beliefs.
Peaceful protest at the Chinese Embassy in Bucharest on World Falun Dafa Day 2023
Falun Dafa practitioners from Romania gathered on World Falun Dafa Day to demonstrate the exercises in Romania’s King Michael I Park on May 13 and 14.
Onlookers Show Their Support on Roman Square
Introducing Falun Gong and exposing the CCP’s persecution to passersby
Tania was happy to see Falun Dafa practitioners again and learn more about Falun Gong
At the information stand in Roman Square and Charles de Gaulle Square, practitioners distributed origami lotus flowers that had small cards with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance printed on them.
A practitioner gave a young woman named Adelina a Falun Dafa bookmark and introduced the practice to her. Adelina expressed sadness when she heard about the persecution in China, and remarked that the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are important for society.
“Even though we try in our daily lives to cultivate kindness and truth in everything we do, it is tolerance that helps us endure hardships and move forward,” she said.
Adelina and her mother agreed that these principles will help them better manage their emotions positively and constructively. Before they left, Adelina took a copy of The Lotus Story—a children’s book written by Dafa practitioners that was available for free at the booth—to read to young children.
Adelina wanted to keep a copy of The Lotus Story.
A middle-aged man stopped by and told practitioners that he had read a Falun Dafa flyer before. The practitioners talked to the man about the practice, its core values, as well as the CCP’s brutal persecution of practitioners in China, including the forced organ harvesting from imprisoned practitioners. The man expressed his disapproval of such unethical acts and said that he respected the practice.
“I admire Asian things that have kept their good essence,” he said. He took three lotus flowers; one for himself and two for family members.
Finding Good Values
Introducing Falun Gong to passersby on Charles de Gaulle Square
A woman paused by the practitioners’ setup in Charles de Gaulle Square and carefully read all the information boards and flyers. She also spoke with the practitioners participating in the event.
When she learned about Falun Dafa’s three principles, she was impressed. She said that they would change the world for the better. “We, the people, would be better and the relationships between us would also be better,” she said.
She took a copy of The Lotus Story for her granddaughter and said she would come to the practice site in King Michael I Park to learn the exercises.
A man and his wife were biking on Charles de Gaulle Square when the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance on the practitioners’ information boards caught their eye.
When they found out that Falun Dafa espouses these values, the husband remarked that these values are correct and should guide society.
“The moral values presented to people as the basis of the Falun Dafa school are actually values that the whole of society should be guided by,” he said. “These moral principles help normalize human behavior, which today seems to be opposed to these high values.”
The couple took a lotus flower each before they left.
Another man on a bike, accompanied by his sons, said that he appreciates the practice’s values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
“When we are good in our hearts and have good thoughts and do good, then it is clear that we also receive good things from the universe,” he said. As he left, he gave practitioners a big thank you and wished them a good day.
A gentleman accompanied by his daughters, aged 5 and 12, hurried past the Falun Dafa stand and wouldn’t stop, but when Flori, a practitioner, offered them a lotus flower, it caught their attention, and they stopped to listen to The Lotus Story. The youngest girl was very excited and said she wanted a practitioner to tell her the story.
Flori explained to her that the lotus seed wants to become a pure and clean flower and float on the surface of the water, but for this, it is necessary to learn to tell the truth and not let herself be negatively influenced or harm others, but to be good. Then the girl’s father said to her, “See, pay attention to the nice lady and learn how to behave nicely!”
Amalia, another little girl, received a lotus flower and a copy of The Lotus Story and had a short conversation with Flori as her mother watched.
Flori recounted, “I asked her what she thought about the truth, whether it was good or not, and she said that truth is good.” When Flori asked Amalia why she thought the truth was good, the little girl said with great seriousness and conviction, “Well, if we don’t tell the truth then we are lying.”
Amalia smiles happily after receiving a lotus flower and the book The Lotus Story.
During the event, practitioners also demonstrated the exercises. This caught the attention of a young Israeli couple, who were eager to try them. The husband joined practitioners while his wife took photos of him with her phone.
After the husband finished doing the exercises, he was impressed by how they made him feel. “I felt like I was king of the world!” he said. He also said that he felt “clean and beautiful” after his practice. The couple each got a lotus flower, along with information about where they could learn the exercises.
An Israeli man (center) joined the practitioners to experience the effects of the Falun Dafa exercises.
Two young men from Bucharest came to the Falun Dafa stand to pick up leaflets. They told a practitioner that they had heard about Falun Dafa in Taiwan and already knew how good it is for people. They said that on their return to Romania, they had been searching for websites with information about this cultivation school, and they were very happy to run into the Falun Dafa booth by chance.
The two were eager to learn the exercises and said they knew about the seriousness of the persecution in China.
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