(Minghui.org) Practitioners celebrated World Falun Dafa Day at Cook Community Hub in Canberra on May 4, 2025. Over 200 dignitaries, including a city councilor and community leaders, participated in the event, which also marks the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction and founder Master Li’s birthday. Students from the Minghui school demonstrated the Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) exercises. There were also dance and musical performances. Paintings from the Art of Zhen Shan Ren International Exhibition were also on display in the hall.
Falun Dafa practitioners celebrated World Falun Dafa Day at Cook Community Hub in Canberra on May 4, 2025.
Andrew Braddock, deputy speaker of the ACT Greens Legislative Council
Andrew Braddock, deputy speaker of the ACT Legislative Council, said, “I am happy to participate in the World Falun Dafa Day celebration. This is a great opportunity to share culture and practice Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I think the values are vital and politicians should keep them in mind.
“If everyone follows these principles, the community will become much better. Falun Dafa has spread all over the world. Falun Dafa has brought joy, happiness, mindfulness, and spiritual sublimation to so many people, which is absolutely worthy of respect,” he said.
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Benefits People
Dawa Sangmo, the Chinese liaison officer of the Central Tibetan Administration-in-Exile Office in Australia
Dawa Sangmo said, “The values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are essential to promoting people’s kindness, which will have a positive impact in this century, so that people will no longer go to war, but will support and care for each other, thus creating harmony within religions and races.
“The close connection between members of the Falun Dafa community is highly valued and has become a model for the wider Australian community. When a practice can spread kindness, it is worth celebrating,” she said.
Tongan community radio host Lavinia
Lavinia is the secretary of the board of directors of Canberra Multicultural Radio and the host of Tonga community radio. She said, “Today’s World Falun Dafa Day celebration gave me the opportunity to learn more about Falun Dafa. I think the philosophy of Falun Dafa is very profound. It is a great thing to be able to practice according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.”
She also said, “We cannot control the situation. What we can control are our inner feelings. I appreciate the paintings and feel the kindness and tranquility from them.”
Chinese Australian Dai Xiaoxi praised Falun Dafa practitioners.
Chinese Australian Dai Xiaoxi said, “In the 1990s, when I went to the Shanghai Stadium to exercise every morning, I always saw thousands of Falun Gong practitioners doing the exercises. It was a spectacular scene. In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong. I sympathize with persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. I don’t believe it is a reactionary organization. I personally experienced the process of my family being persecuted by the CCP so I know how evil the CCP is.
“I have been to some places in Australia, and often saw Falun Gong practitioners clarifying the truth on the streets. I always expressed my support and sympathy, and encouraged them to persevere. I browsed various newspapers and magazines and found that only The Epoch Times, which was run by Falun Gong practitioners, was telling the truth. I am good at writing, so I started to contribute to The Epoch Times newspaper. Some people wanted to pay me for my articles, but I declined. I also saw newspapers and magazines run by pro-CCP elements, but they soon disappeared, and only The Epoch Times remained. I admire the spirit of Falun Gong practitioners in upholding the truth.”
Sumit Chatterjee, senior software engineer
Sumit Chatterjee, a senior software engineer at a federal government agency, said, “After a friend introduced me to Falun Dafa, I read the Falun Dafa book Zhuan Falun and learned some exercises. I learned that the important message of Falun Dafa is to follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to improve one’s morality. I feel that practicing Falun Dafa brought ease and peace to my life, and is beneficial to individuals, society, and the country. I like practicing Falun Dafa.”
Indian community leader Roshan Menon
Roshan Menon, president of the Federation of the Indian Associations of ACT, said, “Although I don’t know much about Falun Dafa, I have seen the real changes [in people who practice Falun Dafa]. I have seen how they were in the past and how they have changed now. This truly proves the effectiveness of Falun Dafa and reflects the essence of Falun Dafa.”
Bridgitte O’keefe, an employee of Canberra Multicultural Radio
Bridgitte O’keefe is from the Vanuatu community and works at the Canberra Multicultural Radio Station. She said, “I was invited to attend the World Falun Dafa Day celebration today. I had never heard of Falun Dafa before, but after learning about it here, I think this practice is very good. In Australia, people respect beliefs. There is no persecution here, and we can have our own beliefs. I support everything you do to protect your beliefs and strive for a peaceful environment for cultivation.”
Chitra Deepu, a software engineer
Chitra Deepu, a software engineer, said, “I am honored to participate in the World Falun Dafa Day event and feel how important it is to maintain calmness and peace in our lives. In today’s society, we face many problems, so it is important to follow the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance as our way of life, so that we can find solutions to problems and bring happiness to our lives.”
Sandia said she was happy to learn about Falun Dafa, “This is the first time I heard about Falun Dafa. The performance and music are beautiful. I learned some ways to maintain balance in daily life, and I plan to learn more about Falun Dafa.” She also said that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are very important to any community.
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