The Double Bay Street Festival is Sydney’s most popular annual street fair. Some 80,000 people attended this year’s festival on Sunday, November 5. The local Falun Gong group took part once again, allowing many local residents to learn about this ancient traditional practice of meditation and self-improvement.
They set up a booth with posters and display boards, passed out pamphlets, and demonstrated the peaceful Falun Gong exercises. They also talked to people about the persecution the practice faces in China.
Impressed by the Peaceful Energy
“Hello, Falun Gong! It is great to see you again,” said Paul, who was manning a nearby booth. He said that he often takes part in such events at the Sydney Fish Market in the city centre and is always excited to see the Falun Gong group. “Falun Gong is very good and I support them,” he said to one acquaintance. Having practiced Tai Chi and qigong previously, he is impressed by the peaceful energy he feels whenever he’s around Falun Gong practitioners.
Paul had already heard about the persecution in China and he said that he’d already signed a petition to help stop the brutality. “What you are doing is great,” he continued. “It is wrong for the Chinese communist regime to suppress Falun Gong. We need to say no to them.”
A woman from another booth said she had been to China to teach English and learn Chinese for about a year. “In Chinese, my name is Haiyun,” she added.
During her stay in China, she sometimes asked others about topics such as Falun Gong but had difficulty finding a satisfactory answer. “Now I know Falun Gong is very peaceful and I will read more about it,” she remarked.
Improvement of Mind and Body
Duygu Baranioglu, one of the event organisers, is from Turkey. She explained that she has an immune disorder and still hadn’t found a cure after two years of searching.
“As I walked past your booth, I suddenly felt a strong energy field. Could you tell me what this is?” she asked. A practitioner chatted with her about the reason why illnesses occur, along with how to achieve calmness in meditation. Duygu was very interested and was happy to learn that the book Zhuan Falun had been translated into the Turkish language. She said she would read it when she returned home.
Anna Wilson, who came with her husband, had learned meditation in the past. “Once in Chinatown I signed a petition to stop the persecution in China,” she explained, “But I still do not know exactly what Falun Gong is.” After talking with a practitioner, she said she appreciated the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and purchased a copy of Zhuan Falun to read.
Ricardo Hemandez said he had seen practitioners doing the exercises at Hyde Park, but had not taken the time to learn more about it with his busy work schedule. After talking with a practitioner during the event today, both he and his wife want to learn more. They left their contact information so they could learn where to attend a free Falun Gong introductory seminar.
“I know Falun Gong is banned in China, which is very unfortunate,” commented Hemandez, who is somewhat familiar with Chinese culture and philosophy. “I fully agree with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
