(Minghui.org) The 35th annual Toronto International Snowmobile, ATV, and Powersports Show was held at the International Centre in Toronto, Canada, on October 21-23, 2022. Practitioners participated in the event and demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises. The peaceful atmosphere attracted the attention of many people. Some stopped to watch while others learned the exercises on the spot.
Many people said they would look into Falun Dafa after receiving informational flyers. Some also wanted to attend the free online classes.
People are Interested in Learning to Practice Falun Dafa
Joe, who is from the Middle East, moved to Canada over 50 years ago, and now lives in Ontario. He stopped by the practitioners’ booth and watched them demonstrate the exercises for a long time while he read information about Falun Dafa.
He talked with practitioners who explained that Falun Dafa teaches people to cultivate one’s heart and compassion. The practice also teaches people to look inward and find their own shortcomings. Joe said, “I have to admit that I often lose my temper with those who are close to me. Looking inward is indeed a way to cultivate compassion. I am a restaurant owner and encounter all kinds of people on a daily basis who treat me unjustly. I know that I should be tolerant and try to look at the situation from their perspective. I should look inward. I should fix my shortcomings, and now I know how to become a better person.”
Joe was interested in learning to meditate. He took a Falun Dafa informational flyer and happily said, “I will look at the Falun Dafa website and sign up for the free online classes to learn more about the practice.”
Bill stopped to watch practitioners as they demonstrated the exercises. He learned the first exercise after a practitioner briefly introduced the practice. Bill said that he felt a warm current throughout his body. He very happily took a flyer and said he wanted to learn more about the practice.
Admires Falun Dafa’s Principles
Carson is a carpenter from a township in central Ontario. He stopped by the practitioners’ booth and watched them practice the second exercise. He was curious and asked, “How can they be so calm and peaceful standing there?”
A practitioner introduced Falun Dafa to him and told him how Dafa teaches people to cultivate their bodies and hearts. It was Carson’s first encounter with Falun Dafa. Upon learning how practitioners abide by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he said, “I always thought I had compassion. I will try my best to abide by these principles in the future.” He took the informational flyer and picked a pink handmade paper lotus flower.
A young practitioner described how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent her mother to labor camps for practicing and distributing Falun Dafa flyers. Carson was shocked and said, “I never heard about labor camps. These compassionate people should not be treated like this.”
“I hope Falun Dafa practitioners never give up”
Kevin, a middle school student, is from Guelph, a city in Southwestern Ontario. After listening to a practitioner introduce Falun Dafa, he said, “This is the first time I have heard about Falun Dafa and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I’ve tried meditation in the past and I know it takes a lot to meditate for an hour. I think this is a good way to practice self-discipline.” He took a flyer and said that he would learn more about Falun Dafa.
After he was told how practitioners in China are persecuted, he said, “Why is the CCP persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners? I hope practitioners never give up. They did nothing wrong and do not harm anyone. They only want to become better people.”
Agrees with Falun Dafa’s Principles
Reece and Emmanuel are both sales representatives. They were attracted to the practitioners’ booth and wanted to learn more about the practice. Reece said he meditates and has explored various religions. He also has some knowledge about energy fields and body channels.
He said, “I learned to do meditation because I wanted to relax.” A practitioner explained that Falun Dafa’s meditation exercises have higher requirements and one needs to adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in order to truly benefit.
He agreed and said, “The good will be rewarded, the bad will be punished. This is the principle of the universe.”
Interested in Learning Falun Dafa
Laurie is a civil servant from Georgetown. She said she believes in the existence of gods, and that humans have a greater and holy purpose in life.
She wanted to read Master’s lectures and practice the exercises to find her inner peace. She said, “I would like to learn and practice Falun Dafa. I never heard of Falun Dafa before, but I think this practice will be effective. I will read the online lectures once I get back home.”
A practitioner told her the story of Sun Yi, a Falun Dafa practitioner who was imprisoned in the notorious Masanjia labor camp, where he was forced to make cheap Halloween decorations. Sun Yi hid approximately 20 letters, detailing the atrocities committed at Masanjia, in the packages. One of his letters was found and it started a chain of events that led to the shutdown of the entire labor camp system in China. Laurie said she would research the story to learn about the details.
Agrees with Falun Dafa’s Standards
Bob from Orangeville works at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. He said he met practitioners at a group exercise site in the past.
He learned that practitioners have high standards for their xinxing and agreed very much with it. He said he is a calm person in daily life, and said, “I never practiced Falun Dafa, but I will look into it once I return home.”
“I empathise with practitioners being persecuted in China.”
Peter, a company manager, said, “My wife is an acupuncturist so I understand the meaning of qi in Chinese culture. I traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in 2015. I like ancient Chinese culture but I hate the CCP. I am Ukrainian so I know how evil communism is.”
After learning about the principles of Falun Dafa and the ongoing persecution, he said, “This is a serious topic. I have never heard about the persecution in the past. I empathise with those practitioners being persecuted in China. The communist regime does not care for its people, and they murder them as they please. They only care about their political power. The CCP is a brutal dictatorship. They only know to use weaponry to sustain their power. It is horrible!”
Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide.
Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.
Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organisation with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.
Chinese version available
(Clearwisdom)
