(Minghui.org) The 36th annual Hyde Park Festival was held in North Perth on March 3 and 4, 2024. Falun Dafa practitioners from Western Australia joined the popular event and set up a booth where they handed out information and talked to people about Dafa and raised awareness about the ongoing persecution of the practice in China. Eventgoers were very receptive to this meditation practice that teaches Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
The Hyde Park Festival is one of the most popular free family events in Perth. There were nearly 200 vendors this year, with music and dance performances, multi-cultural foods, entertainment facilities, and a variety of activities.
During the festival, practitioners introduced Falun Dafa and demonstrated the exercises to festival attendees. They also performed a lively waist drum dance and a dragon dance. Many visitors said they were interested in practicing Falun Dafa and asked where they could learn the exercises. Some bought Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa’s teachings.
Moved by Falun Dafa’s Principles
Kirstie Spano and her mother Graziella Cusma became curious about Falun Dafa after talking to practitioners. Ms. Spano said that the practice made her feel calm. She was interested in reading the book Zhuan Falun, and a practitioner suggested that she read the opening article, Lunyu. She took the book aside and read it quietly. A few minutes later she returned to the booth and bought the book. “The book truly moved me,” she said, “because what I read is very meaningful, and I want to know more.”
She continued, “About five years ago I almost died after I went into a shock because I lost too much blood. After that experience I changed how I looked at everything. As a result I’m interested in learning new knowledge.”
Ms. Spano believes that Falun Dafa’s principles, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, are “very important values.” “For me, honesty is the most important, and hence the principles mean a lot to me. The principles move me. We should focus not on ourselves but on how to improve ourselves, and spread good energy,” she said.
Ms. Cusma agreed with her daughter and added, “People should have more compassion. We are truly moved by Falun Dafa. If one’s not true to oneself, then everything else is meaningless. The principles connect you to the universe, and make you a person who treats yourself and others better.”
“This Is What I Need”
Phris Lincoln stopped at the booth and said she felt a peaceful and relaxing energy there. “Ten years ago we went by William Street in Northbridge, and heard about Falun Dafa,” Ms. Lincoln said as she explained how she first met Dafa practitioners in Perth’s Chinatown.
She said she admires Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. “Everyone should abide by these principles, including myself,” Ms. Lincoln said. She wanted to learn the practice and remarked, “I feel this is what I need.”
As for the 24-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa in China, Ms. Lincoln said that it’s “absolutely horrible and shouldn’t have happened.”
Impressed by Falun Dafa
Jonathan Gouvignon brought his two children, Genevieve and Remy, to the booth, and he also remarked that he felt a peaceful energy there. “I like the serenity and peace here,” he said.
Mr. Gouvignon was also interested in learning the practice, as he feels that meditating can help him relax and improve his health. He said he would definitely learn more about Falun Dafa after he returned home, and he repeatedly thanked practitioners for sharing information about the practice.
Festivalgoer Kat Papalia stopped at the booth and said, “I almost walked pass the booth, but then just turned around. I was drawn to the booth.”
Ms. Papalia said Falun Dafa’s principles are very important, and, “the world needs them.”
When a practitioner handed Chloe Galligan and Kaitlin Smith some information about Falun Dafa, they said they were glad to experience something new at the fair. They said they stopped by the booth because, “We like the energy here.” Ms. Smith remarked that the world is a stressful and busy place and that it definitely needs Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Leana and Paul also said that the world nowadays needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance even more. “We live in a divided world, and in every field it is divided, which is wrong,” Leana said. “These past three years we don’t have much Truthfulness, and we do need Compassion as well as Forbearance.”
She continued, “I feel that Truth is surfacing and quickly there will be a great awakening. Many people are waking up.”
Nicolette, another festival visitor, was happy to encounter the Falun Dafa practitioners. Before the COVID pandemic began, she started doing the Dafa exercises with practitioners at a local park, but stopped because of the lockdown. She said she was eager to resume doing the practice with other practitioners.
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