(Minghui.org) The 31st anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction, as well as the 24th World Falun Dafa Day, were on May 13, 2023. Falun Dafa practitioners in Israel celebrated Falun Dafa Day at the Promenade in Tel Aviv on May 13. Many passers-by stopped and watched.
Demonstrating the Falun Dafa exercises
Passers-by stop and watch the event.
Saturday, or Shabbat, is a day of rest in Israel, and it was a bright spring day. The Promenade was used for the practitioners’ event. It is located at the beach, where people gathered to walk, jog, exercise, lounge, or swim. Many passersby were captivated by the beauty, the energy, and the peaceful atmosphere around the practitioners, and took pictures of the practitioners.
Falun Dafa practitioners distribute flyers and talk with passersby about the persecution.
The practitioners also collected signatures on a petition to stop the persecution of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) in China.
Supportive Onlookers at the Tel Aviv Promenade
In the midst of a difficult period in the nation, when rockets were still falling in Israeli territory, the practitioners’ slow and gentle exercises were a spot of calmness and peace in the chaos.
Noga said, “Every person who passes here today takes a piece of [positive] energy.”
Noga, who works in the high-tech industry, admired the tranquility that the practitioners brought to the city during these difficult times.
“It’s a lovely sight! It’s very nice to see a group of people who are spreading good energy, especially in this difficult time that our country is going through,” she said. “I especially feel the compassion from everyone here.”
She also applauded the practitioners for trying to live according to the standards of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.”
“We see so much violence in many places in the world, both globally and locally, in the cities and among families as well, and it’s not easy to maintain a state of truth and compassion,” she said. “Thank you for coming here and thank you for giving us a little of your atmosphere. I think that every person who passes by here today takes along a piece of that energy.”
Brother and Sister Appalled at the Persecution
Bar and Nadav, brother and sister, resonate with the practice’s values.
A brother and sister pair from Tel Aviv, Bar and Nadav, were impressed by the practitioners’ exercise demonstrations.
“Listening to the practice gives me peace. [The practitioners] are brave because it is not easy to stand like that for hours in order to bring the beauty to the world,” said Bar.
“I am amazed that they can hold their hands like this for so long in order to show these values to everyone,” said Nadav.
Bar, who is a software engineer from Jaffa, came to the promenade with her brother Nadav, who lives in northern Israel. She said that watching the group’s practice gives her peace.
“When I look at [the practitioners,] I see that they want to convey a message not only to the Israelis but to the entire world, a message that the world needs Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, and this is something I believe in as well,” she said.
She said that no matter where people come from, or what they do or what their skin color is and what they believe in, we need compassion and not corruption, truth and not manipulations or distortion of facts. And when Bar learned about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of these practitioners for their faith, she was shocked.
“I heard about the persecution and all this evil that exists is shocking. It’s so horrifying,” she said. “But at the same time I am glad that we experienced this today We intended to go somewhere else, and we came here accidentally. I’m glad it turned out this way.”
Veteran: Looking at Group Practice Makes Me Calm
Haim, former military veteran, shows sympathy for the practitioners in China.
Haim from the city of Afula, who is a veteran, said that he enjoyed watching the practitioners doing the exercises and admired their ability to control their bodies. He told all his friends to keep walking while he stayed behind to watch the practice because it calms him down.
“The values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance are really good,” said Haim.
Regarding the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong in China and its forced organ harvesting operations using practitioners, Haim expressed his dismay at such an act.
“I’ve never heard of organ harvesting until today. I’ve never heard of such a crime,” he said. “It’s sad that people kill people to sell their organs.”
Yoga Teacher Feels Energy
Crystal from Brighton, England said, “Please keep on going even if you don’t see people reacting. People feel the energy.”
The event also attracted tourists in addition to Israelis. Crystal, a yoga teacher and former journalist, came from Brighton, England, to visit Tel Aviv. She said she felt “powerful energy” from the practitioners.
“This is a moving experience for me. I am watching the practice. It is a strong and powerful energy. I get a feeling of love and togetherness and compassion,” said Crystal. “It makes me very emotional. I have never come across this practice before.”
She said that recently she felt her yoga practice came to a bottleneck, and that she needed to discover something new. After learning more about Falun Dafa, she said that she would look into it and read Zhuan Falun, the practice’s main book of teachings.
“It is very beautiful. It is not easy to live based on Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, especially when you meet people who oppose that. It is easy if you meet a very open, loving kind person, to be tolerant, but if you meet someone who is not tolerant, it is difficult to be tolerant,” said Crystal.
“And you will meet someone who isn’t,” she added. “But you can change your own reaction.”
Crystal was saddened to hear that these practitioners are being persecuted in China, and found the CCP’s forced organ harvesting “awful” and “disgusting.” But she believes that if the practitioners continue to do what they believe in, things will change for the better.
“To the practitioners here in Israel, I say please keep it up even if you don’t see people reacting. People feel the energy,” she said.
Practitioners Have a Harmonious Environment
Many of the practitioners at the event that day knew very well the kind of energy that Crystal was talking about. In fact, the compassion and peace that the practice has brought them are what has brought many of the practitioners to the event that day. They wanted to share that sense of inner calm with other people.
“Thanks to Dafa, I have become a calmer and a better person, and I continue to improve and be more generous,” said Daffi, who has been practicing Falun Dafa for 20 years.
Daffi found that through the practice’s principles, she can now be at peace with herself and the rest of the world.
“Because I live according to the values of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, everything in life fits in the right place, like a mosaic, and it becomes harmonious with myself and with the things around me,” she said.
Recovery from Illness After Practicing Falun Dafa
Ella Segev is another practitioner who took up Falun Dafa in May 2002.
“For many years I searched for spiritual ways until a friend told me about practicing Falun Dafa. She recovered from a serious illness,” she said.
When she first attempted one of Falun Dafa’s exercises, she felt warm energy course through her body.
“I knew that this was what I had been waiting for all my life,” she said. “I have been studying the [Falun Dafa’s teachings] and practicing the exercises ever since. It was a difficult period in my life. I suffered from arthritis, hypothyroidism, osteoporosis and depression. These are diseases that make people’s lives miserable. I spent hundreds of shekels (Israeli currency) on medicines and nutritional supplements. A few months after I started practicing, I knew I didn’t need the drugs anymore.”
Mentally, Segev found that she was able to overcome some of her more negative things, and see the world in a more proactive, positive way through following the practice.
“I realized that I can’t change anyone but myself. And when I change something in my thinking, the environment also changes, which is a miracle,” said Segev. “When I stand next to a nervous person and I recite, even in my heart, Falun Dafa is good, he calms down.”
Getting out of Lows in Life
The calming energy of Falun Dafa was also what helped Yael Yosef out of a very dark place in her life.
“Today is the 10th anniversary of the beginning of my practice, exactly a decade ago, and I am a different person,” she said. “I encountered Dafa when I was at the lowest point in my life. I was tired of living my difficult life. I was a single mother and a daughter of a sick mother who needed a lot of caring and treatments. I was nervous, angry, and I used to smoke.”
She added, “From a young age I believed that there was something beyond the need to eat, to get married and have children.”
But, for a long while, Yosef was not able to find answers to her questions. When she encountered the teachings of Falun Dafa during her difficult time, it was like a light bulb had turned on for her.
“When I discovered Falun Dafa, I received answers, I learned to be a good person and I learned about the principles of the universe: Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance,” she said. “That very day, I quit smoking. Instead of hardships, a spiritual contentment filled my heart, which brought me a lot of peace and I accepted the life I had as is.”
Today, she has developed a strong mind and body which carries her through whatever life decides to throw her way.
“To this day, I accept everything that comes my way. Instead of chasing and obtaining more material things, I obtained peace and calm,” said Yosef. “From studying and practicing I realized that everyone deserves what they have and I stopped pursuing [things]. Chasing is tiring.”
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