(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners joined the annual Rhode Island Folk Festival in Riverside, Rhode Island on August 24, 2025.
Practitioners from Rhode Island and Massachusetts set up a booth and distributed introductory flyers, and demonstrated the graceful, soothing exercises in the picturesque park beside the river. In the tranquility of late summer, people came one after another, often in groups. Some people accepted flyers and asked questions to learn more about the practice and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, while others expressed their wish to learn the exercises.
People learn the Falun Dafa exercises.
People sign the petition calling to end the persecution.
“I Felt the Energy in This Book”
Carolina walked over to the Falun Dafa booth, and a practitioner told her, “Falun Dafa is a cultivation practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It has five sets of simple and easy to learn exercises, and is a high-level spiritual practice. It can help people improve their physical and mental well-being.”
Carolina seemed very interested and asked about the difference between Falun Dafa and other practices. The practitioner thus combined her own understanding and experiences to explain that Falun Dafa can help people renew their health and requires practitioners to cultivate their hearts and abide by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to become good people. The practitioner suggested that Carolina visit the Falun Dafa website to read the electronic version of the book, Zhuan Falun.
During the conversation, Carolina saw a Falun Dafa book with a blue cover on the booth table and flipped through a few pages. She said that she wanted to buy it. She exclaimed, “Although I have only flipped through a few pages, I can feel the energy in this book.” She also bought the exercise-instruction VCD, saying that she wanted to go home to learn the exercises too.
People Learn the Falun Dafa Exercises
Four children approached the Falun Dafa booth and heard a practitioner saying that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the cultivation principles of Falun Dafa and there are also five sets of exercises. They then watched practitioners do the exercises. A practitioner told them more about the practice and taught them how to read the two phrases on the bookmarks hanging below the small lotus flower keepsakes, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The practitioner also provided a few simple examples to explain the meaning of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to the children. The children were very happy and left after that.
Before long, the two mothers of the children came over to the booth and expressed interest in learning more about the practice. A practitioner thus introduced Falun Dafa to them, pointed to the practitioners who were demonstrating the exercises, and told them that the exercises are simple and easy to learn. The practitioner also gave them the Falun Dafa website address, so that they could learn the exercises online by following the video instructions.
The two mothers then said that they really wanted to learn the exercises immediately. The practitioner led them over to the lawn at the back of the booth to teach them. They were very serious while learning and followed the practitioner to do the first exercise three times. They also learned the second exercise, “Falun Standing Stance.” They thanked the practitioner and said that they will learn the remaining exercises through the website.
Woman Changes Her Attitude After Hearing the Facts
A woman in her fifties passed by the booth and a practitioner handed her a flyer. This woman initially did not understand what the flyer was about and a practitioner told her, “Falun Gong has been suffering from the CCP's persecution for 26 years. The CCP has made use of the U.S. judicial system and media to attack Falun Gong in a systematic manner. We are seeking signatures for the petition here, hoping to let Americans know that the CCP is is evil. On the other hand, Falun Gong promotes Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and teaches people to be good. It is righteous and opposed to what the CCP advocates. Therefore, we hope that Americans can differentiate between right and wrong, and good and evil.”
Hearing that, the woman became friendly and said, “What you are doing is good. I will pray for you all.” She took a flyer and said she will go online to check out the website after she gets home. Before leaving, she also signed the petition that calls for the U.S. Senate to pass Falun Gong Protection Act.
People Support Falun Dafa
A middle-aged Chinese man brought his two daughters over to the booth, and a practitioner taught the girls to read the words “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance is good” on the small lotus flower cards in English. This Chinese man said that his daughters can speak Chinese and told the practitioner that they had come from Beijing. They are currently living in the United States, and he knows about the persecution that Falun Gong faces in China.
A middle-aged American man came to the booth to learn more about the persecution and the CCP’s transnational repression. A practitioner told him that the CCP is atheist and uses lies and violence to maintain its rule. On the other hand, Falun Gong spreads the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, so the practice has been accepted and promoted by kind people around the world. After listening seriously to the practitioner’s explanations, the man said that he liked Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and signed the petition to show his support for Falun Dafa.
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