Geschützt: Who Practices Falun Gong?

While Falun Gong was first introduced to the public in China, today people in over 100 countries have taken up the practice — from Boston to Berlin; Moscow to Mumbai; Jerusalem to Jacksonville.Around the world, the practice has transcended class, ethnicity, and education levels. Volunteer practice sites where people come together to perform Falun Gong’s slow-motion exercises and sitting meditation are found on campus quads of ivy league universities in the U.S. just as they are found on the dusty backroads of farming villages in sub-Saharan Africa. Every Sunday morning, a group gathers in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris for a refreshing meditation, while half a world away, another group finishes their day performing Falun Gong’s slow-moving exercises in a lush Japanese garden with Mt. Fuji looming in the distance. Falun Gong practitioners doing the sitting meditation in Paris, celebrating World Falun Dafa Day.Who are these people? What motivates them to practice, and despite the diversity of country, language, ethnicity, and life experiences, what do they have in common? Faces of Falun Gong “Before Falun Dafa, I wasn't into anything asian, and I didn't have an affinity for asian culture. When I got to know Falun Dafa, I immediately realized that this is a practice for people of any nationality, because truthfulness-compassion-forbearance is a universal human value. Therefore, I did not have the feeling that it was something foreign for me.”Tatiana Skoulkina 🇺🇦🇷🇺Tatiana is a TV Production Manager with Masters degree in Economics. Russian born, she married and lives with her family in Ukraine “I was looking for qigong class to improve my health. I found a Falun Gong practice site in a community center near my house. I have been practicing for nearly two years. My day to day behaviour and daily practice based on philosophy of Falun Dafa and Zhen, Shan, Ren have become a part of my life, that has stabilized and enriched my mind and body.”Yoshihiro Ishige 🇯🇵Mr. Ishige lives in Japan, and works for an IT firm “I first encountered Falun Dafa in the fall of the year 2000. That was also my first year of law school. I was in Washington, D.C., and discovered the practice on the National Mall. At the time, I was looking for something that could help me manage the stress of my first year of law school. I am tremendously grateful to have learned Falun Dafa back then. The practice has become a truly uplifting and essential part of my life.”Jamil Lawrence J.D. 🇺🇸Jamil is an attorney & recording artist known as "Rise-Ascend" who lives with his family in Washington D.C. "Falun Gong has totally changed the course of my life, not only mine but also the life of my whole family. Growing up in a socialist environment amidst two brothers made me a rather competitive and quarrelsome young lady. And being married with two children I really had a hard time accepting my role. But with years of studying the teachings of Falun Dafa I was able to connect deeper with the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance, I became calmer and more tolerant. I can take things lightly more easily now and my heart became wider."Veronika Pasdar 🇦🇹Middle School Teacher, Austria “I did wonder about religions and why some of my friends are very religious. I didn’t quite understand why people would believe in something like that. And I guess I was also kind of arrogant. A lot of scientists don’t want to believe in a higher power. What I found striking was that Master Li (founder of Falun Dafa) explained spiritual cultivation in scientific terms, which made it easier to understand. He used modern science and the science of the human body to explain arcane concepts. When I read it, I just changed.”“Before cultivation, I really followed a ‘survival of the fittest’ mindset. I always had to be number one. But after practicing Falun Gong, my worldview just changed completely. I went from a selfish person who likes to fight for personal gain to a more selfless and compassionate way of existence.” Interestingly enough, Dr. Wu said his research yielded better results when he became more altruistic. In 2023, he was even awarded a prestigious research fellowship totaling nearly two million pounds to study the genomic stability of neurological disorders. Dr. Greg Wu 🇲🇾🇬🇧Dr. Wu, born in Malaysia, earned his Doctorate degree at Oxford University, UK. He now works as a geneticist at Cardiff University. “In March of 2021 we went to watch Shen Yun. It was such a beautiful performance! I felt a sense of hope in my heart. It changed my thinking and view on the world. After the show I was certain that I wanted to practice Falun Dafa and that I wanted to let go of my unhealthy attachments and lifestyle. I then quit smoking and drinking. Since then I have been practicing Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa has brought a deeply rewarding spiritual path in my life” Isaak Bruggeman 🇧🇪Student of Marketing and Communication, Belgium "Right after persecution started, we encountered a stall in a local Body & Mind Festival in the UK. My English husband said 'If the Communist Party says it's bad, it must be really good' and picked up the books and the tape there. The teachings of Falun Dafa helped me overcome deaths of my close family members. "Yukari Werrell 🇯🇵🇬🇧Yukari, born in Japan, is a retired translator, who lives in the UK. Photo: Yukari with her daughter. “The most important thing for me is that through Falun Dafa teachings I learned that to have a healthy body and mind, you have to work on your body and mind. That they are inseparable in order to have results” Sandra Genin 🇫🇷Sandra is a Make-up artist living in France, and a mother of two. "In the past I searched and searched for meaning in life, everywhere. There were always open questions that I couldn't answer. When I first read the teachings of Falun Dafa, all of my questions were answered. After practicing Falun Gong I feel good, strong and healthy. Very different from how I felt when I was young. Further to that, my life is full of meaning. I feel whole and calm. I feel a better person."Liom Bromberg 🇮🇱Liom is a software engineer and lives with his wife and daughter in Israel. "While searching for the deeper meaning in life, I would read books from both western and eastern cultures. When I came across Falun Gong, many of those questions I had were answered. Although I grew up in North America having limited knowledge of eastern traditions, I found Falun Gong to be universally applicable regardless of my cultural background." —Kacey"My parents are from Hong Kong. After my father heard about the persecution, he wanted to learn more about Falun Gong. He always said anything that the CCP persecutes is probably good. Him and my mother started practicing when I was a teen, but I didn’t practice until my father passed away when I was 18 and I wanted more answers about life. The teachings taught me to look within myself if I ever encountered a problem, and it’s really empowering—because after all you can’t control the world around you or other people, but you can control how you react to the events, your own thoughts and emotions." —JudithJudith & Kacey Cox 🇨🇦🇭🇰🇬🇾Kacey is Film and TV producer of Guyanese origin. Judith is Creative and Marketing Director in the film and gaming industry. They live with their two daughters in Canada. Falun Gong Around the WorldWhile the practice was first introduced to the public in China, today Falun Gong is practiced in over 100 countries and the books have been translated into over 40 languages. Falun Gong is always taught for free by volunteers worldwide. Many learn the practice at volunteer-run practice sites in local parks or other public spaces. However, instructional videos and the Falun Gong books are also available for free online. Czech Republic Taiwan Tel Aviv, Israel Ethiopia Ethiopia England India Switzerland Indonesia France New York City South Korea Italy Japan Poland Washington DC Taiwan Russia Togo, Africa Chengdu, China Falun Gong in ChinaSuppressed Faith and Thriving Civil DisobedienceFor more than two decades, the CCP has sought to "eradicate" Falun Gong through a violent nation-wide campaign. In response, Falun Gong practitioners have mobilized the largest civil disobedience movement in the world today. This grassroots movement consisting of tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners across China who risk everything to pull back the veil of lies and propaganda coming from communist state-run media. https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/695484002Hardy RefugeesThe persecution of Falun Gong targeted 100 million people in China, and decimated countless families and communities across China. In the rare cases where family members live in the U.S. or different countries around the world, many have mobilized family rescue campaigns to free their loved-ones from wrongful imprisonment, abuse, and often torture. Falun Gong: In Their Own Wordshttps://vimeo.com/477811023