Ohio Practitioners Promote Dafa to the Tri-State Area

Within the course of a week, practitioners from Columbus, Ohio took part in several Dafa promoting activities in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Their purpose was to present the principles, history, and persecution of Falun Dafa to the American public. Four practitioners from Indiana joined the Columbus practitioners for the first activity held in a Bloomington, Indiana library. A Columbus practitioner gave a one-hour slide presentation to half a dozen American men and women. Afterwards, the practitioners taught the exercises and answered questions. Several of the attendees also expressed their interest in joining a morning practice to be held in Bloomington.

A few days later, the Columbus practitioners gave a presentation at the invitation of the Ohio State University's Department of Education. After a failed slide projector ended the practitioners' plans for a slide show, they gave an impromptu presentation talking about the principles of Falun Gong and the persecution of practitioners in China. In addition, the practitioners helped explain why the Chinese government had been persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners for the past two years. After that, the practitioners did a quick demonstration of the five exercises followed by a thought-provoking question answer session. Some of the questions included: "Do you feel safe being a practitioner in America, and would you be afraid to go back to China?" and "What is the difference between Falun Dafa and Tai Chi?"

The day after the Ohio State presentation, the practitioners gave another lecture to Marshall University in West Virginia. The invitation came in response to letters the Columbus practice group had sent out asking for support for Falun Gong. The hosting professor, a semi-fluent Chinese speaker and an Asian history scholar, had arranged for his Asian history class and another class on religion to attend the presentation. The practitioners gave a slide show similar to that of the Indiana lecture. Then they demonstrated the exercises and answered questions. After the class, the professor felt there was a strong connection between Falun Dafa and traditional Chinese culture. He was, thus, able to understand why this would agitate the Chinese government's atheist views.

Later that afternoon, the practitioners taught a special exercise session to nearly thirty students. The class split into male and female groups and there were a surprisingly large number of girls were able to sit in the lotus position. As the practitioners were leaving, the professor said he was very happy to have heard the presentation, especially since he had written an article on Falun Gong several months prior. The practitioners thanked him and then gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong: A Challenge to China. All in all, this had been a productive week; the promotional activities helped more people learn the truth of Falun Dafa and the facts behind the persecution of practitioners in China.

Some Practitioners from Columbus, Ohio