Activities in Birmingham and Coventry, UK

Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK, after London. Despite this, there are only a few practitioners living there or nearby.

Practitioners have still held various activities in Birmingham and the nearby area over the last year or so. On most Saturdays, practitioners have gone to the city center to Hongfa, and to reveal the truth of the persecution in China. Sometimes practitioners from other cities attend, but often, there are just two or three of us. One can do the exercises, and the others can hand out flyers, and talk to people. We have found many opportunities to cultivate, and also met many kind-hearted people. Several people have remarked that they could feel the powerful, compassionate energy field surrounding the practitioners when they practice.

Once someone stopped, mesmerised by the sight of the practitioners performing the exercises. We explained that people were being tortured for doing this in China. Before we had a chance to explain what Falun Gong was, he shook his head sadly and said sincerely "That's terrible. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. That's terrible." Then we said that Falun Gong was about Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. But he seemed to already know, and just stood looking at the exercises, saying with surprising sincerity Of course it is! Of course it is - it's beautiful, it's beautiful! Shaking his head he went to sign the petition. There have been many other touching and encouraging moments.

A few weekends ago, there was a summer fair held in the nearby city of Coventry, over Saturday and Sunday. The practitioner who lives in Coventry arranged permission for us to attend. On the first day it was raining heavily when practitioners arrived, and the sky was covered in heavy, dark, threatening-looking clouds. The practitioners began to practice the exercises in the pouring rain. As the practitioners finished the standing exercises the rain had dropped to a drizzle, but the sky looked very threatening still, as though it could pour with rain any second. Practitioners realised that they had not "sent forth righteous thoughts," so they sat down and did so. When they had finished, a large patch of blue sky had developed, and the clouds had lifted. The atmosphere lifted, and felt lighter; the rain did not return, except for a few drops later in the afternoon. People showed warm interest in the practice throughout both days, and accepted the materials readily.

On the second day of the activities, some children were interested in learning the exercises, so they spent fifteen minutes trying out the practice. One girl, who was able to concentrate better than the others, and showed genuine interest, picked it up quickly. We had only explained a little about the practice, other than about Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, but just before she went, she asked, 'Will I go to heaven now?" Although she was half-joking, one could sense that she was half-serious, and that her Buddha nature had clearly and innocently recognised the Buddha Fa. One practitioner took the opportunity to talk to the local Amnesty International group who had a stall at the fair, to tell them more about the persecution and to see if we could come and give a presentation sometime. They were very interested for us to attend their local group meeting and to give a presentation.

Last weekend, we were invited to attend a spiritual & religious festival in Birmingham city centre - at Victoria Square - which involved various stalls of all types of spiritually related things. At first we were a little unsure about whether to attend; we felt that perhaps there would be too much messy stuff there. After a little reflection, however, we felt that we absolutely should attend - that Dafa is a righteous Fa, and should be present at such things if there is an opportunity. Dafa is perfect and harmonious, it is other things that have become distorted. The day was very successful. It was a beautiful sunny day. The feeling of harmony and compassion around the Dafa stand was almost tangible, and washed away any notions of conflict with the surrounding stalls.

A reporter from Spain who had come to visit his daughter on holiday became very interested in Falun Gong and the persecution in China, and asked if he could come to our group practise and take some photos for an article in a Spanish paper. Of course we said yes! As I watched a practitioner begin the 5th exercise, sitting on the table, I truly felt that in front of me was sitting a future enlightened being, radiating compassion. People stood and watched with a sense of respect and awe. After we finished the day, a lady who had been at a stall opposite us stopped us and spoke to this practitioner, saying something like "When you were sitting there in meditation I could just feel this energy, this love, compassion, coming from you, from you to me. I could really feel it. I could really feel the energy. I will definitely read the book. I will definitely read the book."

On July 26, to coincide with UN International Day Against Torture, practitioners arranged to go to the city centre to hold activities. A few practitioners from other cities in the UK also attended. More posters than usual were displayed, with a focus on some specific torture cases, and on the case of Zhao Ming in particular. It was one of the hottest days of the year, and the city centre was busy with summer shoppers and people taking breaks from the office to enjoy the sunshine. Many were interested in reading the posters, and in watching the exercises, and many signed the petition. We handed out many flyers, and newspapers. The atmosphere around the area was peaceful and harmonious.