Grahamstown

From Lesotho we arrived in Grahamstown a few days before The National Arts Festival -- a ten-day event encompassing many forms of the Arts, from plays to Artistic and music performance, from Art exhibitions to Art and Craft Stalls. It was a colorful display of diverse talents from most areas of Africa. Set in a historical "University" town containing sixty-three churches, Grahamstown's history dates back to the early struggles between the native Africans and the colonial British. Although the streets were relatively tidy and reputedly safe we were approached many times by beggars asking for food, money or in some cases an opportunity to work. Every place we have traveled in Southern Africa, the local stories of suffering have been the same: poverty, the cheapness of life, theft, violence, rape, crime, drug abuse, starvation, disease and fear. Grahamstown was no exception. The problems go very deep into spiritual, cultural, racial and political differences. For the people of Southern Africa I know that the Fa can, will and has made a difference in their lives.

At the beginning of the festival a practitioner from Singapore and two from Durban joined us. One was a new practitioner whom we had coached some 8 weeks earlier.

We held a stall, during very changeable weather conditions; we distributed hundreds of flyers daily and discussed the practice and persecution issues with many people. We conducted Falun Gong introduction sessions twice daily in a nearby park and at the stall upon request. Other stallholders and passers-by returned daily for further instruction. At the stall we coached the exercises mostly to children. Generally, the children came from the poorer areas of the town, shivering, dressed in old or worn-out clothes, sometimes barefoot, these children would return on almost a daily basis asking to do exercises. The majority were from the "Townships" (sometimes called Locations or Squatter Camps); these ghettos's can house thousands of families living in squalid conditions, often without running water or sanitary facilities. These homes are commonly made from scrap materials, sticks and mud.

It was an incredible opportunity for both promotion of the Fa, Clarification of the Truth and personal cultivation. The people of Africa are very friendly and open. For many of them, it is clear that they have been waiting for Falun Dafa. There was an amazing ten-year-old boy who would often lead his friends and, in one case an old alcoholic in the exercises. This was after just 5 days of meeting him during the festival and repetitive coaching at the stall.

As for the bigger picture here, there were a lot of people who asked us to visit their city or country to coach them; some bought books and videos. Many were appalled at the treatment that Falun Dafa received in China, surprised at the position that the South African government had taken and wished us well in our endeavors. Our objective in South Africa was to clarify the truth with the Governments of as many countries in the African Continent as possible, to obtain interviews with the media and along the way to hold lectures or workshops introducing people to the exercises and Master's teachings. The South African people and its government prides itself on being at the forefront of Human Rights issues; nevertheless, the government abstained from voting during the UN Commission on Human Rights Violations in April of this year.

For the six cities or so that we've been to, they need further instruction and encouragement. It is my feeling that, initially, continuity is important in developing a solid foundation with new practitioners; however, there are exceptions; it is my understanding that those people with strong pre-destiny will obtain the Fa from Master's books and videos without needing the encouragement or ongoing instruction from an experienced practitioner. Master tells us in Zhuan Falun; "True Dafa practitioners will undergo the same experiences by reading this book, and they will obtain whatever they deserve all the same." and "I treat all practitioners, including those who are able to truly practice cultivation through self-study, as my disciples." Also "True cultivation practice depends fully upon your heart. As long as you practice cultivation and are sure footed as well as determined in practicing cultivation, we shall treat you as disciples."

The moral decay here is very high. As an example, I heard that nine out of ten homes in Johannesburg have at least one handgun. Yesterday 10 boys saw us instructing 4 other boys and asked what we were doing. We invited them to join us. They managed the first exercise before distractions became too great. We gave them pamphlets to read before they went off to continue their "game". I hope that we were able to awaken their better sides in the brief time we shared so that they may one day find salvation.

An example of the power of the Fa to bring us in to contact with predestined people was shown many times. Here is an example. The night that we arrived in town we discussed our plans for the next day. We had a few days to prepare for the festival, and so we compiled an action plan. Our accommodation was some distance form the festival site and in one of the township areas; while we saw this as an opportunity to share Falun Gong with the poverty stricken, it would not be as productive as staying nearer to our stall. We planned to investigate alternative accommodation options, print pamphlets and contact the media along with sundry necessities. While standing at the counter of the print shop, I was approached by a man who recognized my Falun Gong T-shirt. He was a journalist and local Tai Chi instructor. He invited me to his home that evening to discuss Falun Gong and how we should approach an article. As we walked out
into the street his wife was waiting to collect him in their car. While I had been attending to those matters, the other practitioner was making enquiries into our accommodation. Together we visited a rental office. As we entered, a woman behind one of the desks remarked, "I know you! You were speaking with my husband earlier and I believe he has invited you to our home!"

When the festival came to an end the visiting practitioners departed, so began my dissemination of the Fa in South Africa alone. I relocated to a new practitioner's home, the journalist mentioned above, whom we had met when we first arrived in town. He was eager to learn the exercises and discuss what he had understood in the books, Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong. No longer was there an urgency to visit as many places as possible; more time could be spent
cultivating with new practitioners.

Practicing in the local park, introducing the exercises in a hall during the evening and encouraging the study of Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun, with the contacts we had made during the festival, began to fulfill the vision of establishing more practice sites in South Africa. A small group soon established itself; the practitioners saw themselves as a core that hoped to share the exercises with others. Unfortunately, the boys who were from the Townships, who had shown a lot of interest, did not visit the park and contact with them was lost. We had given them some books and videos so that they would have the Fa to study in the future and told others of their availability in the Library. We had determined that it was very important that they obtain Zhuan Falun, Falun Gong or Master's video, so that they could continue with their cultivation.

The next location, two hours east of Grahamstown, where activities were undertaken was East London. I had visited there one evening before the commencement of the National arts festival to introduce Falun Gong to an existing Qigong class. The contact that we had in this town was a Martial Arts/ Qigong/Tai Chi instructor. He had been very welcoming and invited me to stay with him and his family on my next visit. He had since read Zhuan Falun and was eager to discuss his understanding. When we again met, some of the people from his class were keen to practice the exercises. They aided in establishing a weekend introductory class, which approximately twenty people attended. From there other people enthusiastically sought further coaching, one offering her home for a class. On a few occasions, some visited the small farm where I was staying, to practice. Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong were donated to the library and the local newspapers were offered the opportunity to conduct interviews.

A contact that had been made during the festival invited me to coach at a backpackers hostel, in Cintsa, approximately 30klms east of East London, on the beach. Here, the exercises were shared twice a day. In the afternoons was an introductory class, where people from East London joined with people who worked or passed through the Backpackers. The morning group soon began to
practice without needing in depth instruction; one afternoon as I walked through the property, Falun Gong practice music could be heard wafting through the trees. It was the morning group practicing without me. I was happy for them; they had taken the initiative to refine the exercises and practice. I stayed here for a little over one week; local people assured me they would continue to practice and asked me to return to help them further.

I revisited Grahamstown for a few days to encourage the practice group. The University students had returned from leave and the town had now taken on a different appearance. Two introductory classes at the University were organized by a martial arts instructor and lecturer, whom we had met during the festival. He told me that he and his daughter of 3 years had been doing the exercises daily by following Master's exercise video. His daughter really enjoys the exercises and he found the books very informative. Media students from the university had begun communicating with me just after I last left. They had heard about Falun Gong from friends whom we'd met and they
wanted to film people practicing at the classes and conduct interviews. The media students took classes from the organizer, in both information technology and martial arts. They saw it as more than coincidence that there was such a connection.

One afternoon, while leaving a shopping center, two of the boys (eleven and twelve years old), from the Township, whom we had coached in the exercises, approached me. They asked if we could go to the Park and do exercises tomorrow. The next day we spent a couple of hours together, and it was remarkable how well they recalled the exercises. They had been practicing they assured me. I made certain of their addresses so that I could write them or put them in contact with the local group. Again I was reminded of the greatness of the Fa to guide us in the process of cultivation: as cultivators nothing is by chance. This I had understood; nevertheless it was interesting to see how the cycle of my time in Grahamstown and the South Eastern Cape was drawing to a close.

During this period many contacts, in various towns were made, it became apparent that I could travel from town to town, for a long time, conducting introductory classes and setting up practice sites. Very encouraging signs told me that the dissemination of Falun Dafa would continue. With time, local practitioners have the opportunity to spread the Fa amongst interested people in neighboring cities and towns. For me however, the urgency to fulfill opportunities in Durban and Johannesburg to address the persecution became uppermost in my mind. My next stop would be in Durban to join with practitioners in Hong Fa at the World Conference Against Racism.