(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Thailand gathered in Lumphini Park in Bangkok on December 24, 2023, to take a group photo and wish Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of the spiritual practice, a happy New Year.

Falun Dafa practitioners in Thailand held a group practice in Lumphini Park in Bangkok on December 24, 2023.

Practitioners wish Master Li a happy New Year.

Since the public introduction of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, many people around the world have taken up the practice, and there are practitioners in Thailand from all walks of life. They have come to know the meaning of life and have experienced improvement in their health and morality through practicing Dafa.

Mr. Chen from China recalled how he started practicing Falun Dafa many years ago. He recalled, “I contracted hepatitis B and was hospitalized several times. Others told me that there was no cure for this disease, which made me feel desperate. I was only in my early 30s and my child was still young, so I was often depressed.”

Mr. Chen’s mother had already started practicing Falun Gong at the time, and many people in China had heard that Falun Gong was very effective at curing diseases and keeping one fit.

He said, “My mother introduced me to Falun Gong. I had learned atheism and evolution since elementary school. I was influenced by the CCP’s atheist education, so I didn’t believe in the spiritual practice... Though I didn’t believe it, this disease made me suffer. There is a saying in China that people who are sick will seek any type of treatment.”

He eventually also started practicing Dafa. “My purpose at the beginning was to cure the disease,” he said. “Unexpectedly, after practicing for one month, my body changed a lot. I recovered and was discharged from the hospital. I was able to work. My enlightenment quality improved later on and I followed the requirements of Dafa completely, and my body was completely healed.”

After practicing Dafa, Mr. Chen gradually eliminated his bad habits, such as playing mahjong (a Chinese gambling game), smoking, drinking, and liking to quarrel with others.

“[One must] be a good person according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and be a good person in society first. Then the recovery of physical health, mental health, and morality are indeed deeply felt,” he said.

His family saw his tremendous transformation, and his daughter and wife also began practicing Falun Gong.

Learning Chinese to Learn Dafa

Practitioner Lingjie from Thailand shared how she started practicing Falun Dafa. In late May 1996, her friend had a problem with her hand and recovered after practicing the exercises, so her friend introduced the practice to Lingjie. Lingjie went along to learn, but she didn’t understand Chinese. After meeting Master Li, she was very happy. She asked, “I am not good at both English and Chinese. So what should I learn?” Master Li told her to learn Chinese, as it would be great in the future.

Lingjie worked hard to learn Chinese. “At first I opened the dictionary and slowly listened to the recordings of Master’s teachings, learning Chinese word by word. I can now understand Master’s teachings,” she said. Lingjie also hired a Chinese teacher to read Zhuan Falun in Chinese, and she was later able to read the book by herself.

According to the Minghui.org website, the first Thai version of Zhuan Falun was published in 1998. So in 1996, if Thai people who didn’t understand Chinese wanted to learn Dafa, they had to work hard to learn Chinese first.

Master Li introduced Falun Dafa to Thailand for the first time in 1996 and visited Thailand again later. She recalled, “Master Li brought us to the Lumphini Park practice site in Bangkok. We have since then come here to practice the exercises in the morning. I was very happy to see Master.”

When she learned that the Chinese Communist Party had started to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, she remembered feeling confused and unable to accept the fact. “I was very sad. I didn’t understand why the Party was treating Falun Gong like this,” she said.

She said that Chinese Falun Gong practitioners have suffered a lot of unfair treatment, and some of them who fled to Thailand suffered from the pain of being separated from their relatives for a long time. She treated them as friends and family, and tried her best to provide help. She called on people from all walks of life to work together to stop the persecution.