(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to participate in the Mind Body Spirit Festival in Brisbane, Australia on February 24 – 26. They demonstrated and taught the exercises and distributed information about Falun Dafa. Many festival attendees said they were glad to hear about the physical and mental health benefits of practicing Falun Dafa. Some people who learned the exercises during the event said they were impressed by the energy they felt.

Known as the largest health, well-being, and natural therapies event in Australia, the festival was held in the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. The Falun Dafa booth was decorated with lotus flowers and photos of people around the globe doing the exercises.

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises during the Mind Body Spirit Festival in Brisbane.

People asked about Falun Dafa and the suppression in China.

One woman learned the first set of exercises.

Therapist: A Practice That Benefits Everyone

Petrina Yorke from a palliative care firm said she attended the festival every year. She told practitioners that she had been to China and heard negative things about Falun Dafa there. But she knew those people had been brainwashed by defamatory propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and she was worried about the dire situation in China.

She said that Falun Dafa practitioners were remarkable, and want to be better citizens, yet they have been brutally persecuted in China. “Few people know what is going on there because the CCP has covered up crime of the suppression,” she explained.

Petrina Yorke said she liked the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

“The principles of Falun Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, are indeed great,” she said. “They help people to improve starting from their heart and will make this world a better place. Everyone will benefit from it,” she added.

Energy from the Universe

Tamie McNulty (right) learning the first set of exercises.

Tamie McNulty, who works in property management, learned the exercises from a practitioner. “I could feel a refreshing energy when doing the exercises, and I believe this is what I am supposed to do today,” she said. She agreed with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and felt they could improve one’s mind nature, and are absolutely beneficial to society.

Amanda Morgan (left) said she could feel the energy when she did the sitting meditation.

Amanda Morgan, a hairdresser, said she had previously heard about Falun Dafa. This was the first time she tried the exercises and she really enjoyed them. “When doing the sitting meditation, I could feel lots of energy from the universe. It was like a harmony between mind and body,” she explained.

The Persecution in China is Wrong

Carine said she supports Falun Dafa practitioners.

Carine, a customized skincare products retailer, was fascinated by the yellow shirts practitioners wore. She explained that yellow was her favorite color and the words on the shirt were extremely meaningful. “The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance help us a lot in our daily life. They are very important,” she said.

Having lived in Melbourne previously and seen practitioners’ activities, Carine knew that the CCP detained practitioners for their belief, and even killed them for their organs. “The persecution is wrong and is very unfortunate,” she said. “They cannot treat innocent people like that and you should tell more people about these (tragedies).”

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.