(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Sweden celebrated the 24th World Falun Dafa Day with activities in Stockholm’s Royal Garden on May 13, 2023.
The weather was warm and sunny, and they celebrated the day by doing the Falun Dafa exercises, giving waist drum performances, and talking about their cultivation experiences. They wanted to tell the world that practicing Falun Dafa gives them healthy minds and bodies, improves their morality and brings happiness and peace to their families and society. They thanked the founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, for introducing to the world, and wished him a happy birthday.
Practitioners held activities in the Royal Garden on May 13, 2023 to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day.
People applauded the spirited performances by the waist drum team.
Four members of the Swedish Parliament sent greetings to the celebration and congratulated World Falun Dafa Day. They expressed their support for practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution and encouraged them to persevere.
Ella from Gothenburg has practiced Falun Dafa for more than 20 years. She immigrated to Sweden from Greece with her family at the age of four. Ella specializes in film and television production, and art education for children and adults. She has been interested in Chinese traditional culture and philosophy since childhood. She loves reading books. She bought a copy of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching and read it when she couldn’t sleep. “I often had difficulty falling asleep at night. That exhausted me both physically and mentally. I tried swimming, practicing yoga and other methods to improve my health. But there was no obvious effect.”
Ella from Gothenburg thanked Master for imparting Dafa to the world and giving her a new life.
Ella decided to try acupuncture in January 2001, so she went to a local Chinese medicine clinic for treatment. “When I went there for the acupuncture treatment, I also got a leaflet about Falun Dafa. I was immediately interested in learning more and contacted the nearest practice site.” Ella said, “I went to the practice site that week. I felt a different and powerful energy when I learned the exercises for the first time. Within less than a month of practicing, I was full of vitality, and my insomnia and physical discomfort gradually disappeared. I was full of energy and happy.”
Ella has a strong personality. Her relationship with her parents was strained and she left home when she was young. She changed after she began practicing Falun Dafa. She often visited her parents, and tried to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance when interacting with people. Over time, her relationships with family and friends became harmonious. She said happily, “My parents are very happy to see that my temper and personality have changed along with my health improvement after I began practicing Falun Dafa. They all know that Falun Dafa is good, and strongly encourage me to practice. My father is seventy-five years old, and sometimes he goes to the streets with me to distribute leaflets to help spread the facts about Falun Dafa.” Ella said, “Falun Dafa has completely renewed my life. I am very grateful to Master Li Hongzhi. I respectively wish Master a happy birthday!”
Biljana works in a pharmaceutical company in Sweden and began practicing Falun Dafa in 2019. She said, “Everything in my life has changed in the past four years after I began practicing Falun Dafa. I finally found the true meaning of life, and experienced the wonders and beauty of Dafa myself.”
Biljana thanked Master and said her her life was full and happy.
Biljana had experienced anxiety since she was a teenager. She felt that her life was stressful and meaningless. She was looking for ways and methods to alleviate her condition, but nothing helped. “I often felt depressed, confused, empty and lonely. I started to indulge in games and gambling to fill the emptiness in my heart. I almost lost confidence in life at that time.”
Biljana found the answers to all her questions about life in Zhuan Falun, Falun Dafa’s main book, after she began practicing Falun Dafa. She said, “I understand what is really good and bad, and how to cultivate myself to be a good person according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I’m no longer confused. I follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to upgrade my morality. I gained a deep understanding of life and various problems that I have to face. I stopped playing games and gambling, and I am not interested in things that ordinary people are obsessed with. I am no longer jealous of others, and take the conflicts that arise in my work and life as opportunities to improve my character. I understand how important it is to keep calm and look within when conflicts arise during cultivation.”
She said, “The anxiety that troubled me for many years disappeared within less than six months. Everything in my life seemed to have changed and became positive, including my relationship with my son.”
She said that she always worried about her adult son in the past, worrying that he was going the wrong way as the morality of the whole society is declining and drugs are rampant. But it was difficult to communicate with him. “It’s all right now. Our communication has become easier. Although my son hasn’t start practicing Falun Dafa yet, he agrees that people should have good morality.” Biljana is deeply grateful for what Master did for her, and said her life is now full and happy. “Thank you, Master, for letting me understand the meaning of life, and filling my heart with love. I feel very happy.”
Carl, a young Swedish practitioner, wanted to offer his best wishes to Master Li Hongzhi through the Minghui website, and express his joy and gratitude.
Carl conjoined his hands to express his respect and gratitude to Master, “Thank you, Master!”
Carl said that no language can express his endless gratitude to Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa. He feels fortunate that he found Falun Dafa. “In the past I only thought that everyone living in this world suffers, but I never thought about why. Only after practicing Falun Dafa did I really understand the true meaning of life.” Carl hopes that Chinese people will soon know the facts about Falun Dafa, stop believing the communist regime’s lies, and have a bright future. He put his palms together in the end to express his respect and gratitude to Master. He said that thousands of words were expressed in one sentence, “Thank you, Master!”
The Royal Garden was full of visitors that day, and the atmosphere was upbeat and peaceful. Practitioners introduced Falun Dafa through loudspeakers, and explained that Falun Dafa is based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, that it has spread in the world for 31 years, and that it has improved the morality of hundreds of millions of people and benefited them both physically and mentally.
Practitioners explained the facts about Falun Dafa to people.
People were shocked when they learned how practitioners are persecuted in China. They signed the petition to condemn the Communist regime and call for an end to the persecution.
The peaceful Falun Dafa exercises and the festive waist drum performance attracted many tourists to watch, take pictures, and record videos. They talked with practitioners to learn more about Falun Dafa. People were shocked when they learned how practitioners are persecuted in China. Many condemned the Communist regime and signed the petition calling for the persecution to end. Many were also interested in the practice and learned the exercise.
Falun Dafa’s peaceful exercises attracted many people. Many were interested in the practice and learned the exercises.