(Minghui.org) The five-day-long “Ribfest” was held at Victoria Park in the center of the City of London, Canada, on August 3-7, 2023. Along with barbecued ribs with a variety of flavors, this 35-year-old event also includes concerts, paintings, craft exhibitions, and different types of entertainment programs. It is one of the most important festivals for London’s summer culture and lifestyle. This year’s Ribfest was the second largest event in North America and the largest event in Canada.
This was the fourth year that Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to participate in the event. Under some shade in the park, practitioners introduced Falun Dafa to London residents and tourists from surrounding cities and towns, teaching people the exercise movements free-of-charge.
Falun Dafa practitioners introduce Falun Dafa and teach the exercises voluntarily at Ribfest in the City of London, Canada
Event Organizer: I Will Use My Whole Life to Put Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance into Practice
Doug Hillier agrees with the principles of Falun Dafa, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Doug Hillier is the event organizer for Ribfest in the City of London. He is also the president of Family Shows Canada.
He said, “I am very happy to be able to invite the Falun Dafa practitioners to come and participate in this event and have a nice weekend together. Falun Dafa practitioners can be seen demonstrating the exercises during this event every year. Every time when I see your figures, I am full of admiration. That is because it is inevitable to feel anxious with the hectic workload during the event, but seeing the practitioners practice the exercises helps me to calm down.”
He continued, saying, “Many years ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctor said that I could only live another five years. But it has been 20 years now. After being diagnosed with cancer, I reflected deeply about the purpose of life and how to be a human and live like a human. I think that Falun Dafa’s Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the values that I will practice my whole life. As a person who has been there, I know deeply how important it is to one’s mind and body to maintain a positive attitude. Take for example, now I can practice Compassion and Forbearance: During the event, when I meet with impatient clients. I must be considerate and comfort them, even if it means meeting them only this once.”
I Enjoyed the Process of Learning the Exercises and I Benefited Greatly From It
Margaret (right) came to the Dafa exhibition booth again.
Margaret is a London resident who works for a charity organization. She came to the Falun Dafa exhibition booth and listened to a practitioner explain the practice during Ribfest last summer. At that time, she even bought the Dafa book Zhuan Falun. She came to the Dafa booth again this summer and learned the exercises.
She said, “When I was learning the exercises, I enjoyed the process very much and benefited greatly too. I originally felt burdened by my workload but now that has all disappeared. To me, practicing the exercises can relieve stress and get rid of fatigue. Furthermore, it can help me concentrate on attaining the state of combining my body, soul, and the environment into one.”
Margaret recalled, “When I first heard about Falun Dafa, it was because of the persecution. At that time, I was sitting in a cafe when a young lady walked towards me and told me that the Falun Dafa practitioners are suffering from persecution. I then signed the petition that she passed to me calling for the persecution to end. At that time, I wanted to learn more about Falun Dafa so I went online to find more information about it. After that, I repeatedly met your booth at the Ribfest.”
Abiding by Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, My Mind Became Even More Pure and Cleansed
Jason came to the booth with his wife to learn about Falun Dafa.
After seeing practitioners demonstrate the exercises, London residents Jason and his wife walked toward the booth and carefully watched the introductory video.
Although Jason and his wife had never tried cultivation or practicing such exercises before, they felt interested when they came across Falun Dafa. Jason said, “It seems that practicing the exercises can make our bodies become flexible. The movements are slow and gradual, so they can help one’s heart attain calmness. At the same time, abiding by Falun Dafa’s Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance principles will let the mind become pure and cleansed too.”
Jason asked a practitioner about the local practice site and the practitioner gave him the addresses and times for each weeks’ group practice sessions. He said, “I will go to the park and practice the exercises with the practitioners.”
Hungarian Immigrant: Practicing the Exercises Let Me Experience a Tranquil State
Benza (right) experienced a tranquil state when he was learning the exercises.
Benza had heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa. When he saw the Falun Dafa booth in the park during the event, he walked over to enquire if the persecution was still happening.
A practitioner explained the current situation of the persecution, and Benza said with emotion, “From what I know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is atheist so they will object, suppress, and persecute all forms of beliefs. My parents came from Hungary, which is a European country that was ruled by the former communist regime. They told me about the hardship that the people suffered during those times. In order to break away from the communist regime, our whole family immigrated to Canada, so I can understand its evil nature.”
The practitioner then introduced Falun Dafa to him and he voluntarily said that he wanted to learn the exercises. After learning the exercises, Benza said, “Falun Dafa combines exercise movements and meditation. Following the rhythm of the verbal instructions to do the exercise movements make me enter the state of tranquility very easily. I think that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance will make people become better. This year’s summer weather is not bad. I will go to the park and join the Sunday practice site.”
Canadian Chinese: Media Information Transparency is Vastly Different Inside and Outside China
Ms. Liu had just left Shandong, China, to come to the City of London to accompany her son while he studies in Canada. She came over to the Falun Dafa practitioners’ booth and said to a practitioner, “With regards to the information about Falun Dafa, what I heard inside China and outside China is totally different. When I was in China, I believed the news that the CCP reported, so I had misunderstandings about the practice. It was only after Falun Dafa practitioners provided software to overcome the firewall that restricts people’s access to the Internet information outside of China that we had a channel to hear voices from outside. Only then did my impression about Falun Dafa start to change.”
After coming overseas, Ms. Liu was able to watch the news in an environment that does not have that censorship. She said with emotion, “After seeing the truth, I felt that the CCP has brought too much hardship to its people.” The practitioner then continued to tell her about quitting the CCP and its youth organizations. She said, “I will go to The Epoch Times website to renounce the Young Pioneers and Communist Youth League.”
After that, a practitioner shared his cultivation experiences. Ms. Liu was moved and also wanted to learn the practice. She said, “Your story about recovering your health and cultivating your heart to become a compassionate person is what I have longed for. I also want to learn the practice.” She then asked the practitioner for a contact method and for information about her local practice site.
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