Introducing Falun Dafa in Western France

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in western France participated in a series of activities in the cities of Bordeaux and Rennes in September and October 2024. The practitioners introduced Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, to local citizens and tourists, and many people expressed interest in the practice.

Falun Dafa at Health Fair in Rennes

Practitioners participated in a health fair at the Rennes Gymnasium on October 5-6, 2024. They demonstrated and taught visitors the Falun Dafa exercises on Saturday afternoon in the conference hall. Participants expressed interest in learning more about the practice.

Rennes is a historic city in northwestern France and is the capital of the region of Brittany and the Ille-et-Vilaine department. A large number of medieval and classical cultural heritage buildings are preserved there, among which 90 are classified as protected historical monuments.

Many people visited the Falun Dafa booth and showed interest in the cultivation practice. Falun Dafa’s core values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance resonated with many people.

Falun Dafa practitioners participated in a health fair at the Rennes Gymnasium on the weekend of October 5-6, 2024.

One man who visited the booth said that he was beginning to explore spiritual practice, and had developed a keen interest in meditation. He had a long conversation with practitioners and was reluctant to leave. He expressed a desire to become able to enter a state of tranquility during meditation and not be disturbed by his thoughts, but although he had followed the instructions in some books, he had never been able to achieve tranquility. The practitioners told him that the fifth set of Falun Dafa exercises is different, and that practitioners can get help through the teachings in the book Zhuan Falun, and by abiding by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives to achieve tranquility.

When he understood that his inability to acheive tranquility stemmed from the impurity of his mind, and that the more he could purify his mind the more he would be able to attain this state, he agreed with the idea very much. He returned to the booth after a while and said that he wanted to buy the book Zhuan Falun. He said, “I know that if I don’t buy it now, I’ll regret it when I get home, and then I’ll have to order it online.”

Christel and Olivier, who live near Concarneau, felt passionate about Falun Dafa, and invited practitioners to hold a Falun Dafa workshop at a special venue where they run physical and mental health wellness classes.

Resident: “The Falun Dafa booth is full of good energy”

Virginie said that the Falun Dafa booth was filled with good energy, and that she felt comfortable there. She said the energy flowed throughout her body. She mentioned that forbearance was a value that she strives to live by. She believes that the bad things in one’s heart must be removed in order to feel truly comfortable. She showed a keen interest in teachings that could help her look within. She was shocked upon learning that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has brutally persecuted Falun Gong practitioners for 25 years.

Pierre works in hydroponic farming using a sustainable technique that combines plant cultivation with fish farming. He switched careers so that he could spend more time with his family and at the same time engage in inner exploration. He loves Chinese culture and had an in-depth conversation with a Falun Dafa practitioner. He attended the Falun Dafa presentation on Saturday, and on Sunday he came to the booth again with his wife, who was very interested in meditation. He said, “This [Falun Dafa] is a way to help us improve.”

Maryvonne, a retired nurse, had learned about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and the regime’s state-sanctioned live organ harvesting, from online sources. She said, “In China, there is massive control, and this is gradually spreading to Europe.”

“When the prisoners from the Nazi’s Holocaust came back and told their stories, no one believed them because it was so terrible,” she said. “The situation of this organ trafficking is so horrific that it takes time to digest the horror.” She also talked about some evidence of organ trafficking.

Introducing Falun Dafa at the Bordeaux Association Forum

Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the Association Forum at the Bordeaux City Hall on Saturday, September 7, 2024. They demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises and introduced the spiritual practice to people.

Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the Association Forum held at Bordeaux City Hall on Saturday, September 7, 2024.

Several practitioners in yellow T-shirts demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises in front of the booth. Many people were interested in the exercises and signed up for Sunday classes at a local practice site. The Falun Dafa practice site is in the Jardin Public Garden in Bordeaux, where practitioners practice and teach the exercises every Sunday.

A couple, and especially the husband, was very interested in the practice when they saw practitioners demonstrating the exercises. The husband said he had tried several different qigong methods but had not found one that really worked for him. After Falun Dafa practitioners said that Falun Dafa cultivation was a cultivation of both body and mind, he became curious about the practice. He said he would attend the next Sunday’s exercise instruction in Jardin Public Garden. He attended that Sunday, and after the group practice, he said that he would definitely follow Master Li’s teachings, because they were exactly what he had been looking for.

People Flock to Learn and Practice Falun Dafa

A Chinese tourist whose husband was from Belgium talked to the practitioners. After she learned the facts, she asked her husband to watch the practitioners’ exercise demonstration and told him that Falun Gong was being persecuted in China. After that, her husband practiced the exercises with a practitioner next to the Falun Dafa booth.

Many people were very interested in Falun Dafa and signed up for classes. Several new practitioners have since joined the morning exercises each Sunday, even though they have sometimes found it difficult.

The Association of Women Entrepreneurs and several associations in Bordeaux invited Falun Dafa practitioners to introduce Falun Dafa to their members.

Bordeaux is the wine capital of the world, and the region is home to famous wineries and vineyards. Bordeaux is a tourist destination due to its unique architectural and cultural heritage, with more than 400 historical monuments, second only to Paris, and one of the cities with the most historical monuments in France.