(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Dnipro, Ukraine held activities to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public on May 11, 2025. The event was attended by both new practitioners and practitioners who have been practicing Dafa for more than 20 years. Spectators had the opportunity to see the Falun Dafa exercises and receive informational materials about the practice, as well as small hand-made lotus flowers.

Event dedicated to World Falun Dafa Day on May 11, 2025, in Dnipro

Practitioners speak with the public and distribute informational materials about Dafa

Some spectators showed particular interest in Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, and talked with practitioners for more than half an hour.

Passersby: Practitioners Radiate Calm and Peace

Local residents Tatiana, an advertising manager, and her daughter Maria, a physical education teacher, saw the practitioners as they were walking by. They received a gift of small hand-made lotus flowers from practitioners, which are considered a symbol of cultivators’ pure hearts.

Under the shadow of war in Ukraine, Tatiana said that Falun Dafa practitioners radiated calm and peace, which made her feel pleasant. The Falun Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance resonated with both the mother and daughter, and they said that they try to adhere to these principles in their daily lives.

They wanted to express their best wishes for Falun Dafa practitioners in China who are in prisons and concentration camps for their faith, and said they wished these practitioners will be protected by a guardian angel, empowered with strength and endurance, not betray their own ideals, and to always remember that they are Falun Dafa practitioners.

Local resident Sergey Baskov, 44, said that he was already familiar with Falun Dafa, because he had met practitioners in a park at a practice site in the past. He had become interested in the practice in general, and in particular how Falun Dafa was first introduced to Dnipro, and the process of energy circulation in the body. Sergey later found himself in difficult life situations, remembered Falun Dafa and tried to do the exercises from memory. He said each time Falun Dafa had helped him. People around him were surprised at how he had managed to get out of those difficult situations so easily.

Therefore, having seen the event, he joined the Falun Dafa practitioners and also tried to meditate. He spoke about the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and said that patience contributes to spiritual growth and the right frame of mind. “A person should not be a hedgehog or sharp, he should be kind and positive,” he added.

Two friends, Tala Kovtun, a programmer, and Daria Fedorovskaya, a franchise manager, said that they had not heard of Falun Dafa before, but were interested in Eastern culture. They both thought the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are the most basic things that every person should have and are principles that should come first.

“It’s good that such an event is being held. Now we also need our people to go to this. We are now at war and we are all under constant stress. Therefore, the Falun Dafa practice has a place to be. It can help in today’s situation,” Tala said.

Daria (left) and Tala (right)

Practitioners Share Their Gratitude to Master

At the event, Falun Dafa practitioners also shared their experiences of cultivation and told people about the physical and mental benefits they have received from the practice.

Maria Shlikhta

Maria Shlikhta started practicing Falun Dafa in October 2024. She was already familiar with Falun Dafa before the war. “When I moved to Dnipro, I started practicing at a local practice site and since then I consider myself a Falun Dafa practitioner. Since I learned about Dafa, my whole life has acquired meaning. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Dafa is everything for me,” Maria said.

Maria said that although she started practicing not so long ago, big changes have occurred in her life. “Master gave me so much: well-being, energy, and healing from several illnesses that were bothering me. Therefore, if I had not come to the event today, I would have felt like a very ungrateful person,” Maria shared.

Valery Nikolaevich

Valery Nikolaevich has been practicing Falun Dafa for almost 25 years. “Dafa for me is a way of life, a philosophy, it is a rethinking of views on life itself and the way of existence,” he said.

He said that after he started practicing, he began to think differently and no longer wanted to live the old way. “The practice provides an opportunity to learn many principles by which nature itself lives. Falun Dafa is the law of nature: decency, honesty, conscience, and kindness,” he said. Valery concluded for himself that through Dafa he has come to understand that everything in life is interconnected. “A person’s actions and behavior affect his future. If you want to be healthy, be a modest, kind and decent person,” he said.

Valery also said that Falun Dafa practice plays an important role in his life and for him not to come to a Dafa event would be a lost day.

Yuri (front) does the fifth Falun Dafa exercise

Yuri recalled how he obtained the Fa. “Even as a child, I heard an unusual phrase in my head: ‘You must understand something and find someone.’ After almost 20 years of searching, dozens of books on esotericism read, I found what I was looking for. When I received a Falun Dafa newspaper from practitioners on the street, it was a strong excitement,” he said.

Yuri said that this practice allows you to achieve a different spiritual state, to get answers to all of your questions. “A person lives as if in a dream and does not control himself, does not control his thoughts. Through self-improvement, there is a chance to become stronger,” he said.