Special Report on Falun Dafa in Germany

[Clearwisdom.net]

Introduction

German practitioners went through an unusual stage of cultivation last year just like those in other countries. During the second half of 1999, our enlightening and our actions differed greatly. Some felt hesitant and uneasy; some remained pondering and waiting. Some stayed at home to cultivate themselves quietly. Some protected Dafa determinedly. Some told the truth to the public actively. We had a very difficult time in promoting Dafa during that period. As the Fa rectification progresses into the human world and especially after Teacher published new articles one after another, we have all become much clearer about the relationship between cultivation and rectifying the Fa, and the significance of telling the truth to the public. After developing a better understanding of the Fa and correcting our wrong perceptions, we actively took a role in the team to promote Dafa. What is gratifying is that the Caucasian practitioners, including the new ones, turned from passive to active and followed closely the process of Fa rectification. Everyone is quickly advancing forward, and cultivating and upgrading in this environment. In this special report, we will summarize how German practitioners broadened their understandings through cultivation experiences in promoting Dafa.

Brochures, Newspapers, and Flyers

The first question concerning promoting Dafa was the compilation of material, such as what kind of material and format to use to tell the truth to the public?

We tried many methods and kept improving them. For example: We learned from the US practitioners' and compiled and published 50,000 copies of "The Peaceful Journey" for promoting Dafa. They were used in other European countries as well. We also compiled and translated "Falun Gong: The Real Story" to meet the situations and needs in Germany. Right now, we have printed 30,000 copies and they were used in many areas of Europe where German is the primary language spoken. We also ran a Chinese Dafa Newspaper, "Exploration of Life", and have published four issues. We have a contract with one Chinese newspaper office in Germany and periodically publish it by adding additional pages in the newspaper. The circulation volume is 15,000. These copies are also distributed to Chinese people in nearby countries. A Falun Dafa newspaper in German was started. 150,000 copies of the first issue were printed. They were distributed in areas of Europe where German was the primary language spoken and they were well received. In addition, some practitioners designed exquisite flyers for promoting Dafa. There are tens of thousands of copies of these flyers distributed in Germany. We also created files for promoting Dafa, and compiled the contents on our own to include descriptions and pictures. Furthermore, we put these files on to CD ROMs and distributed them to other practice sites so that they could use them make posters. In addition, the two English versions of "Falun Gong: The Real Story" videos were also translated and made into videos in German. For the time being, we can claim that the materials used to promote Dafa in Germany have everything that one would expect to find.

Posters

We would like to introduce another way to promote Dafa that German practitioners are currently actively trying to do putting up posters.

(See http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2000/12/13/4353.html for the posters)

Although we have tried a variety of ways to promote Dafa, we are not satisfied and keep wondering, how we can let more people know the truth of Falun Gong? One day, a practitioner passed by a worker who was putting up advertisement posters. She thought of this idea while talking with him about the details of making an advertisement. Why can't we use such an effective way of advertising to promote Dafa? Her idea received support from several other practitioners. They contacted advertising agencies and researched the basic background information needed. Eventually, last year, we tried using different approaches to put up Dafa posters by the practice sites on International Human Rights Day. Others worked on the description and explanation, some practitioners who knew how to make posters volunteered to design pictures and some tried to find a cheaper print shop. Some took charge of the tasks of ordering and registering. Everything was in place after more than one month's effort. The advertising poster was very good in its content, expression, and its coloring.

One manager from an advertising agency said that she had rarely seen a poster with such a professional level of design and such attractive features in its contents and coloring. The upper part of the poster has a German girl doing the fifth exercise while facing the broad and quiet sea. In the middle and on the right are the bright yellow German words, "Falun Gong", and yellow Chinese characters with the red German words, "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance". The left side of the poster has the addresses of Dafa web sites. On the lower left side there is the information regarding how many people in the world are practicing Falun Gong and the number of practitioners who have died in China during the state sanctioned persecution. On the lower right side there are some monochrome photos, which show two Chinese policemen maliciously holding a knife and pointing it to a practitioner's head that was under the foot of one of the policemen. Whoever saw this scene would be shocked by the strong contrast between the tranquil, harmonious atmosphere created by the Falun Gong practitioners and the cruel persecution of the Chinese policemen.

Some practitioners tried to put up more posters outside. They took the posters and Dafa materials to supermarkets, stores, bookstores, and libraries. They promoted Dafa to the shop owners and cashiers, and asked them to help by putting up the posters. After one week's work, we have put up dozens of posters with this approach. Some practitioners went to train stations, bus stations, and paid money to put up the posters.

After one month, everyone saw the results. People called us up when they saw the posters and wanted to practice Falun Gong. Some even attended our Falun Gong workshops. Some said that they saw the posters everywhere on the streets and wanted to know more about Falun Gong. Then, some practitioners came up with more ideas, such as to display the posters from inside their cars, to put the poster on home-made advertisement boards and then place the poster at the practice sites, etc.

The process of putting up posters is also a process of cultivating one's heart. It depends on whether you dare to let go of the worries and fears of an everyday person, and gain support by promoting Dafa with compassion. Everyone came to understand that as long as your thoughts are righteous, others are willing to offer their help. For example, a practitioner visited a drug store with a Dafa poster. The female cashier knew nothing about Falun Gong. Her facial expressions were showing that she didn't think that this had anything to do with her. This practitioner did not give up. He did not mind that she was not willing to help. He just wanted to tell her what was currently happening in China. As this practitioner kept talking, he noticed that she was listening carefully. When he showed her the pictures of the policemen torturing Falun Gong practitioners, she was shocked and could not understand why. She quickly took the poster and carefully put it in the upright position at the upper area of the store door. This poster covered half of the door. When this practitioner left, he saw that she was reading the Dafa newspaper attentively. Some practitioners took posters to promote Dafa to local governmental departments. It turned out that the Mayor received the poster and put it up on the bulletin board for the public.

Provided by German Practitioner