(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners in the United Kingdom celebrated World Falun Dafa Day in Trafalgar Square to mark the 16th anniversary of the introduction of Falun Dafa. Participants in the event were many new practitioners from various parts of the United Kingdom. A reporter interviewed some of them:

Mei from Hong Kong

Mei is the wife of practitioner Mike. Practitioners in the United Kingdom have known her for many years but she became a fellow practitioner about two years ago. The reporter decided to interview Mei after seeing her beating a drum with the Waist Drum Team. She exhibited joy, pure smiles and graceful movements.

Mei spoke about her experience of starting to practice Falun Gong. Mei is from Hong Kong and works as an administrator. Her husband Mike is from Singapore and works in a university in London. He has been practicing Falun Gong for over ten years. Mei said that, for many years, she had been an "observer." She had supported Falun Gong and believed that the principles of Falun Gong were good. But it was not until September 2005 when she really became a Falun Gong practitioner. Mei said that this year's World Falun Dafa Day was the biggest celebration event she had ever experienced and she was very excited to be able to show the beauty of Falun Dafa to the great number of British people in Trafalgar Square.

Mei said she owed her decision to practice Falun Gong to her husband Mike. Mike used to have a very bad temper, but when she saw the significant improvements he made in practicing Falun Gong and following the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," she believed that Falun Gong was good. In September 2005, Mike established a group environment at their home for practicing and learning Falun Gong, encouraging the practitioners living nearby to practice and share together. It was so natural that Mei joined them at this time, starting to learn and practice Falun Gong in this cultivation environment. The practice soon brought Mei a very clear message that her health was improving. Mei had once encountered a mental obstacle when reading Zhuan Falun. Later, after she had read it several times and had finally realized the profoundness of Falun Gong, she began to earnestly study the books. Her understanding was that there are very profound meanings in Zhuan Falun and that the more one reads the book, the more profound meanings one will understand. The principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" is very profound and everyone in the world should assimilate into Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. In this way, the world will become a better place.

Geli from Taiwan

Geli is a middle-aged woman from Taiwan. Her husband works in the financial sector. With their two sons, the family of four lives in the west end of London. Geli looked very quiet but she was clear and straightforward when talking to people. She spoke about how her body and mind had benefited from her stepping onto the path of practicing Falun Gong and about the wonderful changes she witnessed in her sons after they also began to practice.

Geli said that she had read the information about Falun Gong many years before. As there was a sharp contrast between Taiwan and mainland China, the information about Falun Gong had been freely disseminated and very often there had been reports and other information in Taiwan. However, she missed the chance to practice because she was busy with work and family. At the end of July 2006, Geli went to Taiwan from the United Kingdom to visit her relatives. She saw her elder sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law had practiced Falun Gong for one and a half years and gave her a book entitled Zhuan Falun. Having read Zhuan Falun, Geli attended a nine-day seminar in September, and truly embarked on the road of Falun Gong cultivation practice.

Geli spent her first 5 to 6 months of cultivation practice in Taiwan. In the beginning, she practiced at her own home but very soon she went to attend group study. Having learned that other practitioners prefered to participate in outdoor group practice and study of Falun Gong, she went out to practice instead. "I participated in the outdoor group practice almost every morning and attended the group study on Sunday. As I had to go to work, I would study during my spare time every day." After returning to the United Kingdom, Geli did not work. She takes care of her sons and her husband as a housewife at home. She goes to group practice in Regent Park on weekends and also tries to find time to attend the group study on Sundays.

When asked about the benefits and changes she experienced from practicing Falun Gong, Geli talked about the improvement of her temper. Geli said she had had a bad temper since childhood. Although she thought she had been kind and meant no harm to anyone, she had not been able to control her mood and temper and, as a result, had often used impolite language. Besides, as she was so busy and under great pressure when working in Taiwan, her temper became even worse. She knew about her bad temper but felt unable to control it. For the first three years after moving to the United Kingdom and because she did not work, Geli placed emphasis on her self-cultivation and tried to read books on this subject. She found that she made some improvements to her temper, but the improvements were not great enough. "But after I practiced Falun Gong, I made significant improvements to my temper. I was very surprised and also very proud of it." Her husband was very pleased that Geli had become good tempered. "After I practiced Falun Gong, our relationship improved a great deal. We Chinese are very traditional and we enjoy much more harmonious relationships with our mothers-in-law and family members. My husband is very pleased about this." Geli also told the reporter that she used to quarrel with her husband about family affairs, but now they have no more quarrels. Geli said with delight, "He has no objection to my studying Falun Gong or to our children studying it either."

Geli's eldest son was also distributing leaflets in Trafalgar Square. Talking about her two sons, Geli had a delighted smile on her face. Upon returning to the United Kingdom from Taiwan, Geli thought that Falun Gong was good and wanted to get her two sons to study and practice Falun Gong with her. She was so impatient that her two sons both resented and resisted her recommendations. Such a state lasted for a period of time. Geli started to examine herself inwardly and realized that she should not have been too forceful and should let things develop naturally instead. Very soon, she found that her eldest son started to read Zhuan Falun of his own accord. Later, Geli asked her son about the reason behind it. He told his mother that he saw many people practicingFalun Gong in parks in Taiwan when he was a small child. He was too young to remember other things, but he could remember Falun Gong very well. Having read Zhuan Falun, her eldest son soon asked to practice with his mother. The boy changed quickly after studying and practicing Falun Gong, with obvious improvements in his academic performance and on the maturity of his personal character in particular. At the same time, he was willing to join the UK Falun Gong practitioners in their group practice.

Geli thought that the time had not come for her younger son to learn to practice Falun Gong like his elder brother, but very soon, her younger son started to read with her. After reading with him for a period of time, her son started to study by himself by reading at least one paragraph every day. Geli was very surprised by the changes brought to her son's behavior through studying Falun Gong, "My younger son used to quarrel with me very often just as I often quarreled with my mother when I was a child. Perhaps I was getting what I deserved. Since he started to study the Fa, he no longer quarrels with me. On the contrary, when I raise my voice while talking, my son reminds me not to be angry."

"It is said that there is often a rebellious period for teenagers, but I do not see this in my son who studies and practices Falun Gong."

Geli also answered the reporter's questions explaining why, as a Taiwanese person, she was participating in clarifying the truth and opposing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Communist Party in China. Geli said that she was born and brought up in Taiwan and could not imagine what had happened to the Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China. Like other Taiwanese people, the first information she knew about Falun Gong was the lies spread by the Chinese Communist Party. She did not know Falun Gong was so good until later when she read Zhuan Falun and other books written by Master Li. More people should be helped to rectify the erroneous information instilled in their minds, so she would strive to take part in clarifying the truth and spreading the truth.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200805/44489.html