(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Houston performed the exercises together in Hermann park on the morning of May 3, 2026, to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day (May 13, 2026) and 34 years since the public introduction of the spiritual practice.
The tranquil scene of practitioners doing the exercises caused many other people who were out exercising in the park to pause and watch. Some followed along with the exercise movements. Quite a few people wanted to know more about Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong), and read the information that was displayed. Many asked practitioners questions.
After the exercises, practitioners gathered in front of the Sam Houston Monument in Hermann Park for a group photo. The practitioners’ waist drum team performed several songs in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day and to wish Master Li a happy birthday.
Practitioners take a group photo in Hermann Park on May 3, 2026, to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day and wish Master Li a happy birthday.
Practitioners perform the exercises in Hermann park on May 3, 2026.
A practitioner talks with a passerby about Falun Dafa in Hermann Park on May 3, 2026.
Residents Excited to Receive Information on Falun Gong
Ms. Faby had taken her children to the park for a picnic when she saw practitioners doing the exercises. She tried to follow along with the practitioners’ movements. A few minutes later, when practitioners finished doing the second set of exercises, Ms. Faby said excitedly to a practitioner who’d come up to greet her that she felt great. She said that although she had never practiced qigong before, in the few short minutes that she had tried the exercises, it made her feel at peace, and she felt a strong energy flowing through the skin in her arms. She was happy when a practitioner told her that practitioners get together to do the exercises every Sunday morning in the park. Ms. Faby said she would come to learn the exercises the following week.
A 10-year-old boy named Aaron passed by on his bicycle while the practitioners were doing the exercises. He stopped and wanted to know what they were doing. A practitioner told him they were practicing Falun Dafa and that it is an ancient practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Aaron said, “This is great.” He then asked about the origami lotus flowers in the basket.
The practitioner explained that the lotus flower symbolizes remaining pure despite being in the mud, and that the lotus flower is a metaphor about the objective of practicing cultivation. Aaron happily selected a flower for himself. He then shared the information he just learned with his parents and younger brother. The whole family came over and accepted a Falun Dafa flyer and an origami lotus flower. One of the parents said they were interested in learning Falun Gong and noted the information about the practice site.
Vivek and Shiva, two young Indian men currently working in Houston, expressed interest in learning more about Falun Dafa. A practitioner told them about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 27-year persecution of Falun Dafa in China and the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. The young men were appalled by the brutality of the persecution. A practitioner then talked about Senate Bill 4009, the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act, which was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate. Both men expressed their support for this legislation.
A Flyer at a Chinese Supermarket
Two practitioners who participated in the group exercises that day, Ms. Peng and Mr. Yang, recounted how they took up the practice many years ago. They each mentioned receiving a flyer about free Falun Gong classes outside a Chinese supermarket. That simple brochure led them both to practice Falun Gong.
Ms. Peng, a practitioner who has worked at a medical center in Texas for more than two decades, came to the United States from China in 1995 as a visiting scholar. On the plane, she encountered a practitioner who had just attended the last lecture given by Master Li in Guangzhou. This was the first time that Ms. Peng heard of the spiritual practice. The next year, outside a Chinese supermarket, she saw a flier about free Falun Gong classes. She recalled her encounter on the plane and contacted the practitioner who told her about Falun Gong.
Ms. Peng went to the practitioner’s house and bought some Dafa books and also borrowed Master’s lecture recordings. She started to watch the lectures after work and that is how she began to practice Falun Gong. She recalled the first time she saw the characters “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” hanging on the wall, she felt a powerful current flow through her body. She thought at that time: “One should follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and become a good person.” In that instant, she felt a deep respect for Falun Gong.
The founder of the practice, Master Li Hongzhi came to Houston on October 12, 1996, and accepted a proclamation from the city government. He also gave a public lecture. Ms. Peng, who had begun to practice not long before, was fortunate to attend Master’s lecture. Growing up an atheist under the CCP, Ms. Peng understood she had finally found the meaning of life and the direction to take after hearing Master’s lecture in Houston. She made up her mind to become a true Dafa disciple and to cultivate until the end. Ms. Peng said she has now been practicing cultivation for 30 years, and she has immense gratitude for Master for looking after her all these years. She said that words cannot describe how grateful she is.
Mr. Yang has been practicing for 26 years. He too saw a flier about free Falun Gong classes outside a Chinese supermarket in Houston in 1997. However, he did not go deeper into learning more about Falun Gong at that time. Three years later, he saw a news report on television where thousands of practitioners from across in Taiwan had gathered at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei for a peaceful protest against the persecution in China. He said he was deeply moved and inspired. He came to understand that Falun Gong is not just a typical qigong practice for improving health and fitness, and decided that he wanted to learn Falun Gong.
Mr. Yang bought the main book Zhuan Falun at a bookstore in Houston after returning from Taiwan. He started to read the book and got up early every morning to do the exercises. He said, after practicing cultivation for 26 years, that he feels it a great honor to have become a Dafa disciple.
Mr. Yang also said that it is a rare opportunity to be able to practice Dafa. Through cultivation, he has gradually found inner peace and his heart is no longer deluded by the things of the world. He is less attached to changes in situations and to worldly gains or losses. Living amid today’s chaotic world, Mr. Yang feels that people really need Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their hearts. He believes that Falun Dafa is the only way to guide people to overcome difficulties and have a future. On the occasion of celebrating Falun Dafa Day, Mr. Yang sincerely hopes that more people will come to understand Falun Gong and change their lives, so they too will have a bright future.
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