3/31/2011

Some Understandings about Educating Children According to the Fa

I. The Current State of Practitioners’ Educating Their Children in Dafa

It seems that when Dafa practitioners’ children were little, they could keep up with Fa study; it was just that the children were not required to practice the exercises. Then as they grew up, they started to have more contact with society. These little Dafa disciples started to show some slacking off or even walked away from Dafa. How to guide these little disciples has become an issue that exists widely and needs to be addressed. Master said,

“Yes, when the children were of an age such that the Dafa disciples could personally take care of them, things were great. You taught the children to memorize the Fa and do the exercises every day. As soon as the children started school, though, things changed. The impact that society has on children is truly large. It has to do with the morality of all of society sliding downwards. Children have no way to resist it. As soon as they enter society, they enter a big dye vat. If you are able to urge your children to study the Fa and do the exercises as you did before, it will be harder for them to slide downwards along with society. Many young Dafa disciples have gone in the other direction and become quite bad as they grew up, and that is the reason.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference”)

In response to a practitioner’s question, Master said,

“Disciple: At present, the children of many Dafa disciples are caught up in ordinary things. What are we to do?
Master: Indeed, human society is one big dye vat. Society is contesting with Dafa disciples for people. And this even applies to Dafa disciples’ kids, who live in this setting too: bad things are trying to drag them down. If the child does not cultivate, or doesn’t have a good environment, then he really won’t be able to ward those things off. Yet a Dafa disciple’s responsibilities are enormous, and so we must not only save the world’s people but also those close to us.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)

II. Correctly Understanding the Issue from the Fa

1. Positioning the Fundamental Relationships

(1) The child came to a practitioner’s family to become a Dafa practitioner. To have a blood relationship with the practitioner is a secondary reason.

(2) What is the right relationship between parent and child? There are many facets of this. For example, in traditional Chinese culture, the parent's main role is not to amuse the child, but to teach. From the ancient text “Three Character Classic”, it is said that “To feed without teaching
is the father's fault.”

(3) Educating one's children well is part of a Dafa practitioner's cultivation, and we must do it well. For the child, it is true salvation that's at stake. Dafa practitioners’ educating their children well is also validating the Fa, and it is their responsibility.

2. Several Major Warped Notions Have Developed, Which Have Mainly Resulted from the Lack of Family Education and the Inversion of the Parent-Child Relationship

Today it is emphasized that parents should have an “equal exchange” of views with the child and let them go their own way. In traditional Chinese culture, discipline was one aspect of a formal education for a child. There were “family rules” in ancient times. Now it is overly stressed to let a child go forward based on his/her interests. It overly emphasizes the interests of the child, which causes the child to focus on himself more and more as the center of the world. It is common that parents do not let their children endure hardships or that parents don't discipline them strictly.

The Queen of Xiaozhuang taught the young Emperor of Kangxi very strictly. When Kangxi was four years old, he was required to be on point duty for two hours like a soldier, and recite the ancient classic articles everyday.

III. Some Examples to Illustrate Key Points, Which Is for Reference Only

Here we want to share with fellow practitioners some examples in which the parents, who are Dafa practitioners, used the Fa to guide the education of their children.

1. Correctly Positioning the Relationship Between the Children's Schoolwork and Cultivation

As one example, parents told their children that part of their parental duty is to lead them in cultivation in Falun Gong, and they told the children that they should not take having too much homework as an excuse to not study the Fa or practice the exercises. The parents told the children that cultivation is most important because their lives are for cultivation in Dafa. Master has explained several times in his Fa lectures,

“Let me tell you, I see that among the kids who practice, many have a significant background. Don’t ruin them. If you can’t improve through cultivation and in the meantime ruin them as well, the sin is tremendous.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Jinan” in Zhuan Falun Fajie - The Law of Zhuan Falun Explained)

So we must put effort into leading well our little fellow practitioners. We should help the children feel the greatness of Dafa. We should create strict requirements for their Fa study and practicing the exercises. Master said,

“Actually, I've already discussed this very clearly in Zhuan Falun. Studying the Fa well definitely won't affect anything of yours in your cultivation, and on the contrary, it will help you get twice the results at your job or with your schoolwork with half the effort.” (“Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference”)

One practitioner’s daughter, who is in high school, recites the Fa for half an hour and practices two of the first four sets of exercises every day before she starts to do her homework. This practitioner’s son, an elementary school student, recites the Fa for half an hour and practices the five sets of exercises every day; later he can finish his homework in one-and-a-half hours. Every weekend, they recite the Fa and practice all five sets of exercises. Furthermore, their meditation exercise lasts two or three hours. The practitioner requires the children to recite Hong Yin, Hong Yin II, and Essentials for Further Advancement books every day. The practitioner also asks their children to practice the exercises every day. In their daily life, this practitioner uses the Fa to guide and educate the children.

2. Correctly Positioning the Relationship Between the Parents and the Children, and Eliminating the Warped Notions Regarding Children’s Education

Being parents, practitioners have the responsibility to educate their children well, and the children have to obey their parents. Always indulging or even spoiling children would ruin them. Parents should ask their children to follow their requirements.

It requires persistence and patience for good parenting and parent-child relationship to develop. Parents should not be misled by sentimentality and make a compromise with children. There was a little girl, four to five years old, who cried and yelled to make her parent, who is a Dafa practitioner, buy something for her. Many people came to watch her and the parent felt very embarrassed. However, this practitioner insisted on not indulging the girl’s stubbornness. Ever since then, the girl no longer had that bad habit.

A boy, who just started to go to school, was ordered by his teacher to stand for some time as a punishment. He did not agree with the teacher, and he put mud on the teacher’s chair. The parent took the child home and spanked him on his buttocks. The parent also helped the child think through why he had been spanked.

3. Providing Children with a Good and Pure Environment, and Eliminating the Interfering and Polluting Factors

The parents need to arrange the children’s time well. They should ask the children to spend sufficient time in Fa study, practicing the exercises, and doing the Fa-validation. We should limit their contact with those messy and bad things in society, such as TV shows, periodicals, games, and other things with bad content.

During school breaks in the winter or summer, parents should try their best to have the children learn the Fa. They can lead the children to recite Hong Yin, Lunyu, and Master’s scriptures. With the children’s minds full of the Fa, they will naturally have good health and minds.

4. Paying Attention to the Children’s Practicing the Exercises and Have Them Practice the Exercises Everyday

Master said,

“It’s very good if a child can perform the exercises” (“Lecture at the First Conference in North America,” 1998)

My understanding is that the effect will be best and most obvious if the children can practice the exercises. With the children’s practicing the exercises, their third eyes open easily. With their meditating, the bad substances are eliminated, and the children become peaceful and no longer get agitated.

One parent realized that “enduring suffering and hardships” is a part of cultivation. So this parent made a strict requirement for the children’s leg postures when they practiced the meditation exercise. When the children could not cross their legs in the standard way or when they became lazy, the parent would ask them to increase their meditation time by ten minutes, so as to let the children practice endurance.

The practitioner's son started to practice the exercises when he was five years old. The practitioner’s daughter can become tranquil during her meditation. Another couple, who are Dafa practitioners, have two children, one is seven years old and another eight years old, who had never practiced the exercises. They sent their two children to the home of the practitioner mentioned above. During the first time of meditating, the two children could meditate in the lotus position for one hour. On the third day, they could meditate for two hours. In six days, they recited Lunyu and thirty poems from Hong Yin. The two children stayed in the practitioner’s home for only one week. After they went back home, they studied the Fa and practiced the exercises every evening. The two children used to rank about 30th in their school studies. After one month, they both scored 100 0n their monthly examinations and both were ranked first in their respective classes.

One eight-year-old child practiced the second set of exercises, holding the law wheel, and his third eye was opened. He saw that Master was correcting his postures of holding the law wheel. He also saw that when they practiced the meditation exercise, Master’s law bodies sat in a circle; there was a big Falun on the top, and the practice site was enveloped in red light.

During the winter break, four children, two eight-year-olds, one 11-year-old, and one 16-year-old, could usually meditate in the lotus position for over two hours. The children knew that it was for their own benefit, so they competed with each other to see who could meditate longer. They could see Master was beside them, and they were all willing to meditate a little longer. They also expressed their gratitude to that practitioner who guided them.

5. Leading the Children to Do Fa-validation Work Together

One practitioner often takes her children out to do Fa-rectification work. She told the children that there is nothing more important than offering sentient beings salvation. The children donated the money that they got from the spring festival holiday to the truth-clarification materials production site. The children also helped to write truth-clarification words on the Chinese currency bills, Dafa banners, and so on.

One practitioner’s daughter is 16 years old now. One or two months after she strictly required the girl to study the Fa and practice the exercises, the girl’s grades in school improved noticeably. In the second half of her second year in middle school, her grades climbed from being ranked 258th to the fifth among more than 2,000 students. In the third year of middle school, she was very busy with schoolwork, but she still persisted in reciting the Fa for half-an-hour and practicing two of the first four sets of excises. She easily passed the exams and got into a well-regarded high school.

One practitioner’s boy is in elementary school. There are a total of over 100 students in the two classes. His rank used to be seventh from the bottom. In one year, his rank has climbed to fourth place. He received a bronze prize for his painting at an international competition. He was in third place at a district chess competition.

6. Hold a Minghui Class

The Minghui class took nine days. The children started each day by reciting Lunyu, Hong Yin, or Hong Yin Volume II. After all the children arrived, they watched one video lecture of Zhuan Falun. The children then learned to practice the exercises. The children were also told stories related to traditional Chinese culture.

Later, after the children mastered the exercises, they started to practice the four standing exercises and the meditation exercise, each for half an hour. At home some little practitioners could not meditate in the lotus position. But at the class, they could finish the half-hour meditation.

Through the nine-day class, the parents also gained the opportunity to share understandings. They realized that leading the little practitioners well is important, which is their responsibility. Through looking inward, they have found some degenerated notions and strengthened their righteous thought of leading the little fellow practitioners well. They also realized that what is important is persistence in their daily lives. These children have obtained the opportunity to temper themselves. With the parents’ agreement, every week or every other week, they organize the children to study the Fa and practice the exercises.

Posting date: 3/31/2011
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/2/24/从法中形成对家庭教育的正念认识-236740.html

Coin Commemorates Polish Anti-Communists





The National Bank of Poland has issued a set of coins to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the NZS, an independent student's association that helped overthrow communism in Poland in the 80's.



Veteran members of the NZS were presented with the commemorative coins at a ceremony in the Polish city of Katowice on Friday.



[Eugeniusz Gatnar, Board Member, National Bank of Poland]:

"The National Bank of Poland has just issued two very unique coins which commemorate the NZS on the 30th anniversary of its founding. It was really a huge collective fight for freedom taken up by Polish students everywhere."



The ceremony took place at the University of Silesia in southern Poland.



It was on campuses like this one that NZS activists faced arrests, beatings and jail time decades ago for protesting against the communist regime.



Mr. Gatnar, now a senior executive at the National Bank, also faced arrest as a student member of the NZS.



[Eugeniusz Gatnar, Board Member, National Bank of Poland]:

"We fought for freedom of speech, freedom of choice and we fought for freedom of assembly, so that we could work in a free Poland."



According to its first-ever president, the Independent Student's Association fought side-by-side with the Solidarity movement.



[Jaroslaw Guzy, Former President, NZS]:

"The Association was a special part of the Solidarity movement because it was made up of young people, and what particularly connected us with young workers was that we rejected communism completely. We focused on the here and now and believed that communism had to fall and it had to fall in our time. That was our aim and in this respect there was no compromise."



The NZS was legalised in 1989, when communism finally collapsed.



And so bolstered by a victory in its biggest fight, today's NZS continues to campaign for student's rights in Poland.



NTD News, Katowice, Poland

Super Moon Close to Earth






Did you think the moon looked different this weekend?



NASA says the full moon was closer to earth than it has been in 18 years. These shots are from Northern Europe.



According to NASA it’s called the Super moon and its closer to earth than normal - but it’s actually only slightly closer.



Speculations that it will trigger natural disasters and crimes have been spotted on the Internet, but according to scientists the only effect it should have on our planet is that the ocean tides are greater than normal.

Hydrogen May Provide Carbon-free Alternative to Gas






A new technology that allows hydrogen to be stored in a cheap and practical way could make its widespread use as a carbon-free alternative to petrol a reality, according to its developers.



The technology is based on a new way of producing nano-fibres from hydrides, materials that soak up hydrogen like a sponge, and then encapusulating them in tiny plastic beads so small they behave like a liquid.



The process is being developed by Cella Energy, a spin-off from the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, who say the technique allows hydrogen to be released at a much faster rate and at lower temperatures than before.



[Prof. Stephen Bennington, Chief Scientific Officer, Cella Energy]:

"So what are doing is taking these materials and encasing them in plastic and making them into a very fine powder and that improves their properties - the way they perform. It also means you can pump it like a fluid and its safe. It is not going to easily burst into flames."



Hydrogen produces only water when its burned and is considered an ideal solution to cutting carbon emissions from petrol or diesel vehicles, which are estimated to cause 25 per cent of all carbon release.



But until now, attempts to store hydrogen have not been consumer-friendly, so this has not been a viable option. Cella Energy Ltd say their technology would allow people to use the carbon free fuel with their exisiting car after a few modifications.



[Prof. Stephen Bennington, Chief Scientific Officer, Cella Energy]:

"You would pump it into your petrol tank of your car, the modified petrol tank of your car - that would go off, be heated, drive the hydrogen off, which would go and run your vehicle and then the waste little beads that we have created you store in the car. And when you go and refuel your car you have two nozzles. One which puts in the new beads and one which takes out the old beads which goes off to be recycled and the hydrogen added to it again."



The development has been to turn hydrides into fibres or beads, 30 times smaller than a human hair, through a process of electro-spinning. This produces a white tissue-like material that can be controlled to capture and release hydrogen.



The encapsulation process protects the hydrides from oxygen and water, prolonging their life and making it possible to handle them safely in air and because it behaves like a liquid, current infrastructure will need minimal modification.



[Prof. Stephen Bennington, Chief Scientific Officer, Cella Energy]:

"You can use tankers to carry the material around, you can take it to forecourts and then you can pump it into the vehicle and give the customer the same kind of experience they have now."



All part of the the reason Cella Energy believe their process could herald a new era of carbon free motoring.



[Stephen Voller, CEO, Cella Energy]:

"The experience that most people have now is using regular liquid fuels where it takes three minutes to fill your vehicle and then you can travel 300 miles. Now you can have exactly the same experience with hydrogen but you can't have that experience with an electric car."



The company says hydrogen could be an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels if the gas is produced with renewable energy sources like wind or solar.



It has three times more energy than petrol per unit of weight and could power cars, planes and other vehicles that currently use hydrocarbons and is attracting interest from large established companies in the energy and transportation sectors.

Shen Yun Performing Arts brings Classical Chinese Dance and Music to the World





Host Kean Wong interviews Vina Lee, the company manager for Shen Yun Performing Arts on the eve of their Lincoln Center NYC debut. Shen Yun, a nonprofit organization based in New York, is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. With a mission to revive the spirit of traditional Chinese culture, arts and values, in just a few years Shen Yun Performing Arts has taken the world by storm with millions of people having been enthralled and inspired by its beauty and grace.

Bid to Save the Earth - Christie's Green Auction in New York



The wealthy and the glamorous came together on Tuesday night in New York to raise funds to preserve and protect the environment.

The Bid to Save the Earth live auction and runway show was an invitation-only event, part of the 2nd Annual Christies Green Auction, organized by four NGOs and hosted by comedian Seth Meyers.

[Seth Meyers, Comedian]:

“Let’s raise money tonight so next year’s luxury items at this event aren't canned goods and visits to the surface world.”

They were bidding to win celebrity experience packages, like a day with Bill Clinton, a backstage encounter with Lady Gaga or a flight with Harrison Ford in his private airplane.

[Lydia Fenet, Auctioneer]:

“Going once. He’s like, ‘I don’t even know this woman.’ Going twice. Sold to you for $65,000 for model 361. Congratulations.”

Proceeds from this year’s event and online auction will go to Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International, and the Central Park Conservancy. Runway to Green will also take some of the proceeds.

[Peter Sullivan, Chairman & Founder Conservation International]:

“The idea is really to take fashion, and environment and make environment fashionable.”

Last year’s auction raised more than 2 million dollars.

This year Ted Danson was among the celebrities supporting the event.

[Ted Danson, Actor, Oceana Board Member]:

“A billion people depend on fish for their animal protein, for their livelihood. So it becomes a world hunger issue as well. Most people don’t realize what is going on, it’s kind of out of sight out of mind. It’s such a big beautiful thing how could there be a problem, but there is it’s a big problem. But it’s fixable, so please get involved.”

Sustainable and ethical fashion is something jewelry designer Zani Gugelmann is concerned about.

[Zani Gugelmann, Jewelry Designer]:

“I think that is where the future is truly going, because you see the tsunamis, you see how the world is really being affected by the environment, which means we should really focus on saving the environment as much as we can, or just protecting the environment so that we protect ourselves.”

Online bidding in Christie’s Green Auction will continue through till April 7.

NTD News, New York

3/29/2011

Agencies Wary of Japanese Agricultural Imports

SAFE TO EAT: A staff member works next to a sign (L) informing customers that the seafood contained in the sushi and sashimi for sale is not of Japanese origin, at a supermarket in Hong Kong on March 19. Many governments are restricting Japanese food imports as Japan continues to battle nuclear and radiation issues following the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. (Antony Dickson/Getty Images )
Radiation has been detected in Japanese imports in recent days, prompting countries such as Singapore, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Russia to be on the alert for screening produce from the affected region.

Certain imported food from Japan has been halted—the contaminated foods including milk products and meats are banned in Singapore from the area around the problematic nuclear reactor plant in Fukushima Daiichi. Hong Kong has also blocked agricultural foodstuffs from Japan.

Hong Kong Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene Clement Leung and Undersecretary for Food & Health professor Gabriel Leung said the ban was ordered after a turnip, a white radish, and a spinach sample arriving in twoconsignments from Japan on March 23 were confirmed to have been contaminated by iodine-131 up to 10 times the international legal level.

Australia's regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) stated on its website that there are food import restrictions that are a "precautionary measure, and consistent with approaches internationally."

According to the European Commission, emergency tests have been prepared and "the measures apply to all feed and food [originating in or consigned from areas] most affected by the accident" at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, based on a statement.

The value of Japanese imports to the EU in terms of agricultural produce is worth around 200 million euros (US$281 million) in 2010.

Since the recent largest earthquake on record hit Japan with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, higher than normal levels of radiation have been measured in various vegetables, and milk, and including water even in Tokyo, which is 145 miles south of Fukushima. Currently, Japan is the world’s third largest importer of food and far outweighs its exports. Japan sources of food predominantly come from the United States, China, Australia, and Thailand. 

Although the United States was the first country to stop imports from the radiation zone from Japan on Wednesday March 24, based on World Bank research around 1 percent of Japanese exports is made up of food. Therefore, some have argued that the impact on other countries would be minimal. For instance, Japan is the world’s largest importer of U.S. corn. 

The greatest issue in terms of food consumption is the lack of drinking water. Tokyo authorities confirmed that 240,000 bottles of water would be dispatched to 80,000 families because of radiation detected in the tap water with double the iodine levels that is safe for infants. 

Despite water being safe to consume for adults, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has indicated that officials are evaluating the possibility of importing bottled from overseas to meet the escalating demand. Buying restrictions are being imposed in various supermarkets due to panic buying. 

Falun Dafa Around the World: Sydney, Australia (Photos)



(Clearwisdom.net) Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, and the largest historical city in Australia, is a political, economic and cultural center and most modern metropolis in Australia.
Falun Gong, rooted in ancient Chinese culture, was spread to this international metropolis in the mid 1990s. Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a cultivation practice of Buddha school and is based on the core principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. With remarkable results in improving health and raising moral character, the practice spread to over 100 countries since it was introduced in China in 1992. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the brutal persecution and slander campaign against Falun Gong in 1999. In response, Falun Gong practitioners have peacefully resisted the persecution and persistently made efforts to explain the truth to the world's people.

Master Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa, gives his first lecture in Sydney.
On August 3, 1996, Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, gave his first lecture in Sydney under invitation. From November 26, 1996 to May 2, 1999, Master Li graced Sydney three times to give lectures and answer students' questions. Falun Gong practitioners of different races, all walks of life and different cultural backgrounds gathered in Sydney to listen to Master Li's lectures. These were grand and solemn occasions.
Group exercise site at Darling Harbour, Sydney
After Master Li's lectures, Falun Gong group exercise sites in communities were quickly established, like bambooshoots after a spring shower. Having benefited from Falun Dafa, practitioners introduced Falun Dafa to more and more people by holding nine-day workshops in which they played Master Li's lectures on video and taught the exercises. Falun Dafa was soon spread across the whole nation.
The Falun Gong group in Sydney has been invited to participate in community activities and national celebrations as a representative of traditional Chinese culture in recent years.
Falun Gong practitioners have been invited to participate in ten annual parades held in Blacktown, western Sydney. It's the largest community holiday in western Sydney. The Falun Gong exercises demonstrated by practitioners, Divine Land Marching Band, fairy dance and waist-drum troupe won cheers and applause during the parade. The Falun Dafa procession displayed beautiful traditional Chinese culture and spread the spirit of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.
Falun Gong procession is led by a “Falun Dafa” banner.
Falun Gong's float
Mayor of Blacktown (left) issues award to Falun Dafa
Award plaque won by Falun Dafa
Award plaque won by the Divine Land Marching Band of Falun Gong practitioners
An awards ceremony was held by Blacktown City honoring the winners of the 2009 Blacktown City Festival Street Parade on June 17, 2009. Falun Dafa and its Divine Land Marching Band received two awards, Champion Community Entry and Champion Band, and a total of one thousand dollars. The local government announced that Falun Dafa would lead next year's parade.
Since the CCP launched the nation-wide persecution on July 20, 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been thrown into prisons and forced labor camps. The CCP brutally harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. To expose the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners in Sydney set up displays at tourist spots, in front of the Chinese Embassy and on busy streets. They distribute brochures, hold information displays and tables, candlelight vigils, anti-torture exhibitions and press conferences. Governments, media and the general public learned the true story from Falun Gong practitioners. They signed in support of Falun Gong and to protest the persecution.
悉尼唐人街法轮功真相展位高精度图片
Falun Gong information booth in Sydney Chinatown
在马丁广场揭露中共酷刑迫害法轮功学员高精度图片
Falun Gong practitioners expose the CCP's torture at Martin Place.
法轮功学员在中共驻澳洲中使馆前向大陆游客讲真相高精度图片
Falun Gong practitioners tell Chinese tourists the true story of Falun Gong in front of the Chinese Embassy to Australia.
法轮功学员们展示五套功法高精度图片
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises.
悉尼民众认真阅读法轮功真相展板高精度图片
 
People in Sydney carefully read Falun Gong display boards.
The 22nd International Congress of the Transplantation Society was held in Sydney from August 10 to 14, 2008, with four thousand doctors and experts attending the conference from all over the world. On August 10, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the Sydney Convention Centre, calling for the medical community to help stop the CCP's crime of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Re-enacting the organ harvesting
President of the National Civic Council, Australia, Mr. Peter Westmore, accepted an interview with Sound of Hope radio on August 5, 2006. He said it was not just an issue concerning China and Chinese people, but that it concerned everyone in every country and no government could or should ignore it. He said it was a terrible crime that must be stopped, and that it is not just a crime against individuals, but a systematic killing of a group of people for their beliefs. He said this is truly a crime against the humanity.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on December 5, 2006 that the “Health Minister Stephen Robertson revealed a move in a letter tabled in parliament this week in response to a petition supporting the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Queensland's two major organ transplant hospitals have banned training Chinese surgeons because of concerns that China takes organs from executed prisoners. Mr. Robertson said his department had been aware of the allegations relating to Chinese prisoners generally for a number of years and sought written assurances from the Chinese government that the practices did not go on. When the assurances were not received, the Prince Charles Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital put in place a policy of not training any Chinese surgeons in transplant surgical techniques.
“Falun Gong, which has about 100 million members worldwide, has accused the Chinese government of harvesting organs from thousands of members executed over the past seven years.”

Posting date: 3/27/2011
Category: Community Events
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/3/25/修者足迹遍天涯-澳洲--8226-悉尼(图)-238078.html

3/23/2011

ShenYun Performing arts 神韵晚会


3/20/2011

SHEN YUN

  in North America (2010) The American Story

 

 



新唐人電視台 http://www.ntdtv.com

3/17/2011

A PERFORMANCE 5000 YEARS IN THE MAKING - 神韻 SHEN YUN


Indiana, USA: City of Greendale Proclaims Falun Dafa Day Honoring Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance





(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, 2010, Doug Hedrick, Mayor of the City of Greendale, Indiana, proclaimed July 20, 2010 as "Falun Dafa Day honoring Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" in the City of Greendale.
Proclamation
City of Greendale
Office of the Mayor
To All To Whom These Presents May Come, Greetings:
Whereas, Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong, or just Dafa) is a high-level body-mind-spirit cultivation practice consisting of exercise, meditation and teachings guided by the characteristics of the universe - Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.
Whereas, Falun Dafa, publicly introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992, is now practiced and cherished by over 100 million people in over 100 countries, and has received a plethora of honors; and
Whereas, More men and women of USA are learning the practice and purifying their hearts, energizing their bodies, and striving to create virtuous communities; and
Whereas, Falun Dafa practitioners in Indiana note stress reduction, health improvement and spiritual growth; and
Whereas, Numerous practitioners of Falun Dafa are persecuted in China for their teachings; and
Whereas, Falun Dafa practitioners' determination and courage to stand up for Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance while facing severe persecution from the Chinese Communist Party has shown the world the value of life and preciousness of human dignity;
Whereas, On March 16, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 605 urging the Chinese Communist Party to end its 11-year-long campaign against Falun Dafa and expressing solidarity with victims of persecution in China.
Whereas, This July 20 will mark the 11th anniversary of the Chinese Communist regime's on-going persecution of Falun Dafa and the regime's launching of a campaign to imprison, torture, and forcefully "reform" tens of millions of adherents.
Now, Therefore, I, Doug Hedrick, Mayor of the City of Greendale, do hereby proclaim July 20, 2010 as
"Falun Dafa Day Honoring Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance"
in the City of Greendale.
Dated this 20th day of July, 2010.
Mayor Doug Hedrick
Attest: Mary Jo Lynch
高精度图片

Posting date: 9/13/2010
Category: From Governments
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/9/10/229466.html

USCIRF Annual Report Recommends China as "Country of Particular Concern"


(Clearwisdom.net) On April 29, 2010, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2010 annual report at the National Press Club. The report recommended 13 nations including China to be named as Country of Particular Concerns (CPC). "Because of these systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, USCIRF recommends in 2010 that China again be designated as a "country of particular concern", or CPC. The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999."



USCIRF released its 2010 annual report at the National Press Club

In the report, USCIRF gave recommendations to US administration and Congress in order to help human rights conditions in China. In particular, the commission recommended that the Secretary of State impose a new sanction targeting officials who perpetuate religious freedom abuses or provinces where religious freedom conditions are most egregious.
Below is an excerpt of the report on the persecution of Falun Gong:
The Chinese government continues to maintain a severe campaign against adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which it considers an "evil cult" and was banned in 1999. Over the past decade, the government has carried out an unprecedented campaign against the Falun Gong, imprisoning large numbers of practitioners and abusing them in detention. Practitioners who do not renounce their beliefs in detention are subject to torture. There are recent, credible reports of deaths in custody. The Chinese government's systematic campaign to suppress the Falun Gong and other "evil cults" using extrajudicial means is a severe human rights problem.
Credible first-hand accounts from Falun Gong adherents report, and official Chinese government statements confirm, long-term and arbitrary arrests, forced conversions of faith, and torture and mistreatment in detention. Though it is difficult to determine with specificity the number of Falun Gong practitioners in detention during the past year, some estimates place the number at 8,000, with most arrests having occurred prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the year before the Olympic Games, police waged a concerted campaign to harass and detain known Falun Gong practitioners and brutally suppressed their activity. An estimated 8,037 Falun Gong were detained between December 2007 and August 2008.
Targeting Falun Gong adherents continues to be a high priority for Chinese government security officials. There remains a nationwide campaign to suppress Falun Gong and "transform" its practitioners. A 2009 directive by the Central Committee on the Comprehensive Management of Public Security urged security officials to "strike hard against hostile forces...[including] the infiltration, subversion, and sabotage by 'Falun Gong.'" Similar security instructions were issued in the provinces of Jiangsu, Hubei, Jilin, Guizhou, Yunnan, Henan, Hunan, Anhui, Sichuan, and Shandong, including recommendations for surveillance, cultivation of paid informants, and propaganda efforts.
Current and former Falun Gong practitioners remain incarcerated in re-education through labor camps (RTL) and mental health institutions. Some international observers claim that Falun Gong adherents may comprise as many as half of the 250,000 Chinese detained in RTL camps over the past decade. Provincial officials reportedly offer sizable rewards to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of a Falun Gong practitioner.
Two Falun Gong practitioners are known to have died in police custody in 2008. The widow of one, Xu Na, remains jailed, serving a three-year sentence for possessing Falun Gong materials. Also in 2008, Chen Zhenping was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for being a Falun Gong practitioner. She was tried in secret without legal representation. In February 2009, public security officials in one municipality of Sichuan province reported that they had detained 114 Falun Gong practitioners. In April 2009, Zhang Xingwu, a retired physics professor from Shandong province, was sentenced to seven years in prison after police discovered Falun Gong literature in his apartment. In late November 2009, a Shanghai court sentenced Liu Jin to three and a half years in prison for downloading and distributing information about Falun Gong on the Internet.
The 6-10 Offices throughout China are tasked with surveillance, investigations, "transformation," and detention of Falun Gong practitioners. The 6-10 Offices reportedly have extrajudicial detention facilities used exclusively to hold Falun Gong practitioners who have completed RTL terms but are still considered harmful.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture reported that Falun Gong practitioners allegedly make up twothirds of the alleged victims of torture presented to him in China. Numerous allegations of governmentsanctioned organ harvesting from incarcerated practitioners have surfaced within the last several years as well. Independent investigation into the practices of a hospital in Sujiatun, Shenyang proved inconclusive. However, based upon a report from two prominent Canadian human rights activists, international human rights organizations and the Special Rapporteur on Torture have called for an independent investigation and for continued international attention to allegations of organ harvesting from prisoners. The Committee on Torture, a UN treaty- monitoring body, also called on the government during its 2008 review of China to conduct independent investigations to clarify discrepancies in statistics related to organ transplants and allegations of torture of Falun Gong practitioners.
In addition, USCIRF pointed out that the Chinese government continues to harass, detain, beat and make disappear lawyers who attempt to use the Chinese legal system to defend the rights of Chinese citizens such as Falun Gong practitioners and members of house churches. For example, renowned human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was made to disappear in 2009. In December 2009, human rights lawyer Wang Yonghang was detained and sentenced to seven years in prison because of his work representing Falun Gong practitioners.
Created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), USCIRF is an independent U.S. government commission that monitors religious freedom worldwide and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

Posting date: 5/3/2010
Category: From Governments
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/5/2/222723.html

3/07/2011

Chinese Red Dragon Fish






added by koala

Ancient Marvels Japan's mysterious underwater pyramids. 5/5







added by dorayoujia

Ancient Civilizations: Rise of the Roman Empire





added by goldenage


The worlds Biggest house........








added by paper

UFOs Nasa's Big Secret Unveiled Great Footage






added by lilac

NCAA Big Football Hits





added by love sports

A380 World Biggest Airliner pt 1




added by bluesky


How to Identify Fake Money and Cards





added by james

How to do Origami Magic Ball Creasing




added by alicia

3/06/2011

Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party

More than a decade after the fall of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European communist regimes, the international communist movement has been spurned worldwide. The demise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is only a matter of time.
Nevertheless, before its complete collapse, the CCP is trying to tie its fate to the Chinese nation, with its 5000 years of civilization. This is a disaster for the Chinese people. The Chinese people must now face the impending questions of how to view the CCP, how to evolve China into a society without the CCP, and how to pass on the Chinese heritage. The Epoch Times is now publishing a special editorial series, “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.” Before the lid is laid on the coffin of the CCP, we wish to pass a final judgment on it and on the international communist movement, which has been a scourge to humanity for over a century.
Throughout its 80-plus years, everything the CCP has touched has been marred with lies, wars, famine, tyranny, massacre and terror. Traditional faiths and principles have been violently destroyed. Original ethical concepts and social structures have been disintegrated by force. Empathy, love and harmony among people have been twisted into struggle and hatred. Veneration and appreciation of the heaven and earth have been replaced by an arrogant desire to “fight with heaven and earth.” The result has been a total collapse of social, moral and ecological systems, and a profound crisis for the Chinese people, and indeed for humanity. All these calamities have been brought about through the deliberate planning, organization, and control of the CCP.
As a famous Chinese poem goes, “Deeply I sigh in vain for the falling flowers.” The end is near for the communist regime, which is barely struggling to survive. The days before its collapse are numbered. The Epoch Times believes the time is now ripe, before the CCP’s total demise, for a comprehensive look back, in order to fully expose how this largest cult in history has embodied the wickedness of all times and places. We hope that those who are still deceived by the CCP will now see its nature clearly, purge its poison from their spirits, extricate their minds from its evil control, free themselves from the shackles of terror, and abandon for good all illusions about it.
The CCP’s rule is the darkest and the most ridiculous page in Chinese history. Among its unending list of crimes, the vilest must be its persecution of Falun Gong. In persecuting “Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance” Jiang Zemin has driven the last nail into the CCP’s coffin. The Epoch Times believes that by understanding the true history of the CCP, we can help prevent such tragedies from ever recurring. At the same time, we hope each one of us would reflect on our innermost thoughts and examine whether our cowardice and compromise have made us accomplices in many tragedies that could have been avoided.
The titles of the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” are:

1. On What the Communist Party Is
2. On the Beginnings of the Chinese Communist Party
3. On the Tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party
4. On How the Communist Party Is an Anti-Universe Force
5. On the Collusion of Jiang Zemin with the Chinese Communist Party to Persecute Falun Gong
6. On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture
7. On the Chinese Communist Party’s History of Killing
8. On How the Chinese Communist Party Is an Evil Cult
9. On the Unscrupulous Nature of the Chinese Communist Party
The Epoch Times Editorial Board
(Last Updated on January 10, 2005)

3/01/2011

The Nine Commentaries

The book that has sparked a grassroots movement for change in China 

It might be a blue book, but it has China’s communist apparatchiks seeing red. And shaking. It’s the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and it might just be the most important book in 21st century China. First published by The Epoch Times newspaper as a series of editorials in November 2004, the book was met with immediate banning by Beijing’s brass. Little, though, has that stemmed the surge of interest and questioning across China set off by the text. (see “People Power” at left) Ever since, Chinese around the world have been formally denouncing and quitting the Party. Over 37 million have made the break thus far. What about it could inspire so many, then? We offer a summary of the nine chapters to give a glimpse.

1. On What the Communist Party Is
This article concerns the impact on the civilization of China of the communist movement and the Communist Party. Looking at the history of China’s last 160 years, nearly one hundred million people have died unnatural deaths and almost all of the traditional Chinese culture and civilization has been destroyed. What have been the consequences, whether the CCP was chosen by the Chinese or it was imposed on China from the outside?


2. On the Beginnings of the Chinese Communist Party
Why did the Communist Party emerge, grow and eventually seize power in contemporary China? Did the Chinese people choose the Communist Party? Or, did the Communist Party gang up and force Chinese people to accept it? The CCP has set itself above all, conquering all in its path, thereby bringing endless catastrophe to China.


3. On the Tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party
Today the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s violence and abuses are even more severe than those of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. The CCP’s philosophy is one of “struggle,” and the CCP’s rule has been built upon a series of “class struggles,” “path struggles,” and “ideological struggles,” both in China and toward other nations.


4. On How the Communist Party Is an Anti-Universe Force
In the last hundred years, the sudden invasion by the communist specter has created a force against nature and humanity, causing limitless agony and tragedy. It has also pushed civilization to the brink of destruction. It has become an extremely malevolent force against the universe.


5. On the Collusion of Jiang Zemin with the CCP to Persecute Falun Gong
Why is Falun Gong, which upholds the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” and has been promulgated in over 60 countries worldwide, being persecuted only in China, not anywhere else in the world? In this persecution, what is the relationship between Jiang Zemin and the CCP?


6. On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture
The CCP has devoted the nation’s resources to destroying China’s rich traditional culture. The CCP’s destruction of Chinese culture has been planned, well organized, and systematic, made possible by the state’s use of violence. Since its establishment, the CCP has never stopped “revolutionizing” Chinese culture in the attempt to completely destroy its spirit. 


7. On the Chinese Communist Party’s History of Killing
The 55-year history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is written with blood and lies. The stories behind this bloody history are not only brutally inhumane but also rarely known. Under the rule of the CCP, 60 to 80 million innocent Chinese people have been killed, leaving their broken families behind.


8. On How the Chinese Communist Party Is an Evil Cult
The Communist Party is essentially an evil cult that harms mankind. Although the Communist Party has never called itself a religion, it matches every single trait of a religion. At the beginning of its establishment, it regarded Marxism as the absolute truth in the world. It exhorted people to engage in a life-long struggle for the goal of building a “communist heaven on earth.”


9. On the Unscrupulous Nature of the Chinese Communist Party
What is most terrifying is that the CCP is going all out to try to destroy the moral foundation of the entire nation, attempting to turn every Chinese national to various degrees into a scoundrel in order to create an environment favorable for the CCP to “advance with time.” It is especially important for us to understand clearly why the CCP acts like scoundrels and to discern its criminal nature.


Full text of Nine Commentaries: http://www.ninecommentaries.com/ 

Law and Disorder Overview


While most readers recognize that under China’s one-party system, the judiciary functions differently than in a democratic society, few realize the extent to which China’s legal system remains subject to the whims of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). With China's hundreds of thousands of lawyers, thousands of judges and brand new court buildings, do Falun Gong adherents who are wrongfully imprisoned have a place to appeal? Are those who are abused able to press charges against their torturers?

The answer is that, despite rhetorical references to the “rule of law,” obtaining justice through the Chinese legal system remains an impossibility for Falun Gong practitioners.

Indeed, as the articles in this section vividly illustrate, the campaign against Falun Gong is a continuing reminder of the CCP’s ability to override the constitution, to tightly control the judiciary, and to blatantly disregard commitments made under international human rights treaties: