Thanksgiving is a holiday about gratitude. As people gather to celebrate the blessings in life over turkey and pumpkin pie, Falun Dafa practitioners and supporters send their gratitude to Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, whom they respectfully call Master.
‘I Owe All That to Your Teachings’
“As the custom with this holiday is to take stock of your blessings and what you are thankful for, I want to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to you for teaching the Fa, something that has helped me improve every aspect of my life and become a better person, become a better father, become a better employee. I owe all that to your teachings,” said Cary Dunst from Connecticut.
Dunst is the Executive Vice President of Business Development & Strategy at Adslot, a global media advertisement company. He said he received a brochure about Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrating the exercises on the street in New York City. “I wanted to try it for 30 days. I had a very strong feeling from the very beginning, and I forgot about the 30 days. I’ve been practicing for almost 22 years now!”
Falun Dafa is a mind-body practice that consists of gentle meditative exercises and moral teachings focused on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
“Within a few weeks of starting to practice Falun Dafa, I noticed very strong improvements to my health. The first thing that I noticed was an improvement in my level of stress and reducing anxiety,” Dunst said. “I think it was a result of my looking inward at the choices I was making and taking responsibility for living a healthier lifestyle and trying to be more in harmony with others around me.”
Dunst wishes Master Li a wonderful Thanksgiving, “You’ve worked so hard to teach anybody who wants to learn how to improve their mind and body across the entire world. Tens of millions of people have benefited from your tireless self-sacrifice. I just want to say thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!”
‘I Felt at Home’
Olivier Chartrand has been practicing Falun Dafa for 25 years. Originally from Montreal Canada, Chartrand is a real estate broker in New York.
Chartrand recalled in 1997 when he found Falun Dafa, “I was looking for a way of life that could help me improve my moral character. I was looking for this one philosophy that is perfect, has no flaws. I will implement it for the rest of my life.”
Then his friend told him about a book that he found online, “as soon as I started reading, I knew that was what I was looking for.
Chartrand said, “When I started to read, I felt at home. Everything I had in my heart is in the book, but the whole society is going [in] reverse. Everything I believe in I can see in words. … I felt very at peace.”
The years of improving morality through the practice, to Chartrand, is like “peeling an onion, with each layer, I have new understanding, [I am] more at peace.”
To Master Li, Chartrand said, “Happy Thanksgiving” in Chinese. “There is no words for my gratitude for master, there is no way I can repay master. But I will do my best to be worthy of the title of a Dafa disciple.”
‘I Am So Thankful’
Dr. Roger Canfield is the founder and executive director of the private U.S. Intelligence Council. He has authored many books on Communist China. Most recently, he wrote a 50-page primer entitled, “Make Red China Pay.” It talks about “how Red China bio and chemical warfare killed 1 million Americans and shut down our economy.”
Canfield is a long-time friend of Falun Dafa. He sends his greetings to Master Li. “I’m honored to send a greeting to Master Li Hongzhi whose legacy extends beyond Falun Gong and China, to defending the world, particularly America, from the evils of communism.”
Canfield said that The Epoch Times and NTDTV “is a voice for tolerance, compassion, and the truth.”
“I thank you all for reenergizing my research and writing. I have greatly enjoyed rallies, CPAC meetings, and cultural performances.”
“At the Thanksgiving holiday, I am so thankful.”
‘Falun Dafa Has Brought Blessings’
Indira Sarabia is an entrepreneur. She lives in Mexico City and has been practicing Falun Dafa for 15 years.
“I am very honored to wish a happy Thanksgiving to Master Li Hongzhi,” Sarabia said. “Thank you for teaching me the principles of truth, benevolence, and tolerance that are the daily guide for my life.”
“Thanksgiving Day is an excellent date to thank Master Li Hongzhi for his infinite mercy and his generous contribution to humanity. Falun Dafa has brought blessings to millions of people around the world.”
Sarabia has benefited greatly by practicing Falun Dafa. She said the practice “has allowed me to be a better person; has allowed me to cultivate my body and mind, to live in a state of greater physical, mental, and emotional health; and has helped me to achieve a state of awareness, resilience, and inner purity.”
‘Dafa Shows Me How to Live’
Originally from Brazil, Luis works at a finance company in New York. He has been a practitioner since 2006. He was raised in a Catholic environment and has looked into different practices, but he did not feel any connection.
“One day I was on the internet, working on a project … I was reading the website about candles. The guy talked a lot about how to use the candles. On the last page of the website, the guy said, if you really like to grow yourself spiritually, forget everything I said—look for Falun Gong. Then I went to that website and started to read, I felt really connected.”
“Three months into the practice, the asthma and all allergies went away.”
“I grew up in a country where lust and violence are celebrated. Brazil has been influenced by communism. I was always angry, reacting in a bad way. After practicing, I realize I had to change.”
“Now I have harmony among the family members.”
Luis said that the practice also benefited his family members, even though they are not practicing. “After I started to practice, my father’s financial issues and my brother’s drug addiction were resolved. So it also benefited people around me.”
Luis would like to thank Master Li for “Dafa shows me how to live. It’s a fundamental change. I am no longer lost.”
From The Epoch Times
