Thousands Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day With Massive Parade in New York

4 days ago 2

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is practiced in more than 100 countries around the world.

NEW YORK—Thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners marched across Manhattan in a parade on May 9, celebrating 33 years since the spiritual practice was introduced to the public, now known as World Falun Dafa Day.

Starting in a rain that ranged from a drizzle to a downpour on the east side of the city at the gateway to the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, on 47th Street, the parade route ran through midtown, ending just before the Chinese Consulate on 42nd Street by the Hudson River.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice guided by the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, and incorporates five meditative exercises. It became immensely popular after it was introduced to the public in China in 1992, and by the decade’s end, official estimates put the number of Chinese practicing Falun Gong at 70 million to 100 million.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceiving the popularity of the peaceful practice as a threat to its rule, launched a violent persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in 1999. Despite the ongoing persecution that often extends overseas, people in more than 100 countries have taken up the practice, and colorful celebrations are held around the world around May 13 every year to commemorate the anniversary of Falun Gong’s introduction to the public and counteract the CCP’s propaganda about the practice.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day and call for an end of the persecution in China, in New York City, on May 9, 2025. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times)

The parade included a marching band, waist-drum players, dragon and lion dances, colorful banners and flags with messages such as “truth, compassion, tolerance” in many languages, Falun Gong practitioners demonstrating the meditative exercises, and a section supporting the now 466 million-plus people who have renounced their membership in the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

“I want people to know the truth [that] Falun Dafa is based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and [let] people know how beautiful this practice is and how I personally benefitted from following these principles,” Rakesh Nayak, a Falun Gong practitioner participating in the parade, told The Epoch Times.

Related Stories

House Passes Falun Gong Protection Act to Counter CCP’s Forced Organ Harvesting

Arizona Becomes 5th State to Ban Funding for China-Linked Organ Transplants

Nayak said he grew up Hindu in Mumbai, India, and had gone to countless temples but was never taught the virtues of living by truth, compassion, and tolerance. When he first discovered Falun Gong 15 years ago, Nayak said, he had been living in an apartment filled with some 20 religious figures. Despite this, he said, he was a short-tempered man and often angry.

When he heard Falun Gong taught the principles of “truth, compassion, and tolerance,” it felt like the most natural thing, he said, and he began to live by these principles. After taking up the practice, he changed, he said, so much so that his mother and sister were surprised and took an interest in the practice. He said the principles led him to always speak the truth, think of others first and compassionately, and view tribulations he comes across in a different light.

Holding a banner emblazoned with these three principles in the parade, Nayak said he hoped people could see Falun Gong for what it is and not be misled by the CCP’s propaganda.