PureInsight | September 21, 2025
[PureInsight.org] Just after his ninth birthday, a Swedish boy named Erik got up early in the morning. Today he was especially excited because, having just begun learning to paint, he was going to visit the International Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition with his parents. This wonderful news came from his mother’s good friend, Aunt Margaret. Aunt Margaret was a Falun Gong practitioner. Warm, cheerful, and kind-hearted, in Erik’s eyes she was like an angel. She always treated others with kindness, often helping elderly people in the community without expecting anything in return. She cared for and encouraged children, and she was as close as a sister to Erik’s mother, often baking pastries to share with them.
That day, the International Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition was held at the Strandverket Art Museum on Marstrand Island in Sweden. The exhibition displayed forty-eight paintings created by artists who practice Falun Dafa. These works depicted the beauty and sacredness of the practice, the serenity and peace of practitioners who live by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, as well as the harsh reality of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution.
Visitors streamed in continuously. Erik was deeply captivated by every painting. When he came before an oil painting titled Why, he was shaken to the core by the little boy portrayed in it. The painting was based on a true story: the boy and his mother were imprisoned together. The painting showed two adult women’s feet shackled with leg irons, scarred and bloodied. The boy clutched the prison bars tightly, one foot stepping on the threshold of the cell door. Most striking was his gaze—it reflected a young heart unable to comprehend or bear such cruelty, yet still filled with defiance and a sense of justice. His wounded soul seemed to ask: “Why must this happen?” The boy in the painting was about five or six years old, and Erik felt deep compassion for him. This child, younger than himself, was enduring suffering and inhuman abuse far beyond what any adult could bear!
Erik asked Aunt Margaret, who was serving as a guide for the exhibition, many questions and expressed a strong desire to help Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally imprisoned in China. With his pocket money, he bought a postcard and signed a petition calling for an end to the persecution. Like other visiting children, he was given a small lotus flower bearing the words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” Later, in a nearby park, he even learned Falun Gong’s exercise movements with other practitioners.
This day was profoundly meaningful for Erik. That night, as darkness fell, he drifted into deep sleep. In his dream, the little boy from the painting “Why” sat in full lotus position on the small lotus flower Erik had received at the exhibition. The boy was wearing a yellow kasaya and radiated golden light. His hair was curly and blue, and the lotus had transformed into a brilliant golden lotus seat.
The boy reached out his hand, and Erik immediately became tiny, leaping into his palm. The boy said to him, “Come to visit my heavenly world!” At once, celestial music played, heavenly maidens scattered flowers, and Erik arrived in the boy’s Buddha-land. The boy was the king of this celestial realm. Fragrant breezes drifted by, exotic flowers and plants flourished, golden dragons and phoenixes danced among the clouds, and magnificent golden temples and pagodas glistened in the sunlight. All beings bowed in gratitude for the boy’s salvation.
The boy told Erik, “My mother in the human world was also persecuted to death. She is now the queen of her own world. Come with me to see her!” In an instant, they arrived in a pure, fragrant, white world. The boy’s mother appeared as a Western goddess. Her skin was ivory-like, flawless and delicate. Her deep, enchanting eyes shone like purple grapes. Her long golden hair flowed gracefully to her waist. She wore a white, exquisitely crafted royal robe encrusted with gemstones and crystals that dazzled with brilliance. On her head rested a finely carved crown. Sitting solemnly on her throne, she looked majestic yet full of compassion. Her world was incomparably sacred and beautiful, and all beings there revered her with gratitude and love. Time passed quickly. The boy said to Erik, “You must go back now. But when you return, never forget your mission!”
The alarm clock rang, and Erik awoke from his dream. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he still heard the boy’s words echoing in his ears: “Mission? My mission?” he asked himself. As he gathered his thoughts, his eyes fell on the small lotus flower on his desk. The lotus seemed to smile at him, radiating a peaceful light. Suddenly, Erik understood, “Aunt Margaret must know what my mission is!” He realized that his mission must be connected with Falun Gong.
After telling Aunt Margaret about his dream, she smiled and said, “You have a great predestined connection with Falun Dafa! I will get you a copy of Zhuan Falun. Your mission is to obtain the Fa and cultivate it!” Erik nodded and smiled knowingly.
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/298245
