Our fellow practitioners in Japan held a vegetarian feast at the Ono Kita Citizen Hall in Kanagawa Prefecture. The main theme of this feast was "health "nd the objective was to let more people realize the benefits of a vegetarian diet. The families and friends of fellow practitioners were invited, as were students of the Chi-Kung classes held by fellow practitioners. The Chi-Kung students are mostly middle-aged people who practice Chi-Kung forphysical fitness. Unlike many young people, they are very much concerned about sugar, protein and cholesterol in their diet.

The friend of a fellow practitioner believed that a vegetarian dietwas not sufficiently nutritious. However, after savoring several dishes at the feast he said to the fellow practitioner: "I often tried to convince you not to follow a strict vegetarian diet, but I never realized that the food you eat is so pure, and it's much better than my daily food."

A fellow practitioner who is a Chinese herbalist decided to preparea hot and fragrant herbal soup. Everyone enjoyed it, and inquired about its healing effects. Many were convinced about combining healing and eating. This fellow initiate took the opportunity to explain the nutritional difference between animal protein andvegetarian protein, and expounded the benefits of vegetarianism to one's health.

Visitors were greatly interested in how each dish was prepared, so we provided them with the recipes and ingredients for dishes like Northern Chinese noodles, Western vegetarian delicacies, pumpkin salad, and vegetarian cakes. In fact, many recipes were exchanged between the families of fellow practitioners. Even a newspaperreporter wanted recipes to publish in the paper's "Family" page.

During the event there were still some people who refused to accept the nutritional value of a vegetarian diet for people of all ages. They were sufficiently convinced when a fellow practitioner introduced her healthy three-year-old daughter saying: "She has been a vegetarian since she was a baby, and she is even more energetic than ordinary children. "

Fellow practitioners asked everyone to take home the vegetarian food that they've packed into meal-boxes to share it with their families. Even better, many purchased vegetarian food stuffs to cook for themselves at home.

At the first Chi-Kung lesson after the vegetarian feast, all the students were still raving about the event. They said the great variety of dishes enabled them to understand and appreciate vegetarianism, and they hoped the feast would be held regularly.

In fact a similar event is planned for mid January at the Hichyoji Citizen Hall since some Chinese students of another fellow practitioner expressed great interest.

Through this activity, fellow practitioners have acquired more experience in introducing vegetarianism to everyone. They will continue to strive to reach this goal.