A Follow-Up Report on [Falun Gong], Emphasizing Personal Experience (Enlightenment News # 8)

Some months ago, I reported on the Falun Dafa Qi Gong movement and its phenomenal growth in China and other parts of the world as it has developed under the direction of Master Li Hongzhi. Now I would like to begin to discuss some personal experiences about the discipline.

Last week, I completed my tenth month of Falun Dafa practice, and they have been rewarding months. As I indicated in my first article, I have been a long time student of the esoteric traditions. My study of both Zen and Integral Yoga goes back years. Although I was very satisfied with my former practices, my wife, Sarah, never felt motivated to take up either discipline. But she was actively searching for some sort of esoteric training that would provide a program of spiritual growth. Consequently, we determined that we would both give Falun Dafa a fair try.

From the outset, I was intrigued with the mind/ body onnection of Qi Gong. The physical movements seemed especially apropos for both of us. Although I follow an abbreviated weight training program, I felt the need to incorporate more physical activity into my daily regimen. Falun Dafa seemed right. However, I hasten to add that the method is not a health and fitness regimen, at least not specifically. The study is designed to be a path to spiritual enlightenment that has elements of both the Buddhist and Tao schools.

Besides seeking a spiritual path suitable for our household, I wanted to present the discipline to a small, local study group called Inner Quest with which I am a regular participant. The goal of Inner Quest was to study various esoteric schools and to incorporate the knowledge gleaned during the study into everyday life routines. The group?s lineage goes back forty years and members have studied a wide range of topics, including Zen, Shamanism, Yoga and many other traditions associated with the so-called Great Chain of Being. Given the group?s history, I felt that there was a good chance that the members would want to actively embrace the Falun Dafa tradition, instead of simply studying it in a scholarly fashion.

As I wrote some months ago, there are many instructors around the world willing to help one get started in the practice of Falun Dafa. And the instruction is totally free. However, it should be understood that the vast majority of instructors are of Chinese extraction; hence, one might find it difficult to locate instructors in areas where there isn't a Chinese/American community.

It should also be noted that all of the materials pertaining to Falun Dafa can be accessed via the web, including full-length books. Video clips of the exercises are also available online. Learning Falun Dafa via the Internet would be difficult, but by no means impossible.

Fortunately, there were instructors in my part of the world. A search of the Internet netted e-mail addresses of two people, WeiHua and Jian, living north of downtown Pittsburgh. Shortly after sending an e-mail inquiry, WeiHua called me. After a few seconds of conversation, I was certain that I was going to learn a lot from her. I found her to be a bright and engaging person -- one totally dedicated to Falun Dafa.

She said that she and her husband would be very happy to have Sarah and me attend a Falun Dafa practice session. In fact, they were willing to drive to our home to provide individual instruction. For an initial meeting, Sarah and I thought it might be better to visit one of their weekly, outdoor sessions with their regular group of students. Attending that initial practice turned out to be an adventure in and of itself.

Each summer, in Shenley Park, the city of Pittsburgh holds a car race called the Vintage Grand Prix. Proceeds of the race and related activities go to charity. Living outside of the city, we don?t receive a lot of publicity about the race, and so, unbeknownst to us, we choose to visit a Falun Dafa practice session that was scheduled for the same day as the race.

Our instructors told us over the phone that they started their Sunday morning practice at 8:30 AM, which meant that we would have to get an early start in order to attend. When we got into our car at 6:45 AM to drive to the city for the practice, it was a pleasant 80 degrees; by the time we arrived in the city, the temperatures were soaring. There were predictions that by noon we might see temperatures around 100 degrees F.

As we approached the practice site, Schenley Park, we could see signs of a massive traffic jam developing. Now, on most Sundays, there?s no problem in finding a parking place, but on the day of the Vintage Grand Prix, all bets are off. I looked at Sarah and said, "This is going to be a real mess. I can?t imagine that there?s going to be a Falun Dafa practice in Schenley Park with this race scheduled." The park was a swirl of activity: Vendors were setting up souvenir and food concessions. Tents were being erected, and a hot air balloon and basket were being prepared by a group of energetic people for a late morning ascent. Classic cars were being moved into position for exhibition. And there was a seemingly unending roar as race contestants tuned the engines of their cars and took practice laps on the surrounding park roads.

At that moment, we were sure that there was some sort of a mix-up. Possibly we had written down the wrong day on our calendar. Maybe when we spoke to our instructors, they had forgotten about the race. Despite our confusion, we hated to simply turn around and head for home. Our instructors had informed us that they would be holding a practice session on the top of Flag Staff Hill, which was about a quarter mile from where we parked. Already perspiring, I felt little incentive to march to the top of the hill. Sarah and I looked at one another gloomily. What a wasted effort it was turning out to be. Still, it was possible that they were here. So despite our misgivings, we decided to go looking for our instructors.

As it turned out, we weren?t to be disappointed: On the top of Flagstaff Hill, among a throng of frenetic activity, a group of Chinese/ Americans were sitting in a circle on the ground and reading from their blue covered Falun Dafa books. They looked totally unperturbed by the action around them. I?ve seldom witnessed a more incongruous scene.

As we approached the group, an attractive, young, Chinese American couple stood up; it was WeiHua and Jian. Sarah and I quickly identified ourselves. The couple smiled warmly and invited us to join in the reading.

Since neither Sarah nor I speak a word of Chinese, Jian retrieved an English version of the text from a stack of written materials. He then took Sarah and me aside from the rest of the group and suggested that the three of us sit down under a large shade tree. He handed me the English version of Falun Dafa and asked me to start reading aloud, which I did. At that point, there was a lull in the racing practice and things became quiet.

"The roaring silence," I thought to myself.

I suppose we read for approximately a half an hour. Within a few yards of us were a variety of antique cars of various makes and colors, which were parked for display. A constant crowd of people walked past, but all politely avoided coming so close as to interfere with our reading. As I read the book, I became aware of how obscure I found much of the writing. I wondered how many others felt the same. Clearly all of this went beyond health and fitness exercise ? a point often voiced by Master Li himself.

After some thirty minutes, we completed our reading. Jian and his wife directed the main body of practitioners, which numbered approximately ten people, to begin the five movement exercises that form the core of Falun Dafa. A small tape deck started playing the music and narration that gives directions in the five exercises. The enchanting music reverberated in beautiful contrast with the surrounding activities. I couldn?t help but wonder what all of the racing enthusiasts thought of these cultivation practices, not that I was in any way concerned. As the others began their series of movements, Jian started to individually instruct me, while WeiHua instructed Sarah. I suspect that Sarah and I were separated for instruction because some of the hand movements are opposite for males and females.

Having seen the exercises performed on the Internet, we knew the movements generally. But Sarah and I had determined not to try to do the exercises until individual instruction was available. However, had we discovered that no instructors were in our area, we would not have hesitated in working from the Internet video clips.

The smooth and graceful movements of Falun Dafa aren?t difficult to learn; nonetheless, following the Chinese dialog on the tape is certainly a chore for someone who doesn?t speak the language. Jian patiently helped me with the exercises and corrected my form when necessary. I had my problems, to say the least. Some of the exercises involve holding one?s arms overhead for a prolonged period. Although I was determined to hold my position as long as Jian, I found it impossible. After holding my arms overhead for what seemed like an eternity, I felt them start to drop. I opened my eyes to see Jian continuing to hold his position, seemingly without any discomfort.

So I gritted my teeth and resumed the movement. More minutes went by, and my arms, again started to drop. Once again, after some seconds of rest, I resumed the position. It went on like that throughout the session. Clearly, it wasn?t as easy as I thought it would be. But I was still enjoying myself, and intuitively knew that I was experiencing something very important in my life.

I couldn?t help but feel a sense of wonder as I did the exercises. Qi Gong, in its many varied forms is an ancient tradition that goes back into the misty realms of ancient history. Although generally thought to have originated some five thousand years ago, others say Qi Gong goes back to the Stone Age or ten thousand years ago. But could both Qi Gong and civilization go back even further?

There?s a new paradigm emerging in the field of archeology that suggests that civilization goes back many millions of years -- that many advanced civilizations have risen and fallen. Such is the contention of Michael Cremo, the author of the meticulously researched book entitled Forbidden Archeology. Falun Dafa practitioners concur with the ancient civilization theory and also contend that the roots of Qi Gong go back nearly as far.

There are many, many kinds of Qi Gong: Taoist Qi Gong, Buddhist Qi Gong, Martial Arts Qi Gong, Medical Qi Gong, Folk Qi Gong, and a lot more. Contradictions about the specifics of these schools abound even among reputable sources. There are over 3600 Taoist Qi gong schools and each has, according to some estimates, over 10,000 sub divisions. There are also some 84,000 Buddhist Qi Gong methods. The numbers become mind-boggling. And, unfortunately, friction sometimes exists among the various schools.

After the completion of the exercises, Jian offered me a cold glass of water from his ice-chest. I gratefully accepted. Sarah and I let our instructors know that we were very interested in pursuing Falun Dafa and felt that the discipline could be of benefit to our Inner Quest study group. Jian and WeiHua were pleased that we wanted to include others. They said that they had once led another group of "cultivators" who used to meet at a local library branch. However, there had been difficulty from the very beginning in persuading that group to do more than practice the movements ? that is to say that the participants were unwilling to expend much time or energy studying the written materials. The people always had excuses.

Apparently, the group they were leading was more oriented toward goals of health and fitness. Now those are two worthwhile goals; however, Falun Dafa is specifically oriented to spiritual development. Yes, there are many health and fitness gains to be realized, but that isn?t the true purpose of Falun Dafa. This is analogous to the situation of a Zen student. Yes, Zen meditation reduces stress, blood pressure and other harmful influences on the body, but in most cases, one doesn?t practice Zen for health benefits.

Of course, here in the West, far and away more people pursue fitness than pursue spirituality. Our instructors finally decided that the people in question simply weren?t going to change their behavior.

It was close to noon as Sarah and I walked down Flagstaff hill; the temperature was nearing 100 degrees. The roar of the engines was once again in our ears, but I hardly noticed. I was too excited about the Falun Dafa session. I sensed that there was something very special about what we had experienced. Yet I had to wonder how all of this was going to generally translate in the West. How far and wide would Master Li?s message resonate? Pennsylvania is a long way from China, where over 100 million people practice Falun Dafa, not to mention many other variations of Qi Gong.

I considered the dedication of Jian and WeiHua. They were willing to travel many miles to give instruction in the techniques of Falun Dafa and endure great frustration in their efforts to spread the word.

My intuition told me that these were good people who had a sense of urgency about helping change the zeitgeist of modern society. There were a lot more questions than answers in my mind. I was sure that I wanted to share my experiences with the rest of our study group, but I was uncertain of how to best go about it. What would the results be? Would the subject be rejected out of hand or would it be embraced as a powerful tool for enlightenment? How would the tradition translate? These were some of the key questions in my mind.

The sun was now burning hot and bright. It was just too hot to sort out all of my thoughts. I had a good feeling in my heart as we headed to our car. I felt as though we were ready to embark upon a spiritual adventure.