August 2, 2001

It goes beyond mere fitness and physical healing. There's no breathing technique, no special diet.

Falun Gong, as explained by Brian of Whitefield, is a spiritual path followed by a person seeking truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

"You try to get closer to those principles in everyday life," said the recent Erskine Academy graduate, who will be studying Chinese language at Georgetown University this fall.

"The basis of our morality, our goodness, comes from truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. You think of others first. If you're shouted at, you don't shout back," he said.

Ninety-nine percent of the practitioners live in China.

Described as "an advanced system of spiritual cultivation," Falun Gong (which translates to "law wheel" and "energy") has been in the news recently because of systematic persecution and torture of its adherents in China. Brian said 15 have been killed in a government labor camp and 10 beaten to death recently, but the overall death toll is higher and many thousands are detained in labor camps. Hundreds have been sent to psychiatric hospitals.

Although the government initially tolerated the practice, it no longer does so because Falun Gong principles threaten [party' name omitted] ideology, according to an article in the newsletter "Boundless," published in Lexington, Mass.

Last month Brian and about 30 other practitioners from southern Maine took part in a walk across the Kittery bridge to raise public awareness of the persecution. Maine's congressional representatives have been responsive, Brian said, and because of Rep. John Baldacci's interest, there may be a resolution introduced into the House condemning China for its actions.

In addition to the principles, Falun Gong involves five sets of easy exercises, making it a practice for cultivating body, mind and spirit. (Tai chi, as transmitted to the west, has devolved to movements only.)

Brian said, "I see a huge difference in the day if I practice. I have more energy at work."

Brian often does the exercises with former Erskine classmate Dan, who introduced him to Falun Gong several years ago. Dan's brother, while attending Tufts University, learned about it from a flyer, became interested, and started practicing. He sent literature to Dan. There are several hundred practitioners in the Boston area.

While an exchange student in Paraguay during his junior year, Brian found time to read the books on Falun Dafa (great law wheel), written in the 1990s by Master Li Hongzhi, whose nine lectures make up the book Zhuan Falun. Hongzhi teaches that human habits of competing with, deceiving and harming others must be given up.

Hongzhi was the first to popularize what is a very ancient practice (qigong), formerly passed on from master to disciple. He spoke for about three years to audiences worldwide before publishing the lectures. He now lives in New York.

In Brian's experience, the practice of Falun Gong has made his family life a lot more harmonious, he said. "I don't fight with my parents, I don't complain about chores. There's less conflict. We both see we can improve ourselves. Things work out better if people look within. If I conduct myself well, things work out a lot better," he has found.

Learning about Falun Gong is "totally free. It's not about money," he said. Information is available from the Internet at the web site www.falundafa.org. Books may be downloaded. There are no membership fees, no required activities, no charges to instruct others.

Accordingly, Brian and other area practitioners are offering a free workshop on Sat., Aug. 18 at Uncas Farm store on Townhouse Rd., Whitefield, 9-11a.m. To sign up or receive more information, call him at 549-7013 or e-mail amarpe@gwi.net.

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