Courier-Post (South Jersey News): Falun Gong use exercises and meditation to improve fitness

Saturday, April 27, 2002

Chen practices the Falun Heavenly Circulation movement (Paris L. Gray/Courier-Post).

Yang of Cherry Hill once struggled with stress and a heavy addiction to tobacco. Though he taught traditional Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and t'ai chi, he could not quit.

Then in 1998, like several of his family members in China, he tried Falun Gong, a self-cultivation practice.

"To my surprise, the first week of practice I forgot to smoke," said Yang, a psychiatry resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. "On the second week, I began to feel sick if I was even thinking about it."

His wife noticed a change, too, the 40-year-old said.

"She found me a much nicer person to be around," Yang recalled. "I wasn't moody, irritable and stressed out."

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, uses a series of exercises and meditation to improve mental and physical wellness. The practice teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance or tolerance.

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Falun Gong was introduced to the public in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, who lectured and held workshops in China. His books became national best-sellers and he attracted millions of followers, who reported improvements in their health and spiritual well-being.

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There is no membership, organization or hierarchy in Falun Gong. Through the spiritual practice, individuals strive to become better people.

Those who teach it do not collect any money for classes. They share their knowledge with others out of compassion.

A Chinese government survey pegged the number of followers there between 70 million and 100 million in 1998.

Yang thought he was the only practitioner in the United States until he checked the Internet and found thousands of people here practice Falun Gong, too.

Because it is an individual practice, Falun Gong can be done alone just about anywhere for any amount of time. Some people do it on their lunch break; others do it for two hours a day. Followers can also meet and practice together.

Three years ago, a group began to meet each Saturday morning at the Cooper River Park in Pennsauken to practice.

Today, about a dozen people regularly attend the two-hour session.

Willem Zuur of Pine Hill is now among them. About five months ago, the 16-year-old was a high school dropout.

"I was a really bad person," Zuur said. "I was a degenerate."

Then, he turned to Falun Gong. It seemed to have the answers he was looking for. He read Hongzhi's book and started to practice the form.

He quit smoking and began attending Camden County College, where he is studying computer graphics.

"The principles were so simple, so rich," he said. "It was very easy to quit and go along the right path."

Chen of Marlton was a skeptic. After the practice tamed her younger brother and improved the health of her parents, her interest was piqued.

A manager at Cendant Mortgage in Mount Laurel, Chen began to read about Falun Gong in 1997, met with practitioners in her homeland and found herself deeply touched by them.

"It was something really righteous, really good," the 34-year-old said. Chen became a follower, too.

In 1999, China banned Falun Gong after a mass silent protest was organized without the government's knowledge.

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This week, 2,000 followers were reportedly detained in the northern city of Changchun for a recent television broadcast attacking the government propaganda against the group.

Since 1999, at least 400 followers have died in police custody.

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Chen's brother was imprisoned in a labor camp for more than 18 months, where he was beaten and tortured. Even now, he lives under watch, his phone tapped, his movements closely monitored.

Chen's parents were also detained and questioned. They have since moved to the United States where they live with Chen.

Last month, Zuur protested the persecution by staging a week-long hunger strike in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York City.

"What is so wrong with practicing meditation and trying to be a better person through examining yourself with truthfulness- compassion-forbearance?" Zuur wrote in a public statement about his campaign. "There is only good with it."

People's spirits are hungry for more than just material wealth, said Yang, and Falun Gong feeds their needs.

Since he focused on the main principles of truth, compassion and tolerance, he added, "everything is better."

Falun Gong exercises

Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that includes exercises and meditation. It is a form of qigong (pronounced "chee-gong").

There are four standing exercises and one sitting exercise:

Buddha Showing A Thousand Hands. This exercise opens all energy channels in the body, using gentle stretching movements.

Falun Standing Stance. This exercise, composed of four postures that can be held for several minutes each, enhances one's energy level and awakens wisdom.

Penetrating the Two Cosmic Extremes. This exercise purifies the body using energy from the cosmos, using gentle hand-gliding movements.

Falun Heavenly Circulation. By gently tracing the hands over the entire body, front and back, the fourth exercise corrects all abnormal conditions in the body and circulates energy widely.

Way of Strengthening Divine Powers. A seated meditation that refines body and mind through deep tranquility, strengthens divine powers and energy potency.

Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa)

Practitioners, worldwide: An estimated 100 million in China and in 40 other countries.

History: Introduced to the general public in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. He is often referred to as "Master" or "Teacher."

Spiritual texts: Zhuan Falun, and the beginner's text, Falun Gong, both written by Li Hongzhi.

Basic beliefs: At the heart of the practice are the supreme principles of the universe: Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance (or Tolerance). Through a combination of studying the books and performing the exercises, practitioners strive to become better people by embodying these principles in everything they do.

Notable facts: The Chinese government banned the practice in 1999 because its practitioners outnumbered communist party members. Adherents are subject to torture, jailing, murder and other human rights violations.

Web sites: www.falundafa.org, www.faluninfo.net

Sources: www.falundafa.org

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