News & Record: Falun Gong offers exercise in spirituality

3-3-01

Want to go?

What: Multicultural Unity of Guilford meeting on Falun Gong When: 7-8:30p.m. Monday Where: FaithAction, 705 N. Greene St., Greensboro Information: 379-0037

Three words strike fear in the Chinese government: Truth. Compassion. Tolerance.

The words have come to define Falun Gong, a meditation-exercise [group] that has been outlawed in China. The movement, also known as Falun Dafa, combines physical movements and meditation with ... spirituality.

Millions outside China learned about Falun Gong when the Chinese government made it illegal in 1999. Since then, the practice has spread to America -- and to North Carolina.

Monday night, practitioners from the Triangle Falun Dafa group in Durham will speak about the movement. The meeting will be sponsored by FaithAction, a Greensboro group that promotes tolerance and understanding of people of different racial, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Thai Ton, a member of the Triangle group and one of the speakers Monday, said the movement fundamentally changes the people who adopt its three principles.

"What sets Falun Gong apart is the profound teaching that goes with the physical practice," said Ton, 33, whose family moved to Durham from Vietnam in 1975.

Millions of people, mostly Chinese, have been practicing Falun Gong since 1992. It's not a religion... Practitioners also are not required to adopt any rituals or adhere to any prescribed dogma.

However, Falun Gong is intensely spiritual. It uses ancient Chinese notions about healing and wellness, including five slow-motion exercises. These exercises are easy to perform, and are geared to promote mental clarity and peace of mind.

Beyond the health and fitness components, the movement has as a goal of enlightenment and wisdom. By concentrating on truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, Falun Gong members hope to become better people.

Since he started practicing three years ago, Ton said he has become more energetic and has a better sense of well-being. And because he's healthier, he said his usual springtime allergies have lessened, too.

"There's a fundamental core change in your being," Ton said. "You see everything with a new and fresh outlook."

For a variety of reasons, the Chinese government is unimpressed by similar claims. Since they outlawed the movement in 1999, officials have accused the Falun Gong of [Chinese government's slanderous words].

In October, police there arrested 300 Falun Gong practitioners who were protesting in Tiananmen Square. According to the AP, a middle-aged woman, blood running from her mouth, escaped a clutch of officers who grabbed her again, slapping her head and pulling her into a van. Another ran from police only to have her legs kicked out from under her. Once on the ground, plainclothes police kicked her. ...

Ton said Falun Gong won't take political or social stands, despite claims by its detractors. He believes Chinese leaders so violently opposed the movement because it doesn't conform with communism.

"It's hard to control people who believe something independent of your beliefs," Ton said.

Maybe that's what the Chinese government finds so scary.

http://www.news-record.com/news/religion/banks03.htm