November 15, 2002

(Clearwisdom.net)

MEDITATING: Falun gong practitioners gather at Trinity Episcopal Church in Manassas every Sunday to meditate.

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In a small church room, 10 people stand in a circle, eyes closed, feet slightly spread and hands pressed together as though in prayer.

A tape recorder plays soft music in the background and, as a quiet voice speaks in Chinese, the members slowly begin raising and lowering their arms.

Watching the exercise, it seems unlikely that these slow graceful movements could have led to so much bloodshed and controversy. But falun gong has struck fear and anger into the Chinese government just as it brings peace and health to its practitioners. (Note: The fear and anger has never been justified; Falun Gong is a peaceful practice that is good for any society.)

At Trinity Episcopal Church in Manassas, a small group of adherents meets each Sunday afternoon to spend an hour running through meditative exercises.

"People will sometimes ask are the exercises physical or spiritual in nature," Jim Giragosian, of Catharpin, said. "They are both because in falun gong there is no difference."

Falun gong is a holistic practice intended to improve the mind, body and spirit. While the exercises are the most visible part of the practice, the core lies in the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

"The exercises are not really the most significant part of the practice but they are probably the most visible," Giragosian said. "Cultivating our hearts is really the basis of falun gong."

Although the exercises look similar to those of tai chi, there's a big difference, said Amy Xue, of Vienna, who practiced both for many years.

"Tai chi is also slow movements but there is no mental part," she said. "The mental part is missing."

And there's another big difference between the two, reminded Giragosian's 13-year-old son Mark.

"Tai chi is also very expensive," he said, noting that while that practice and others like it require high fees for classes, falun gong is completely free.

"If you have to pay, it's not falun gong," agreed Sandy Fox of Manassas as other members of the group pointed out that not only practice sessions but also the instruction books and all other information can be downloaded free off the Internet.

And the benefits? Everything from better concentration to perfect health and miracles, say adherents.

"I can concentrate better, like in school, and it's easier to be patient," Mark said. "Like, sometimes you want to get mad but it's easier to be patient when you practice."

Yingqing Chi had a more unusual experience with falun gong.

Speaking with Xue translating, Yingqing said she had been diagnosed with incurable hepatitis C and was close to death in 1998 when she discovered falun gong.

"One day she walked to the park and saw many people practicing falun gong," Xue translated. "They all told her this is a very good practice so she started to do it."

Within a month, the hepatitis was gone, along with several other serious conditions Yingqing had suffered from, she said.

Robert Nappi also had a life-changing experience. After being in a car accident on his way to work at Quantico in 1991, he died three times and was revived by doctors. In the process, he suffered a stroke that left him unable to read, write or feel one of his arms.

Six years later, his wife, Lisa, discovered falun gong and introduced him to the practice. Nappi slowly learned to read again by starting with "Zhuan Falun," the practice handbook by falun gong creator Li Hongzhi.

Not long after that, Nappi had another life-changing experience, this time while doing one of the exercises.

"I had no feeling in my arm for six years until one day we were (doing one of the falun gong exercises) and all of a sudden there was this loud popping," he said.

All feeling returned to his arm, which he now has complete use of, he said.

Even those adherents without stories of miraculous recoveries can boast of the benefits of holistic exercise.

"This lady is in her 70s, can you tell? She's 72," Xue said, pointing to a practitioner named Yun Wu, who appears to be at least 10 years younger than her age.

"She has been practicing for almost eight years," Xue said, translating for Yun. "After she started to practice, she has never been to any hospital. Every year before she practiced she was hospitalized."

Nevertheless, the practitioners stressed that physical recovery is not the reason for practicing falun gong, merely a side effect.

Falun gong, also called falun dafa, is a form of qigong, the practice of refining the body and mind through exercises and meditation. Unlike other types of qigong, falun gong also stresses the pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment.

Practitioners strive to become better people by practicing the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance in everything they do.

It may not sound like a radically controversial idea, but in China thousands of adherents have been tortured, imprisoned or killed. [...]

Although the persecution has led to imprisonment and death in the communist regime, it has also helped to popularize falun gong around the world.

In July, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution urging China to cease its suppression of falun gong. And numerous local governments around the state and nation have commended its adherents.

But that comes as no great surprise to the Manassas practitioners.

"You can't argue with it," Nappi said. "It's health and awareness. How can you argue with that?"

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The Manassas falun gong group meets at 3 p.m. each Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Manassas. Anyone interested is welcome to attend or call Jim Giragosian at 703-754-3905.

For more information on falun gong, visit http://www.falundafa.org. The Manassas group's Web site is http://member.muzi.com/jimg. To find another group in the Northern Virginia area, visit http://www.va.falunusa.net.

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Reader Opinions

Name: Anne Yang

Date: Nov, 15 2002

I would like to thank the reporter for this wonderful story of this great practice! Hope more people would embrace this great gift from Chinese traditional culture. And my highest respect to those who have peacefully endured all the hardship in China to let more people around the world have this chance to get to know this great gift---"truth, compassion and forbearance", what a beautiful principle.

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Name: Tiny Tang

Date: Nov, 15 2002

Very good! We hope to read more about Falun Gong. Best wishes to Falun Gong practitioners

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http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6071249&BRD=1908&PAG=461&dept_id=458673&rfi=6

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