The Power of Falun Gong

We in the modern era in the West have largely forgotten to cultivate our spirit and minds while emphasizing the exercise of our physical body. All three parts need their proper attention for real health benefits and harmony in life. In fact we have fallen down to a lower level in the spiritual sense while emphasizing the material world too much.

There are many deep beliefs in the East regarding using mantras for health and spiritual benefits originating with Buddhism 2500 years ago and then used by the Hindus and many other religions across the globe. There may be something similar in Christianity even if it isn't called “mantras”. Reading out loud and singing the gospels and psalms or saying rosaries have been known to promote good health and happiness for Christians for 2000 years.

The ancient practice of Falun Gong may be the spiritual way of the future as established religions lose traction with people and die out for various reasons. The shift is inevitable. All religions come and go. Falun Gong doesn't demand its practitioners to become monks as some religions do. You can improve yourself without isolating yourself from ordinary society like monks do, which is very attractive for modern people who need to feed themselves and their families.

Falun Gong is based on three words that are simply applied in daily life (all good things come in three, as the old saying goes):

Truthfulness – Compassion – Tolerance

Simply repeating these three words whether in a quiet time or during the rush of daily life can be our modern mantra in balancing the stress of living. Just saying these three words again and again in a sincere manner yields a positive and powerful result.

How powerful is Falun Gong?

For the past twenty years, in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi's practice of satyagraha, or passive resistance, one group in China is showing the way against overwhelming odds and superior firepower. Falun Gong practitioners, who have faced terrible persecution that includes arrest, torture, forced labor and even live organ harvesting have persevered to this day.

Falun Gong practitioners try their best to follow Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.

Tuidang, an emerging non-violent movement in China that practices Falun Gong has convinced over 300 million Chinese people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Short for Tuichu Gongchandang, Tuidang translates literally as “withdraw from the Communist Party.”

Participation in the movement means that a person has made a public declaration that he or she wishes to disavow any previous ties with the CCP or its affiliated organizations. These statements are typically signed using aliases to protect the identity of participants, and are often accompanied by explanations from the individual about why he or she no longer wishes to identify with the CCP.

A majority of Chinese citizens belong to or previously belonged to at least one of these organizations. The term “quit the party” therefore refers to a symbolic denunciation of the CCP or any of these affiliated entities.

Is Tuidang’s aim to overthrow the Communist Party? While the Nine Commentaries denounce the Communist Party, they do not prescribe an alternative political system. Thus, while the Tuidang movement implicitly supports regime change in China, it does not advocate an overthrow of the CCP or a coup, nor does it prescribe specific institutional reforms. Rather, the focus is on a rejection of the culture of violence and duplicity propagated by the CCP and on a revival of virtue to bring about a more just and humane future for China. The Tuidang movement is, in many ways, less about political revolution or institutional change and more about a spiritual and ethical revival.

How did the Falun Gong achieve these accomplishments? They did it with tens of millions of practitioners who risk their lives to go out and talk to people face to face, heart to heart. Good people from all countries will need to find their courage to be a hero for the future and make a difficult choice — they need to stand up, NOW.

We have all learned from the recent rigged election that one cannot count on corrupt politicians or crooked laws and courts to ensure justice. This can be a Do It Yourself operation, talking to people from heart to heart, sharing ideas. Reject violence wherever it appears and revive virtue and restore constitutional law. The people of China are demonstrating how a simple idea is indeed revolutionary and making a difference in changing the world – something we all can learn from.