Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice that millions around the world have made a part of their lives. Rooted in Buddhist tradition, it consists of two main components: self-improvement through the study of teachings, and gentle exercises and meditation.
The belief system of Falun Dafa offers the possibility of spiritual growth through disciplined practice. Its teachings encourage learners to let go of unhealthy attachments as they strive to attune their lives to the underlying qualities of the universe: Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance.
People who practice Falun Dafa often find it to be life-changing. Many experience dramatic health benefits as well as newfound energy, mental clarity, and stress relief. More importantly, many feel that in Falun Dafa they have found a deeply rewarding spiritual path.
The History of Falun Gong
Falun Gong represents a direct and authentic connection to genuine traditional Chinese culture.
The ancients believed that through disciplined spiritual practice a human being is capable of transcending ordinary existence. They sought a higher state of being, free of suffering and the illusions of the mundane world. Attaining such a state required moral rectitude, letting go of earthly desires, and the use of meditation practices to improve mind and body. Numerous disciplines arose, offering paths for spiritual growth. Many were quietly passed down over the ages from masters to disciples.
Falun Gong arises out of this lineage and is adopted for a modern lifestyle. The practice was introduced to the public in May 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi.
The health benefits reported by people taking up Falun Gong are often immediate and dramatic, with some patients even recovering from severe illnesses. In addition, Chinese people have recognized in Falun Gong an authentic representation of the spiritual traditions that have almost been lost after decades of communist rule. This sparked a wave of excitement about the practice in China during the 1990s, and the practice grew rapidly across the country.
Morning exercises in Changchun, Northeastern China, 1998
By 1998, just six years after its first introduction to the public, official Chinese records estimated 70 to 100 million people had taken up the practice, making Falun Gong the fastest growing and most popular form of qigong in Chinese history.
Falun Gong Teachings and Beliefs
At the core of Falun Gong’s teachings are the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Ancient Chinese schools of thought emphasized that seeking ‘harmony between heaven, nature and man’ can bring stability and prosperity to society. Similarly, for a person on a spiritual path, aligning with the guiding principles of the universe (the Tao, or the Way) and assimilating to its qualities can bring greater mental and physical health, blessings, and different levels of spiritual awakening.
Falun Gong teaches that the most fundamental characteristic of the universe can be summarized in just three words: Zhen, Shan, Ren—translated as being true, kind, and forbearing.
These three principles serve as a guide for Falun Gong practitioners in their daily lives. That is, each day they work to cultivate these principles in their own character, becoming more true, kind, and forbearing people.
Practicing Falun Gong is a process of ennobling one’s heart and mind with truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, and letting go of unhealthy habits and pursuits. When encountering hardships or conflicts, Falun Gong teaches to search within oneself for causes instead of blaming others; to endure and not to fight back, but rather to identify one’s shortcomings and improve oneself in the process.
The Five Exercises of Falun Gong
Qigong is a science of the human body that is not commonly explored or well understood in the West yet. On the other hand, many practices of the East, including Chinese medicine, have acknowledged and studied life-energy and its circulation through energy channels of the body for thousands of years. Understanding energy channels and how they can be unblocked, opened, and widened for health benefits is the foundation of traditional healing systems of the East.
Similarly, qigong practices teach how to work with the life-energy of the body, how to improve its circulation inside the body, and, at advanced levels, they even teach about transforming the life-energy of the body into a more potent energy called gong.
Qigong exercises are often very slow-moving, sometimes even completely motionless. The practice of Falun Gong offers four standing exercises that include stretching movements, still positions, and slow movements that lead the energy through the body. It also includes a sitting meditation.
Falun Gong’s Health Benefits
Several health studies (carried out in China, the United States, Russia, and Australia), including clinically controlled, peer-reviewed research studies at leading medical facilities, have begun to explore and confirm the positive, and sometimes dramatic, health benefits that so many persons attribute to the practice.
Typical benefits that people describe include increased amounts of energy and reduced fatigue, greater resistance to disease, better sleep, emotional balance, a sense of calm, a positive outlook, improved relationships, greater self-awareness, a deeper sense of meaning in life, and spiritual growth.
The above content draws heavily upon research on faluninfo.net. Please visit there to learn more about Falun Dafa, as well as the persecution it faces in China.
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