China-U.S. relations are very unique. China is hoping to join the WTO. The vast country of China would benefit tremendously from this. However, I am certainly not an expert on these matters. What I do exert myself, as being an expert on is with the teachings of a spiritual practice you may have heard of, known as Falun Gong and China’s ruthless persecution against Falun Gong.
After careful reading of Zhuan Falun, through free Internet access, I decided to practice Falun Gong. It was just very simple. Read the book, practice the exercises, and in a nutshell, strive to reach enlightenment. I was also surprised with the principles expounded in the book.
One thing I can remember off hand is something called `de’ (virtue). I realized that if I did good things I was producing and gathering `de’, and likewise, if I were to do something bad, it would constitute the loss of de. I asked myself, “How do I judge between good and bad?”
The teachings also explain that the characteristics of the whole universe can be summed up into three simple words, truth-compassion-tolerance. It was very simple! Anything not congruent with the characteristics of the universe is to be considered bad. So I realized: if I assimilate my thinking, behavior, etc., to the characteristics of the universe, then I will be able to reach enlightenment.
It’s hard to understand why China calls this practice an “evil cult.” If you say I’m evil for trying to be a good person, you’ve really hurt my feelings. Then how can I not stand up to prove you wrong? And how could anyone say that doing this is a political act? If people are being treated unfairly, they have the full right to take action. Why is China so bent on eradicating good people? In my view, a country with more physically healthy and morally good people becomes stronger and better, in all aspects.
What constitutes a cult? I think many people have the conception that if a group of people believe in something congruently and it’s not a religion, it’s to be considered a cult or a sect. It’s just a little too simple to grasp. No temples, no rituals, no clergyman, no ranks, no collection of money, no initiation, and no membership. Why? Because if I, as a practitioner of Falun Gong, focus on rank, title, money, rituals, etc, then I wouldn’t be spending enough time focusing on cultivating my heart to become a good person.
I have realized that it’s my heart that counts and not formalities. Plus, cults have leaders who scam, cheat, take money, and tell their followers to break laws and commit self-destructive acts. Lets not get emotional about this. I’m not talking about whether a belief system is right or wrong. What I’m explaining is action, not belief and this is precisely the point!
The actions of Falun Gong are peaceful and law abiding. Not to mention that they are completely beneficial to society. Falun Gong is not against the Chinese government. Practitioners of Falun Gong are for the Chinese government, and this is exactly why they are against the persecution by the government. For instance: if somebody you know does something harmful to themselves, you should tell them their wrong and direct them to change because you care about their well being.
Jiang Zemin, leader of China’s government, is persecuting Falun Gong in similar ways that Hitler persecuted the Jews. The Chinese government uses scientists as political batons to help spread huge amounts of deceitful propaganda. Let me give you an example: I know of two surveys conducted about Falun Gong.
One was by a Sports Bureau, that concluded the health effective rate of Falun Gong practitioners to be 98 percent, and was conducted before the crackdown. The other survey was made after the crackdown. It was not conducted by scientific object views such as scientist, medical doctors, psychologists, etc., but was instead conducted by government officials.
Plus, this survey did not take important factors in hand that might exclude a person from actually practicing Falun Gong. This survey concluded that Falun Gong caused 1,400 deaths.
Communist China is notorious for denial. I’m sure everyone remembers 1989 in Tianamen Square. China, to this day, denies any deaths in this incident. A book was even published that talks about the reality of this incident. I’ve heard that in China, there is an arrest warrant out for the author of this book.
Talking to a Chinese official, he tried to talk me out of practicing Falun Gong. This official used various tactics to try and convert me down. He said Falun Gong poses a similar danger to society, as did the cult in Waco Texas. However, the actions of this cult, such as storing armory, understandably threatened society. How could this compare with a Falun Gong practitioners standard of, don’t fight back when beaten and don’t curse back when cursed?
Even so, the US was not trying to suppress the belief of the Waco cult, as does China to Falun Gong. They took action against the Waco cult because they posed a threat to society and broke the law. The Chinese official also blatantly lied, saying that Falun Gong practitioners change the translated version of Zhuan Falun, to suit there brainwashing tactics. How ridiculous, I thought I was speaking to a child! I think its very self-explanatory as to how dirty this lie was.
My friend told me that he hadn’t read any thought provoking editorials for The Chronicle in a long time. Well I hope my editorial provokes your thoughts. Open yourself up to all the facts before jumping to a conclusion about Falun Gong.
If you want to know if it’s good or bad, don’t just listen to governments or newspapers, read the teachings for yourself. There is free information that you can obtain off the net at www.falundafa.org. Also, there are over 100 million people worldwide, who practice Falun Gong, isn’t that an intriguing fact!
Never before in history has there been a belief system that has spread to so many people so quickly, and this includes Christianity. By the way, weren’t Christians considered a cult when they first came out? I think people today are distinctly smart in distinguishing whether something has a hidden agenda or a brainwashing plot; sadly, however, some people only like to look at a slice of the pie and dissolve it with their emotions.