A Brief History of Falun Gong
The Chinese practice of Falun Gong has a relatively short but already important history. Its specific history is a mere ten years old, however the ideas and practices it is based on have a history that stretch throughout the entire history of the Chinese civilization. The practice of different forms of qigong, the cultivation of qi or the energy that flows throughout the human body and the universe, has been a staple in many different practices of Chinese culture including being the basis for traditional Chinese medicine. In its ten-year history, Falun Gong has garnered millions of practitioners and followers and much attention from many others including the Chinese government, although this attention has been mostly negative. Falun Gong is a form of qigong, an age-old Chinese tradition of meditation and exercise. (Beliefnet 1) Falun Gong is essentially a practice of five sets of movements, including both physical exercise and meditation, believed to heighten the physical, spiritual and moral health of its practitioners. (Beliefnet 1) The exercises of Falun Gong are an effort to rotate the falun, or the spinning body of energy thought to be located in the lower abdomen. (Beliefnet 1) The be
(Madsen 244) The problem the Chinese government has with Falun Gong is not so much that it is, or more precisely can be seen, as a religion but the degree to which the members are organized (even though there is no "official organization"). " (Dowell 2) However, the members of Falun Gong wished to express their grievances to the government of China. Accusations of coercing members into suicide and foregoing medical treatment, along with its vast membership and tight organization quickly sealed the fate of the label of evil cult. (Beliefnet 1) In its designer's own words: "The Law Wheel of the Buddha School, the Yin-Yang of the Tao School, and the ten-directional world are all reflected in the Falun -the Law-Wheel. It is also believed that this practice absorbs energy from the universe and will release negative elements from the body, which can remedy irregular conditions within the body such as pain, disease and the like. I am teaching a higher level of qigong. (CNN) Within its short, merely ten-year history, Falun Gong has accumulated more supporters than the Communist Party in China, and some estimates put this number at nearly ten percent of the population. However, the spiritual aspects of the practice, the fact that it draws on concepts and beliefs from other Chinese religions such as Taoism and Buddhism, and that it "can be seen as part of the long tradition of Chinese folk Buddhism" provide support for it being seen as a religion. More recently, there has been more seemingly threatening (at least to the Chinese government) actions performed by the group. (CNN) On July 22, 1999, the group was officially outlawed in China. Recently, cable broadcasts have been interrupted in at least six cities, and the replacement broadcasts tend to merely display banners reading, "Falun Dafa is good. " (CNN) Furthermore, the government blames the bold hijacking of government controlled satellite signals during the World Cup soccer finals to Falun Gong. "I want to teach people to be good and not to be involved in politics.
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