The Leaders: Ancient Chinese wisdom sought in Charlotte

(The Leaders is a weekly magazine in Charlotte, North Carolina) Can 100 million people really be wrong? That's how many adherents the Falun Dafa energy-and-meditation system claim worldwide in less than nine years of existence. The movement has grown to more than 40 countries even - or maybe especially - in the face of the well-documented persecution that the practice has provoked from authorities in officially atheist China, where it originated. And it's not even a religion. Go figure. Now, Falun Dafa has come to Charlotte. The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners even declared Dec. 16 "Falun Dafa Day." On that day, a small group of people gathered at the Independence Regional Library for a brief lecture and demonstration of the practice and philosophy. American presenters of both Asian and Western extraction -- a software engineer, a computer programmer, a seventh-grade teacher--wore suits and smiles as they spoke about their Falun Dafa's practice, and then demonstrated the five simple, slow exercises that Falun Dafa uses to balance the body's energy in harmony with universal principles. The inner cultivation of mind and spirit that goes along with Falun Dafa's physical exercises focuses on the three principles of truth, compassion and forbearance. Its hard to see what could be so threatening about any of that, but you know how those Chinese communists can be. On Mecklenburg County Falun Dafa Day at the independence library, a sense of open calm did indeed reign in the small community room, with its tableful of cookies and Cokes for afterward. Just like church. But that's about where the similarity to Western organized religion ends, at least for appearance's sake. Not that you could not practice both. ... So, just what is Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong?. Well, the description of the aforementioned five exercises and three principles about sums it up. Of course, concepts like truth, compassion and forbearance, simple as they may sound, still cover a lot of ground. On the physical side, if you're already familiar with, for example, tai chi, qi gong, or any number of other Eastern approaches to balancing energy, you are on the right track. Falun Dafa, a more elemental form of the qi gong energy-balancing system, adherents say, is based on ancient wisdom that was not publicly available to the masses before. It was introduced in China in 1992 by Master Li Hongzhi. In June, 1999, the atheist, communist Chinese government began a crackdown on the practice. Falun Dafa literature and news reports show a clear pattern of persecution, torture and death against Falun Dafa practitioners. Unbowed, the movement's global public relations effort is extensive, including slick, professionally produced brochures, magazines and web sites. Books are available for purchase, or for free downloading from the web sites. All Falun Dafa events are free and open to the public. So, who pays for all this, and organizes all that? Voluntary contributions coupled with volunteer contact lists, says Jeff Chen, a software engineer from the Triangle who was in Charlotte to help organize local efforts here. In other words, in Falun Dafa, there's not much chance for gaining political power, which seems to be part of the point. The focus is on the individual's relationship to more divine powers of universal principle, which maybe is what has all those atheist commies so worked up. "Without attachments, nothing can bother you" sums up Fli Rayfield of Dallas, who often participates in Charlotte Falun Dafa activities. The local contact here, Kay Oke, organizes a twice-monthly group practice of Falun Dafa at a shelter at Reedy Creek Park, and is working on finding an indoor space. For more information, go to www.falundafa.org, or call Ms. Oke at 704-845-1822.