Nouvelles des Trois Chênes (Swiss Media): Things Chinese

I am always on the lookout for whatever is good for us, so I went to try Falun Gong.

You may not know that this combination of physical exercise and meditation originated in China; its aim is to rejuvenate the body and soul that has been mistreated by modern lifestyles. The session consists of five slow exercises, which allow you to become filled with the spiraling energy of the Universe. By concentrating on yourself for more than an hour, you endeavour to escape from the worries of a stressful existence...

My daughter-in-law was alarmed when she learned of my initiative and asked me if I had perhaps fallen into the hands of a cult. I was able to reassure her. For the most part, a cult guru is after your money, your freedom or if you are a pretty young woman, your sexuality. There is nothing like that in Falun Gong: you are free to take part or to leave without signing up and there is no guru to entice you into bed. In addition the sessions are free (they are run by volunteers). Isn’t that reassuring?

The philosophy of the method can be summed up in three words: truthfulness, compassion and patience. In short, I have so far encountered nothing in Falun Gong that is contrary to my belief as a Christian...

If this practice is not dangerous, why are its practitioners persecuted in China? It is quite simply because China’s autocratic authorities cannot stand the fact that anyone else can possibly influence the masses. When ten thousand practitioners assembled peacefully in Beijing on 25th April 1999, the Chinese leaders began to recall the student demonstration on Tiananmen Square ten years previously. The result was a persecution that began three months later; Falun Gong was declared illegal, its practitioners were imprisoned, detained in psychiatric hospitals and tortured, sometimes to death.

Like Amnesty International, we should emphatically denounce this persecution. There is no valid reason for getting infuriated with people engaged in a practice that could not be more peaceful.

Jacques Perroux

P.S. Curious surfers can consult the site www.falundafa.org

This article was written and sent to the regional newspaper by a new practitioner in Geneva. The author has participated in group exercises three or four times.