03/02/2001

If you were to ask most people what the darkest blot on China's human rights record is, they would probably mention the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

I would argue, however that the current persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is even darker.

The question itself isn't that important, but it is important to realize that the pro-democracy movement was completely crushed within a few weeks. In contrast, the massive civil disobedience by Falun Gong practitioners has continued for more than 19 months so far.

Nothing like this has ever happened before in China. Is it not amazing? Of course it is. Why are things different this time? Why is it that its practitioners' belief in Falun Gong is so unshakable that one of the most brutal persecutions in history has failed to root it out?

The answer is the very essence of Falun Dafa's teachings: that the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance constitute guides for practicing the exercises and for conducting one's daily life.

These three concepts seem very simple but they are very powerful. In combination with the five easy sets of Falun Gong exercises, they can transform the practitioner's body to a healthier condition and his/her mind to a much purer and more peaceful state.

The first time someone told me that practicing Falun Gong had cured many practitioners' illnesses, I laughed. So when I watched my wife recover from a long-standing, extremely painful allergy to cold temperatures after a few months' practice, I was shocked. This made me try it myself.

Beginning at that point my life changed from that of a tense, apprehensive foreign student to that of a relaxed and peaceful practitioner. I was also surprised that I was finding the answers to fundamental questions that had perplexed me throughout my life about life itself, science, disease, the universe, and the like.

Some friends suggested that, since we had found Falun Gong to be so good, we should introduce it to other people. The Unlimited Thought book store has become a regular practice site for newcomers and veterans alike every Saturday morning. With the assistance of this business, Falun Gong has helped many San Antonians enjoy better lives.

It has helped people deal with depression, create and maintain better interpersonal relationships, and think of other people first.

How criminal it is, then, that Chinese leader Jiang Zemin used illegal means to ban Falun Gong and defames it with the word "cult."

This has been the pretext for killing more than 150 innocent people, adopting the Stalinist tactic of sending practitioners to mental hospitals to be "treated" with electroshock therapy and psychoactive drugs, and sending more than 10,000 practitioners for "transformation" through torture and intimidation.

I also regret the willingness of some Western media people to apply the term "sect" to Falun Gong, which is not a religion.

In fact, practitioners are the same as everyone else; they are from all walks of life. The main difference is that they have more compassionate hearts and think more of others than themselves. They always look for the fault within themselves rather than blaming others during a conflict.

There is no blind faith involved, but rather the clear-headedness that comes with living a life knowing the truth of the universe and wholeheartedly treasuring all life.

Hongyi Pan, a former resident of Beijing, is a research fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

http://www.hearstnp.com/san_antonio/bea/news/stories/san/storypage.cfm?xla=s aen