Three arched skylights illuminate the interior of a studio in the top floor of the Women's Building at Oregon State University, turning the wood floors golden. A gentle breeze was blowing early Wednesday afternoon, ruffling the loose clothing of the Falun Gong practitioners as they stood, eyes closed, on blankets scattered in front of a large mirror.
Their arms moved in liquid motion to the sound of a taped gentle voice in English and Chinese, which intoned command after command, accompanied by soothing instrumental music. As if performing a dance, their arms lifted and fell in rhythm, hands coming together and apart, bodies swaying slightly. To an outsider, the practice seems like a very gentle version of yoga. In fact, as each motion is held for seven minutes, with the lotus position being held for up to an hour, the practice takes extreme tolerance of pain.
Falun Gong was [made public] in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. It is a combination of exercise, meditation and spiritual principles based on the ancient Chinese practice of qigong, which refines body and mind.
The principles include truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. The meditation often focuses on the works of Hongzhi, and followers of the program are spread across the world.
In China, however, Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was declared illegal in 1999, defamed as an [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted], and there are widespread reports of deprogramming, imprisonment and torture to Falun Gong practitioners.
Hong Liner wants to raise awareness about that persecution to Corvallis residents. Liner, a planner at OSU, began practicing Falun Gong after she noticed her mother's transformation, both physically and mentally, from the meditation and exercise program. Once estranged from her mother, she found herself growing closer to her, eventually following her advice and using Falun Gong herself.
She recognizes that the practice is not popular in the United States because the exercise can be painful, especially those positions that have to be held for long periods of time. But she also will attest to the benefits she's received from Falun Gong and to the strife in her homeland regarding the practice.
"We need to let people know what's happening," she said, "to get a broader communication to the community."
The conference will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon in front of Corvallis City Hall, 501 S.W. Madison Ave. Speakers will include practitioner Joy Zhao, Corvallis City Councilman Charlie Tomlinson and local yoga instructor June Noyce.
Maria Hendra knows all about persecution. In her native Jakarta, Indonesia, she watched as her city fell into chaos during riots. Churches were burned, and students were shot; women were raped, and families scattered.
In Corvallis, where she stays with her daughter and her family, Hendra can look back on those times in the relative security of her home near Adams Elementary School. As a practitioner of Falun Gong, Hendra has learned the benefits of a calm, quiet mind and peaceful body. But she has heard from fellow Falun Gong practitioners about the persecution other followers face in China, where the meditation and exercise program has been denounced as a [slanderous term omitted].
"A year ago, I went into a bookstore, and I found a book on Falun Gong in Indonesian," she said. "I began getting interested, so I tried to find other people who were practicing. I found a Web site on Falun Gong and then found a group in Eugene."
Eventually, Hendra found other practitioners in Corvallis and now belongs to a group that meets frequently at Harding Elementary School to meditate and perform the five exercises that make up Falun Gong. The group includes some Chinese students from OSU who refuse to speak about Falun Gong for fear of their own safety and that of their families when they return home.
Hendra reaps benefits from the group.
"They lead you to the way you live better," she explained. "There are many places for practice in Indonesia, but there are bombs everywhere, and my home was quite far from a place to practice."
Though there are fewer followers in Corvallis, there is no persecution, and it is safe to go out, so she seeks groups because being surrounded by other Falun Gong practitioners enhances the practice.
"If we practice in a group, the energy is stronger," she explained.
Hendra is baffled by the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The principals of Falun Gong are specifically aimed at self-improvement and are spiritual, not political.
"There's nothing against the government," she said. "It's only for yourself, for making yourself a better person."
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