Finnish Practitioner Interviewed in Chile's "La Tercera" Newspaper (Photo)
New oriental practice gains adherents all around the world The practitioners of this technique practice together in
parks, and teach it for free to new people who are interested in learning. This
has generated a worldwide movement, but in China the practitioners are
persecuted by the authorities.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United
Nations are only a few of the organizations at the international level that have
launched campaigns to stop the persecution in China of the practitioners of this
discipline known as Falun Dafa.
This oriental practice consists of five simple exercises
based on three principles: Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. In China it
gained adherents in about 8% of the population, who in 1999 began to be detained
after the practice was declared illegal [...] by the Chinese authorities.
The death of some of the practitioners in addition to the
growing number of adherents of the discipline in more that sixty countries has
also generated the emergence of true 'Ambassadors' who inform the public about
the situation. In Chile, Pía María Sandas, a Finnish ex-model and current
executive of the cosmetic company Isadora, is visiting our country to raise
awareness about Falun Dafa.
"The husband of one of my friends, Jane Dai, was abducted and
killed in China for defending the practice, and Jane is now traveling all around
the world to inform people about the situation in China".
The executive comments that, "At an international level,
campaigns have also been carried out by, for example, Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch. One of the theories as to why Falun Dafa is persecuted in
China was the ever increasing number of practitioners getting together in parks.
"There were thousands upon thousands," says the young lady.
History of the discipline
Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, has been practiced for
some time in Chile under the name qigong. Sometimes it is called Chinese yoga,
since it is somewhat similar to that practice. It was introduced to the public
in 1992, when Teacher Li Hongzhi compiled the physical exercises and teachings
in two texts and participated in an exposition on oriental disciplines.
The fundamentals of Falun Dafa indicate, in addition, that if
a person lives in harmony with their body and soul it is reflected in their
personal health, and also in the improvement of their relationship with their
environment.
"In fact, I have experienced this process. Practicing the
discipline I began to think about how I am and I began to realize how intolerant
we sometimes are with other people", says Pia-Maria.
Falun Dafa is freely taught in public parks
One of the key aspects of the discipline is that, as with
yoga, its exercises have proven to be effective in relaxing those who practice
it, reducing muscular and emotional tension. The practice is free of charge:
practitioners and interested persons gather in public parks, where they practice
the exercises together. The books about the principles of the practice can be
downloaded for free from the Internet.
The contacts for learning Falun Dafa are at the website
www.falundafa.org. In Chile there are voluntary contact persons in Iquique and
in Santiago: Jaime Castillo, in the first city (jaimecastillo131@hotmail.com),
and Verónica Rosselot (verorosselot@yahoo.com) in the capital.
In the parks of various cities around the world, adherents of
Falun Dafa get together to practice the exercises of the oriental discipline
that fosters harmony between body and soul.
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