Finnish Practitioner Interviewed in Chile's "La Tercera" Newspaper

New oriental practice gains adherents all around the world

In the parks of various cities around the world, adherents of Falun Dafa get together to practise the exercises of the oriental discipline that fosters harmony between body and soul

The practitioners of this technique practise 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 organisations 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 kidnapped and killed in China for defending the practice, and Jane is now travelling 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 practised 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. Practising the discipline I began to think about how I am and I began to realise 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 practise it, reducing muscular and emotional tension. The practise is free of charge: practitioners and interested persons gather in public parks, where they practise 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 ([email protected]), and Verónica Rosselot ([email protected]) in the capital.