Home Viet Nam Human Rights » Analysis-Comment » home » Falun Gong: A health practice or religious belief? (Part 2 and End)

Falun Gong: A health practice or religious belief? (Part 2 and End)

10/9/16


Part 2: Agurments about Falun Gong’s impacts
In China, where it began, since 90s Falun Gong has been persecuted and forbidden. Chinese authorities have also sought to portray Falun Gong as a hierarchical and well-funded organization. The Chinese government's campaign against Falun Gong was driven by large-scale propaganda through television, newspapers, radio and internet. As usual, numerous Western governments and human rights organizations have expressed condemnation of the Chinese government's suppression of Falun Gong. Facing international criticism and domestic sympathy for Falun Gong, the ruling Chinese Communist Party scrambled to rationalise its campaign. It has claimed Falun Gong is a menace to society - a superstitious, foreign-driven, tightly organised, dangerous group of meditators. It is suggested that China leaders fear Falun Gong because it reminds them of past religions-turned-rebellions.
On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence to prove that Falun Gong is no ordinary illegal organization, but a superstitious troublemaker. It’s admitted that Chinese government trys to control religions, but Falun Gong is not a religion. At the very beginning, it was created because the creator Li Hongzhi wanted to make money. You may think it's ridiculous, but at that time (early 1990s), the Qigong teachers, whether they really understood Qigong or not, could make great money, and Li Hongzhi was at first also trying to "create a new kind of Qigong" and make great money. Gradually, in order to attract more students and make them attached, he added religious factors into it.
Many people  believe that the group wants people to totally refuse science, to abandon your affections for your family and friends, to give money unconditionally to the leader, and to hurt themselves or others for the group or for "a greater goal", it is likely to be a cult. They wanted to attract poor and weak old men, so in that small town, they mainly said that Li Hongzhi, their leader, was nearly a God, or a messenger from God, and a great doctor, a saviour or whatever, who had great power to cure anyone of any kind of disease. They said that once you learned the Falun Gong, you didn't need to go to hospital anymore, and you should not go to hospital at all, because the Falun Gong group considered hospitals and modern medicines evil. Falun Gong is not like Chinese Qigong or Martial Arts. Qigong and Martial Arts, at least, have lasted for many, many years and prove to be useful to help people stay fit, just like, you can also swim to keep fit, while Falun Gong was mainly created by Li Hongzhi himself to confuse people. Things like Qigong and Martial Arts never promise they can cure diseases, though they certainly have a much longer history and much more foundations than Falun Gong.
So, in modern society, if a "religion" tells you that when you get sick, going to hospital is a kind of sin and what you should do is to believe in its "God" and keep praying and giving money to the "disciples", what would you think?
In recent years, more and more Vietnamese people have started practicing Falun Gong. In 2002, the Vietnamese Falun Dafa teaching video appeared on the internet. In the following year, Zhuan Falun was published in Vietnamese. Falun Dafa spread to the whole country. More and more Vietnamese from all walks of life began to join the practice. The first Vietnamese Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference was held in Hanoi in May 2009. About 150 practitioners from Vietnam and overseas attended the meeting. Since then, more people have started practicing Falun Gong. By 2010, the number of practitioners increased to about 600. They come from many major cities and small towns of northern Vietnam and southern regions. Whether it is morning, afternoon or night, rain or shine, people can see them practicing the exercises in parks and at tourist sites. Falun Dafa has spread by word of mouth. More and more people ask about Falun Dafa. It is estimated that, in 2011, in Vietnam more than 1,500 people practiced Falun Dafa. Today, there are about 35 practice sites throughout the country.
          Vietnamese government has respected the freedom of religion and people’ rights of following and practicing religions and beliefs, so the government does not officially ban Falun Gong. The authorities just try to help people understand its nature as an exercise group for health, and warn people not to engage in any illegal activities that its leaders appeal through this practice. In fact, several Falun Gong leaders and practitioners have taken part in many anti-State activities and caused harms to the country’s security. So, Falun Gong may not be bad, but individuals and groups which try to take advantages of it for their benefits are bad. It should be warned to public that Falun Gong is just a normal exercise, do not be so superstitious about its effects and do not engage in any political activities in the name of this Falun Gong./.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
Other post

All comments [ 0 ]


Your comments