Falun Dafa is here!

By Matthew SIMON

Crowd not seen on PEI since Walmart opened

Picture this. You are walking through the streets of Montreal, head- ing through Chinatown, when all of a sudden you find a group of about fifty people sitting in cross-legged position, mediating in a grassy park nearby. This is the scene I encountered two years ago, when I| discovered Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong)

He [Jiang Zemin] banned the practice. He's tor- tured and killed thou- sands of people, just for meditating in parks. What an idiot.

Falun Dafa is simply this: 4 standing exercises (similar to Tai-Chi) that stimulate energy channels in the body, 1 sitting meditation which calms the mind, and a set of teachings based on the essential nature of the universe: Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. These teachings explain some of the mysteries of life, and how to be a good person.

So over the next year, I start learning this stuff. Slowly, I learned the answers to some of the questions | had been having for a long time, ques-

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tions that religion didn't seem to answer. Still, I was overly skeptical. Everything is free? No membership? No formal organization? No worship? No religion, or cult? Health improve- ment? It took me a while to under- stand that although it seemed too good to be true, it really was true. One sign of this occurred when all of a sudden, my mono (which I had had for over a year) went away.

The crazy thing is, Falun Dafa only was only introduced to the public in 1992 in China. (Yes, it's a based in China. But what most of us westerners don't know is that 1/5 of the world's population is Chinese. That's a lot of people.) Anyway, within seven years, 100 million+ are learning the practice. 100 million! The leader of China, Jiang Zemin, decided that there were way too many people, so he banned the practice. He's tortured and killed thousands of people, just for meditat- ing in parks. What an idiot. Hopefully the persecution won't last much longer; if Jiang Zemin isn't dead by the time of this publication, I will be thoroughly devastated.

The point is: Falun Dafa is gaining popularity in the West, with

me taniee abla

Poets by Lennie MacPherson & Matt Stewart

Death AINE

ACTS

| November 14, 15 a 16,2002

Duffy Amphitheatre on the UPEI Campus —

Time: 8 pm—NOTE 8:30 pm Thurs, Nov 14—

$8 general admission - $5 students a seniors lover 60)

Tickets available at the north entrance of the Duffy Science Centre the night of the show. Deor opens at 7:30pm, 8 pm on Thurs, Nev 14.

‘Featuring: Mary Clements, Brad Deighan, Erin Fagan, Adam Gauthier, Marieve ‘MacGregor, Jenn MacLean, Lennie MacPherson, Norsh Pendergast, Melanie Stavert, Matt Stewart, Gary Vincent, Joey Weale

| Warning: Interiors contains Adutt Language and Adult Themes. Viewer Discretion is advised. Poets contains Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is advised.

Thurs 2:30-3:30, Sun 12-3) whenever the weather is unfavorable outside- i.e. all winter. Come on down! Feel free to find me in the music department if you want information or materials. Or, you can find out more yourself: go to www. falundafa.org.

large practice sites in all of the major cities. It's about time someone started one for Prince Edward Island. So hey, what do you know- I'm starting one. The university has graciously allowed me to use the cold, dark basement of the Robertson Library (Room 06: Wed-

gece dad get i into neat lec. just like real life.

toe ae ea

~ ke a ar a a a Jesrresavsennonre