Missourian Digital: 6/7/00

Falun Dafa isn't a religion. But followers of the system of knowledge combined with physical movement have reported spiritual enlightenment, better physical health and stress alleviation as a result.

Just ask Chuan Lin.

Before he began practicing Falun Dafa, his wife, Wei Shi, had severe back pain. The couple went from doctor to doctor trying to find a way to alleviate her condition.

"My back hurt so much, and it hurt every minute," Shi said. "I saw many Western doctors and they couldn't even find what's wrong, so they couldn't help me."

A Chinese acupuncturist even told Lin his wife would probably need physical therapy for the rest of her life. Then, Lin said, the couple started practicing Falun Dafa.

Within six weeks, her back pain was gone.

"Right now, I'm just like normal people," Shi said.

Shi said she didn't even practice the physical exercises of Falun Dafa. She only meditated and read books on Falun Dafa principles.

Lin now conducts his own Falun Dafa seminars each month. The seminars run for nine consecutive evenings and are free of charge since Falun Dafa founder Li Hongzhi does not allow money to be collected in Falun Dafa's name. Those who want to teach a seminar or class must pay for the materials themselves.

"It's nothing we can buy, so it's free to the public," Lin said.

Each night, participants watch a one-and-a-half hour video featuring the teachings of founder Hongzhi. Topics include the history of meditation, the relationship between self healing and hospital healing and the relationship between western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. After the video, Lin teaches Falun Dafa exercises. He is now in the middle of a seminar he is conducting on the MU campus. But attendance hasn't exactly been up to par, Lin said.

"Sometimes about 10 people come, sometimes five," he said Monday night. "This time, three." But Lin said the low numbers don't discourage him anymore, thanks to Falun Dafa.