Sowing the benefits of Falun Dafa

Falun Dafa is a ‘cultivation practice’ by which you can be disease-free and lead a full life says Suren Rao

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Falun Dafa is a complete ‘cultivation practice’ to refine the mind and body. Also called Falun Gong, ‘cultivation’ is an accurate word to describe the effect it has on the body, mind and spirit since the process requires effort on the part of the person practising this system. One literally ‘cultivates’ qualities like a garden, by planting seeds of goodness and not letting that goodness be damaged by circumstances or events. True cultivation practices do aim at improving physical health and vitality, but the overall goal is beyond that—to transform the whole person. The practice involves five simple exercises.

Use truthfulness, compassion and tolerance as your yardstick

At the heart of Falun Dafa are the core principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. As you continue your practice, you learn how to apply these three standards as a gauge to see how you measure up to the daily situations you encounter in family life, in the work environment and in everyday activities. Since the process of cultivation encourages self-examination or awareness, a person can naturally give up addictions, desires and selfish emotions. The cultivation process makes the mind more benevolent and cleanses the physical body.

Who can practice Falun Dafa

Falun Dafa is practised in 114 countries by at least a 100 million people.

Participants range from children as young as four to the elderly, and they come from all walks of life. Accessible to new-comers and veterans alike, the practice also embraces those who may suffer from ailments or otherwise not be at their physical best. The only condition to learn Falun Dafa is a strong mind that is free of mental illnesses, so that learners can be in full control of their consciousness.

The amazing health benefits of Falun Dafa

Falun Dafa entails the development of one’s xinxing, which is the moral character, or the mind and heart nature. As a result, meditation and mild physical exercises are included in it. The principle of cultivating the heart includes a process of letting go of attachments. To let go of attachments such as jealousy, anger and fear makes the heart more benevolent and compassionate. The process of releasing sentiments passes many levels and is a journey of steady learning. Once people learn to take sentiments and attachments more lightly, everything in life becomes lighter as well.

According to the eastern theory of diseases, blocked meridians [the energy channels] prevent energy flow, giving rise to diseases. This is augmented by the stress and burden that one faces in life, more so as a result of karma. Only through a cultivation practice like Falun Dafa can you bring back the balance of energy to the body and thus relieve an ailment.

Going beyond good health

Practising Falun Dafa is advantageous to both the body and mind, as it aids health, infuses energy, relieves stress and brings about mental clarity and peace of mind. If an individual can cultivate their mind according to the principles, setting aside physical complaints, significant or even dramatic improvements are apt to emerge. Anecdotes of Falun Dafa’s amazing cures abound. Stories of its miraculous effects can be heard from almost every practitioner and those who would have either experienced it themselves, or from those they know.

Exercises work on one level

The five exercises complement each other with their gentle movements and are very easy to learn. Within an hour, one can learn the basic movements of all five exercises. While the first exercise clears energy blockages and opens the meridians in the body, the second exercise builds up endurance and increases wisdom. The third exercise is for cleansing the body and the fourth makes the energy in all meridians flow by activating the Great Heavenly Circuit, which is the body’s main meridian. After these four exercises, which are done standing, the fifth exercise is a sitting meditation, which enhances the transformation of one’s karma and strengthens one’s divine powers.

Falun Dafa does not offer any easy solutions or cures for diseases. People who have experienced health benefits from practising it, did not gain them because of a strong desire or pursuit to have their illnesses cured. While many have joined seeking a ‘quick fix’ before learning the principles of Falun Dafa, it was only once they started to genuinely cultivate the higher principles found in this practice did the question of disease and health fall by the wayside.

The author can be contacted at su*******@gm***.com if you wish to learn Falun Dafa. This is taught free of cost.

falun-dafa-exercises-300x303The five sets of Falun Dafa exercises

  1. Buddha showing 1000 hands: Gentle stretches that clear energy blockages and opens the energy channels.
  2. The Falun standing stance: A standing meditation that builds up physical and mental endurance, enhances energy levels and increases wisdom.
  3. Penetrating the two cosmic extremes: Purifies the body by mixing and exchanging the energy from both the cosmos and the human body.
  4. Falun heavenly circuit: Rectifies all abnormal conditions in the body and circulates energy widely
  5. Strengthening divine powers: A sitting meditation to attain a clear and pure mind, develop supernormal powers, and increase energy potency.

This was first published in the July 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Suren Rao is an advertising professional who makes short films and commercials. He has learnt yoga and various other spiritual disciplines. For the last 12 years he has been steadfast in his practice of Falun Dafa and teaches it for free.