I was reading a very interesting book recently:
(here it is)
Absolutely fascinating. Had an account of a religious group that grew out of exercise and meditation (similar to Yoga, at least, that's how I understood it). The Falun Gong or Falun Dafa. The book talks about how the Communist party basically outlawed Falun Gong because they had so many adherents that it gave them some serious power in the country. Lots of accounts of police brutality. Lots of peaceful protests.
I was on a long car drive with my roommate (She's from Jiangxi Province, China) and I asked her if she knew anything about the religion.
She responds with "Oh yeah, they're crazy. The government had to outlaw them because they kill themselves in public... They're like Muslim extremists or something."
I was shocked. The book had said NOTHING about that. From what she was saying the religion was like some evil cult that encouraged it's members to suicide.
Anyways, it was jarring. Cognitive Dissonance to the max. Could probably write something about propaganda, or Communism, or government blah blah blah.. but I've been feeling dizzy and awful all day so I'm gonna skip it.
Here's a song:
(here it is)
Absolutely fascinating. Had an account of a religious group that grew out of exercise and meditation (similar to Yoga, at least, that's how I understood it). The Falun Gong or Falun Dafa. The book talks about how the Communist party basically outlawed Falun Gong because they had so many adherents that it gave them some serious power in the country. Lots of accounts of police brutality. Lots of peaceful protests.
I was on a long car drive with my roommate (She's from Jiangxi Province, China) and I asked her if she knew anything about the religion.
She responds with "Oh yeah, they're crazy. The government had to outlaw them because they kill themselves in public... They're like Muslim extremists or something."
I was shocked. The book had said NOTHING about that. From what she was saying the religion was like some evil cult that encouraged it's members to suicide.
Anyways, it was jarring. Cognitive Dissonance to the max. Could probably write something about propaganda, or Communism, or government blah blah blah.. but I've been feeling dizzy and awful all day so I'm gonna skip it.
Here's a song:
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