The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) is an international group that holds an annual conference in which scholars from all over the world are invited to share their ideas and research on many aspects of religion and religious study.
The conference is held in late October or early November each year and has an average attendance of 500 scholars. The 2000 SSSR Annual Meeting was held October 19-22 in Houston, Texas. The theme of this meeting was: "Religion and Transnationalism: Challenges of the 21st Century." Falun Gong was one of the topics of this meeting. As one professor from Nigeria University said: "Falun Gong is the focal point of the world currently."
The Falun Gong seminar was held in the afternoon of October 12. Four scholars gave academic speeches. Professor David Ownby, from the University of Montreal gave a talk entitled "Falun Gong and Chinese Popular Religion." Dr. Susan Palmer from Dawson College gave a speech entitled "Conversion Patterns and Missionary Strategies of Falun Gong in Canada." Dr. James T. Richardson, Dean of the Department of Law at the University of Nevada, talked about "Falun Gong and the Freedom of Religion," and Professor Scott Lowe, from the University of North Dakota, talked about "Chinese and International Contexts for the Rise of Falun Gong."
Professor Ownby analyzed the characteristics of Falun Gong and the reason that people love it so deeply from the perspective of history and religion. Through attending Falun Gong experience-sharing conferences in person and conducting research and study on Falun Gong practitioners, Dr Palmer defined health benefits, moral upgrading, and peaceful appealing, as three unique ways for Falun Gong practitioners to attain and promote Fa. Professor Richardson started from the state political power structure of China, pointing out that the illegal behavior of the Chinese during persecuting Falun Gong violates Constitutional and International Conventions. Professor Lowe analyzed why Falun Gong has grown so rapidly due to the factors of the current situation in China, the international context, and a statistical study of Falun Gong practitioners.
After the individual speeches, committee chairman Thomas Robbins held the question and answer session. Six Falun Gong practitioners attended the seminar and five of them were invited to make an extemporaneous speech. Their speeches held the interest of the audience. Professor Lili Feng, from the Scripps Research Institute, introduced her experience of finding out about Falun Gong through the April 25th event last year. She was amazed by the tranquility of the ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners who attended the appeal. She practiced Falun Gong not for health but for the principle of "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance," from which she understands the significance of being a good person. Falun Dafa changed her from a bad tempered person who fired five people consecutively, to a very nice one who is now well-liked by her colleagues and students.
Doctoral student Yongsheng Wang from the Department of Physics at Houston University said that he started to practice Falun Gong because of a problem with his eye that could not be cured by hospital treatment. Through practicing Falun Gong he has not only been freed from the illness but he also knows how to be a nice person and how significant this is. He also introduced the fact that Falun Gong practitioners in China are suffering brutal persecution, pointing out that his mother is one of the many victims who have been put in mental hospitals. She suffers a great deal from the persecution simply because she refuses to give up practicing Falun Gong.
Dr. Diana Roberts introduced how she was also moved by the ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealing at Zhongnanhai. As a result she chose to practice Falun Gong. She talked about her experience as a Western Falun Gong practitioner. In addressing a point brought up by a scholar that some Falun Gong practitioners have read Zhuan Falun more than one hundred times and benefited from reading both physically and mentally, she said that she really would gain some new understandings every time when she finished reading the book during the course of the cultivation, and felt the connotation of book became larger and larger. She answered some other questions as well.
Ms. Feng Wang from a software company said that she used to look for the meaning of life from Buddhism and Taoism. She became a devout Christian after coming to the US and studying the Bible every day; but still felt lost on many problems. After reading Zhuan Falun, she realized this was what she was looking for in her life. After cultivation, many chronic and stubborn diseases including breast cancer disappeared. When answering a question about the fact that Falun Gong can make practitioners young after cultivation practice, she described her own experience. Once she bought beer for her husband and, to her surprise, the shop assistant wanted to check her driver's license to verify her age. In fact, she is already 37 years old.
Mechanical Engineer Dr. Wu Zheng, talked about the changes in his body and mind after beginning cultivation practice, and about the context and reason that certain Chinese leaders cracked down on Falun Gong. When answering a question asked by a scholar about whether Falun Gong has any political agenda, he said that the Chinese government began to suppress Falun Gong in 1996. Since that time, the harassing and arresting of Falun Gong practitioners by the police has been an ongoing event. Falun Gong practitioners simply appeal to the government to protect their freedom of belief which is granted by the Constitution, and they do not have any other requests or political intentions. The unceasing violent events happening in Tiananmen square are driven by the plainclothes police from the Chinese government, and are not caused by Falun Gong practitioners. All their appeals are peaceful and are permitted by the Constitution.
After the meeting, scholars and Falun Gong practitioners had an extensive conversation. One scholar specifically went to Falun Gong practitioners and said: " Falun Gong practitioners are so brave, no sooner has one practitioner fallen in Tiananmen Square than another steps into the breach; how respectful they are!" Dr. Kathryn expressed her concern for the safety of Falun Gong practitioners. She inquired about the situation that the Chinese Government has harassed overseas Falun Gong practitioners. Some other organizations initially intended to provide help on the issue of human rights. Some scholars expressed their wish to establish a connection with Falun Gong practitioners.
In the evening, we still wished to prolong a pleasant exchange. Professor Ownby, Dr. Palmer, and Professor Lowe held a three-hour conversation with Falun Gong practitioners. We exchanged our thoughts openly. Dr. Palmer said that she would extend her report, and wished to publish a book as soon as possible, because the Falun Gong issue has become the focus of scholars. Professor Lili Feng said that she was writing a biological and medical report on Falun Gong and that she is pressing the National Institute of Health to conduct research on the effectiveness of Falun Gong in curing illnesses and keeping fit. Six practitioners also discussed the issue of further extending the communication between Falun Gong and academia. Through the extensive and intensive conversations, scholars gained a greater understanding of Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners.
This annual meeting indicated that Falun Gong has come into the mainstream of Social Science research, and is the focus of international societies, religions, and the philosophical academic field. The meeting also played an important role in stimulating more academic research and exchange concerning Falun Gong. We should take note that academia generally maintains a positive attitude toward Falun Gong. Some scholars who do not know very much about Falun Gong wish to understand more. We believe that more communication and cooperation between academic circles and Falun Gong practitioners will help the practice enter the mainstream of Western society and will lay a foundation for the culture of a new humanity.
Practitioners in Houston
Oct. 25, 2000
