Glossary

Chinese Version: http://www.minghui.org/mh/glossary.html

• Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong, or just Dafa) is a high-level cultivation practice guided by the characteristics of the universe -- Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance.

  In 1992, Mr. Li Hongzhi first taught Falun Dafa publicly in the city of Changchun, China, and then continued to lecture all across the country. Those who attended experienced very profound benefits both physically and mentally. As a result, the number of practitioners grew very quickly. By 1998, at least 70 million people had taken up the practice in China alone. Today, Dafa is practiced and cherished by over 100 million people in over 100 countries, and has received a plethora of honors.

  "Cultivation" means continuously striving to better harmonize oneself with these universal principles. "Practice" refers to the exercises -- five sets of easy-to-learn gentle movements and meditation. Cultivating oneself is essential; practicing the exercises supplements the process.

  Over time, the principles of Dafa unveil the deepest and most profound truths of the universe. Following the principles, practitioners of Falun Dafa are able to reach very high realms, enlightening to the true meanings of life, and finding the path of return to their origins and true selves.

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• Mr. Li Hongzhi is the founder of Falun Dafa. Mr. Li Hongzhi (referred to respectfully by Falun Gong practitioners as "Master" or "Teacher") first taught the practice to the general public in 1992 in northeastern China in the city of Changchun. He is the recipient of numerous awards and citations for his efforts to promote human betterment. Mr. Li Hongzhi has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize For Freedom of Thought.

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• Zhuan Falun: Written by Mr. Li Hongzhi, this book comprises the principal teachings of Falun Dafa. It is the definitive guide to Falun Dafa which gives a comprehensive explanation of Falun Dafa that ranges across an enormous array of topics, shedding light where no other authors have.

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• Clearwisdom.net is the English version of Minghui.org, which is the most authoritative source of information about the practice of Falun Gong and about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Established in June, 1999, Minghui/Clearwisdom reports timely news and events happening inside China as well as from the more than 100 countries around the world where Falun Gong is practiced. Minghui/Clearwisdom also responsibly publishes the experiences and understandings of practitioners themselves, who submit the majority of the articles. Minghui/Clearwisdom's published content mainly serves three types of readers: people who want to learn more about the Falun Gong as a practice or about the persecution in China, Falun Gong practitioners, as well as those who participates the persecution at different levels of Chinese Communist Party system.

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• The 610 office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

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• "April 25": This refers to the "sensitive" anniversary of April 25, 1999, on which date ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners peacefully gathered outside the Zhongnanhai compound (China’s central government building) and successfully appealed for the release of forty-five practitioners who had been illegally arrested in Tianjin City.

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• Clarifying the Truth: Because of the persecution in China and the unrelenting hate campaign carried out by China's state-controlled media, Falun Gong practitioners have been actively "clarifying the truth" -- explaining to the public the facts about Falun Gong and exposing the persecution. Truth clarification activities include face-to-face conversations with people, posting notices and posters, handing out flyers, and hanging banners. Outside of China, where Falun Gong is freely practiced, practitioners further expose the persecution through anti-torture reenactments, art exhibits, Internet websites, books, magazines, newspapers, movies and letter writing. The goal of clarifying the truth is to help people understand Falun Gong, to dispel the lies of the communist regime in China and to raise public support to end the persecution. (Variations: "clarifying the truth", "truth clarifying", "truth-clarifying", "truth clarification", "truth-clarification", "clarifying the facts", "clarified the truth", and "clarified the facts")

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• Collaborators: Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.

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• Death Bed torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

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• Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.

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• Guarantee Statement: A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

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• Hong Yin: Also known as Grand Poem, a collection of verse by Li Hongzhi.

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• Illegally arrested: Contrary to what former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who initiated the persecution, and the Chinese Communist Party would like the world to believe, practicing Falun Gong is NOT illegal in China. Although the Public Security Department issued an unconstitutional set of restraints on the practice at the onset of the persecution in 1999, no laws have been passed by the only legislative body in China, the People's Congress, banning Falun Gong or granting the police the authority to arrest Falun Gong practitioners for practicing the exercises or distributing flyers. For a more complete discussion of the illegality of the persecution of Falun Gong, please refer to the article "The Ban on Falun Gong—A Dictator's Whim, Not the Rule of Law". (Variations: "illegally sentenced", "illegally arrest", "illegal arrest", "illegally sentence", "illegal sentence", "illegally detained", "illegally detain",  "illegal detention")

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• Iron Chair: The "Iron chair" is made of iron pipes. Victims are restrained on the iron chairs with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time, see illustration at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html

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• Lunyu: "On Buddha Law," also known as "Lunyu," written by Li Hongzhi. It prefaces Zhuan Falun and other books by Li Hongzhi. 

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• Minghui Weekly: The Minghui Weekly is a digest of articles from the Chinese Clearwisdom website (called "Minghui" in Chinese).

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• Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is a series of essays published in late 2004 that reveal the true nature of the Communist Party. The Nine Commentaries have led millions of people to renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "A book that has shocked all Chinese around the world. A book that is disintegrating the Communist Party." http://ninecommentaries.com

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• Persecuted to death: This phrase, which came into being after China's Cultural Revolution, describes the way in which Chinese Communist Party leaders eliminate people they brand as political opponents. It is a method that aims not simply to punish people, but to kill them slowly and painfully through various agonizing forms of physical and mental torture--and to do so in such a way that no one can be held legally responsible.

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• Procuratorate: The Chinese state organ responsible for legal supervision. Its functions include deciding on arrest and prosecution of major criminal cases, conducting investigations, initiating and supporting public prosecutions, interpreting the law in specific applications, supervising courts decisions, monitoring judicial procedures, and supervision over activities of prisons, detention centers, and labor camps.

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• Qing: Qing is a Chinese term that encompasses concepts such as sentiment, emotion, affection, inclination, interest, etc.

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• "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

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• Repentance Statement: In this statement the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

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• Sensitive Dates: National holidays or political meetings, or dates that hold significance to Falun Dafa; the authorities are afraid that practitioners will publicly appeal on these dates.

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• Shan: Compassion, Kindness, Benevolence.

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• The Three Things: The three things Master Li asked practitioners to do are to study the Fa [the teachings of Falun Dafa], send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and about the persecution to the world's people.

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• Three Statements: Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the statement, the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

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• Tiger Bench: Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

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• Xinxing: "mind-nature" (lit.), "character," or "thought."

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• Yuan is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

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