Word: taoism
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...adding to a growing desperation among the meditation group's rank and file, many of whom feel out of touch with their exiled master and misguided by his overseas ministers. Ever since Beijing outlawed it as an "evil cult" two years ago, Falun Gong?an eclectic mix of Taoism, Buddhism and Qigong breathing exercises?has prided itself on its organizational acumen. In April 1999, the group achieved the impossible, silently assembling 10,000 adherents in front of Beijing's walled leadership compound. Even as thousands of its members were thrown into labor camps and more than 100 were allegedly tortured...
...fears that the uncertainties brought on by China's dramatic economic reforms, which have left millions suddenly unemployed, will prompt a retreat into unpredictable cults that could spark cataclysmic social unrest. But the nature of Falun Gong - which blends traditional Qi Gong exercise practices with elements of Buddhism and Taoism - makes it harder for the authorities to win the battle for public opinion. "If all the Falun Gong members appear to be doing is exercise and meditation, it may be hard to convince the broader public that they represent a threat," says Dowell. "A harsh government crackdown could make...
Nevertheless, many Chinese are looking to Buddhism, Taoism and even brand-new religions to slake a thirst that all the Cokes in the world won't abate. Explains William T. Liu, an American sociologist working in Singapore: "Chinese communism is a system of economic development, but there is no theology to explain what people should believe in. China is very fertile ground for any religion right...
...itself in China may simply be delayed evolution. Very similar melting pots of prosperity, superstition and pious philosophy have emerged and thrived in Chinese communities uninterrupted by Mao's revolutions--in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. China of old had three competing and complementary religious traditions: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. While the religions were often at odds with one another--Confucianism, for instance, is built on a base of worldly order and ancestor worship that's far different from Taoism's mystical beliefs--they have, over a long history, fused together. They continued to do so outside China...
Most formidable is Li's. In an interview weeks before the Beijing demonstration, he explained to TIME that he began studying Qi Gong at age 4 with masters "in the mountains," probably in Manchuria. In 1992 he went public with an amalgam of Qi Gong, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism aimed at moral rejuvenation and a spiritual "cultivation," culminating in supernatural powers and "freedom from the worldly state." (Asked if he is a human being from earth, Li replied, "I don't wish to talk about myself at a higher level. People wouldn't understand it.") His regimen, promoted through books...