Skateboarding with

What is the mission of "Skateboarding with Zhen - Shan - Ren"?  

It’s about combining the universal principles of truthfulness, kindness and endurance with skateboarding in order to give it a deeper meaning as a way to discover and further develop positive and virtuous qualities in oneself. It is meant as an alternative to any destructive side effects that are easily displayed in skateboarding culture, like aggressive appearance and style, disrespectful behavior and sometimes also alcohol or drug abuse.

But why using exactly truth, kindness and endurance as the guiding principles? Because these three words can be seen as representing aspects of the primary existing qualities in our world, which are the underlying principles of life.

The ancient knowledge about these principles and their manifestation in our world has been revealed to the public in a comprehensive and profound way by Mr. Li Hongzhi, master of the buddhist rooted self-cultivation way for body and mind called Falun Dafa (or Falun Gong). In the teachings of Falun Dafa these three qualities are referred to as Zhen (truthfulness) Shan (compassion) and Ren (forbearance). They are also called DaFa (chin. for Great Law or Great Way) of the cosmos and are the fundamental guiding principles for spiritual cultivation of the Dafa-practitioners.

This way of self-cultivation according to the characteristics of truthfulness/truth, compassion/kindness and forbearance/ endurance has already shown its positive influence on human society. In the early years of its spreading after 1992 the teachings and exercises of Falun Gong attracted millions of people throughout the whole chinese society and this way of practice received more and more positive publicity for its good results on the health and moral standards of its practitioners. However, over time the communist party feared to lose its absolute control over the lives of its citizens and prohibited Falun Gong in 1999 while beginning a large-scale persecution of its dedicated followers. At the same time the government started to destroy the reputation of Falun Gong amongst the chinese population and across the whole world with vicious slandering propaganda. This cruel persecution, where people are imprisoned and tortured in labor camps just because they don’t want to give up their belief and practice, has already lasted for more than 20 years now and is still going on; mostly hidden from the perception of the majority of the worlds population.

As skaters we often experience aspects of the same fundamental values of truth, kindness and endurance in skateboarding. That´s why, as a large open minded community, we should take a stance against this injustice and openly show our support for the principles that are being suppressed by the communist party in China.

Why should skateboarders take a stance?

 When looking at their formal way of practice as well as their organizational structure, Skateboarding and Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, have surprisingly much in common:

Skateboarding is something we do in our free time; at least for the majority of us that cannot make a living out of it. Although being a hobby, many skaters see it as a lifestyle that is influencing their whole way of living. Similarly the exercises of Falun Gong are also practiced in one’s free time while at the same time being a profound way of self-cultivation with a positive impact on one’s character and life.

Many of us like to skate together in a group while some of us may prefer to skate on their own; all of which is always based on our own decision. The same is the case with Falun Gong: Practitioners usually like to perform the exercises together while some of them also practice on their own. Everyone is free to join a practice group or to leave at their own will.

When skateboarding it is not necessary to be a member of a sports club or to pay fees in order to perform it. Skaters don’t need a formal organization to arrange their activities. Whenever they meet each other for a session or to hold an event, they help together out of their own accord and out of the wish to be around like minded people. The same is true with Falun Gong: There is no formal membership and everything is free of charge. All group activities are arranged out of the practitioners own accords, with the purpose to exchange experiences and to learn from each other.

Although practitioners have founded local associations, their sole purpose is to provide a way of contact for the public and to promote the cultivation way of Falun Gong in a more convenient way. This can be compared to how dedicated individuals in the different branches of skateboarding have set up associations for organizational purposes.

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This is not a website about self-cultivation in Falun Dafa and it cannot represent the deep meaning of the Dafa (Great Way) as taught by Master Li Hongzhi. The content on this website only describes the editor’s personal understandings derived from the Dafa’s principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance on a fundamental level related to skateboarding.

Skateboarders who support or take part in this website's initiative don’t need to be Falun Gong-practitioners. Everyone is welcome to show their support and to take a stance in favor of the three principles of Falun Dafa and against the communist party's persecution of this meditation practice in China.

So please keep in mind that the behavior of people using this site´s logo or wearing a shirt with a design from this website may not always conform to the standard of truthfulness, kindness and endurance as required by Falun Dafa. 
 
To learn about the whole concept of cultivation in Falun Dafa, the reader is advised to visit www.falundafa.org, where he can find local practice groups in his area and read the teachings of master Li Hongzhi online for free.

It is also possible to learn the 5 exercises of Falun Dafa in one of the free online classes offered in many languages on www.learnfalungong.com.