WATERVILLE — Standing in silent concentration in the middle of their dining room floor, the couple executes a series of movements that at first glance appear to be some form of martial arts.
Stretching their arms high above their heads, they relax abruptly into a meditative stance with arms spread wide. Smooth arm and hand movements evolve into a swirling maneuver. The movements end in a seated, motionless meditation.
Staff photo by TOBY HOLLIS
Pricilla Cote, right, of Manchester, N.H., and June Kirk, of Waterville, work through Falun Gong movements Friday evening in Waterville.
William and June Kirk are demonstrating the five sets of movements that coincide with the principles of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that urges practitioners to align themselves with truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.
Falun Gong is the physical part of Falun Dafa, a cultivation practice that originated in China and that the Kirks say promotes the refinement of both mind and body.
"The goal is to make a person become a better person," said William Kirk, 65, a military retiree, former tax assessor in Waterville and town manager of Standish. "You learn to give up your attachments."
His wife said Falun Dafa is about letting go of things like anger, jealousy, anxiety and desire for personal gain.
"It's all about tuning in to yourself," said June Kirk, 61, a retired bookkeeper.
"Once you let yourself go, you feel more at ease. You become your true self."
While Falun Dafa is not a religion, it has a similar goal of enlightenment, according to practitioners.
The Kirks said Falun Dafa is not a cult and there is no organization to join, no rituals, no religious hierarchy, no God figure or worship services.
In fact, no one can profit financially from Falun Dafa, they said. If indeed money does change hands, it is not Falun Dafa.
According to the writings of Li Hongzhi, founder of the current movement, Falun Dafa is an advanced cultivation method of the Buddha school and incorporates both Buddhist and Taoist concepts.
Falun Dafa was once passed down from a teacher only to selected students, according to the Kirks.
Hongzhi publicly introduced Falun Dafa in 1992 at an international exhibition and within three years the practice is reported to have attracted millions.
By some estimates there are as many as 100 million Falun Dafa practitioners in China today. In Maine, more than 500 people have been introduced to Falun Dafa in places that include Waterville, Augusta, Portland, Kittery, Whitefield and Newport. June Kirk said that because no membership files are kept, the exact number of practitioners is not known.
The Kirks said "Master Li" made the practice public because of his concerns with the loss of moral standards in modern culture.
The Chinese government in 1999 denounced Falun Gong as a cult and outlawed its practice, according to the Kirks and articles written on the subject. Hongzhi is wanted by the Chinese government for disturbing the peace because he continued to practice.
A government that once praised Falun Dafa for making the masses more healthy and contributing to lowering medical costs, now bans it and arrests and tortures practitioners.
The Chinese government's opposition to Falun Dafa may have several roots, according to Peter Ditmanson, assistant professor of East Asian studies and history at Colby College.
"Accurate or not, I think the Chinese government does not want a movement they believe has the potential to exploit people," Ditmanson said. "From a Chinese government point of view, they have a strong obligation to protect people from this sort of thing. "
Ditmanson said that, in terms of a Marxist ideology, there is no area in human life that is not political, so they clash with Falun Dafa.
A third area of concern is that the Chinese are always going to be suspicious of any group in their country with anything that has a worldwide network, a practice that has real strong ties abroad, he said.
Although he said he is certainly does not support China's brutal handling of practitioners, the government there would define Falun Dafa as a religion and as political.
"It does sound like it is a movement that brings people a lot of satisfaction and fills a lot of needs," Ditmanson said.
The practice took root in the United States in 1996, where no such restrictions exist, according to the Kirks.
June Kirk says she and her husband once were involved seriously in Tai Chi, even investing time and money in course workshops and seminars in Boston.
"I had gone to healing classes and was thinking about becoming a healer," she said. "We were doing a little in-home teaching and were just about ready to certify ourselves to be able to teach."
Then the couple happened to get a wellness magazine out of New Hampshire that talked about Falun Dafa and they decided check it out. That was two years ago.
After seeing the practice video and reading the books on Falun Dafa, the Kirks said they knew where they wanted to be.
"We were really excited with what this was doing for us; all of a sudden we could feel a difference," June Kirk said. "It's all about tuning in to yourself."
The pair said Falun Dafa and Falun Gong reduces the stress in their lives and has helped them to become healthier.
"It gets rid of the root cause of health problems," June Kirk said.
Medication only suppresses disease, she said. Falun Dafa helps a person reach deep inside his or her system to ferret out the root causes of the problem.
She said that through Falun Dafa, an individual is supposed to heal themselves, not others. She said it can be harmful to take on other people's negative energy.
"You need a health body to maintain so the spirit has a place to live," her husband said in agreement.
Neighbors of the Kirks probably turn a curious eye to the group that gathers most Fridays at the couple's Lowell Street home.
The five sets of movements take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, the Kirks said. Fully completed, they can include 30 minutes standing, 30 minutes seated and reading Falun Dafa text for about 30 minutes.
Introduction to the practice can include a nine-day seminar, video seminar and 8-minute tape. The Kirks can be contacted locally for more information at 872-5298.
"We don't teach, we share, read the books and do the practice," June Kirk said. "It changes your inner self, you are awakened to the world, enlightened."
Her husband said Falun Dafa has given reason to his existence.
"All my life I always searched for something and there was still emptiness," William Kirk said. "Once I found Falun Dafa, my search stopped."