Olympian Jan Becker on Falun Gong

By Jan Becker Jul 8, 2009

Olympian Jan Becker

I have been practicing Falun Dafa for over 10 years. I was drawn to the practice initially by the exercises, which are very gentle, but have amazing energy.

I didn’t start reading Zhuan Falun, written by Mr. Li Hongzhi, until three months later. The teachings have answered many of the questions I had on life and the universe. Now, over the years, I have been amazed at the changes in myself both physically and mentally.

Doing the meditation and exercises, and following the three principles of Falun Dafa, which are Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, has given me the opportunity for personal improvement and I have been able to apply them to both my everyday life and my work as a human resources manager.

Prior to commencing the practice, I was under the care of a major Melbourne hospital for a serious respiratory condition, which was in the TB/leprosy family. The disease was not contagious, but was considered fatal, and I could feel myself fading away. After six months of practicing Falun Dafa, I decided to put all my faith in my practice and I have not been to a doctor since—for anything!

My boss, who I have worked with for 17 years, has been extremely supportive. He told me that even though he has trained in the physical sciences, he can see that, through the metaphysical, clearly something very positive has happened to me.

No one, including my family and friends, expected me to be here today and personally, I feel 10 years younger than when I commenced Falun Dafa. My energy levels and my enthusiasm for life have completely changed.

People around me are very supportive of Dafa because they can see that I am a healthier and more caring person.

Tiananmen Square

Six months after I began practicing Falun Dafa, China banned the practice and the terrible persecution of practitioners in China began. To show my support, especially as a Westerner, I decided, along with eight other Australians, to go to China in 2002 to show our support for the Chinese practitioners and what was happening to them.

I felt that as an Olympian, I could maybe have some impact through the media, informing the rest of the world what was really being hidden from them. In Tiananmen Square, to be able to repeatedly shout from my heart that Falun Dafa is good was an honor. I knew this was part of my journey and I wasn’t in the least bit scared.

Beijing Olympics

China promised to change if they got the Olympics in 2008 and I saw a great opportunity for the International Olympic Committee to make that happen. Instead, they went against the principles of the Olympic Charter and the code of ethics. In my eyes, and I am sure many others also feel as I do, the Olympics have been diminished and I am ashamed at numerous things that occurred.

I could go into so many issues of cruelty and upheaval that occurred to the Chinese people because of the Olympics. Even today, there are still practitioners and other people trying to assist with people’s rights in China who remain imprisoned because of the Olympics. The international media did little about it too.

We, as human beings, need to consider what the important things in life are. To me, the sanctity of life and respect for human dignity override all other aspects, including trade, profit and sport, even at the Olympic level.

I personally feel it is disgusting what is going on and I sincerely hope that the world can stand as one to end the persecution of this beautiful and beneficial practice.

Olympian Jan Becker

Jan Becker competed for Australia in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as part of the silver medal winning freestyle relay team. She is a mother of three, grandmother of six and works for a large engineering company in Melbourne. She has been practicing Falun Gong since 1998 and was briefly arrested in China in 2002 when she went to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to demonstrate against the persecution. Ms Becker was Australia’s ambassador at the launch of the Human Rights Torch in Athens in 2008 and remains committed to ending human rights abuses in China.