“If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.” So writes Edward Gibbon near the beginning of his…

Kelly Kinkade, a Stoic who believes in acquiring virtue and embracing difficulties in life as a means to personal growth, found many similarities between his moral philosophy and the teachings of the spiritual practice Falun Gong. Truth, compassion, and tolerance—the core tenets of Falun Gong—are akin to Stoic virtue and its four facets—justice, temperance, wisdom,…