Falun Dafa & Falun Gong

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FALUN GONG &

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What it is, what it does, and

why the Chinese government
is so terrified of it
Terminology"
Falun Gong, (pronounced fah-luhn goong), literally means "the Practi
of the Dharma." Falun Gong refers to five sets of exercises, done to
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and involving lotus postures and hand movements. Falun Dafa is the s
movement that practices Falun Gong.Increasingly, the movement its
called Falun Gong.

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Falun means law wheel;

Gong means the cultivation of energy and capabilities.
Dafa means Great Law or universal principles.
Dharma was originally a Sanskrit word. It is commonly used by Bu
refer to:
"...the impermanent and interdependent nature of all life."
The teachings of the Buddha.

The workings of natural law -- the way that life works.

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The term "Cultivation" here is an Eastern concept. It involves the

and transformation of one's entire being -- body, mind and spirit
'cultivates' their qualities like a garden, planting seeds of goodn
letting that goodness be damaged by circumstances or events."
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History of Falun Dafa

The Falun Dafa movement is one tradition within Xulian. These are a
methods to cultivate mind and body as a means of keeping fit and he
They appear to have pre-historic roots that may date back many mill
the term Xulian had long been associated with practices that had reli
names. In order to make the practices more acceptable to the govern
adopted a new word: Qigong (pronounced chee-gong). Qi means univ
Gong means cultivation energy.
Falun Dafa incorporates Buddhist and Taoist principles, and combines
exercise and body cultivation. Many individuals are drawn to Falun G
the beneficial impact produced by its practices and exercises. "Publis
by practitioners stress the positive effects for their health. Given th
expense of the health system to many people and faltering mutual s
networks, the positive effects of Qigong practice and the support ne
from membership will have been supportive for the spread of the Fa
However, the Falun Dafa is taught as a path which is more than just t
Qigong; is seen a way of life.
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Founder Li Hongzhi (a.k.a. Master Li) has said that, in the past, its se
passed only from master to student. Hongzhi made the movement pu
1992. It is now available to anyone. It currently has branches through
claims a membership of 70 million on China and 30 million elsewhere
world.Theirs is not a religious organization in the conventional sense
They continually deny being a religion, cult or sect. They are mainly
transmitting information and practices, in which people may dip on
basis or more regularly."
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Falun Dafa was registered with the Qugong Research Association of C

However, it became obvious that Qugong's emphasis on "healing illne
fit, as well as displaying supernormal powers at exhibitions" did not
Dafa's emphasis on "genuinely guiding people to higher dimensions."
withdrew the movement from the Association. By this time, the Chin
had become concerned about the popularity of the Falun Dafa. The n
Dafa practitioners had exceeded the number of people in the Commu
fact, Falun Dafa had included many party members. The government
permission to join any other association. Thus they have remained wi
protection or status in China.
Li Hongzhi left China in 1996, and now resides in New York state. He
Experience-Sharing Conferences.
About 10,000 Falun Dafa members engaged in a peaceful gathering o
Communist Party headquarters in Beijing on 1999-APR-25.On 1999-M
students were fired from a university in Dalian City, China for practic
One student was expelled. In subsequent months, practitioners were
various areas of the country, as they were performing group exercise
practitioners were told that their phones were being monitored and t
continued, their retirement pensions would be terminated. Police an
started to break into practitioner's homes and confiscate Falun Gong
followers have been arrested and have disappeared from sight.
Th
members demonstrated peacefully in about 30 Chinese cities.

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The group was outlawed on 1999-JUL-22. The government accused it

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fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances and

social stability." On JUL-23, Master LI called on "all governments, in
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organizations, and people of goodwill worldwide to extend their sup

assistance to us in order to resolve the current crisis in China."
On
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Chinese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Master Li. According

Xinhua News Agency, the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing said se
Hongzhi "spread superstition and malicious fallacies to deceive peop
the deaths of many practitioners." He is also accused of organizing d
without first applying for permits.
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In an apparent violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration

Rights, which China recently signed, the government has arrested hu
Gong practitioners and is proceeding with show trials. Some have bee
to labor camps without trials. A spokesperson for the Falun Gong Pra
North America has stated that: "lawyers in China have already been
defend these innocent civilians unless they agree with the governme
Also, no legal representation on behalf of them from the concerned
community is allowed to be present at the trial."
The U.S. House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions on 1999-N
which criticized the Chinese government for its crackdown of the Fal
resolutions urge the Chinese government to honor the Universal Dec
Human Rights that it has signed, to stop arresting, detaining and per
Gong practitioners, to release all detained dissidents, and to respect
human rights such as freedom of belief and freedom of speech." C
13

ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi commented that Falun Gong is not a rel
organization. It is not simply a Qugong group. He sees it as a destruct
harms Chinese society and its people. He regards the resolutions as a
infringement of China's internal affairs.
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In late 1999-NOV, over 700 Falun Gong practitioners went to Seattle W

World Trade organization (WTO) ministerial meetings. Their intent w
global campaign that they hope will pressure the Chinese governmen
negotiating with them.

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Is Falun Dafa a cult?

The question is unanswerable, because there are so many different m
word "cult." Some are positive; some neutral. Most are negative:
The counter-cult movement (CCM) generally regards any Christi
which holds non-traditional beliefs to be a cult. This often includ
Witnesses, Mormons, and Roman Catholics. But the Falun Dafa is
group and thus does not meet their definition of a cult.
Some Christian Fundamentalists regard all non-Christian faith gr
cult. Since the Falun Dafa does have some spiritual teachings, so
classify it as a cult, along with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc
The anti-cult movement (ACM) targets new religious movements
psychological manipulation, deceptive recruiting practices, or sim
great deal of commitment from their membership.
Probably the largest ACM group is the AFF. They have some b
the Falun Dafa. But they top their list with a disclaimer: "A l
web site does not mean that AFF perceives any group to be
coercive or destructive tactics, or is in violation of any law.
brief review of the book "The Guru Papers: Masks of Authori
They also have excerpts from the Cult Observer magazine: "
trance states" and "Understanding Eastern Groups." None me
Dafa. All three appear to be totally unrelated to the movem
information that appears to be related to the Falun Dafa on
five news items about the Chinese government oppression of
Rick Ross, an "expert consultant and intervention specialist"
religious movements. He has an extensive collection ofFal
8

information derived from worldwide news reports of varying

The Chinese government has relentlessly suppressed religious gr
achieving power in 1949. The rest of the world is most familiar w
oppression of non-registered Christian groups. However, the gove
persecuted many types of new religious and spiritual groups, incl
Gong. In fact, its suppression extends beyond such groups to incl

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organizations that teach only simple meditation and gymnastic te

government appears to fear any national group that is capable of
followers into direct action.
In suppressing the Falun Dafa, the Chinese government has adopt
terminology of the Western anti-cult movement. The official Xinh
Agency issued a report on "cults" in the United States.
It quote
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psychology professor Mararet Singer, one of the few psychologist

the claims of the anti-cult movement. The report discusses "spiri
Cults are said to "not obey the law, they upset social order, and
menace to freedom of religion and social stability. Under the pr
religion, kindness, and being non-political, they participate in p
activities. Some of them even practice criminal activities such a
fraud, drug dealing, smuggling, assassination, and kidnapping."
The Chinese government has described the Falun Dafa as a dange
Some of their claims sound quite outrageous:
The group brainwashes its members.
Members, called practitioners, worship Mr. Li
They had turned Communist officials into cult members in or
state secrets.
They suggest that their followers should not take any medica
Some members have become paranoid, suffered from halluc
committed suicide, killed relatives and friends. The governm
been able to find a handful of such cases from among the te
practitioners in the country.
The government appears to regard the Falun Dafa as the most se
the government since the 1989 student uprising. The government
reasons for their fear. China has had a history of religious and sp
that had catastrophic effects on the country. "In the late 1770s,
rebellion against the Qing dynasty was led by Wang Lun, a maste
arts and herbal medicine." Perhaps the most serious was the Ta
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of 1845-1864 which was led by a leader who viewed himself as th

Some 20 million died in that revolt.
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Symbol
The Falun Dafa symbol is circular and is composed of a central, count
pointing swastika, a symbol of the Buddha School. It is surrounded
four smaller swastikas
two red/blue Yin-Yang symbols
two red/black Yin-Yang symbols.
It is viewed as a miniature model of the universe. Some advanced pra
believed to see the symbol revolving. "When Falun rotates clockwise,
automatically absorb energy from the universe. While rotating count
can give off energy. An internal clockwise rotation offers salvation t
an external rotation offers salvation to others."
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The swastika symbol has been used for many millennia throughout th
various civilizations, including ancient Indian society, Chinese society
tribes, native Americans and ancient Israelites. It is only in the 20th c
tilted swastika was adopted by the Nazis as their prime symbol, that
been seen as representing evil.

Important texts
Li Hongzhi, "Zhuan Falun (Revolving the Law Wheel)." (1994) An
translation is available online at:
http://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/zflus.html
Li Hongzhi, "China Falun Gong." An English translation is available
http://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/flg.htm

Beliefs and practices

According to spokesperson Caroline Lam in Sydney Australia: "Fal
cult and not a religion and not a sect. There is no leader, there

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worship or rituals. Falun Dafa is not involved with politics or aga

government."
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Falun Gong consists of a set of five exercises that promote one's

"Three of the exercises involve physical movements and maneuv
other two exercises require remaining still for extended periods
Membership is open to all. People are free to come and go.
There are no prerequisites to learning Falun Dafa; there are no d
Information is freely available on the Internet, without charge.
There is no paid staff or clergy. All work is done by volunteers.
They do not maintain a list of members' names and other data.

Recent developments
1999-DEC-26: Leadership imprisoned: The No. 1 People's Court
sentenced four top organizers of the Falun Dafa movement to jai
18 years. All were members of the Communist party. They were
using a cult to "obstruct justice, causing human deaths in the pro
organizing a cult and illegally obtaining state secrets." The state
1,400 followers died because they rejected needed medical atte
committed suicide.
2000-FEB-2: Zhong Gong groups closed down: According to New
religious news service, the Chinese government is cracking down
religious groups:
"The Information Centre of Human Rights & Democratic Moveme
on Monday that China has closed down 100 offices of the Zhong
group, which claims more than 10 million practitioners in the co
Gong, like the banned Falun Gong movement (with an estimated
practitioners worldwide), is based on the traditional Chinese me
practice of qigong. Chinese officials said earlier this month that
step up monitoring of hundreds of similar health and spiritual gr
that they might gain the kind of following that Falun Gong has a
The Information Centre said Chinese police began the crackdown

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last November after President Jiang Zemin labeled it as a cult.

One week ago the Information Centre confirmed that China has
50 practitioners of the Falun Gong movement to a psychiatric ho
since December where they are being treated like psychiatric pa
Hong Kong-based Information Centre says that at least four prac
died in police custody."
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2000-SEP-5: Book Published: Akashic Books announced the publ

insider book on China's crackdown on the Falun Gong, non-violen
practice. Their book review mentions that "Hundreds of practitio
meditation- and exercise-based spiritual movement were rounde
JUL as they non-violently marked the first anniversary of a Chin
crackdown that has led, according to human rights groups, to mo
deaths, 50,000 arrests, pervasive torture, and the burning of as
million books written by the controversial founder of Falun Gong
2000-SEP-11: U.S. Government report: According to Newsroom
Earlier this month, in its second annual report on religious freedo
State Department said that in the past year China had intensified
against the Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhists, Muslim Uighurs, and u
Protestants and Catholics. Some Chinese religious believers, the
"harassment, extortion, prolonged detention, physical abuse, an
in prison or in re-education through labor camps."
Prior to the Millennium World Peace Summit in New York City th
however, Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of the state-controlled Chine
Catholic Association insisted that "there is no religious persecuti
The International Commission on Religious Freedom, nevertheles
call last week for the U.S. Congress to withhold Permanent Norm
unless China "makes substantial improvement in respect for relig
Later this week the Senate is expected to begin debate on a mea
give China the trade benefits accorded most other nations. The m
passed earlier this year in the House of Representatives, and pas
in the Senate.
Last week a Hong Kong-based human rights group reported that t

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practitioners had died in recent months after suffering mistreatm

detention. The Information Center for Human Rights and Democ
Yufeng, 64, of eastern Shandong province, died July 23 of multip
days after he was detained while participating in a mass Falun G
Faming, 52, of northwestern Gansu province, died August 10 afte
window in his apartment where police were conducting a search
leaflets. In northeastern Heilongjiang province, 29-year-old Zhan
August 11 after fainting in a hot, poorly ventilated detention cen
fainted before many times, the rights group said.
According to the Hong Kong monitor, at least 30 Falun Gong follo
of mistreatment while in custody since July 1999, when the move
banned. Authorities have detained at least 35,000 practitioners,
been sent to labor camps without trial.
On September 6, some 1,000 practitioners demonstrated peacefu
York U.N. Millennium Summit, which was attended by Chinese Pr
Zemin. In a U.S. television interview, Jiang also denied reports t
believers in China are persecuted.
2000-SEP-13: Response to religious report According to CWNew
The year 2000 report of the U.S. Commission on International Re
criticized the government of China for its brutal repression of the
spiritual movement, Tibetan Buddhists, Roman Catholics and oth
unidentified spokesperson for the Chinese government denied th
report. He responded: "Relying solely on rumors and lies to accus
governments and interfere in internal affairs of other countries
repeatedly made by the U.S. State Department report. This bad
addressed."
2000-SEP-15: New restrictive regulations announced: Accordin
Associated Press:
China published new regulations on SEP-15 which will prevent ex
like the Falun Dafa from discussing religion. It also severely limit
range of activities. Their teachers must register and be certified
officials. Activities with more than 200 participants need the prio
police. They will not be allowed to organize in state-run compan
offices, schools, army bases, etc.

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2001-FEB-27: U.S. State Department criticizes Chinese: Accord

Associated Press:
The State Department, in its annual report on the status of indiv
all countries of the world (other than the U.S.), severely criticize
Government for its oppression of the Falun Dafa. The Chinese Fo
stated: "This is a typical action showing U.S. double standards on
They accused Washington of "going so far as to defend openly th
evil cult Falun Gong". Liu Jing heads a Cabinet office that was fo
September to coordinate the campaign against Falun Dafa. He re
Department criticism, saying that the group acts like a "spiritual
followers, and that labor camp guards treat Falun Dafa as doctor
patients. Liu said: "They choose to turn a blind eye to the dange
caused by the Falun Gong cult. This shows they are using this iss
fuss and using human rights as a pretense to interfere in other c
affairs.'' He said followers are convicted because they practice F
are charged with committing crimes like protesting. The Falun D
human rights groups estimate that the death toll of Falun Dafa p
have died in prison or work camps as a result of maltreatment no
Liu rejects this figure.
2001-JUL-28: Stories of torture and execution in China: Many
detentions, arrests, beatings, torture, execution and other nume
against humanity continue to flow out of China. The Falun Gong
that torture of their followers is common. 250 have been killed.
currently executing about 50 of its members at per month. Becau
nature of the dictatorship, these accounts are impossible to verif
one Falun Dafa follower, has made it to the U.S. Tan Yongjie had
practice Falun Dafa in mid-1998. He was detained several times f
intervals, but refused to renounce his practices. Tan was arreste
distributing pamphlets calling for government persecution to end
and sent to a labor camp. After many brutal tortures, he was tie
red-hot rod was used to burn his legs, in a fruitless effort to forc
Falun Dafa. He escaped from Hong Kong by stowing away on a ca
JUL-13, he was admitted to a hospital in Houston TX. Jack Xiong
the local Falun Gong community, said: "He's had extensive skin g
his legs." Doctors expect Tan to make a full recovery.
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2001-DEC-23: China: Small scale genocide continues: Accordin

Dafa Information Center, the Chinese government has detained o
persons for the "crime" of practicing Falun Dafa -- a spiritually-ba
and belief system. Over 20,000 have been sent to labor camps w
"Chinese President Jiang Zemin has called this the 'golden age of
in China, but this 'golden age' has resulted in the deaths of over
citizens who practice falun Gong...millions have been devastate
persecution. This is state terrorism." Those who have died appea
maltreated or tortured so severely that they either died during c
shortly after having been released. The genocide continues with
slowing down.
On DEC-19, 156 Falun Gong practitioners filed a
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Superior Court of the Province of Ontario, Canada, against the S

This is one of the largest overseas Chinese language newspapers.
of Claim filed with the court states, in part that the Sing Tao: "in
expose did engage in inciting hatred against an identifiable spiri
which is contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada...[they] are pa
conspirators in these hate crimes and crimes against humanity fo
liability arises."
Hate speech in the U.S. is not illegal, and is o
21

directed against women, and racial, religious and sexual minoriti

types of hate speech are illegal in Canada.

Related essay and menu on this web site:

Religious oppression in China
Cult menu

Falun Dafa information sources on the Internet:

Falun Dafa at: http://www.falundafa.org/
Falun Dafa: Cultivation of the essential nature of the universe, a
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~dayong/pgcks.html This is a New
A Canadian Falun Dafa group is at: http://www.falundafa.ca/

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A list of worldwide contact groups is maintained at:

http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~dayong/pgcks.html
Falun Dafa in North America maintains an large Falun Dafa inform
at: http://www.minghui.ca/eng/info_pak/info_index.html
The China Internet Information Center maintains a list that is cri
Falun Dafa. It is titled "Safeguard the well-being of the people: F
and criticize the cult - Falun Gong" See: http://ppflg.china.com.

Books on Falun Dafa:

Li Hongzhi, "China Faun Gong, Revised edition," (2000). Read doz
or order this book
Danny Schechter, Ed., "Falun Gong's challenge to China: Spiritua
'Evil Cult'?," Akashic Books, (2000-SEP) Read reviews (when they
available) or order this book safely from Amazon.com online boo
John Wong, William Liu, "The mystery of China's Falun Gong: Its
sociological implications," World Scientific Publ. (1999). A schola
Falun Gong. Read reviews or order this book.

References used:
1. Barend ter Haar, "Falun Gong: Evaluation and further references,
http://sun.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/staff/bth/falun.htm
2. "The living Darmah: website of West Covina Buddhist temple," at
http://www.livingdharma.org/
3. "Dharma the cat,"at http://www.dharmathecat.org/
4. Li Hongzhi, "China Falun Gong," (1999). Online at:
http://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/flg.htm
5. "The Falun (Law Wheel): The Falun Emblem," at:
http://www.mindspring.com/~falun/falun.htm
6. "Introduction of Falun Dafa," at: http://www.falundafa.org/intro
7. AFF's web site is at:http://www.csj.org/
8. Rick Ross' web site is at: http://www.rickross.com/
9. "Banned sect joins long Chinese history of religious repression," A

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10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Page 14 of 15

1999-JUL-22.
"Falun Dafa followers reject cult status," Agence france-Presse,
"Statement by Master Li on Falun Gong and the situation in Chin
at: http://minghui.ca/eng/china/calldialogue.html
"Chinese Government's severe violations of Falun Gong practition
rights," at: http://minghui.ca/eng/china/chronological_record.h
"U.S. Senate and House passed resolutions related to Falun Gong,
http://minghui.ca/eng/report/usrsl1119.html
"The Fa Lun Gong movement," http://www.rickross.com/groups/
"China strongly opposes U.S [sic] House Joint Resolution on Falun
http://ppflg.china.com.cn/baodao/1121/01e.htm
"Falun Gong crackdown", ABC News, at:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/china990729_
Hu Xiaomin, "Xinhua reports on cults in the United States," Beijin
Domestic Service
Newsroom's web site is at: http://www.newsroom.org/
"Tortured member of banned Chinese sect recovering in Houston
2001-JUL-28, at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,30784,
" 'Golden Age of Human Rights' in China leaves four more torture
Chinese authorities," Falun Dafa Information Center, 2001-DEC-2
site is at http://www.faluninfo.net/
"Lawsuit filed to stop China's state-run media from inciting hatre
Gong in Canada," Falun Dafa Information Center, 2001-DEC-24.

Copyright 1999 to 2001 incl., by Ontario Consultants on Religious Toleran

Originally written: 1999-NOV-26
Latest update: 2001-DEC-24
Author: B.A. Robinson

Go

back

to the previous page, or return to "Religions an

Systems", or choose:

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