Why is Falun Gong banned in China? Falun Gong is a new religion based on meditation.
Over the past two years, many events related to the Falun Gong sect have occurred in China. The authorities launched a massive attack on this para-religious organization, subjecting its members to severe reprisals. In this short article in the most general outline the essence of the doctrine and practice of Falun Gong is outlined, and the reasons for the severe conflict between the authorities and this sect are analyzed.
The name of the sect consists of two parts: “falun” - in Buddhist terminology means the “wheel of law” of the Buddha (dharmachakra). In Chinese, “fa” means Buddhist, and “lun” means disk, circle, wheel, rotation, which goes back to the Hindu concept of “chakra” (cosmic law), as well as to the yogic concept of chakras as certain energy centers of the body. One of the Chinese names for Buddha is Lunwang, that is, “wheel-turning king of the law”; the same word denotes chakravartins - mythical universal rulers who supposedly prepare the world for the coming of Buddha. “Gong” is directly related to the ancient Chinese psychotechnical tradition of the Taoist direction. The hieroglyph “gun” itself, among other things, means “achievement”, “feat”, “action”, “effect”, “skill”, etc. In traditional Chinese philosophy, the word "qi" is understood as "pneuma", the universal substance of the universe, as the filler of the human body associated with blood circulation, and as a manifestation of mental activity 1 . The word "qigong" refers to a variety of traditional systems, mostly of Taoist origin, which pursue the goal of internal cultivation through meditation and breathing exercises. An important role is played by the idea of the unity of man and the cosmos - microcosm and macrocosm.
Currently, a great variety of different schools of “qigong” are widespread in China. The communist authorities allowed their existence as a variety of traditional breathing exercises. Moreover, “qigong”, along with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, has always been advertised, including abroad, as one of the achievements of ancient Chinese culture. The mystical aspect has always been carefully separated, indicating that it is enough just to take appropriate postures and follow the rhythm of breathing in order to achieve healing. Public performances by Qigong masters, who lay down under reinforced concrete floors or lifted a truck, were considered a kind of Chinese circus.
And in 1992, a new school of “qigong” appeared, calling itself “Falun Gong”. Its founder was a certain Li Hongzhi, a native of the town of Gongzhuling, in Haide County, Jilin Province in Northeast China. He was born on July 7, 1952, but subsequently, in an effort to gain additional authority among his followers, he changed the date of his birth so that it lunar calendar coincided with Buddha's birthday. Li Hongzhi's biography is unremarkable: he studied in high school, worked at an army stable in the 1970s, then became a trumpeter for the forest police. From 1982 to 1991 he worked in the security service in one of the food companies in the city of Changchun. In May 1992, he began to preach his teachings, claiming that for many years he had secretly studied with Buddhist and Taoist teachers. Official Chinese propaganda, obviously based on intelligence data, claims that Li Hongzhi began to practice “qigong” only in 1988, slightly mastered two styles of this gymnastics (jiugongbaguagong and chanmigun), and also combined them with elements of Thai national dance, whom I met during a trip to Thailand. The practice of Falun Gong, in addition to “spiritual exercises,” also includes gymnastics. These are five complexes that bear the following names: the Buddha Stretches Thousands of Arms method, the Falun standing pile method, the two pole piercing method, the Falun heavenly circle method, and the method of enhancing miracles 2 .
In fact, the attempts of the Chinese authorities to present Li Hongzhi as an illiterate adventurer 3, which he most likely is, do not clarify the essence of the matter at all. Indeed, by the time the government began to suppress the sect, it had 39 branches in various cities of China, 1,900 training centers and 28,000 “primary organizations” 4. How did the Falun Gong sect reach such popularity that its followers number in the millions? It is difficult to give a more precise figure: Li Hongzhi speaks of 100 million, the Chinese authorities - about 2-3 million. Since one deliberately overstates the data, while others underestimate it, the truth, apparently, is in the middle.
It is obvious that the reasons for the spread of Falun Gong in the PRC are rooted in the current state of Chinese society, and to be more precise, the emergence of the sect was quite consistent, as they like to say in China, with the spirit of the times. The Chinese Communist Party's reforms over the years have aimed to ensure sustained economic development and modernization while maintaining the CCP's monopoly on political power, particularly through tight ideological control. However, the results do not quite meet expectations. The disproportionate development of various regions of the country, corruption, the growth of unemployment in cities and hidden unemployment in rural areas and many other factors have given rise to sentiments of discontent that are quite widespread and rooted in a variety of social strata. The complete devaluation of the values of the official ideology and the suppression of attempts to achieve minimal political reforms led to disappointment in public life.
The search for resolution of life conflicts began to gradually shift into the sphere of mystical quests, but not within the framework of officially recognized religions. Religious organizations existing in the PRC (regardless of religion) are strictly controlled by the authorities, do not have extensive national structures and do not enjoy the trust of the majority of the population. And here a “teaching” appears, outwardly based on the officially recognized health practice of “qigong”. This means that it can spread in various circles of society. Involving new followers can happen gradually. At first, those who “just want to improve their health” over time master religious teachings, begin to systematically “study” the texts of “Falun Gong”, worship the “Teacher”, and so on. Gradually, information about “miraculous healings” spreads in society and a wave of new members begins to arrive in the ranks of the sect with renewed vigor. This is how the centuries-old tradition of secret societies and sects that emerged from time to time in China and posed a significant threat to power comes to life. In modern conditions, the attractiveness of Falun Gong for workers, peasants, ordinary employees, and pensioners is as follows:
- the discrediting of the Communist Party gave rise to the need to join some other paternalistic organization, so as not to feel abandoned to the mercy of fate;
- The outwardly healthful and internally hidden religious nature of the sect made it quite safe in the eyes of people: this is not some kind of opposition political party;
- in an atheistic society, a sect that, along with myths and some scientific arguments, had understandable success;
- living in desperate conditions, disillusioned with reforms, millions of people grabbed the idea of the impending collapse of the universe as a saving straw: there is no need to worry about the problems of everyday life anymore, the main thing is to strive for the correct transition to new world, which will be recreated after the disaster.
Initially, Li registered with the Chinese Association for the Study of Qigong, but was soon forced to leave its ranks, since the religious concept of Falun Gong did not fit into the framework of the materialistic ideology of the official organization. It must be assumed that by 1998, when Li Hongzhi moved to New York, relations between the sect and the authorities had already become quite tense, and the inventor of Falun Gong had accumulated enough funds to continue leading his followers from abroad without being in danger repression.
Information about the theory and practice of Falun Gong was distributed in China in the form of books, laser discs, video and audio tapes. While Li Hongzhi lived in China, he traveled widely around the country, conducting paid trainings and giving lectures. The authorities announced that the total income. received by the leadership of the sect amounted to about 5.5 million US dollars. 5 The scale of the case can be judged by the fact that by the end of 1999, the police had confiscated about 10 million copies of Falun Gong books and other printed materials 6 .
The growth in the number of Falun Gong supporters over time began to worry the Chinese authorities, especially due to the fact that many members of the Communist Party, as well as senior officials of government agencies and the military, began to practice. As noted by Pennsylvania State University professor J. de Lisle, the mass entry of communists into the sect is a sign of an obvious decline in party discipline and a general destabilization of the internal political situation 7 . It became clear to the leadership of the CPC that an enemy had appeared on the horizon, much more terrible than the “bourgeois liberals,” since, unlike the latter, he enjoyed, if not mass, then multimillion-dollar support of the population.
Critical articles began to appear in the press, which qualified Falun Gong as a “heretical sect” (xiejiao) 8 and as a “cult.”
In response, the sect resorted to silent demonstrations (in 1998 near television centers that criticized them), then at Tianjin Normal University on April 22, 1999, and finally in Beijing. Falun Gong adherents made their most visible appearance on April 25, when about 10,000 people formed a human chain around the Zhongnanhai government headquarters. An organized force suddenly and unexpectedly appeared on the political arena, deciding to oppose itself to the totalitarian regime. The sect demonstrated an exceptionally high ability to effectively mobilize its members. This is exactly what Li Hongzhi strived for when he created the primary Falun Gong cells on the ground. Modern means of communication: e-mail, fax messages and telephone have made it possible to ensure almost immediate execution of orders 10.
The official reaction to such audacity was not long in coming. Literally a few days later, repression began against the sect and its members throughout the country. The sectarians tried to resist: their peaceful demonstrations took place in almost 30 cities 11 . On July 22, 1999, the Falun Gong sect was outlawed for spreading falsehoods, cheating, and inciting riots. The next day, Li Hongzhi tried to attract the attention of international organizations and governments of other countries to the conflict, but achieved only that he himself was put on the wanted list on July 29. Hundreds, if not thousands of supporters of the sect ended up in the dock. Many, according to press reports, were subjected to extrajudicial measures. At present, we do not yet have accurate information about the statistics of these repressions. Special orders were issued that categorically prohibited members of the Communist Party and government officials from participating in the sect.
It must be borne in mind that at present the Falun Gong teaching has already become widespread in many countries of the world, primarily in the USA 12 . Li Hongzhi's eclectic system found a grateful audience in societies that had been indoctrinated with "New Age" concepts. The commercial lure of quick and “clean”, “non-drug” recovery with the prospect of a significant prolongation of life also worked. Therefore, it becomes clear with what ease it was possible to launch a campaign in defense of the sect in many countries. As for the position of the media, politicians and “public”, then it was also implicitly predetermined. After all, the topic of human rights violations is Washington’s most important instrument of pressure on Beijing, so no one even began to understand in detail the essence of the matter. Falun Gong followers were declared innocent sufferers.
The mood of the West worried the PRC, which would like to understand the reasons for its drastic actions. The importance the Chinese government attaches to its fight against Falun Gong can be judged by the fact that at a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, in September 1999, Chinese President Jiang Zemin presented American President B. Clinton with a book in which the most the activities of the sect 13 were described in impartial tones, which, presumably, did not make an impression on the Washington administration.
On November 18 and 19, 1999, the US House of Representatives and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Chinese government to respect human rights and not put pressure on Falun Gong. Simultaneously with the participation of Falun Gong supporters in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and others, a noisy campaign of protests unfolded; a great many reports of “illegal persecution” appeared in the media and on the Internet, but practically no one gave any more or less serious analysis of what this sect actually was 14.
It goes without saying that international support for Li Hongzhi and his supporters provoked angry protests from Beijing and did not change its policies. On December 26, four leading figures of the sect (all members of the CCP!) were sentenced by a Beijing court to prison terms ranging from 7 to 18 (!) years. Trials and arrests continued in the future. Many leading figures in Falun Gong were charged with stealing state secrets. This concept is very vague if we are talking about a socialist society, where huge amounts of information are classified “just in case”. For us, it is important that during the campaign the authorities emphasize the anti-state nature of the sect.
It is interesting that, refuting the criticism of American legislators, Chinese diplomats argued that Falun Gong is not a religious organization (i.e., an acceptable phenomenon in the religious life of society), but a “cult” that does not obey the law, undermines public order, and violates religious freedom , deceiving his followers, associated with criminal offenses and seeking political activity. It is obvious that the PRC resorts to such rhetoric to maintain a dialogue with the American audience, some of which will never agree with the persecution of any religion, but will be sympathetic to the suppression of the “cult.” As a matter of fact, this rather ambiguous and differently understood term itself was borrowed by Beijing propagandists from the arsenal of American religious studies.
One of the main accusations brought against Falun Gong is that the exercises developed by Li Hongzhi lead to mental illness and death (Xinhua News Agency reported on July 30, 1999 that throughout China at that time 743 people lost their lives due to Falun Gong practices, and by the end of the year this figure had risen to 1,400). In this case, they refer to the American “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” which mentions “a psychotic reaction associated with qigong exercises.” This is a rather strange propaganda technique, since American book in turn refers to the “Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders”. However, let us give a detailed definition of the mentioned psychotic reaction (belonging to the category of specifically culturally conditioned), about which we're talking about: "an acute, short-lived attack characterized by dissociative, paranoid or other psychotic and non-psychotic symptoms, resulting from the practice of... Qigong... Individuals involved in excessive practice of this practice are most susceptible" 15. In this regard, the countless facts cited by the Chinese media that Falun Gong followers: cut their stomachs with scissors become understandable; jumped out of the window; self-immolated; drowned by jumping into a well; perceived their parents as demons and killed them, as well as their husbands, wives and children, etc.
Representatives of Falun Gong in the PRC and abroad claim that they do not belong to a “cult” because they do not have a leader, they do not have any form of religious worship or ritual.
One can only claim that Falun Gong has no leader if one is in a state of deep, almost painful delusion, or if one wants to deceive public opinion. After all, it is Li Hongzhi who is the only source of information about the doctrine of the sect and only through him is it possible to practice correctly. He himself speaks about this in a document called “The Regulations Regarding the Transmission of the Law and Gong to Disciples of the Great Law of Falun”: “Others are not able to preach the Great Law, they do not know the real content of the meaning of the Law that I think about and about which I preach at my level of the hierarchy" (as in the text. - Author's note). In other words, Li Hongzhi arrogated to himself the inaccessible status of a person who possesses the secrets of the universe and is located at a “hierarchical level” of exceptional height. The book “Zhuan Falun” 16 also says: “I have achieved considerable success and had a positive impact on the entire (emphasis added - author) society”, “no one except me transmits gong to the highest levels of the hierarchy” (p. 5 ), “I can help everyone” (p. 8), “my Law Body is behind you, there is no danger for you” (p. 69), “if you listen to the sound recording constantly, you will understand more and more deeply the essence of the Law and draw from this more and more new understanding. Especially when you read my book" (p. 71). Therefore, adherents were recommended to constantly read and listen to the works of their teacher, who insisted that he was invisibly present nearby. They were taught that without a mentor they were helpless: “you are not able to explain this Law” (ibid.).
The "Teacher" constantly accompanies his followers invisibly. He is omnipresent. Here is an example from the book “Zhuan Falun”, which talks about various tests that practitioners of the teaching have to endure: “The form of such interference can be from the devil, and sometimes from the Teacher who tests you, for which he resorts to such techniques as creating things out of nothing " (p. 115).
Without completely rejecting traditional religions, Li Hongzhi allows the worship of Buddha images. However, he emphasizes that they must be sanctified by righteous people. Since these are not easy to find, and otherwise “an unclean spirit, like a fox or ferret,” may get into the figurine” (p. 101), the following method of consecration is proposed: “Take my book (since it contains my photograph) or simply my photograph and, holding a Buddha statue in your hands folded into the mudra (as in the text, apparently the mudra is meant. - Author) of a large lotus, ask the Teacher to consecrate the image, as you would ask me. Just half a minute is enough, and the issue will be resolved." (p. 103). The photograph of the “Teacher” itself exudes divine power, and his “spirit”, presumably, inhabits the figurine to become an object of worship!?
The sect requires strict adherence to internal rules. Violators are in danger. A document dated April 20, 1994, signed by Li Hongzhi and entitled “Requirements for Counseling Centers for the Great Law of Falun,” states: “It is strictly forbidden for disciples of the Great Law to practice other gongfa... If something happens to them without listening to advice, then they themselves will be responsible for this" (hereinafter in this paragraph as in the text posted on the Internet. - Author). It also speaks of mandatory resistance to any opposition to the sect: “Resolutely boycott acts that violate the content of the “great Law” 17. The “Requirements” establish the rules of daily practice for members of the sect: “one must study the Law and read books as daily compulsory disciplines.” It is especially noted , that it is necessary to “improve both spirituality and physical movements at the same time.” Thus, the assertion of the sect’s lawyers that its members were simply engaged in physical education is refuted.
The fact that Falun Gong followers clearly attributed supernatural abilities to their leader can be judged by contradiction, based on the methods of official counter-propaganda. The Xinhua agency reported that for 1982-1992. Li Hongzhi constantly purchased medicines for treatment. This means that there is a belief among sectarians that Li is absolutely healthy and does not need the help of doctors. It is appropriate to note here that the sect is blamed for the deaths of many people who refused medical care, relying on the methods of the “Teacher”.
In order to finally resolve the question of whether Falun Gong is a religious sect, it is necessary to turn to the texts of its founder, Li Hongzhi. Analyzing his statements is the best way to answer the question.
Heidelberg University professor Barend ter Haar, who opened a special page on the Internet for academic discussion of the Falun Gong issue, views Li Hongzhi’s teachings as “a combination of a religious lifestyle and meditative practice,” and he sees “clearly Buddhist inspiration” in the sect’s texts (admitting, however, that he “cursorily” read the book “Zhuan Falun”).
In the book "Zhuan Falun" Li Hongzhi indicates that the sources of his ideas are the "Buddha Law" and the "Tao System", i.e. seems to be in accordance with the Chinese syncretic tradition. In order not to be caught in dogmatic errors or poor knowledge of the canon, he refuses to classify his system as religious. The idea of “the most mysterious, supernatural science” comes to the fore. On the one hand, this gives the author complete freedom in the development of his “system”. On the other hand, it quite reasonably appeals to the consciousness of the modern Chinese, who retain at least unconscious ties with the national religious tradition, convinced by atheistic propaganda of the “superiority of science over superstition,” disillusioned with the “ideas of Marx and all the others,” and in search of a new ideology.
It is clear why a detailed analysis of Li Hongzhi's ideas has not yet been presented. Reading the recordings of his lectures, which are an obscure eclectic decoction of information gleaned from various religious systems, as well as from popular science and pseudoscientific literature, is a thankless task. Nevertheless, let's get started.
Cosmology. Outer space “was kind” and gave rise to the first life. The reason for this is not only that the cosmos acts as an impersonal creative or self-unfolding agency, but also contains substances that can give rise to life (a bow towards materialism, there will be many of them, because for Li Hongzhi it is important to convince his followers of the “scientificness” of his teaching ). The main properties of the pantheistically deified cosmos, all matter, living and inanimate, are three: “truth, kindness and patience” (zhen, shan, ren). Therefore, everyone who strives to comprehend the truth must develop the same in himself.
Li Hongzhi claims that in some places on earth there are remnants of civilizations that existed a hundred million years ago. However, these civilizations disappeared at certain intervals, burying almost all people under their ruins. He states: “I once checked in detail and found out that humanity has suffered death 81 times” (p. 15).
In addition to Earth, there are thousands of planets inhabited by intelligent beings who travel in space on UFOs. Their experience is an example of the fact that there are alternative paths of development to the earthly path, in which people at their current level of development do not understand everything. “Alien UFOs fly at unimaginable speeds and can grow and shrink. They followed a completely different line of development. They have a different approach to science” (p. 148).
In the universe there are numerous hierarchies of enlightened beings related to Li Hongzhi, who observe his activities and have the ability to create peace, apparently acting as demiurges acting on behalf of cosmic law. There are also saints of a lower level - "ground Buddhas and ground Taoists" who live secretly in the mountains and forests. “There are several thousand of them all over the world, most of them live in our country (China - author).” They use "rather primitive methods" of cultivation, lower than those of Falun Gong (p. 103). Thus, we can find an appropriate place for the members of the sect: they are in the middle between the inhabitants of heaven and the saints who have not yet left the earthly vale.
Symbols of the sect. The emblem of Falun Gong is a yellow circle with a red circle in the middle. In the red circle there is a yellow hieroglyph “wan” (Buddhist swastika, the sign of the heart of Buddha), along the circle on a yellow field there are four more such hieroglyphs, as well as four symbols of the “great limit” - “taiji” 18. Li Hongzhi claims that this emblem is a model of the universe, which is in constant rotation.
Ontology. "Everything is predetermined by fate", "all deeds ordinary people...predetermined by fate." The cause of a person’s torment is evil deeds committed in past lives and forming karma (ate). To avoid torment, i.e. not to get sick, to get rid of disasters and to “become sinless,” a path of self-improvement is proposed, “return to the source of life" (Taoist idea) and "achieving a truly awakening" (Buddhism). To do this, you need to engage in the practice of "Falun Gong", which will first simply improve the body, and then "the human body will be completely replaced by a substance of high energy" (p. 8). At the same time, it is noted that “from the point of view of a high level of hierarchy, a person lives not in order to be a person” in the modern sense of the word (spoiled by “social relations”), but to merge with the Universe (p. 56). At the level of ordinary there are those who “need to be completely destroyed,” but they are given “another chance” for salvation through the practice of “Falun Gong" (ibid.). In addition to spiritual improvement, Li Hongzhi, quite in the Taoist spirit, promises the achievement of immortality of the body: “will happen qualitative changes, which is why... a person will forever remain young" (p. 169).
Li Hongzhi acknowledges the existence of evil spirits. “There are devils everywhere” (p. 61), he writes, recognizing the possibility of people being possessed by “unclean animal spirits, such as the fox, ferret and snake” (p. 60). He also states that practicing Falun Gong can attract the devil (p. 112) and gives numerous examples of how this happens, obviously based on both personal observations and the experience of his followers. It is difficult to escape from the devil: “without the protection of my body of the Law, you yourself will not be able to do this” (ibid.).
The doctrine of salvation. Achieving “zhen, shan, ren,” according to Li Hongzhi, is the main goal of Taoists, Buddhists, and Falun Gong members. The shortest way to self-improvement is Qigong in the Falun Gong version. This technique is attributed to prehistoric origins, and it is emphasized that scientific research in a certain way recorded specific manifestations of the “organism of qigong masters,” i.e. it is emphasized that “qigong” is not an “idealistic view”, but a “materialistic reality” (p. 16).
“Gong” is considered as “improvement energy”, which should be increased by receiving it from the hands of the “Teacher”. This requires certain conditions, in particular, the improvement of “xinxing,” or the thinking, unchanging principle in a person. "Xinxing" includes "de", or materialized morality. (In passing, we note that Li Hongzhi avoids the question of dividing the world into spirit and matter: “matter and spirit are identical”, “matter... is a natural spirit” - p. 18). "De" is "white matter", and karma is "black". The task is to deplete karma and increase “de”. To do this, it is proposed to humbly endure all kinds of suffering, since the karma of the victim automatically flows onto the offender, which in turn improves its “de” at the expense of the enemy. Therefore, it is even proposed to engage in a kind of “vampirism”, running into conflicts for the sake of collecting “de” 19. Improving “de” allows the “Teacher” to increase “gun” in the student, and he gradually reaches the “Buddha level”. Li Hongzhi claimed that in his lectures he "personally implanted" Falun into the "lower belly" of his listeners (p. 24). "Falun", being a "universe in miniature", "has all the superpowers inherent in the Universe, it can automatically move and rotate" (ibid.). With this "Falun", members of the sect expected to achieve supernatural results. It seems that the idea of an energy ring located in the lower part of the human body was borrowed by Li Hongzhi from the tantric tradition. It teaches that at the base of the spinal column there is a certain latent energy - kundalini, which, being awakened by yogic exercises, rises along the "central energy channel" and ultimately leads to the transformation of the body into incorruptibility 20.
All Falun Gong followers inevitably improve their health and morale, notes Li Hongzhi. As an illustration, the experience with the introduction of sectarian teachings “in socialist production” is given: “Since workers and employees began to learn Falun Dafa (the great law of Falun. - Author), they began to come to work early and leave late. They work with diligence and prudence, they willingly carry out any task that is entrusted to them. No one is pursuing personal gain. All this led to a change in the spiritual appearance of the plant. The economic efficiency of the plant also improved" (p. 82).
Li Hongzhi promised his disciples to make them the receptacle of the deified cosmos and in the future become the rulers of the universe. Here the influence of the Buddhist tradition is clear, which understands the universe as alien to any teleology and as the result of the karmic actions of living beings in all their rebirths. Only, according to the teachings of Li Hongzhi, people who successfully improve themselves will be able to become an elite group that determines the further transformation of the world. He credits himself with the ability to teach the adherents of the sect to rise above the laws of karma, which, from the point of view of Buddhism, are immutable. You just need to surrender to the power that the “Teacher” puts in you: “Falun has mental ability. It itself knows what to do” (p. 26). The deified leader of the sect subjugates the adherents to his will through zombification. Constantly reading his books and listening to his voice, they indulged in psychophysical exercises, believing that Li Hongzhi had implanted an “eternity microchip” in them. They expected eternal youth, omnipotence and heavenly pleasures, but they became slaves.
The ultimate goal of self-improvement and achieving the “highest hierarchy”, above the “degree of Zhulay” (Tathagata), i.e. Buddha, appears rather banal in the performance of Li Hongzhi: “Life without illness, without suffering, when you have everything you want - this is what the life of the celestials looks like” (p. 39). The self-improver “just has to stretch out his hand, and he will have everything he wants,” and this will happen in his own paradise - “Paradise” (p. 91).
There is an eschatological tension in Li Hongzhi's sermon: "We are in last time in the last period of decline and death of dharma (as in the text. - Author) we preach the orthodox Law" (p. 69). Those who did not have time are late! Moreover, soon we need to prepare for the worst: "in outer space for a long time there was a big explosion,” and its consequences will soon reach the earth. “The property of the Universe and the substances in it will explode completely,” and you need to have time to create in yourself a new spiritual property corresponding to the new universe, the one that the “great enlightened ones” will create after the catastrophe ( p. 96).
Representatives of higher hierarchies sometimes come into human society, but not without fear. The fact is that their memory is erased, and they can easily “get stuck in the swamp of fame and self-interest.” In a good way The way to overcome such a dead end is “a method called madness” (sic!). A person with good data for self-improvement must be “forced to be in a state of madness, a certain part of his brain should be locked” for two to three years. When he suffers properly, his “de” will improve, his “tun” will rise. “After this, consciousness is returned to the person” (pp. 111-112). In other words, if someone has simply gone crazy by practicing Falun Gong, there is no need to worry, they are depleting their karma.
Miracles. Here we come to a very important topic: miracles. Li Hongzhi repeatedly emphasized that his disciples could do all sorts of incredible things (“white magic” - p. 22; “many living beings are produced in your body” - p. 23), of course, thereby tempting people 21 . What is the use of warnings to refrain from performing miracles? This is exactly what the public needs.
The authorities also did not stand aside; they were scared. Talking about the discovery of the mystical all-seeing “third eye” (tianmu) in his students. Li Hongzhi spoke about the need to restrain the ability to “see everything”: otherwise “state secrets could not be preserved” (p. 30). After the start of the repressions, the authorities, to make matters worse, accused the sect of stealing state secrets.
Followers of Li Hongzhi supposedly can see the future, have answers to all questions, and can cure diseases. But doing the latter is strictly forbidden: “The worldly community is precisely one that is in a state of birth, old age, illness and death, existing by predestination... If you cure someone, it means you are violating this principle” (p. 145) . Adepts are told that over time they will be able to work miracles, but they should restrain themselves, taking the example of the “Teacher”: they can do everything, but they don’t...
Relations with other religions. About Chan Buddhism: “In fact, they distorted the meaning of Shakyamuni’s statement” (p. 9). Li Hongzhi is quite dismissive of Buddhism in general, noting that there is a lot of primitiveness in the teachings of the Buddha, since he preached “for people who originated from the recently formed primitive society and were very primitive" (p. 11). The Falun Gong leader himself declares that he is at such a high level of the "hierarchy" (tsenci) that he can continue the revelation of the "Buddha Law" to a much greater extent than is done in Buddhism .
So, we are presented with a teaching that claims greater truth and a higher level of dedication to the secrets of the universe than the religious traditions recognized in China. The author of this teaching acts as an indisputable authority, a “Teacher”, possessing wisdom inaccessible to other people and associated with the “celestials”. He acts as a transmitter of heavenly secrets to perishing people, he is their savior. All followers of the sect are encouraged to perform psychophysical exercises to change the body, transforming it into a different “energy substance”, which, in particular, is not subject to aging. The need for the speedy adoption of the Falun Gong teachings is motivated by an impending universal catastrophe, in which only zealous adherents of the sect can be saved.
Supporters of Falun Gong believe that salvation from death is possible with the help of special psychophysical exercises. However, there is a main precondition: the “Teacher” places a certain mystical self-propelled intelligent omniscient entity “Falun” in the body of the adepts. The cultivation of Falun is the main religious ritual of the sect, although it may outwardly look like just gymnastics. This is deception.
In addition, Li Hongzhi claims that even with the help of his photography, Buddha images can be sanctified. Hinting with the date of his birth at a connection with the Tathagata, he pursues a very specific goal: “to inhabit the statue” and become an object of worship.
Falun Gong has a clear organizational structure and well-developed channels of interaction using the most modern means of communication. Thanks to this, the sect has the ability to quickly and effectively mobilize its members to carry out mass actions.
Members of the sect are required to strictly adhere to orthodoxy; deviations from the “teachings” of Li Hongzhi are not allowed. The practice of Falun Gong involves constant reference to the works of the founder of the sect: books, audio and video recordings, which allowed the organizers of the cult to put their business on a commercial basis and have significant income.
Appealing to the consciousness of the modern Chinese, religiously and ideologically disoriented, the Falun Gong sect, hiding behind the slogan of “scientificness,” actually fraudulently recruited a huge number of people into its ranks. Li Hongzhi dedicated their despair to his vanity and self-interest.
At the same time, we do not yet have sufficient grounds to assert that Falun Gong is a totalitarian sect. Perhaps not enough time has passed for the structure of the organization to completely crystallize. This can now be judged by the nature of the development of the international Falun Gong community, to which Li Hongzhi and his circle are now making efforts.
Let us emphasize once again: regardless of what exactly the essence of the Falun Gong teaching is, the problem concerning the relationship of the Chinese state with the sect is primarily of a political nature. This was openly stated by many Chinese figures, including the honorary chairman of the central committee of the Democratic League of China (one of the non-communist parties in the PRC) Qian Weichang. The head of the United Front Affairs Department of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Zhaoguo, was even more harsh in his assessment: the Falun Gong incident can only be compared with the riots of June 4, 1989 (Referring to the student demonstration in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.) In the commentary The Xinhua agency described the Falun Gong sect as “a political force opposing the Communist Party of China and the central government. It preaches idealism, theism (it is completely unclear on what basis such a conclusion is made. - Author) and feudal prejudices. It has created strongholds points (zhan) throughout the country at different levels and even penetrated into some important party and government institutions." In November 1999, the head of the Communist Party and state, Jiang Zemin himself, condemned Falun Gong, calling the sect a “cult.”
The Chinese government hastened to create a legal basis for the fight against Falun Gong. On October 30, 1999, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted a resolution banning the activities of "heretical cult organizations." The document, which contains no mention of Falun Gong, does not define what such “cults” are, only stating that they operate “under the guise of religion, Qigong, or in other illegal forms.” The most dangerous consequences of the activities of “cults,” according to the text, are “violation of the law,” “organization of mass gatherings with the aim of undermining public order,” “murder, rape, fraud,” etc. The resolution called for severely dealing with the instigators and showing leniency towards those who was involved in cult organizations through deception. If in this regard we take into account that, according to Hong Kong observers, 35,000 members of the sect have already been subjected to repression, then one can imagine how vast the ranks of Falun Gong are.
Soon there followed an explanation from the Supreme People's Court and the General People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China regarding what “cults” are: “illegal groups that use religion, “qigong” or other means as a cover, deify their leaders, attract new members to their ranks and carry out control over them, deceiving society by inventing and spreading superstitions and threatening society." These authorities also explained that Falun Gong falls under the provisions of Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Article 300 of the PRC Criminal Code, which refers to “superstitious sects and secret societies” 22 . One cannot resist drawing analogies between what is happening now and the events of the distant past, when various kinds of secret societies and millenarian religious sects organized anti-government movements and uprisings, often threatening the existence of dynasties.
Participation in the communist sect apparently caused the greatest concern to the authorities. An example of someone who was into Falun Gong is the case of General Yu Changxin, a high-ranking scientist at an institute affiliated with the Air Force. In January 2000, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his involvement in a cult.
It must be said that the repressions did not completely break the sectarians’ willingness to fight against the authorities. This is quite consistent with the teachings of Li Hongzhi, who argued that the accumulation of merit for a good rebirth is possible only through suffering ("You need to experience some hardships, endure some share of grief and suffering, it is unacceptable that you do not experience anything"23) . The end of October 1999 was a time of fairly massive demonstrations by sectarians who arrived in Beijing in an organized manner from different parts of the country and from abroad. Thus, they testified their disagreement with the decision of the NPC Standing Committee to ban sects. It was with the goal of suffering for the idea that supporters of Falun Gong staged a New Year's demonstration in Tiananmen Square on January 1, 2000. A month later, an attempt was made to cover the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging on Beijing's Tiananmen Gate with a portrait of Li Hongzhi 24 . In both cases, a significant part of the protest participants were holders of foreign passports, and could not be subjected to the same harsh repression as Chinese citizens. Another attempt to hold a demonstration was made on the occasion of the Lunar New Year on February 4, 25.
The Internet plays a significant role in the confrontation between the Chinese authorities and the sect. The global computer network is used by both sides to disseminate their views on the issue of banning Falun Gong in the PRC. It is obvious that the PRC government was unprepared for what Li Hongzhi's followers did email the most convenient means of interaction between Falun Gong branches in different provinces and were able to carry out protest events very effectively.
It's interesting that in Lately repression began against other Qigong groups, such as the Zhonggong school, which has about 20 million followers and approximately 100 branches, 1,000 training centers and 180,000 teachers in different parts of China. The Qilin group of companies, based in Tianjin and engaged in tourism and health services, was closed. This group, according to press reports, financed Zhonggong. The confiscated funds of Zhonggong amounted to approximately US$10 million. 26 The founder of Zhonggong, Zhang Hongbao, went on the run.
The fact that another group was subjected to repression by the authorities indicates that the PRC government is seriously concerned about a completely new problem for it - the onset of mysticism, well organized and strongly rooted in the national tradition.
Priest Peter Ivanov, Dr. sciences
Notes
- Kobzev A.I., Yurkevich A.G. Qi. // Chinese philosophy. encyclopedic Dictionary. Ed. M.L. Titarenko. M.: Mysl, 1994, p. 431.
- See: Li Hongzhi. Falun Dafa. M.: Publishing house of the Russian Peoples' Friendship University, 1999, pp. 320-331.
- Li Hongzhi's texts, most of them recordings of his public speeches, shocked readers with their low literary quality. In response to accusations of illiteracy. Li Hongzhi resorted to a specific trick: he declared that modern language was not able to adequately convey his teaching. In Russian it looks like this: “...with modern normative words it is by no means impossible to express the guiding direction of Dafa at higher different degrees of the hierarchy and the manifestation of the Fa (Fa) at each degree, it is even impossible to set in motion the evolution and rise of bentya (One's own body) disciples and gongs, it is impossible to set in motion such a significant change" (Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun. The Great Law of Buddha Falun. M.: Publishing House of the Russian Peoples' Friendship University, 1998, p. 189). The text gives the impression of complete nonsense also because, like all other works of Li Hongzhi translated into Russian, whether published in Russia or posted on the Internet, it is the result of the work of Chinese people who do not sufficiently speak Russian.
- Xinhua News Agency, 1999, July 22.
- Xinhua News Agency, 1999, Dec. 26.
- "Toronto Globe and Mail", 2000, Jan. 31.
- de Lisle J. China. Who's Afraid of Falun Gong? "Asia Times", 1999, Aug. 10.
- The mention of heresy causes bewilderment among the European reader, since heresy is a deviation from the true doctrine. So, we must assume that the CCP has true knowledge, which Falun Gong distorts? In fact, the Chinese term "xiejiao" would be more correctly translated as "false teaching." It is also important to keep in mind that in the history of China, such exercises were considered by the authorities as a threat to the stability of the state.
- University professor He Zuoxu spoke in a youth magazine criticizing the spread of Falun Gong among teenagers.
- The organization of the sect in Chongqing, the capital of Sichuan province, looked like this: at the top there is a central office, three branches, 56 first- and second-level training centers, 890 training groups. There were 358 sect leaders working at all five levels of the city organization.
- According to authorities at the end of 1999, there had been 78 demonstrations involving 300 or more people. Xinhua News Agency, 1999, Dec. 26.
- According to the Internet, Falun Gong organizations exist in the USA (in at least 45 states), Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, England, Russia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
- Associated Press, 1999, Sept. 12. Ji Shi's book is called "Li Hongzhi and his Falun Gong." Beijing, Xinxing Publishing House, 1999.
- An exception is an employee of the J.C. Fairbank Center for East Asian Studies at Harvard University, now teaching in Beijing, Prof. K.-A.Shlefogt. He reproached the world press for bias, since the media deliberately turn a blind eye to the fact that Falun Gong manipulates its members, instilling unquestioning obedience in them and suppressing their will, deifying its leader and pursuing the goal of enriching a narrow group of people, as well as with its practice causes direct harm to human health. “Decisive action by the authorities is extremely important,” he writes, “because cults deprive people of the ability to defend themselves. Followers of Falun Gong fell into a trap without realizing it. The true criminals are those who lead the sect.” The true criminals are those who leads the sect" ("China Daily", 1999, Aug. 18.). K.-A. Schlevogt noted that many other areas of "qigong" have the opportunity to continue to develop in China. As further developments showed, here he was not quite right.
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). 4th Edition. Wash., American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 847.
- Where this book is cited, only the page number is indicated in parentheses in the text.
- Li Hongzhi himself widely uses the concept of “heresy”, referring to various new religions and sects penetrating China (Zhuan Falun, p. 52).
- The symbolism of Falun Gong is rooted in the Buddhist-Taoist tradition. However, Li Hongzhi stipulates that he has nothing to do with the fascists: “Some say: this sign looks like the Hitlers (as in the text - Author). I will tell you that this sign in itself does not represent any concept about classes" (p. 93).
- One of the followers of the sect, living in Moscow, spoke at a conference dedicated to Falun Gong. It was carried out with the help of “Swedish comrades” in September 1999 in St. Petersburg. He shared with his colleagues a method for improving “de”: the best way to do this is to find yourself in a traffic jam during rush hour. There is anger all around, and you sit and proudly increase the “matter of morality” (data from the Russian site “Falun Gong” on the Internet; which, apparently, is also maintained by the Chinese. The site’s visitor counter reads: “you are such and such a person who came from - for predestination").
- Paribok A. Kundalini. Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism // Dictionary. M.: Publishing House Respublika, 1996, p. 249-250.
- “If you reveal everything to people, then, seeing that it is all true, then everyone will begin to improve, including those who cannot be forgiven” (p. 22).
- "China Daily", 1999, Nov. 1.
- "Zhuan Falun", p. 48.
- "South China Morning Post", 2000 Jan. thirty.
- "Chicago Tribune", 2000, Feb. II.
- "Australian Financial Review", 2000, Feb. 1; "South China Morning Post", 2000, Feb. 2.
“Meet Falun Gong,” the headline of the newspaper that a man handed to me on the street caught my eye. And under the title is a photograph of a woman performing a physical exercise with her arms raised and her eyes closed. Curiosity and interest in new things immediately forced me to get acquainted with the brochure issued. It turns out that Falun Gong is a system of physical and spiritual improvement of a person.
Several materials inform citizens that Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) is the practice of cultivating the soul and body, a form of qigong (an ancient Chinese system aimed at improving the health of the body and mind), previously transmitted from the Master to the only successor, but subsequently adapted by Master Li Hongzhi to wide transmission in society in 1992.
- A little personal question: how did you come to this system?
I was introduced to Falun Dafa by reading a practitioner's online blog where he mentioned the practice. Somehow I didn’t come to this system on purpose, it seems to me that I’ve been moving towards something similar all my life, but in fact it turns out that I’ve been heading towards exactly this practice: I’ve been practicing since 2011. Why Falun Dafa? Probably because when I first became acquainted (and subsequently this never changed) with the practice and what was stated in it, I clearly realized that everything that I had always vaguely guessed about was so, and it was stated very clearly and universally, in modern and clear language, without roundaboutness or understatement. Moreover, it is completely ready for use and application in practical improvement by any person who really wants it. He will want to truly increase his spiritual level, in the very depths of his heart.
- Falun Gong is a practice of soul cultivation and body is like religion. Is it so?
It is not a religion because there is no religious form. Improvement is aimed directly at the human soul, and not at observing religious traditions and rituals. That is, from the very beginning, self-improvement occurs as internal work on oneself in accordance with the principles of practice, and not through compliance with formally imposed external restrictions and rules, as, for example, in religions.
The brochure states that “this teaching has no cultural, social, economic or national restrictions, so Falun Gong is practiced by people from all walks of life and different countries" Do a person's religious views influence their practice of Falun Gong?
A person with any outlook on life can and is capable of understanding the essence and content of cultivation according to Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), but in the future, of course, it is necessary to cultivate only one school, since any confusion is unacceptable and will not lead to achievement. Only if the same religion solves such problems of cultivation “only in one school” for its followers, simply declaring all others except it heretical, then Falun Dafa recognizes other orthodox religions and directions, but at the same time explains in detail why mixing different directions is unacceptable improvement.
- In addition to the principle of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” are there any other principles that form the basis of the system?
In addition to this principle, Master Li Hongzhi outlined other points in the main Book designed to open understanding and guide self-cultivators, but it will not be possible to outline their essence in a short and formal answer. This still requires a process of cognition and comprehension.
- Improving the body in Falun Gong occurs through 5 exercises. What kind of exercises are these?
These are exercises based on qigong gymnastics with powerful energy that can transform and support from within. physical body, contributing to its purification in energy terms, which, in principle, somewhat replaces, by analogy, fasting and asceticism accepted in religions. This, by the way, may be another example of external restrictions in religions and, conversely, internal elaboration in Falun Dafa. Classes last 2-3 hours in most cases. 2 hours of exercises and an hour for the theoretical part - studying the principles of improvement and sharing experience. At the same time, there is no hard their restrictions on time, place or order of activities.
It was shocking that in China organs are harvested from followers of this practice. Are people still being persecuted there today?
There are still repressions going on there. And in the spirit of the 37th year of the communist regime, a network of Chinese gulags was organized there, which implements such criminal plans. Here, by the way, interesting fact: The “610 Committee” (or “610 Office”) is an organization specifically created to carry out the persecution of Falun Gong. It has absolute power at all levels of party government, judicial and other systems. Its methods of action are comparable to those of the Nazi Gestapo. It was formed on June 10, 1999 - hence its name.
It is a little unclear why the followers of this teaching are persecuted. For what? They, in fact, do nothing wrong?
This information causes approximately the same bewilderment, even distrust, in everyone ordinary person, unfamiliar with communist “ideals.” But, remembering the tradition in our country just a few decades ago, as if nothing had happened, to declare “enemies of the people,” then everything becomes clear, especially since the “successors” surpassed their former “mentors.” Check out the publication “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.” There are many facts about the massacre of one's own people. Before Falun Gong, there were other people who were persecuted. A lot... And by the time the repression began, the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China amounted to up to 100 million people, this even exceeded the number of Communist Party members, which was one of the reasons.
- Are there many Falun Gong followers in Russia? The bulk of people - who are they?
In Russia, in comparison with other countries, there are relatively few practitioners and, perhaps, there are reasons for this. These are people from different walks of life. And here it is difficult to say which ones, since origin, wealth or education do not play a role. A direct influence is exerted by the values in a person’s soul, which allow him to realize and understand for himself the importance of such improvement. In terms of age, these are still mature people, most often 30 and older. These are those whose eyes are no longer so clouded by the pursuit of success, spectacle, and momentary whims, who, due to age, can already more soberly understand life and the correct attitude towards enduring values.
- Are there any special requirements for people who want to practice Falun Gong?
There are no specific ones, but there are general requirements contained in the appendix to the main Book of Falun Dafa. For example, true Falun Gong disciples are prohibited from interfering with government policies and violating the laws of society.
What is a typical start to practice for someone who learns about Falun Dafa and decides to try to cultivate?
He contacts one of the practitioners (usually practice sites in parks), who has taken on the voluntary responsibility of bringing music and teaching the exercises to beginners. This practitioner explains to him how to get there, what time the class is, etc. When he arrives, he is briefly told about Falun Dafa, the principles of the practice, and is taught the exercises and shown how to perform them correctly. They offer to join classes. They provide links to information on the Internet: music, training videos, and so on.
Then the person can continue going to classes, can learn on his own, or can stop going altogether if he decides that it’s not for him. The most they will ask is his name and perhaps they will wonder if he has previously engaged in any practice. Everything else, if he wants, he already tells about himself.
By the way, here in Yekaterinburg you can also find people practicing this system. Andrey Tolmachev, a practicing Falun Gong consultant, said that in Yekaterinburg there is a small group of practitioners: about 5-10 people. More information about Falun Dafa and its followers can be found here.
The other side of the coin
At the same time, in Russia the authorities have an ambivalent attitude towards this trend. In 2008, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation published on its website a list of extremist literature, which included the book “Zhuan Falun” by Li Hongzhi and some information leaflets calling for the peaceful prevention of crimes in China. Also, Falun Gong symbols were banned in Russia due to their resemblance to the Nazi swastika. The Falun Gong emblem contains an icon similar to a swastika, but differs from it in the angle of inclination, as well as in the fact that the rays are turned in the other direction, unlike the Nazi symbol.
It recently became known that the European Court of Human Rights will consider several cases in which Russia will act as a defendant, including regarding the ban on Falun Gong literature. But it is unknown when the decision will be made. Meanwhile, in May 2017, the Khostinsky District Court of Sochi fined a local resident, Falun Gong follower Sergei Baldanov under Art. 20.29 Code of Administrative Offenses (mass distribution of extremist materials) for three thousand rubles and confiscated Li Hongzhi’s book “Falun Dafa”. We remind you that Li Hongzhi’s book “Zhuan Falun” was included in the list of prohibited literature. Unfortunately, this did not bother anyone in court.
By the way, repressions against Falun Gong followers do exist in China. Since August 2006, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak and UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom Asma Jahangir have submitted to the Committee Against Torture numerous evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. In 2008, they reported: “The short wait times for an ideally matched organ, as advertised, suggest the existence of a computerized organ selection system and a large bank of living donors. The discrepancy between the availability of organs and the number of transplants for which the donors are unknown is believed to be due to the fact that organs are harvested from Falun Gong practitioners, and the increase in the number of transplants in 2000 coincides with the beginning of the persecution of this group."
Photo: Olesya Ivanova, Nikolay Stenilovsky, Persons-info.com, Kosovo99.ru, Ru.minghui.org
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Since 1999, the Falun Dafa cultivation school has been officially banned in China. According to official data from the Chinese authorities, practitioners committed murders, suicides, passed on state secrets, and in addition, classes in the Falun Gong exercise complex led to mental disorders.
As you know, the essence of self-improvement is set out in the main book “Zhuan Falun”, there are others, most often these are speeches by Li Hongji at conferences of practitioners. There are also 5 sets of exercises. There are Falun Gong practitioners in many countries around the world, including Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
However, there are no reports of practitioners’ crimes or mental disorders over outside China I personally couldn’t find it on the Internet. This apparently does not exist either in the Russian-speaking or in the English-speaking segment. All opponents of Falun Gong copy materials provided by the Chinese Xinhua News Agency. And they write about Chinese events. The question immediately arises: why is nothing like this happening in Russia, Europe, America, and other countries? The set of exercises has not changed, why haven’t we heard anything about crazy people? Where are the criminals? Orthodox and Protestant organizations that deal with “sects” are very interested in such information. But she's not there. And how could it be hidden on the Internet?
Some have suggested that Falun Gong has a strict, almost military-like organization, and the order that sent people to commit crimes was passed down through local practice site leaders. This is impossible for the following reasons.
In Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi categorically prohibits killing:
“...as long as they cultivate according to the righteous Law, they cannot kill living beings. The requirement is very categorical, no one should kill living beings, this is beyond doubt.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 7, "The Question of Killing Living Beings")
The head of the practice point, like all managers, are practitioners just like everyone else. They are called consultants.
Here is what is written about the consultant service:
“However, there are also consultants who do not serve so well, this is mainly expressed in the method of service, for example, in order to force our students to obey them so that things will go more smoothly, they do administration. It is unacceptable. Learning the law is voluntary.”
“Moreover, they often spread news from an unreliable source or something sensational in order to convince and bring others into obedience, to increase their authority, or resort to original fiction. All this is unacceptable. Our consultants volunteer to serve everyone. They are not teachers, much less should they show such stubborn desire.”
“In fact, there is a Great Law that every practitioner learns. Our students will evaluate every act of the consultants in accordance with the Great Law and will separate the good from the bad. They can see everything clearly. As soon as you have the thought of elevating yourself, they will immediately notice that your xinxing is not good, so only modesty will help improve things. Authority can only be gained by being a good student of the law.”
(Zhuan Falun Vol.2, How to Do Counseling Service, 1995)
We have already seen that in the Great Law, and it is clearly stated in Zhuan Falun, murder is categorically prohibited. A consultant is not a teacher, he is a practitioner like everyone else. He apparently has zero ability to order: “every act of consultants, in accordance with the Great Law, will separate good from bad”; It is generally not accepted in this school to engage in an authoritative interpretation of teaching (as is the case in Christianity): you can only talk about your personal understanding (the depth of understanding depends on morality).
In addition, it should be noted that Falun Dafa practitioners strive for non-action, try not to interfere in various matters, because they do not see karmic predestination.
About non-action:
“Since you do not know the predestination of a certain deed, it is very easy for you to make a mistake, so we adhere to non-action, you cannot do anything. Some people say, “I want to teach bad people.” Then my advice is to become a police officer. However, we do not require you to stand aside in the event of murder or arson.”
Reading Falun Dafa books has a calming effect, can rather be used to combat stress (this is not its purpose, of course, if you are tired of stress, then you need to get rid of addictions, look within yourself), relaxes nervous system, the intonation of the voice becomes very calm. You can have different attitudes towards Falun Gong, some may find it suitable, others may not, but the claim that it calls for the killing of oneself or others is a deliberate lie that cannot stand the light of day.
But why then did the Communist Party ban Falun Dafa? In order to get closer to understanding this, let's talk a little about the state structure. For normal life in any country, society and (or) the state must perform certain functions and fulfill the social order. It includes various things, for example, the production of competitive products, helping the poor, organizing health care, education, protection from crime, control of officials, distribution healthy image life, crime prevention and so on. The law of conservation of energy applies: matter cannot arise from nothing, energy only passes from one state to another. Society also cannot acquire anything without losing something, without making an effort. In democratic countries, a significant part of the social order is carried out by people within public organizations. This implies not only altruism and charity, but also mutually beneficial cooperation. A typical way of thinking of a citizen of a democratic country: if there is a task, I will complete it myself, or together with other interested people. This includes ecology and strikes, Alcoholics Anonymous societies, and people going for a joint jog; Sweden even had a free-rider organization. In totalitarian countries, they are oriented toward the state; people perceive themselves as part of a large family and are accustomed to obeying. And almost the entire social order falls on the shoulders of the state apparatus. But an official, unlike a member of a public association, is a person who is not interested in doing work; he simply earns his salary. If society is weak and does not control them (thereby it does not fulfill the social order), then there is always a danger that the status of an official is determined not by the effectiveness of his work, but by relations with his superiors. It turns out that the state apparatus must control itself. Executions, repressions, wars weaken the desire for acquisition among officials and the people (from whom officials are recruited), people become cleaner. Li Hongji said: “This is karma, it and all the stubborn aspirations of a person determine each other.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 4, "Loss and Gain")
And karma is eliminated by experiencing suffering.
If you don't lose, you won't gain. In totalitarian countries, in order to receive a certain level of state care, one has to pay with minimal human rights: the right to life, health, freedom of opinion. Freedom of information is particularly restricted in such countries. To illustrate this point, we can cite the example of the Soviet Union and China.
Many Soviet old-timers say that it was during the Stalinist period that bureaucratic abuses were minimal, people did not work for remuneration, but this period was the most difficult (wars, repressions). During the Brezhnev period (most likely even after Stalin’s death), many already entered the civil service with the desire to improve their situation, to get something for themselves and their families. Then the process went like a snowball. There were no large-scale repressions. The USSR collapsed. The Chinese Communist Party consistently suppresses everything that, at least indirectly, is capable of freeing people from its psychological influence.
Perhaps sometime when Falun Gong received highest award at the All-China Health Exhibition, many prominent government officials hoped that the widespread dissemination of this practice would help curb corruption and morally improve the state apparatus.
As is currently known, China is building a “socialist market economy", which is a major departure from previous doctrines. However, power remains in the hands of the Communist Party, and political reforms have not followed. China's economic miracle is due to the fact that Western industrial countries moved their production to its territory, due to good climatic conditions and cheap labor, as well as low environmental requirements. It is clear that this situation has caused serious concerns among the old communists, in particular Jiang Zemin.
In response to the incriminating media reports, Falun Dafa practitioners took to the streets in silent protest, which was followed by a ban on Falun Gong, many practitioners were sent to camps, and some were executed.
Some will say that Qigong and religious organizations existed in China before and still exist, which “to varying degrees” satisfy the requirements of modern Chinese statehood. Why was the Falun Dafa school targeted? The fact is that this school, the only one of the qigong schools, had a detailed teaching on moral self-improvement, and in many respects it might not suit the communists.
In totalitarian countries, a person must obey unquestioningly, even if he is ordered to kill, these countries live more by concepts than by written laws, cruelty is necessary for such systems to survive. Li Hongji says:
“The criterion for judging good and evil should not be based on individual or collective approval. Man evaluates according to his own concepts. If I think someone is good or kind to me, I will say that he is good. And someone has ideas peculiar to him. Then, if someone corresponds to his concept of good, he will say that this person is good. The same is true with the team. If something favors the interests of the collective and the achievement of some goal, then people will consider it good and allow it to exist, but it is not necessarily good in the true sense of the word. The cosmic principle or Buddha Law is the only, unchanging criterion for evaluating humanity and everything else. This is the only criterion for distinguishing between good and evil."
(Zhuan Falun, Volume 2, "The Decline of Humanity and Dangerous Ideas")
Therefore, decrees of the party leadership that contradict the essence of the teachings of the Falun Dafa school will be negatively perceived by society and will not be implemented by practitioners. Why should the Communist Party limit itself? China has a one-party system; if competitors appear, they can be slandered in the media, sent to a camp, and finally executed. And all this for the benefit of the state.
Falun Gong also prohibits killing; if the communists need it, it will be impossible to explain the need to people.
One of the ways to maintain social order is to promote patriotism, that is, attachment to one’s country, one’s land. Li Hongji said:
“In other words, the Earth is the cesspool of the Universe.”
(Zhuan Falun, Volume 2, The Decay of Humanity and the Emergence of Enlightened Ones)
China is therefore part of this cesspool. The greatest concern among the communists was apparently the self-improvement of high-ranking officials and military personnel in Falun Dafa. The mass dissemination of, one might say, cosmopolitan ideas could not but cause concern among the old communists.
In totalitarian communist countries, the spirit of collectivism is strong, while the state of mind of an individual person strongly depends on the opinions of others, on the opinion of the collective. A person, as it were, does not live within himself, when communicating with others, he pays attention mainly not to the inner world of a person, but to his social connections. It is difficult for such people to look into themselves and understand their characteristics. Collectivists often make different demands on others, they want to feel in every person a friend, brother, ally. If a person does not correspond to their ideas, intolerance arises. Political regimes skillfully use it.
There is no doubt that cultivating Falun Gong makes a practitioner psychologically independent of other people's judgments and opinions.
“Desire or reluctance, joy or sadness, love or hate - everything is in human society stems from these feelings. If you do not part with these feelings, then you will not be able to improve yourself. When a person is freed from them, then nothing will be able to hurt him, and the thoughts of an ordinary person will not be able to shake him. They, these feelings, will be replaced by mercy, which is something even more noble.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 4, Enhancing Xinxing)
“Everyone knows that those who have reached the level of Arhat no longer take anything that happens among ordinary people to heart and always remain cheerful, they do not care what damage they suffer.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 9, “A Person with Great Natural Foundation”)
How are practitioners' emotional ties weakened?
First of all, a person does not ask for anything from the outside, but searches within himself. At the same time, the inner world (thoughts, feelings, knowledge, experience, inclinations) is updated, then relationships (including subordination) remain in the external world, they are not felt and become, as it were, unreal. This is possible when you expect absolutely nothing from others, either psychologically, ideologically, politically, or materially. And the more a person receives from others, the more attached he becomes to them. If a practitioner is insulted and oppressed, he deliberately endures it. Insults cause resentment precisely because our emotional state depends on the attitude of others towards us, in other words, we want (in fact, we ask) to be respected, to be celebrated for our successes, to be admired. The practitioner does not ask for anything, that is why he is calm. The first time insults can cause suffering, if a person endured it calmly, without bad thoughts, then the second time he will have to endure less, and finally, other people’s opinions of us will be almost indifferent.
The tendency to obey and respect elders is cultivated in the family. The head of state is a prototype of the father (in totalitarian countries). Here is what the main book of Falun Dafa says about relationships with relatives:
“They say that the Buddhist religion has already fallen into chaos, the content of Confucianism has entered the Buddhist religion: respect for parents, love for children - all this has entered there, but there is no such content in Buddhism. What does it mean? Real life person is Yuanshen*, the mother who gave birth to your Yuanshen is your real mother. In the six circles of reincarnation there are your countless mothers, perhaps they are people, maybe not. In all your rebirths, your children are also countless. Who is your mother, who are your children - after death no one will know, you still must pay off the sins you have committed. People live in delusion and cannot leave these things behind. Someone cannot free himself from attachment to his child, considering him the best; but the child died, and what a wonderful mother he had, but she also died. The man is heartbroken and just wants to follow them. You didn’t even think, didn’t they come to torment you? In this way they want to throw you out of the rut of normal life.
Ordinary people may not understand this, but if you are attached to these things, you will absolutely not be able to cultivate, so there is no such content in Buddhism. If you want to improve yourself, then you need to give up human feelings.”
*Yuanshen – soul, primordial spirit (Chinese)
“Of course, we improve ourselves in the society of ordinary people, we also must respect our parents, raise children, maintain good relationships with people in all circumstances of life, do good to people, especially to our relatives. You should maintain good relationships with everyone, including your parents and children, and show concern for others everywhere - such a soul is already devoid of selfishness, it is filled with compassion and mercy. As for feelings, they are characteristic of ordinary people, for which they live.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 6, “The Devil from Your Soul”)
In many religious organizations, believers hope (I do not claim that the religions themselves teach them this) to be saved, to cure illnesses, to receive money by performing certain formal actions, showing devotion to the Church. They are trying to beg something from higher powers, looking for outside help. In fact, they want to compensate for lack of personal improvement by demonstrating loyalty to the organization. Religions create such an opportunity for people; if you wish, you can limit yourself to “external doing”: if you confessed, you reset the count of sins, using the right of the Church through ministers to forgive sins, and if you confessed before death, then you will go to heaven. People become dependent on organizations. A person prepares himself for the idea that he alone cannot do anything.
Falun Gong, also an organization, also says that it is almost impossible to find salvation outside of this school today. But there is a very significant difference here. The Falun Dafa school always emphasizes (very often) that the basis is personal internal self-improvement, and no formalities, no requests, even round-the-clock classes in Falun Gong exercises in and of themselves, in principle, cannot give anything.
“It is imperative to hold your soul righteously. No one can replace you in self-improvement. You yourself must truly improve. Only then will you be able to improve your level.”
(“Zhuan Falun”, lecture 3, “What does Teacher give to his disciples?”)
“If he does not engage in practical self-improvement, does not improve his heart, then everything will be in vain. Without perfecting one’s soul, no one will rise higher.”
“Even if you bow to the ground every day, beat your forehead until it bleeds and burn bunch after bunch of incense, all this will lead to nothing. You must truly cultivate your heart.”
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 3, “Complete Dedication to One Direction of Cultivation is Required”)
That is, everything comes down to cultivating internal qualities, and social interactions with the external environment, the attitude of the party and society do not play a decisive role. Of course, practitioners show mercy, they want to save all living beings, and it is also easy for them to provide psychological help to other people, because they exude calm and harmony.
Sometimes the question is asked: “Why is the Qigong school of Zhong Yuan Xu Mingtang not banned in China?” From this it is concluded that the Communist Party is tolerant of qigong schools, and Falun Gong itself is to blame for being subjected to repression. The existence of even permitted organizations, in particular Zhong Yuan, is not so rosy in China.
Having looked at the website of this school and the manuals for steps 1 and 3, I can say the following.
Zhong Yuan does not contain more or less clear principles of self-improvement of the soul, does not define a moral ideal, exercises and techniques are methods of self-development. The goals of the school: to cure one’s illnesses, learn to heal others, achieve success in business, open the third eye, the ability to see other spaces, acquire an immortal body, helps solve the problem. It is distinguished by a pragmatic approach: you formulate your tasks, and we give you the means. Falun Gong says that curing diseases and the appearance of superpowers, opening the celestial eye are concomitant effects of self-improvement, even to improve health one must grow morally, and not just do exercises, treating others is prohibited (Zhuan Falun writes in detail about how some pseudo qigong masters treat diseases, and what comes of it). The purpose of Falun Gong is to save sentient beings. Falun Gong makes it clear that the key to health and ability is moral growth. The book Zhong Yuan Qigong (3rd stage of ascension) also mentions that if you harm others a lot, you will go to hell, and that health depends on calmness. But this is rather a rare mention; we note once again that Falun Dafa puts cultivation first, and exercises only second. Therefore, it can be said that Zhong Yuan does not put forward his moral ideal, so he cannot threaten communist morality.
The question of killing living beings is also understood differently. Regarding the killing of living beings, Xu Mingtang said:
“But if we look at our human world, we will see that we raise a lot of animals in order to kill them later; if people did not take care of chickens, then 90% of them would die naturally from various diseases. But since people treat them and give them special medications as a preventive measure, almost all of them survive. From these positions we accumulate positive, positive karma.”1
That is, if you take care of living beings and then kill them, you get the following:
by caring we earn white matter (De)
by killing, we earn black money (the master admits this)
ultimately, the balance turns out to be zero or even positive (therefore there is no direct ban on killing animals)
But at the same time:
“From the point of view of qigong, there is no difference between people, moreover, there is no difference even between people and animals, because all this is Life. And many animals also practice, and they also have a soul..."2 (emphasis added by the master)
It’s not very clear: children are taken care of for a very long time, can they also be killed if necessary? And the most interesting thing: this view is convenient for the Communist Party, which fulfills certain social obligations and fights corruption, and on the other hand, needs brutal means of solving internal political and territorial problems.
The pronounced commercial side of Zhong Yuan is noteworthy. It is not possible to download a single book or video lesson from the official website3 for free, classes are paid, and obtaining an instructor’s diploma also costs money. Here is one quote from the article “Success Factors in Zhong Yuan Qigong”4: “The third factor is “Tsai” - money, wealth. To practice this system you definitely need money... Tuition here costs more than anywhere else.”
All Falun Dafa materials are distributed on the Internet for free: you can download books, audio lectures, and video lessons with exercises. Li Hongji said that Chinese officials want to make money from qigong:
“In China, Falun Gong used to be a branch of the Chinese Qigong Research Society, but we noticed that this association not only does not engage in scientific research, but also does not study qigong methods and does not want to learn them. She only earns money, and uses qigong for this. Therefore, in March 1996 we left the Qigong Association. After we came out, they criticized us, but we did not pay attention to it.”5
It was difficult to believe this, unless the communist rules are to pursue profit, but the example of “Zhong Yuan” seems to confirm this. In addition, “Zhong Yuan” pays much more attention to the development of the Earth (which creates the preconditions for patriotism), Xu Mingtang was engaged in martial arts, his technique is used in Shaolin Si. The latter evokes ideas about wars, defense of the Fatherland, and patriotism, which suits the Chinese government quite well.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the ideology of modern China is no longer what it used to be, as evidenced by the repeated republication of Zhuan Falun in China. This was completely impossible either in the 60s or 70s of the last century. It seems that the persecution was caused by the fact that Falun Gong ideas spread widely among senior party members and the military; the representative of the old forces, Jiang Zemin, saw this as a threat to the stability of the communist regime; The peaceful protest of 10,000 practitioners in Beijing in response to media criticism also played a role. He saw in this school an ideological opponent capable of giving people new meaning life, to leave the Communist Party out of work in this sense. As the example with Zhong Yuan showed, party members allow those organizations to exist that do not reduce the social base of the Communist Party and contribute to the preservation of the existing order.
Dominance by one political party and one religion is never good. Either the film will not be allowed to screen, or another innocent cultural figure will be locked up. From latest news- rumors about a sect falun gong. Why was it banned in Russia and is it even true?
What is Falun Gong?
The new belief has its origins in the qigong movement. The latter is a set of practices that incorporate the achievements of Buddhist monks, Taoist warriors and Confucian sages. The communists of China in the mid-20th century saw in qigong an opportunity to improve the level of health of the nation, cheaply and cheerfully. The practice was cleared of the metaphysical component and included in traditional Chinese medicine.
In 1992, one of the followers of qigong, Li Hongzhi, decided to slightly modify the teaching. This is how he founded the Falun Gong movement, main ideas which were:
- The universe is based on three tenets: truthfulness, compassion and patience. All a person’s energies should be directed toward cultivating these virtues;
- The path to enlightenment lies through the renunciation of things, desires and attachments;
- Every person has positive energy ( yeah), and negative ( de). They are generated, respectively, through the performance of good and shameful deeds;
- Absolutely every person is kind by nature. But some of us have descended into the realm of delusion and suffering due to selfishness. To soar upward, you need to return to the “true Self.”
These provisions found a lively response in the hearts of a huge number of people. As of 1999, the number of Li Hongzhi's supporters was approximately 70 million.
Physical exercises practiced
The teaching of the Wheel of Dharma is not limited to a serious foundation of moral philosophy. His An integral part is a set of constant exercises:
- « Buddha with a thousand arms outstretched" - designed to allow the flow of vital energy qi passed through the body and opened the meridians;
- « Standing position" - includes four static poses in which a person holds an invisible wheel in his hands. According to the founder of the teaching, this will help increase wisdom, vitality and sensitivity to the influence of divine forces;
- « Passage of cosmic opposites" A set of three movements that aims to expel negative energy from the body and absorb positive energy;
- « Space orbit» - ensuring free circulation qi throughout the entire volume of the body;
- « Strengthening supernatural abilities"- performed in the lotus position for the longest possible period of time.
Exercises are carried out both in groups and individually. The intensity and timing are not important and are determined by the specific needs of the participant.
Persecution by the PRC authorities
In 1992-1996, the number of followers of the teaching in the Middle Kingdom increased sharply. Some of them began to occupy government positions. The Communist Party saw this as a threat to its boundless ideological dominance.
The following measures were taken in response to the challenge:
- In 1999, it was stated that the organization “is engaged in illegal activities, promotes superstitions and misconceptions, and poses a threat to social stability”;
- That same year, a campaign was launched across all major media outlets to discredit the movement;
- According to the US Congress, hundreds of thousands of Li Hongzhi's followers were detained without trial. Enhanced interrogation methods were used against them, including torture, psychological violence and forced labor;
- Repression continues to this day. Thus, according to a report by Amnesty International, in the mid-2010s in some camps the proportion of those practicing “false religion” reached 100%.
Accusations of Chinese authorities of crimes against humanity
Wrongful imprisonment of citizens is the mildest thing the Chinese Communist Party is accused of. In 2006, the whole world was shocked by the terrible news that the enterprising authorities of the Celestial Empire were deliberately putting repressed people to death for the sake of trading in their organs:
- The first investigation was initiated in 2006 by Foreign Affairs Canada;
- During the study of the case materials, it was discovered that in China the waiting period for organs for transplantation is 7-14 days (in developed countries - on average 2-3 years);
- The frequency of transplant operations has increased dramatically since 1999. According to this indicator, China ranks second in the world, although the institution of voluntary donation is virtually absent;
- In 2008, the issue of organ harvesting from victims political repression was raised at the UN. But then the representatives of the Celestial Empire avoided answering;
- In 2014, journalist Ethan Gutman published his own investigation, in which he claimed that 64,000 had been executed for transplant purposes;
- A 2016 report by human rights activist David Kilgour put the figure at 200,000 deaths. The scale of the crimes forced the world media to talk about genocide.
Restrictions on activities in Russia
Organizations also put up obstacles on the territory Russian Federation. There is no formal ban on activities, but certain problems arise with local administrations.
As claims from the latter, the following are presented:
- Antisocial behavior of sect supporters. The argument is a fabricated video of a self-immolation that allegedly took place in 2001;
- Another argument that is of paramount importance today is rumors of community funding from abroad. The China-born movement's alleged sponsors live in the United States, according to critics;
- Participation in an organization harms one's mental health and damages one's material well-being. Allegedly, the leaders extort money from ordinary members.
However, among human rights activists, all these arguments are met with a barrage of criticism. Critical people believe that the real reasons for banning Falun Gong in our country are more mundane:
- Deepening trade and economic cooperation with the Middle Kingdom;
- The growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. She does not tolerate competitors in the spiritual field.
This movement professes only the ideals of goodness and love for one's neighbor. It is popular all over the world and preaches compassion even towards its persecutors. But in China, everything that has the slightest connection with the Falun Gong teachings is repressed. Why was this movement banned? In Russia they cannot yet find an answer.
Video: How the Falun Gong movement is being oppressed
In this video, correspondent Anna Rodionova will tell you how adherents of this practice ask to stop the repression directed against them:
The swastika is a common Buddhist symbol of Falun Gu'n (Chinese: 法輪功, simplified 法轮功, pinyin Fǎlún Gōng, lit. meaning "practice of the Wheel of Law") or Falun Dafa (Chinese: 法輪大法, simplified: 法轮大法 , pinyin Fǎlún dàfǎ, literally means “Great Law of the Wheel of Law”) is a Chinese organization, whose adherents call it “the school of self-improvement of soul and life,” which became widely known in the early 1990s in China. Falun Gong is said to teach meditation techniques through exercises to improve physical health and moral and spiritual purity. Falun Gong is also called Falun Dafa (“The Great Law of Falun”). The school has millions of followers in almost all countries.
Falun Gong followers claim that they strive to follow truth, kindness, and patience in their daily lives.
Critics of the Falun Gong teachings believe that hatred is preached against any individual or organization that criticizes the leader - Li Hongzhi, as well as refusal of medical care and taking pharmaceuticals, which supposedly led to countless cases of death and spiritual insanity of followers. In critical literature the organization is called a sect.
Founder of Falun Gong
The founder of Falun Gong is Li Hongzhi. In 1992, he introduced Falun Gong at the Oriental Health Exhibition in Beijing. In 1993, Falun Gong also participated in this exhibition, where it was awarded three top awards. At the same time, this method of practice in China began to be called Golden Falun Gong - for its effectiveness in terms of healing the body. Soon the Falun Gong way of practicing became popular throughout China. Li Hongzhi graduated from the main book of the educational system, Zhuan Falun, in 1994. In addition to describing the principles of Falun Gong, the book touched on topics of development, the meaning of place and time, and the mysteries of the Universe.
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate exercisesFalun Gong practitioners do exercises outdoors designed to promote health. The principles of this method of practice are fully described in Zhuan Falun and other books, as well as on video and audio cassettes, and on websites.
Suppression of Falun Gong in China
In 1999, the Chinese government stripped Falun Gong of its legal status and legal protection and banned its publication. In 1996, Li left China to give Falun Gong lectures in Europe, Asia and Australia. In 1998 he moved to New York. Falun Gong practitioners in China, under orders from above, began to be persecuted by the police. On April 25, 1999, approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners held a daylong peaceful demonstration outside the Central Appeals Office.
The government responded on July 22, 1999, by completely banning Falun Gong in China. It also tried to issue an international arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi on charges of developing a “sinister cult” that spreads superstitions to deceive people. As a matter of political judgment, the warrant was not taken into account by the United States government and the international police organization Interpol. Falun Gong followers around the world are taking the initiative to explain the truth about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party.
Falun Gong practitioners themselves claim that this teaching is not a religion or a cult, and has nothing to do with politics. They say that followers should not leave material property, work or family life. The goal of the practice is to gradually get rid of selfish desires.
Falun Gong
The Falun Gong movement (practice of the wheel of law) was founded by retired military officer Li Hongzhi in 1992. It combines elements of Buddhism, Taoism and the classical healing practice of qigong.
The movement gained enormous popularity. According to some estimates, up to 70 million people took part in it in China. Chinese immigrants to the United States also became interested in the new teaching. Their number is believed to be around 8 million.
The Chinese authorities were frightened by the unusual popularity of the religious movement and began to fight it. Falun Gong leaders brought thousands of their own followers to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, demanding official recognition of the movement. But this demonstration of a significant number of adherents led to the opposite result. The movement was banned in July 1999.
Video: Qigong exercises “Falun Dafa Falun Gong”
Since then, its activists have occasionally held public protests, but their participants have been arrested. At the end of 2000, several alleged Falun Gong adherents committed self-immolation in Tiananmen Square. But the organization’s management considered this to be the result of a police provocation and refused to admit that the dead belonged to the movement.
Falun Gong favorites have repeatedly emphasized that it is not a religion, but a spiritual practice. Li Hongzhi, for example, states that members of the movement can belong to any religion. In this he is similar to neo-Hindu gurus who say that the practice of Indian yoga is compatible not only with Hinduism, but also with other religions. But the syncretic teaching that frames the practice of Falun Gong contains Buddhist and Taoist postulates.
The movement has no fixed membership and no clergy. Its participants emphasize that they are not so much an organization as a group of like-minded people, united on a volunteer basis. This frightened the Chinese authorities, who do not like amateur activities, especially in the sphere of religion.