(Minghui.org) Good health is the foundation of a happy life. Mr. Guan Guimin, a well known Chinese tenor, has recorded over 1,000 songs and has been recognized as one of the most popular singers in China. In 1983, when he was 39 years old and at the peak of his career, Mr. Guan was diagnosed with hepatitis B and with early stages of liver cirrhosis. He took a year off in an attempt to rest and heal himself. He tried many traditional remedies and different types of Qigong practices, but his condition did not improve. In the spring of 1996, a friend introduced him to Falun Gong. After only one year of practice, Mr. Guan had completely recovered.
Before his retirement, Mr. Li Qihua was the director of the Second Medical University of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Health Department commissar of the PLA's General Logistics Department, and the chief of the General Hospital of the PLA. His wife had suffered from serious illness for many years. As a medical expert and chief of the best hospital in China, he provided her with the most advanced medical treatment, to no avail. After she began practicing Falun Gong, however, all symptoms of her illnesses disappeared. Mr. Li was very impressed by Falun Gong's remarkable healing effects, and he began to practice Falun Gong himself in 1993. Shortly after, his own ailments also disappeared without the use of medicine, and his health continued to improve significantly. His personal experience with the practice convinced him that Falun Gong represents a scientific realm that is yet to be explored. He suggested that people read the book Zhuan Falun and try the Falun Gong exercises for themselves.
Mr. Wang Zhiyuan, a former research scientist from the Medical School of Harvard University, suffered from Lou Gehrig's Disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS), which is understood among the medical community to be incurable. While attending a Falun Gong lecture seminar, during the very first lecture he felt very comfortable throughout his entire body, as if currents of warm energy were circulating inside him. Three months after he began practicing Falun Gong, Mr. Wang recovered completely from the incurable ALS. Before practicing, his blood contained only 6 grams of hemoglobin, which is half the normal level. Soon after Mr. Wang began practicing Falun Gong, the hemoglobin level in his blood returned to normal. His weight also increased from 55 kg (121 lbs) to a healthy 75 kg (165 lbs). After learning of his story, a reporter from the Boston Globe interviewed Mr. Wang. The reporter was astounded when he met with Mr. Wang and saw first-hand his very healthy state.
The examples above are not isolated cases among the group of people practicing Falun Gong. On May 15, 1998, the then director of the Chinese State Sports Bureau went to Changchun City in Jilin Province, where Falun Gong originated, to conduct an investigation into the practice. In September 1998, the State Sports Bureau surveyed 12,553 Falun Gong practitioners and found that the illness healing rate was 77.5%. Adding 20.4% who reported experiencing improvement in their overall health, the overall effective rate was 97.9%. Each person on average saved over 1,700 yuan of medical bills each year. The yearly saving was over 21 million yuan. Five independent reports summarized below provide a more detailed picture of the healing efficacy of Falun Gong.
1. The Beijing Survey Report
Researchers did a survey over five districts in Beijing (Xicheng District, Chongwen District, Dongcheng City, Xuanwu District and Chaoyang District), which involved over 200 Falun Gong practice sites. They collected data that compared the physical and mental health of 14,199 practitioners before and after beginning the practice. For various statistical reasons, 12,731 out of the 14,199 initially surveyed were valid samples.
The results showed that 20%, or 2,547 people had one illness prior to practicing Falun Gong; 23.6%, or 3,004 people had two illnesses; and 49.8%, or 6,341 people had more than three illnesses. They added up to a total of 11,892 people, or 93.4% of all people surveyed. After practicing Falun Gong, 58.5%, or 6,962 people recovered from their illnesses completely, and 24.9%, or 2,956 people, had a basic recovery. The overall efficacy rate of Falun Gong was thus 99.1%.
The survey showed that these people saved 4.17 million yuan a year in medical bills by practicing Falun Gong, with each person saving 3,270 yuan on average. There were 80.3%, or 9,871 people reported to be in better physical shape after cultivation practice in Falun Dafa. The percentage of those who considered themselves being energetic increased from 3.5% before cultivation to 55.3% after cultivation. 52.4% of the people reported a significant level of stress before cultivation practice. After beginning cultivation, 96.5%, or 12,287 people reported improvement of their mental state, among them 56.6%, or 7,202 people felt that they became pleasant and optimistic. 27.0%, or 3,447 people considered their improvement considerable, and 12.8%, or 1,638 people reported some improvement.
6.6%, or 839 practitioners who participated in the survey had no particular illness before cultivation. Of these, 57.9%, or 486 people felt that their health improved after beginning cultivation. Again out of this group, those who reported improved mental health were 88.4%, or 742 people.
2. Survey Report from Wuhan City
In December 1998, data was collected from a random sampling of 2,005 Falun Gong practitioners, at over 50 practice sites within three districts of the three main towns in Wuhan City. Through a general survey questionnaire, researchers noted the different range of health problems that participants had prior to the start of their cultivation practice, and compared their findings to the changes that the participants experienced in their health after the start of their practice. Some of the factors that were studied were the medical expenses that participants incurred prior to and after the start of their cultivation practice, and the changes that smokers, drinkers, and gamblers underwent before and after starting the practice.
Those surveyed ranged from seven years old to 85 years old and came from every level of society, including factory workers, farmers, cadres, scientific/technological researchers, scholars, professors, and company managers. They also had different levels of education, with most of them being high school graduates, and a number were graduates from specialized high schools, colleges, universities, or graduate schools,
Out of the 2,005 survey participants, 1,899 or 94.7%, had different kinds of health problems prior to practicing cultivation, with most of them having more than one illness or 5,323 cases of illness in total. After practicing cultivation, survey participants reported greatly improved health. Of the survey participants with health problems, 75.15% had their health problems resolved, while 23.3% found that their conditions had improved.
37 survey participants spent over 10,000 yuan annually on medical expenses. But through practicing Falun Gong, they became illness-free and most of them stopped visiting doctors or taking medicine. According to the survey results, 95.51% of these people did not need to use their medical insurance benefits. This effectively saved thousands of dollars per year for the government and for the survey participants' workplaces.
Among the 2,005 survey participants, prior to beginning cultivation practice, 377 smoked tobacco products, 536 drank alcohol, and 420 regularly gambled, resulting in a total of 1,333 cases. Some participants had 2 to 3 health issues simultaneously. After practicing Falun Gong, only 11 people still smoked, 10 still drank, and one still gambled. They added up to 22 people, or 1%.
3. Survey Report from Taiwan
A survey completed by Dr. Hu Yuhui from the Department of Economics at National Taiwan University on December 28, 2002 showed that after people started practicing Falun Gong, 72% used their medical insurance card only once per year, down from almost 50% from the past. It also showed that Falun Gong had a significant power in helping people quit bad habits, as well as providing them with great psychological help.
By way of a stratified sampling, Dr. Hu selected 20% of towns and cities for her research. Of the questionnaires she distributed, 1,210 (75%) were answered and returned. Conclusions were based on statistical analysis. The survey showed that Falun Gong had a significant effect in helping people quit bad habits. 81% of the respondents quit smoking, 77% quit drinking, 85% quit gambling, and 85% also completely stopped their habit of chewing betel nuts.
Dr. Hu emphasized further that the research also shows that Falun Gong offers great psychological and mental benefits. The satisfaction rate regarding personal health increased from 24% prior to practicing Falun Gong to 78% after practicing, and the satisfaction rate concerning carrying out daily activities increased from 36% to 81%. In addition, prior to taking up the practice of Falun Gong, 33% of respondents reported a tendency to be nervous and depressed, but the rate dropped to 3% after they started practicing.
People know that the biggest problems for a diabetic are numerous other complications, such as coronary heart disease and stroke. For these two illnesses alone, the occurring rate among smokers and drinkers are much higher than for non-smokers and non-drinkers. The World Health Organization has established that 30% of cancer cases are smoking related. Even though chronic smokers and drinkers know of the health problems associated with these addictions, it is extremely difficult for them to quit, due to the addictive properties of nicotine and alcohol.
It is reported that Falun Gong practitioners’ ability to stop smoking and other habits is because they regard these bad habits as attachments that need to be eliminated during their cultivation. Therefore, as long as a person truly cultivates in Falun Gong, he will have the determination that an ordinary person does not have to support him to eliminate the addiction to nicotine or alcohol.
4. Russian Survey Report
Between April 23, 2001 to June 24, 2001, senior forensic specialist, Professor Guluoqi (M.D.) of the Forensic Office of the Russian Internal Department, and principal forensic doctor Simintani of the Judicial Forensic Bureau teamed up to conduct a survey of Falun Gong practitioners in Russia. The items they investigated included: Cultivators’ medical records, the health index of practitioners before and after cultivation, the contents of Falun Gong, and the daily lives of those who practice Falun Gong.
The survey team took random samples from 12 practitioners out of 32 candidates. The studied items included: 1) The condition of their organs and internal systems; 2) Objective condition and subjective opinion; and 3) The subjects’ mental health. Among the 12 practitioners, three were under 40 years old and nine were over forty years old. Four were female and eight were male. Two of them practiced Falun Gong for over one year and 11 for over two years.
The subjects all suffered some illnesses before cultivation. Three had stomach ulcers or infections. One had an internal hormone imbalance. One had respiratory tract problems. Eight of them had relationship difficulties with their families or coworkers, and they were depressed and tired easily.
The investigation results showed that after they began practicing Falun Gong practitioners reported no more complaints of ailments. Blood and urine tests were all normal. Physical examinations showed no abnormalities. All subjects showed normal mental states – positive, responsible, easy to get along with.
The subjects’ subjective opinion: Practicing Falun Gong improved their physical and mental health. The investigating team’s conclusion: 1) The effective rate of Falun Gong in healing illnesses and improving health is 75%; 2) The medical examination of Falun Gong practitioners showed that cultivating Falun Gong makes remarkable improvement in one’s physical and mental condition; and 3) Falun Gong has no negative physical or mental effects. It is a workable health improvement method.
5. North American Survey Report
Inspired by results of Falun Gong health surveys conducted in China, in 1999 several medical researchers conducted a small-scale survey of Falun Gong practitioners in North America.
The researchers e-mailed their questionnaire to Falun Gong practitioners in the United States and Canada. 235 practitioners responded and participated in the survey, of which 202 were from the United States, 32 from Canada, and one from another country. 18 practitioners were smokers before beginning the practice; all of whom quit smoking after beginning the practice, with an average time to quit of 4.58 days. 103 practitioners consumed alcohol before the practice; 100 of them quit drinking after taking up the practice; two respondents drank less than three drinks per week, and one person did not reply to the question.
230 surveyed practitioners returned questionnaires with complete health records before their practice, and 226 practitioners turned in complete records after they began the practice. From the two sets of records, it was found that 224 practitioners, or 97%, had great improvements after the practice. It also was shown from the survey that those who had practiced for a longer length of time had more obvious health improvements.
Modern medicine tends to believe that human illnesses are caused by social, environmental, and biological factors. These three factors, to a large extent, affect the body's system through mental impact, which eventually leads to illnesses or a generally unhealthy physical condition. This shows that psychology is an important factor regarding one’s health. One of the distinctive features of Falun Gong cultivation is that it puts elevating one’s mental state as the highest priority in one’s cultivation. It requires practitioners to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and truly improve one’s mental state by elevating ones’ moral character, and eventually reach an ideal physical state. By cultivating one’s inner heart as well as doing physical exercises, the practitioners’ good health is a natural occurrence. In addition, cultivating in Falun Gong also helps get rid of bad habits, improve one’s social capabilities, and thus generate a better social impact overall.
Aside from the above power of illness healing and health improvement, Falun Gong emphasizes improving one’s moral character, and urges people to become honest, kind, tolerant, and peaceful. It teaches people to look inward when faced with conflicts, think of others, put others first, and with kindness, help people. The teachings of Falun Gong can lead a dedicated practitioner to an advanced, transcendent state.
The Chinese National Sports Bureau concluded in its report: “This special phenomenon appeared among Falun Gong practitioners illustrated that Falun Dafa has extraordinary supernormal power. In summary, the special phenomena that appeared among Falun Dafa practitioners have far exceeded the realm that modern medicine can understand. This supernormal science deserves the deliberation and research of our medical and scientific community. It has a very positive impact toward improving the health standard and culture of all people, and also provides a brand new direction for the further advancement of science.”
Category: Health Benefits
