I. A Brief Introduction to Falun Gong

Falun Gong is a form of what the Chinese call qigong (pronounced “chee-gong”), a system of exercises and teachings that deeply transform the mind and body. Owing much to its effectiveness in restoring health, Falun Gong has proved immensely popular throughout the entire world. Since being introduced to the general public in 1992 by its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong has spread to over 30 countries and is practiced by over 100 million people. Its means of diffusion has simply been word of mouth; those who practice often find the benefits too good to keep to themselves.

The practice of Falun Gong is simple, yet profound and effective. It consists primarily of two components: learning Mr. Li’s teachings (as articulated in two English language books, China Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun) and practicing Falun Gong’s five gentle exercises. The exercises are easy to learn, enjoyable to perform, and at once both relaxing and energizing. Many students of Falun Gong enjoy practicing in groups, as they find themselves benefiting from one another’s practice. Most major US cities and universities have such groups. They are comprised of people from every imaginable walk of life, as Falun Gong appears to transcend cultural barriers.

While just reading the books or studying or practicing the exercises is beneficial, the combination of the two proves most effective for restoration of health. This is because, according to Falun Gong, a person must under-stand how to conduct him or herself well in everyday life. Namely, one learns to assimilate to the essential nature of the universe: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. As one’s thinking and living become increasingly in accord with these principles, one will find that the benefits from the exercises and the study of Falun Gong increase proportionately. For someone sincere in his or her practice, the positive effects are typically rapid and noticeable. Students of Falun Gong often report dramatic health improvements where other practices and treatments have failed, and often in a short time, no less.

One health effects survey of over 12,000 practitioners conducted by some of China's top scientists found Falun Gong practice to have significant healing effects for 99% of those practicing, with a "cure" rate (indicating complete recovery) just over 58%. (see Attachments A3,A5) The forms of illness encountered in this survey ranged, incredibly, from cancers and heart disease to depression and fatigue. The study's researchers concluded that Falun Gong goes to the roots of illness, whereas many conventional and alternative treatments cannot. They have enthusiastically endorsed the practice, finding that it is suitable for people of all ages, level of fitness, educational backgrounds, etc. It has helped many persons to quit alcohol, tobacco, drugs, violence, and various unhealthy habits. In a word, it dramatically improves physical and mental well-being, while guiding people to live in greater harmony with themselves, society, and the universe. This, rather than a "spiritual vacuum in contemporary China," accounts for Falun Gong's remarkable growth and popularity.

II. Recognition Past and Present

With its profound capacity to improve the mind, body and spirit, Falun Gong has brought benefits to both individuals and societies. Since its inception in 1992, Falun Gong has been recognized by a variety of institutions and persons. A brief survey of some of these recognition might prove helpful in understanding Falun Gong’s public reception, as the Chinese government’s propaganda juggernaut has done all possible to obscure Falun Gong’s positive contributions.

The Chinese public and the Chinese government have both acknowledged the benefits of Falun Gong. In 1992 at the Beijing Oriental Health Expo (an event organized by the Chinese government), Falun Gong was named the “Star Qigong School,” a widely-acclaimed distinction. In 1993 at the Beijing Oriental Health Expo, Mr. Li Hongzhi was honored with the greatly-coveted “Award for Advancing Boundary Science” and “Qigong Master Most Acclaimed by the Masses” title.

The China Qigong Association and its local offices, which are affiliated with China’s Society of Science and Technology, organized all Falun Gong workshops from 1992 and 1994. Directors of the Association often accompanied Mr. Li to the opening sessions of his workshops and on many occasions gave preliminary speeches. Mr. Li’s practice was fully-endorsed by the government in those early years.

In September 1993, the China Anti-crime Foundation issued an official letter to the Falun Gong Research Association expressing its gratitude to Mr. Li. He had twice raised funds on behalf of the foundation by giving qigong lectures and treating (by means of qigong healing) many outstanding award recipients who were injured or disabled due to anti-crime activities. The People’s Public Security News, the official newspaper of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, reported the events on September 21, 1993. It remarked that, “After the treatments, they unanimously agreed upon their remarkable improvements,” and praised Mr. Li’s contributions “in promoting traditional crime-fighting virtues of the Chinese people, in safeguarding social order and security, and in promoting social righteousness.”

Chinese media--including national and local newspapers, TV and Radio stations--frequently covered Falun Gong activities during their first seven years, constantly reporting on the practice’s benefits to practitioners. In 1994 the Chinese National Sports Committee, the Ministry of Public Health, and the China Qigong Scientific research Society even petitioned Mr. Li to set up a Falun Gong “scholastic organization” to coordinate nationwide teaching and promotional activities. Mr. Li declined the offer, upholding his commitment to keeping Falun Gong free of political ambitions and organizational or business formalities.

Shortly after publishing Zhuan Falun at the end of 1994, Mr. Li announced that he had completed his teaching in China. He traveled from China to all over the world giving lectures in Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia. Since 1996 he has traveled and spoken at Experience-Sharing Conferences at the invitation of practitioners around the world, including in Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US. Many overseas students and local governments have been quick to recognize his contributions, indicating that Falun Gong transcends cultural boundaries.

III. A History of Falun Gong Part I: The Teacher of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi

Considering the story of Master Li Hongzhi’s training as a “qigong master” and his delivery of Falun Gong to the public is a fitting point of departure, as this story is itself an exposition on the virtues he teaches. Born into an intellectual’s family on May 13, 1951, in the city of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, China, Mr. Li began receiving instruction at the age of four from a senior master of the Buddha School. By the age of twelve, young Mr. Li had come to see things in terms of zhen-shan-ren (truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance)--the essential properties of the universe. As Mr. Li’s mind and abilities developed over the years, he was visited by over twenty different masters, each imparting their best instruction and teaching him to different levels of comprehension. His training grew ever more difficult, even leading him to regularly practice painstaking meditation and qigong exercises through the night during the 1970s; this was the time of the Cultural Revolution, so one would not dare train in such disciplines in public.

With his qigong abilities remarkably developed and standing as the recipient of numerous unique, exclusive teachings, Mr. Li was by 1982 in position to launch whatever form of glorious healing, lecturing or performative career he so chose. But with his compassion so refined, Mr. Li instead saw humanity’s suffering and brokenness and was called to respond quite differently. He realized that countless people are not as happy or well as they should be, having lost their basic nature-- something in touch with the essential qualities of the universe. Humanity’s spirit, Mr. Li felt, has become corrupt, leading to extensive suffering in body and mind. Spiritual qualities and developments clearly lag behind improvements in living standards and technological progress, creating a delicate, dangerous situation. But in order to actualize a more harmonious, ideal society, Mr. Li realized that people would need healthy bodies and more noble spirits; a happy life would otherwise remain an elusive fiction.

Mr. Li thus created Falun Gong, or “Falun Dafa” (as it is otherwise called), known as the true manifestation of the great Buddha Law. It is said to be his primordial belonging, something that came back to his mind after he attained enlightenment through many years of practice. This Falun Gong was to capture the essence of his instruction, yet offer it to everyday people in an appropriate form. Mr. Li spent the years of 1984 to 1992 designing this system with the collaboration of his teachers, and rigorously investigating the state of qigong in China and the needs of modern humankind. After training several apprentices from 1989 to 1992 as trial, Mr. Li and his apprentices were impressed by the results of this new self-cultivation system. He thus began an unprecedented mission: to impart the best high-level teachings on self-cultivation (encompassing the insights of the Taoist School and Buddha School) to the general public, and do so in a judicious, effective manner. This is something unknown to history, as the responsibility of doing so appears simply immeasurable.

In 1992, Mr. Li’s teaching arena quickly shifted from the unassuming parks of Changchun city, in northeastern China (where Mr. Li had worked as a government clerk for some years), to the large auditoriums of Beijing municipality, China’s capital. There Mr. Li would continue to embrace great hardships to transmit his Falun Gong, sleeping on the streets in the frigid winter, missing meals, holidays and even weekends, putting his teaching above all else. Before long, Mr. Li was officially proclaimed a “qigong master” by the China Qigong Scientific research Society (CQSRS), and soon he established the Falun Gong Research Society (FGRS), which was at that time under the auspices of the CQSRS; the principles of Mr. Li’s system were approved by the CQSRS, along with its exercises and effectiveness. In both 1992 and 1993 at the Beijing Oriental Health Expo, Mr. Li and Falun Gong were given the highest honors and best received by attendees. Word of the practice and its dramatic healing effects on the mind and body spread quickly, swelling the numbers of students to over 100 thousand in just the first two years.

From the outset, the course assumed by Mr. Li for the dissemination of his Falun Gong has been unique. Namely, it has been a story of selflessness and dedication to the welfare of others. At virtually every turn, the effectiveness of Mr. Li’s teachings and practice have incurred serious challenges--many of them in the form of lucrative chances for tremendous profit and fame. Yet Mr. Li has remained firm in his commitment, refusing such distractions without interruption, preferring instead to make Falun Gong accessible to all.

During his teaching of Falun Gong in China from 1992 to 1994, Mr. Li did everything possible to make his precious self-cultivation system available to everyone-- regardless of financial situation, educational background, previous qigong experience, etc. Mr. Li lectured only upon invitation, refusing to promote or market himself or his teachings. There were fifty-four classes offered throughout China in those years, and all income was handled by the government-run CQSRS. Throughout, Mr. Li insisted that his instruction be offered at the lowest possible price. Fees were typically one-half to one-third those of other qigong instruction, while typically Mr. Li’s classes ran the length of nine or ten days. New students were to pay a mere forty yuan (five US dollars) and repeat students, who made up as much as seventy-five percent of the audiences, enrolled at a fifty percent discount (twenty yuan, or two and a half US dollars). Other qigong masters repeatedly implored the CQSRS to raise these prices, but Mr. Li remained adamant in his commitment to offering instruction without financially burdening students; the prices never rose.

Even more telling is that Mr. Li produced a regulation at the outset of his teaching career that he would keep intact throughout: he was to receive no personal income whatsoever from the classes, nor would any of his assistants. Of the gross income from a lecture or class, a generous forty percent would go to the hosting organization (ten to twenty percent was the norm). The remaining sixty percent would go to the CQSRS, of which perhaps some forty percent (twenty-five to thirty percent of the gross income) would end up with the Falun Gong Research Society. The FGRS would typically expend this funding on its working staff, space rental, the printing of teaching materials, and in meeting transportation costs. All remaining revenues were to go towards theoretical research and scientific experiments on Falun Gong, and the establishment of “cultivation centers”-- locales, not institutions or property, providing an open forum for anyone to learn the practice, free of charge and obligation.

Were Mr. Li to have developed a yearning for fame and profit, the road to these would have been paved with roses for him during his two years of public instruction in China; however, his integrity remained unscathed, and his teachings likewise untarnished. No mixed agendas were allowed to contaminate Falun Gong, nor compromise the quality and form of Mr. Li’s teachings. With four to five thousand people attending his classes in the later stages, were Mr. Li to have raised his fees to those expected, or, as was fully feasible, to double or triple the norm, he would have become exceptionally rich overnight. To the contrary, on many occasions Mr. Li graciously donated all FGRS income to charitable and needy organizations, such as the Red Cross of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region and the China Foundation for Heroes and Justice.

Mr. Li refused a tantalizing avenue to fame and political sway in 1994 when the Chinese National Sports Committee, the Ministry of Public Health, and the China Qigong Scientific research Society petitioned him to set up a Falun Gong “scholastic organization” to coordinate nationwide teaching and promotional activities. Mr. Li declined the offer, upholding his commitment to keeping Falun Gong free of political ambitions and organizational or business formalities. Instead, he insisted that “practicing cultivation is up to the individual,” and that only people’s hearts count; no institution can spur the emergence of a sincere heart for practicing self-cultivation. One must be moved by the principles of Falun Gong, coming for the sake of self-cultivation.

In keeping with his mission to benefit humankind, Mr. Li’s decision to discontinue teaching Falun Gong at the end of 1994 was out of benevolence and compassion. Namely, Mr. Li’s teachings were becoming so acclaimed and so enthusiastically embraced that he no longer felt it appropriate to teach publicly in China: too many people were coming out for his lectures. With any further increase in size, much disruption of society might ensue. Mr. Li had by this time committed the content of his lectures to paper, and in 1995 produced the book, Zhuan Falun. By way of the book, people throughout China would now have access to Falun Gong, and no burden would be put upon lecture-hosting organizations and cities.

From 1995 to the present, Mr. Li has traveled the world to lecture, on invitation, at Falun Gong conferences outside of China. All such conferences are arranged by local students, and all funding comes from people’s own pockets; the meetings, called “experience sharing conferences,” allow students to share with one another about the process of “cultivating.” Throughout the course of these engagements, Mr. Li has continued his ways, refusing to accept any money or donations for his work. He has lectured in countries as diverse as Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States, with audiences ranging from five hundred to over four thousand. At these gatherings, Mr. Li has often answered dozens of students’ questions for four or five hours straight, making such meetings priceless. Were Mr. Li to suggest an admissions fee for such events, he could name his price, and he would not seem out of line to the casual observer; after all, countless spiritual figures and qigong masters have set this precedent in recent decades. Mr. Li has refused any such compromises, however, instead requiring that any Falun Gong activity--including such special occasions--be completely without charge and open to anyone interested. This is unprecedented, and again bespeaks of Mr. Li’s selfless aspirations.

No less distinguishing, Mr. Li has refrained from sanctioning his veteran students to go about and teach his Falun Gong in a manner similar to his own public teaching; practitioners may only teach the exercises, but never the philosophy or spiritual underpinnings. This work, the latter, is left to Mr. Li, himself, as he has painstakingly ensured that his Falun Gong teachings do not become deformed, corrupted, or exploited. Mr. Li has written a number of articles clarifying these points. Every student of Falun Gong is aware of this, so they instead make use of video and audio recordings of Mr. Li’s lecture sessions in China, Zhuan Falun, and an introductory book, China Falun Gong. All of these are available for free download or viewing on the internet, as there is no interest in profit; the majority of the students in Europe are said to make use of these online sources, as books there are often hard to obtain. Once again, Mr. Li could have followed the example of numerous teachers and haphazardly conferred titles and degrees upon his students, sending them forth to teach--despite their limited understanding; this is already commonplace in the qigong community. But this would be antithetical to Mr. Li’s mission of genuinely bringing people to higher understanding, enlightenment, and right moral living in the world. It is an enormous responsibility to be the sole proprietor of such a system as Falun Gong.

Throughout the course of Mr. Li’s teachings on Falun Gong at home and abroad, he has remained truthful, benevolent and forbearing in the face of opposition from both within and outside his students. On the one hand, there have been the innumerable, seemingly benevolent gestures made by grateful students. These would include: some students in China who wanted to build a devotional “temple” for Falun Gong in China; countless attempted monetary gifts from students who recovered from serious illness through Falun Gong; attempted worship by those not understanding Mr. Li and his work; and even the attempted donation of a mansion in the state of New Jersey, USA. Each of these is not an uncommon expression of gratitude amongst students of great teach-ers or adherents of spiritual traditions. Yet each would stand to severely compromise Mr. Li’s mission, as he is offering Falun Gong and its benefits to the public without any conditions (save for that one have the heart to cultivate his or her “Buddha-nature”). Fittingly, all have been firmly declined and clearly explained.

On the other hand, Mr. Li has been dealt a number of more direct, confrontational challenges, yet nevertheless handled these with equal composure. From the earliest days of Mr. Li’s teaching in Changchun, a handful of detractors and defectors have made Mr. Li the object of their scorn. The earliest case proves illustrative. When Mr. Li personally trained and imparted some healing abilities to several of his students in the preliminary years (1989-1992), a few of these students came to have a confused understanding of their new-found abilities; these abilities were intended for treating illness on a small scale under specific conditions to promote Falun Gong. These things were imparted under special circumstances and for specific, limited usage, under Mr.

Li’s supervision. Yet these students became over-zealous and mistook their abilities as personal belongings fit for whatever use. They began treating patients in a capricious fashion, and even went so far as to try to establish a qigong treatment clinic; this was a deep violation of Falun Gong’s principles, as institutionalizing and medicalizing Falun Gong for profit and personal aggrandizement is antithetical to its mission.

Mr. Li repeatedly made clear to these students that such pursuits and behavior were serious deviations from what Falun Gong’s calls xinxing1 requirements. Driven by their greed, they remained impervious to reminders, and in the end failed to heed all admonitions. Mr. Li had no choice but to remove them from their assistant positions, and sever any association between them and the practice. These students responded with intense anger and jealousy, resulting in a vicious campaign to demonize Mr. Li and Falun Gong. They even went so far as to draft three publications that leveled all sorts of fabricated accusations about Mr. Li and Falun Gong, presenting these to thirteen different departments of the central government. Yet the ensuing government investigations found no grounds for such claims, and instead, by 1994 it had declared Falun Gong to be excellent and impressive; the government went so far as to offer its patronage. Throughout the ordeal, Mr. Li and his students never stooped to the level of their accusers to “fight fire with fire”; this would have been a simple fight, given the number of Falun Gong students and its widespread support. Rather, they fought fire with truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance, using the difficult situation as an opportunity to introduce Falun Gong to those involved (such as those government departments, relevant media, etc.) and present the situation and practice in a truthful, peaceful light. This is typical of Mr. Li and his students.

More recently, Falun Gong and Mr. Li have come under the most severe of pressure and attack, this time at the hands of the Chinese government; literally, a nation has officially turned itself--at an institutional level and in terms of policy--against the practice and its founder. Yet here, again, Mr. Li has endured this tribulation with great nobility and composure. Not only has he refrained from deriding or plotting against his unfounded accusers, but rather, he has looked at his oppressors with eyes of compassion. This past July 22nd, when the ban on Falun Gong was announced and the persecution begun, Mr. Li expressed his deep regret for China’s actions, explaining that: The current situation in China, as I see it, is of no benefit to either the Chinese government or the people. I hope the Chinese government will truly be able to handle this situation well, keeping the interests of the people in mind, and not making this confrontational... it’s certain that these problems will ultimately have serious negative consequences for the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

Mr. Li has taught millions how to endure with a compassionate heart, and he has embodied his own teachings under this most trying of circumstances. Mr. Li has witnessed the Chinese government: threaten, harass and detain his family in China; groundlessly order his arrest through Interpol; publish and distribute millions of venomous comic books attacking him (entitled, Li Hongzhi: The Man and His Evil Deeds); pay hundreds of citizens to lie on television and to reporters about the “ill effects” of Falun Gong; detain, torture, and even beat to death his students just because they practice Falun Gong; and ban and then massively destroy all publications and materials bearing his name, among other actions. Were Mr. Li of anything less than superior moral character and under-standing, he would have by now--and with the blessing of countless persons and nations--fought back with available means. One need search history no further than the middle of this century in Tibet to realize that even Buddhist monks and their Buddhist nation have not been above taking up arms to defend their tradition and rights with bloodshed. Mr. Li could have organized and directed Falun Gong students in protest or attack, as their numbers are great and the situation severe. But Mr. Li would no sooner do this than would his students, as each practices self-cultivation according to the essential characteristics of life: zhen-shan-ren. Any act of violence would represent a complete breech of Falun Gong’s principles--it would be unconscionable. As such, there has not been a single violent act on record during this ordeal, nor will there be. Mr. Li has made clear that anyone acting in a violent fashion is no student of his whatsoever, and all benefits--physical, mental, etc.--will be withdrawn. One only harms oneself with such ill intentions.

Instead of stooping to violent actions or statements, Mr. Li has calmly called for dialogue with his oppressors. He has refused to see them as enemies, preferring to consider them misinformed and unaware of Falun Gong’s beneficence. Mr. Li has regretted that the Chinese government could not have engaged him earlier in dialogue, feeling that doing so would have prevented this disastrous situation; he has repeatedly expressed that peaceful resolution can “be accomplished through dialogue.” Even in this crisis, then, Mr. Li has put others-- even his assailants--first and considered how they might be negatively impacted. He has even gone so far as to state that, “Chinese people throughout the country have a very in-depth understanding of Falun Gong, and if the persecution continues, it could cause the people to lose confidence in the Chinese government and its leader-ship.” Mr. Li’s commitment to keeping his practice void of political ambitions has enabled him and his students to remain disentangled from allegiances and antagonism; as such, even the Chinese government can be engaged with benevolence.

IV. A History Of Falun Gong Part II: Falun Gong’s Content and Impact

The seven-year transformation of Falun Gong-- from a humble practice known to a few in a park in northeastern China to a global phenomenon that includes over 100 million participants--is a remarkable reflection of Mr. Li Hongzhi’s teachings. For it is these, his values, ideals, and insights, that have moved the hearts of millions. The entire practice has spread simply by word of mouth, from one grateful student to another, never relying on advertisement through conventional media. It has accomplished the goal of awakening people’s compassion, aligning them with the fundamental characteristics of life. Its profound health benefits are nothing but an affirmation that Mr. Li’s students have assimilated themselves to these characteristics through self-cultivation. Practitioners of Falun Gong have learned that through letting go of selfish desires, attachments to vested interests, and the need to compete for fame and profit, one can recover one’s true, pure nature and genuinely contribute to the betterment of humankind. And this aspiration has proven transcendent of cultural, linguistic, and racial boundaries, no less, reaching people of all walks of life in over thirty countries. Mr. Li’s selfless work in preparing and delivering Falun Gong have accomplished something unprecedented, affirming to the world--and in the face of tremendous odds--that being a good person is possible, rewarding, and worth the superficial costs. His uncompromising commitment to non-violent resolution of conflict provides a valuable model for citizens and institutions the world over to emulate; similarly, his students have provided a remarkable blueprint as to what it looks like to embody Mr. Li’s teachings and ideals.

Were it not for the efficacy of Mr. Li’s teaching, the world might have witnessed this year utterly horrific bloodshed and violence in China. Some 100 million plus Falun Gong students were suddenly and completely denied their peaceful, non-intrusive practice, when the Chinese government decided in late July of this year to ban Falun Gong. The government pulled from its files the accusatory documents used by Mr. Li’s early Changchun defectors in 1992 and 1993; never mind that the Chinese government had itself by 1994 found the accusations utterly groundless and befitting sharp criticism. Most Falun Gong practitioners’ homes were ransacked this July, with their Falun Gong related belongings stripped and destroyed. Many had already faced months of harassment in the form of tapped phone lines and email, while others were followed by undercover police upon leaving their homes. In the ensuing months after July, over thirty-five thousand Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested or detained, with several thousand being sentenced to remote labor camps without even a trial. Hundreds of imprisoned Falun Gong students, including many elderly women and young children, have even been tortured; over a dozen are already reported dead from torture. People are arrested if they do so much as gather to discuss their experiences practicing Falun Gong, while thousands of others have been fired from their jobs, dismissed from their schools, or fined for merely having practiced this system of self-cultivation. Every single Chinese Communist Party member who practiced Falun Gong was forced to choose between the practice and his or her job; anyone not renouncing Falun Gong would lose his or her job, home, and benefits.

Scapegoating Mr. Li’s Falun Gong, the Chinese government has declared it an “evil cult” that has “caused unsurpassed social chaos and disruption,” threatening even “national security.” Despite the government’s best attempts to frame Falun Gong and justify its policy of “smashing” this “societal tumor,” Falun Gong has remained innocent on all accounts. Its only offense has been to touch the lives of too many people, becoming more popular than even the Chinese Communist Party (according to the CCP’s own survey), and hence posing a theoretical threat. One can hardly imagine a greater tragedy than for China, and the world, in turn, to lose this beneficent practice. This situation perhaps stands as the single greatest human rights violation in the world today, as many millions of innocent practitioners of Falun Gong in China are being brutally denied their most basic human rights. And this is not to mention the impact of such persecution on the family--children, parents and grandparents cannot simply be plucked from their homes without serious, deleterious consequences.

Despite this deplorable situation, Falun Gong practitioners have to date yet to resort to violence--even once, in any form. Nor have the majority renounced their practice. Rather, they have consistently endured these trials with benevolent hearts, even looking into the eyes of their oppressors and feeling sincere compassion. Reports suggest that most practitioners have taken the hardships as opportunities for self-improvement, looking within at how this situation might have been prevented; looking outward, these students have shared their practice with their oppressors, inmates and those sympathetic throughout the world. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong students have even been compelled to travel many days--even by foot, as in the case of an eighty-year-old woman who traveled nine days and nights--to Beijing to share their positive experiences with government officials; the hope has simply been that anyone who under-stands this practice could not possibly oppress it. In this undertaking, each person has risked his or her job, income, and even personal safety. According to recently publicized statistics from the Chinese government, during this past month of November, 1999, roughly seventy students of Falun Gong were arrested every day in Beijing for attempting to peacefully appeal the ban on Falun Gong; in all reported cases, they only wished to let their oppressors know the truth of the matter. Such perseverance and benevolence in the face of all odds is a resounding confirmation of the value of Mr. Li’s teachings.

For practitioners of Falun Gong to react otherwise to China’s vicious oppression would be unconscionable-- forbearance, or ren, is key in Mr. Li’s system of self-cultivation. The principle of zhen-shan-ren is understood as the essential nature of life, matter, and the universe, and as such it informs Falun Gong’s self-cultivation practice. Its components, zhen (truth, truthfulness), shan (benevolence, compassion, kindness), and ren (forbearance, endurance, patience, tolerance), are lost sight of in the world. Only through nurturing these fundamental characteristics within oneself can one truly make progress in self-cultivation. All aspects of Mr. Li’s Falun Gong practice can be seen as derivative of zhen-shan-ren. Zhuan Falun and Mr. Li’s other works are expositions on this principle, articulating how one may transform this ideal into a lived, fertile reality.

Accordingly, Mr. Li’s Falun Gong is not so much a way of acquisition (as is most every qigong practice today), such as gathering and storing energy, garnering special powers, or accumulating a pile of qigong titles and degrees, but a way of return. The return is not geographical so much as psychological, internal, or spiritual, as one cultivates xinxing (heart, mind, or moral nature/character) through renouncing selfish attachments and behaviors. These mental “attachments,” such as to fame, personal gain, material benefits, one’s close associates or kin, and pleasure, block one from assimilating to zhen-shan-ren; every possible form of conflict is therefore engendered, as one’s ability to consider others first becomes disabled. What is more, this disjunction ensures the perpetuation of personal suffering, as in mental and physical discomfort. Yet suffering is contagious, as when someone hurts they are apt to hurt others. Mr. Li has made extremely clear the nature of this situation, as well as the means to its dissolution. In doing so, he has equipped his students with veritable tools for the efficient abandonment of burdensome attachments and their offspring, suffering. This is the soul of self-cultivation practice.

Mr. Li and his practice have empowered millions with a unique, dynamic system for physical, mental and spiritual self-healing. Simply put, the effects of Falun Gong practice on health are difficult to believe. One is hard pressed to find a veteran student (a person with even a year or two of experience) who has not recovered or maintained exceptional health. This healing efficacy most likely accounts for a large part of Falun Gong’s quick dissemination around the world. Countless students have found sicknesses and diseases, ranging from the mild cold to the severe cancer or even paralysis, reversed with regular practice and study. This is the result of students’ self-cultivation, Mr. Li has explained, and not merely performance of some exercises; true benefits come from embodying zhen-shan-ren. A true Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Li has taught and shown, is somebody deeply at peace with him or herself and, by extension, with his or her surrounding world and relations.

The efficacy of this healing practice inspired authoritative members of the medical community in China to conduct several studies on Falun Gong’s health benefits. The results (see Attachments A3-5) were astounding in each study, prompting several Beijing researchers to declare in 1998 that Mr. Li’s practice was simply “beyond the scope of modern medicine”--something so profound and effective that it could not be understood with available medical or scientific resources. Some ninety-nine percent of surveyed students had experienced marked physical health improvements, with fifty-nine percent experiencing complete recovery from diseases; ninety-seven percent of students experienced significant mental health improvements. Another study done in Dalian, China, in 1998, determined that Falun Gong practice can “claim huge economical savings by dramatically reducing healthcare utilization.” The survey found that annual medical care expenses dropped by 2,409 yuan (the Chinese dollar) per person after one practiced Falun Gong; considering that sixty-two percent of participants were in the age range of fifty to seventy-one years, a time when chronic diseases increase steadily, the savings could actually be much higher. The healing effects of Mr. Li’s teachings warrant much further discussion, but for purposes here, they just serve as yet another illustration of the profundity and benefits of what Mr. Li has given people. Health improvements, however, no matter how remarkable, are understood in Falun Gong as coincidental features which simply enable more sincere and effective self-cultivation. With such genuine practice of cultivation, one is able to conduct oneself in an upright manner, free of violence and conflict.

The practice of Falun Gong is thus a matter of endurance, sacrifice, enlightening. In light of a conflict, a Falun Gong student is taught by Mr. Li to look within him or herself, searching for the trouble’s origin. Accusations are totally antithetical to self-cultivation, representing a severe breakdown in understanding. It is understood that every conflict, no matter how seemingly unjust, is meaningful and purposeful, providing the Falun Gong practitioner with an opportunity to upgrade his or her xinxing, releasing attachments and selfish pursuits. Mr. Li’s students garner a remarkably clear under-standing of these things from their study of Zhuan Falun, seeing the nature and multiple-dimensions of a given conflict. One learns not only to forgive one’s offenders, but even thank them for the occasion for self-improvement. To even raise a fist or have a thought of violence is to come up short when provoked; one’s mind must become free of such self-preservative conditioning. One is no more likely to see a Falun Gong student in Beijing strike an oppressor than one is to see such a student curse, accuse, or insult. Falun Gong practitioners’ capacity to peacefully endure--if not actually resolve-- conflicts has begun to draw long-overdue attention in recent months; over a dozen major cities in the United States, the US Congress, Amnesty International, the Canadian Government, and United Nations permanent representative Rene Wadlow have all strongly voiced support for Mr. Li and his practice. Above all else, Mr. Li has taught an extraordinary preventive medicine--one that disarms conflicts at their origins, before they even arise.

To even the outsider slightly familiar with Mr. Li’s Falun Gong practice, the remarkable composure of practitioners in China in recent months should come as no surprise. In his teachings, Mr. Li has from the outset focused on what is basic to the human condition, direct-ly addressing the human heart and mind; there is no room for tracing lines of differentiation between exclusive identities, be they racial, religious, or national, for the human heart--which is not originally inscribed with particularities--is what is aimed at. The individual is the basic unit, and attention is directed inward. Religious, ethnic, or national conflicts are not possible with Falun Gong.

Befitting Mr. Li’s aspiration of reaching across humankind, Falun Gong has always been made widely available and unusually accessible. This goes far beyond Mr. Li’s offering all publications and materials free of charge through the Internet. Mr. Li’s main writings, such as Zhuan Falun and China Falun Gong, have been translated into over a dozen languages; all such versions are also available free of charge. Furthermore, they are written not with the scholar of Asian religions in mind, but with thought of the common reader. The language Mr. Li uses is remarkably unpretentious, clear and accessible. These features make for a practice that, though Chinese in origin, extends across cultural and socio-economic barriers to reach the human heart. Such dissemination is remarkable in such a short time. More surprising yet, it has been accomplished fully by the generosity of Falun Gong students, as no money or rewards have ever been accepted by those involved in the translation or editing work. Not even a byline can be found revealing these hidden hands--be they behind a Tibetan or Thai version of Zhuan Falun, or behind a Canadian Falun Gong web page. Mr. Li’s grateful practitioners are moved to do all their work out of gratitude and without thought of material or worldly gains. They have taken his teachings on selflessness to heart.

In keeping with this accessibility, Mr. Li’s Falun Gong teachings accomplish something equally unique: they allow people to practice self-cultivation in the world. Throughout the many-century history of Buddhist and Taoist cultivation, this is also unprecedented, as cultivation of Buddhahood or “returning to the Tao” have remained the exclusive aspirations of temple monks and mountain-dwelling hermits. Teaching and practicing in the bustling, ordinary world was always considered unfeasible; the time requirements for practice reached to well over a dozen hours a day. But Mr. Li has done something exceptional, making a high-level practice of self-cultivation available to the general public, and unconditionally, no less. This is not to frustrate everyday folks who might have but a few hours remaining at the end of a workday--quite the contrary. Falun Gong is something practiced (as in its exercises) or stud-ied (as in Zhuan Falun) whenever fitting and desired, be it two hours a day or two hours a week. Improvement of xinxing is what takes precedence, and this is something that one does in every environment, at every moment; one can be a good person at the workplace, at home, or in the streets. Hence, among those practicing Falun Gong are university professors, scientists, educators, business consultants, medical professionals, retired folk, students, government officials (including many former top China Communist Party officials), military personnel, farmers and factory workers, and even a number of monks and nuns, to name a few. Mr. Li has been most responsible to society, then, in proffering a spiritual teaching that gives great value to this world and its engagement. None with sincere hearts are excluded.

Perhaps Mayor Robert C. Lanier of the city of Houston, Texas, USA, said it best after he proclaimed Mr. Li Hongzhi an “Honorary Citizen” and designated him a “Good Will Ambassador.” In his declaration of “Li Hongzhi Day” on October 12th, 1996, Lanier stated:

Falun gong transcends cultural and racial boundaries. It resonates the universal truth to every corner of the earth and bridges the gap between East and West. Li Hongzhi has worked tirelessly to convey Falun gong from China to the rest of the world. Along the way, he has touched the lives of countless people in many countries, earning an acclaimed international reputation.

Mr. Li’s selfless commitment to the benefit of others informs his story of developing Falun Gong and bringing it to the pubic. Delivered in a most responsible, accessible manner, Mr. Li’s teachings of Falun Gong aim direct-ly at the human heart. They provide the philosophical insights and practical means requisite for successful adoption. The remarkable growth of Mr. Li’s practice in just seven years testifies to its profundity and efficacy; the practice has managed to escape being culturally-bound and limited in appeal or applicability. The benefits conferred to humankind by Mr. Li’s efforts appear immeasurable. Mr. Li’s Falun Gong is both a remedy for those ailing and a prescription for those already well. Mr. Li’s teachings act then to cure violence, alienation and illness, while positively upgrading people’s hearts and understanding; they work simultaneously like the best preventive medicine, curing violence before it ever occurs--this sort of effect can never be fully quantified.

Mr. Li has thus provided people with a profound, yet practical blueprint for authentic living in a wounded, conflicted world. Equally important, he has shown people by way of example what the actualization of this blueprint looks like, and in the face of tremendous persecution, no less. It would be a travesty for this man and his transformative teachings to be remembered as merely something that antagonized and was persecuted to extinction by a hostile government.
 

Part III

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