One day in July 1995, I received a book from my parents in China. The name of the book was ZHUAN FALUN. The author was Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa. After reading only a few pages, I felt that both my mind and body were overwhelmed by a magnificent power. I could not get away from the book that night, and I continued to read it until five o'clock the next morning.
It was the same for the next few days. I was so engrossed in this book that I almost forgot to sleep and eat. After returning home from school, I would read it all night until the next morning. Even on my way to school, I would put the book on the steering wheel while driving so that I could read a few lines at red lights. The reason that this book attracted me so much was that I felt I finally found what I had longed after.
Since I was a child, I have been interested in reading all kinds of books, such as cosmology, geography, technology, literature, art, and classic works. However, I had never read a book as broad and profound as ZHUAN FALUN, which made me feel totally different from reading other books. When I read it the second time, I found that it was an entirely new book, and I gained a new understanding. It was the same way when I read it the third time. Moreover, I often felt a warm flow rising from my back to my head when reading the book. Miraculously, I got rid of all my long-term illnesses in just one month, and I started to feel so energetic that my body appeared much lighter when I was walking. I was completely convinced that this was an unusual book that far exceeded the scope of modern science; in fact, it covers a wide range from physics to life science, from man's moral standards to the cultivation practice at high levels.
As a scientist, I shall discuss from a scientific perspective what I have learned from reading ZHUAN FALUN repeatedly.
Matter and Mind
The definition of matter as we first learned from high school philosophy class is that "matter is the objective entity that does not rely on but can be reflected by the human mind." In fact, this is essentially the way that the empirical science views matter.
But this definition actually limits our conception of matter. Is mind a kind of matter? Is the objective entity that does not depend on the human mind but can be reflected by other living beings' mind also matter? Does matter have mind or consciousness? Built upon such a limited definition of matter, the empirical science is rather biased and incomplete.
Our understanding of nature, life and matter is closely related to our sensory functions, such as vision, hearing, touch and taste, etc., which enable us to make connections and communications with the external environment. As a natural consequence, we would regard what we can see, hear or touch as matter, whereas deny the existence of invisible or intangible things. Therefore, there is a saying in both Eastern and Western worlds that seeing is believing.
Science is developed entirely based on our sensors. We have a pair of eyes, so we invented the telescope and television; we have a pair of ears, so we invented the recorder and telephone; there are concepts like distance, velocity and gravity, so we invented the automobile, aircraft and elevator.
Conversely, without a certain sensor, we would not be able to make inventions to serve it. For example, if everybody was color blind so that everything we see was either black or white, we would not have invented color television. In fact, we would not even have had the concept of color. Were everybody born blind, there would not even have been television; and if someone declared that there are light and colors in the world, he would be considered as a superstitious person talking about nonsense.
People are only willing to recognize visible or tangible things, but can we claim that we possess all sensory functions in this universe?
Even within this world, there are plenty of things that we cannot perceive. Lights, for instance, are electro-magnetic waves at various frequencies that constitute a wide spectrum of infrared lights, visible lights, ultraviolet lights, X-rays and Gamma rays. However, we can only perceive one hundred millionth of the whole spectrum, so everyone is color blind in a broad sense. Moreover, our naked eyes cannot perceive lights from other dimensions of space-time, so it is not much of an exaggeration to say that everyone is blind. If we rely too heavily on our sensors, we will severely restrict our view of the objective reality, and thus isolate ourselves from the outside world.
Energy and Space-Time
At the beginning of this century, once realizing that matter is made up of microscopic particles, people began to study the motion of particles. Bohr proposed the model for the structure of atoms, known as the orbit theory, which held that electrons orbit around nuclei. A contradiction, however, arose when people attempted to apply classical mechanics and electro-magnetics to this model. According to classical theories, when an electron orbits around the nucleus at an exceedingly high speed with an exceedingly small radius, it would emit strong electro-magnetic waves and thereby lose its energy immediately and then fall onto the nucleus. The fact that atoms are extraordinarily stable structures made people realize that classical theories could not account for the motion of microscopic particles. The reason is that classical theories were built upon the understanding of our dimension, i.e., the space-time where we are living, whereas microscopic particles belong to other dimensions.
What are other dimensions, then? In ZHUAN FALUN, Mr. Li Hongzhi writes: "You know that the microscopic particles of matter include molecules, atoms, and protons. When investigating further, if you can see the plane of each level instead of a point, and see the plane of molecules, the plane of atoms, the plane of protons, and that of nuclei, you will see the forms of existence in different dimensions." [Chapter II, 3rd Translation Edition]
Matter is made up of microscopic particles. Binding tiny particles by an energy system results in a level of larger particles; binding these larger particles by another energy system gives rise to still larger particles ... We know that molecules possess very large energy, and the atomic energy is even larger. The smaller the particles are, the larger the energy they contain. So far, we have gained only a superficial understanding of atoms. As a matter of fact, we do not even fully understand molecules. This is because we study molecules, atoms, and the universe from our own physical dimension, which is essentially an energy system that combines molecules together. As a result, we can only observe the reflections of other energy levels into our energy level, instead of the true states of the former.
What's the relationship between energy and sensors? When sensors and a certain energy system coexist in a certain level, they would establish communications and interactions with each other, thus sensors gain the capability of perception. If sensors and energy are not at the same level, they would not be able to interact with each other. That's why we cannot perceive the true states of other energy levels, such as the levels or dimensions of molecules, atoms, and nuclei. While agreeing that our naked eyes cannot observe molecules, atoms or nuclei, some may contend that scientists can nonetheless study their motions with the aid of scientific instruments. In fact, instruments can only observe the projections or reflections of objects from other dimensions into our dimension, instead of the true forms of other dimensions or energy systems, for the instruments themselves are made of materials in our dimension using the energy that we can master. Thus, the man-made instruments cannot fully communicate with higher energy systems.
To account for microscopic particles, scientists developed quantum mechanics, which was stimulated and then repeatedly confirmed by experiments. Does this suggest that we are able to understand other dimensions by the empirical science? Not really. Scientific theories are only bridges connecting our dimension to other dimensions via mathematical formulas, which serve as a common language for different energy levels. Yet the realities on the other sides of the bridges are still unobservable. Even worse, for the portions of other dimensions that cannot be connected to our dimension, we have no handle to study them. Describing other dimensions using physical quantities from our own dimension such as time, distance, momentum and energy (of the forms we know) inevitably restricts our understanding, and makes us more and more isolated from other dimensions. The conclusion is that the empirical science alone cannot lead to a complete understanding of other dimensions.
The Concept of "Science''
When talking about science, people would naturally think of the knowledge and technologies that we have mastered, that is, the western empirical science that studies this physical world. Though people may disagree on many issues, most people believe in, and even worship, to some extent, the modern science, and regard those who dare to challenge it as absurd and unacceptable.
Is empirical science really science? We learn scientific knowledge passively as early as in elementary school and high school, where good students are those who can memorize and grasp existing scientific principles. As a result, the college admission is largely based on the degree to which students understand these principles. As time goes on, our brains are filled with these acquired principles. Those who question them are often severely attacked, whereas those who follow them are encouraged and recognized by the society.
In the sixties, for example, the archaeology community believed that the modern human race originated from South Africa about one hundred thousand years ago and immigrated to Europe about forty thousand years ago. Then it spread across Asia, and arrived in North America about thirty thousand years ago. After that, it reached middle and South America about fifteen thousand years ago. In 1966, however, an American archaeologist Virginia Steen-McIntyre discovered many man-made tools in Mexico, and dated them as old as about two hundred thousand years using two most advanced techniques at that time. However, because her results conflicted with the dominating theory, she was forbidden to carry on her research, and the excavation field was closed. Virginia had to give up her research which she loved so dearly.
These are just political or social factors that keep us from breaking through the accepted notions and theories. There are other factors that are even harder to detect but are controlling our minds more tightly. For example, modern science relies heavily on mathematics. Opening any issue of a scientific journal, you will find pages of mathematical formulas and notation. Mathematics, however, is just a theory reflecting our physical world. Once getting used to it, we are unconsciously constrained by it. For example, in our dimension, one plus one equals two, and one thousand meters is one kilometer. In other dimensions, however, living beings may have no concepts like weight or size. If in their dimensions, one meter can be equalized to one kilometer as well as one millimeter, then this will break the concepts like meter, kilogram, and second, thus there will be no concept like meter. The concept of size, then, will differ dramatically from that in our dimension. Therefore, to make progress in science, we must constantly discard old notions, and break through the existing framework, otherwise, we will be tied tightly to the existing theories and will not be able to get away from them.
Seen from this perspective, modern science is like a monster that is controlling everyone's mind and therefore controlling the whole society. But nobody notices it because everybody is being controlled. Man's ideology and research methodology are confined by the empirical science. If we proceed along the direction permitted by the empirical science, the road will become narrower and narrower.
The Revelation by Falun Dafa
Falun Dafa differs from the empirical science fundamentally in the way it views the universe and matter. In ZHUAN FALUN (Vol. II), Mr. Li Hongzhi points out explicitly: "A higher understanding is that the universe is made up of time and space. In essence, the universe is made of energy." (unofficial translation)á
Energy is fundamental. It is intangible and exists independently of matter in any dimensions. Once assimilated with an energy level, man would build a scientific system from the intangible energy to the tangible matter, which makes science relatively static and hence restricted. Then, how can we break through this physical dimension to touch the true existence of other dimensions? The only way is to adjust and conform to the requirements of other energy levels. Then, the objects and living beings from other dimensions will manifest themselves in their true forms, so that man will be able to study and understand other energy levels. Looking back into our dimension from other dimensions, ours may appear intangible and imaginary.
Then how can we achieve the upgrading in energy levels? This is related to the upgrading of xinxing (mind or heart nature) and its view of the universe, which is an issue of cultivation. Through cultivation, people can discard notions at low levels, so that their thinking will reach a higher level, and thus they will be able to interact with that level to observe the truth of the universe at that level. ZHUAN FALUN is a complete and systematic way of cultivation that will guide people to high levels, and Falun Dafa points to a correct direction for the advancement of mankind. Though the purpose of Falun Dafa is not for the development of the science of mankind, it will in effect enable man's science to take a great leap forward, because it is the science at a much higher level. If scientific community can appreciate that Falun Dafa is the most profound and supernormal science of all, the science in the future will be able to study the universe from a different angle. Maybe we will study molecules in the dimension of molecules, atoms in the dimension of atoms, and the cosmos in a much larger scope.
Some may wonder how science could be linked to xinxing, thinking, and cultivation? When studying the universe, the empirical science tends to focus on the material side of the world and thereby neglects the spiritual side. As Mr. Li Hongzhi points out: "Throughout history, the issue of whether matter determines mind or vice versa has been constantly discussed and debated in the world of philosophy. In fact, let me tell everyone that matter and mind are one thing." [ZHUAN FALUN, Chapter I] "A person has a physical body, yet a person is not complete with only a physical body. One must also have human temperament, personality, character, and Primordial Spirit in order to constitute a complete and independent person with individuality. The same is true with our universe, which has the Milky Way, other galaxies, as well as life and water. All things and matter in this universe are aspects of material existence. At the same time, however, it also possesses the characteristic Zhen-Shan-Ren. All microscopic particles of matter embody this characteristic--even the extremely microscopic particles have this property." [Chapter I]
To make big breakthroughs in science, man must focus on the spiritual side of the universe, emphasize the cultivation of xinxing, and assimilate to the characteristic of the universe. ZHUAN FALUN discusses the issue of cultivation: "To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments." Man is a unity of matter and mind, and man's understanding of the world relies on his sensors. Different levels of energies make up different levels of matter and mind, and for living beings, bodies and sensors, so that sensors can perceive matter as the manifestation of energy at the same levels. Only through the cultivation of xinxing and discarding acquired attachments, can one break through the confinement of that level to reach higher levels. Otherwise, if one attaches oneself to a low level, he can only understand that level, and he will judge everything according to his prejudice, thus he will not open himself to new ideas. So others can do nothing if he does not change himself. Only cultivation can enable people to abandon the attachments to the low levels so as to conform to the requirements of high levels. Thus one will upgrade oneself and understand the manifestation of high level energies.
This is not just imagination. Many practitioners of Falun Dafa have greatly upgraded themselves in both their physical bodies and their inside spiritual levels during their cultivation practice, and have seen and felt vividly the true scenes in other dimensions. This also demonstrates the power and the correctness of Falun Dafa. In fact, Buddha, Taoists, and Gods are high level living beings in other dimensions, instead of superstitious imaginations or illusions. The empirical science denies their existence because it cannot observe them. Man limits himself by his own ignorance, which also keeps science from attaining a higher level. The level of one's xinxing and moral standard cannot be measured by the empirical science, and therefore they are ignored. But their influence on a person, a region and even a society cannot be neglected. The emergence of ZHUAN FALUN will certainly give mankind new insights into energy and matter, and therefore lead to a new science. Mankind, equipped with the truth of the universe, will march into the future with an entirely new outlook.
* The book ZHUAN FALUN can be viewed or downloaded free from www.falundafa.org