Falun Gong regards xinxing or character cultivation to be pivotal in the growth of gong (high energy matter), and requires its cultivators to pay attention to xinxing improvement, checking their every action against the criteria of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Through cultivating the human heart and doing the five sets of exercises, practitioners can purify their minds and bodies and improve themselves holistically.
Mr. Li Hongzhi came to Wuhan City in 1993 to teach the Fa. Within a few short years, more and more people in the city started practicing Falun Gong due to its unique cultivation theory and its amazing effects. Many practice sites within Wuhan City's three towns were established. Most of the people who practiced Falun Gong experienced long-term mental and physical health benefits.
Abstract
The following report is based on a random sampling of 2,005 Falun Gong practitioners from over fifty practice sites in Wuhan City. Survey researchers employed a variety of techniques in the collection of survey data with respect to each practitioner’s age, occupation, level of education, length of time in the cultivation practice, effects on their mental and physical health, medical expenses, and individual addictive habits.
The survey focused on the changes 2,005 practitioners experienced after practicing Falun Gong. The data was analyzed using statistical methods, to ensure accuracy and consistency.
The results of the research are dramatic, with 75.15% the survey participants having their health problems resolved, while 23.3% found their conditions improved.
Medical costs among participants had dropped dramatically, with 95.51% of them reporting that they felt both physically and spiritually healthier and they did not need to spend any more money on medical treatments.
The results showed that participants with unhealthy habits, such as smoking, drinking, or gambling, had greatly improved. Of the 2,005 survey participants, 377 people smoked prior to taking up the cultivation practice. After practicing for a while, only three people continued to smoke while eight people smoked less.
Out of 536 drinkers, only three continued to drink, while seven others drank less, after starting the practice.
Out of 420 confirmed gamblers, only one continued to gamble, with 10 saying that they gambled less.
The above data confirms the fact that survey participants' health improved after practicing Falun Gong, thus saving the country millions of yuan in medical expenses. The survey participants who stopped smoking, drinking, and gambling enjoyed healthier lifestyles. We can conclude that through cultivation practice, Falun Gong practitioners have brought great benefits to themselves, their families, and to society.
1. The Study and the Methods
1.1. The Study:
The data was collected in December 1998, 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 the smokers, drinkers, and gamblers underwent before and after the study.
1.2. Methods of Study:
First, a universal survey form was used so each person could fill in his/her own information, according to his/her situation. For those who were illiterate, an agent helped fill out the form according to the person's verbal instructions. Secondly, the information on the form was verified to ensure that it was both accurate and true. Thirdly, data collection and organizing groups made up of medical personnel, statistical personnel, and accounting personnel, were used to summarize and analyze the statistical data.
2. Results
General Situation:
Among those who filled out the survey form, 563 were males and 1,442 were females.
2.1.1 Ages:
The 2,005 survey participants were divided into eight groups, according to their ages, which ranged from seven years old to 85 years old. The number of people in each group varied, with 1,835 of them being between 20 and 60 years old—which comprised 91.5% of the entire group. See Table 1 below for more details.
Table 1: Age Distribution of the 2,005 Survey Participants
Age Group
-10
10-
20-
30-
40-
50-
60-
70+
Total
Number of People
8
34
176
163
387
627
482
128
2005
%
0.4
1.7
8.78
8.13
19.3
31.27
24.14
6.38
100
2.1.2 Occupations:
Of the 2,005 participants in the study, most came from seven different walks of life, including 946 factory workers, which amounted to 47.18% of the total survey participants and 765 county cadres, technical researchers, medical employees, and teachers—which amounted to 38.1% of the total participants. See Table 2 below for more details.
Table 2: Occupations Distribution of the 2,005 Survey Participants
Occupation
Factory Workers
Cadres
Researchers, Medical Employees or Teachers
Students
Small Business Owners
Sales Persons
Other Occupations
Total
Number of People
946
407
358
100
23
72
99
2005
%
47.18
20.3
17.86
4.99
1.15
3.59
4.93
100
2.1.3 Levels of Education:
Of the 2,005 survey participants, 549 had high school or technical school diplomas, 435 had college degrees, and 22 had graduate school degrees, totaling 1,006 people, or roughly 50% of the total survey participants. See Table 3 for more details.
Table 3: Levels of Education Distribution of the 2,005 Survey Participants
Level of Education
Un-educated
Primary School Educated
Junior-high School Educated
High School Educated
College Degree
Graduate Degree
Total
Number of People
115
371
513
549
435
22
2005
%
5.74
18.5
25.38
47.38
21.7
1.1
100
2.1.4 Durations of Falun Gong Practice:
The length of time that the 2,005 participants practiced Falun Gong varied, with the longest being five years and the shortest being less than five months. There were 836 people who practiced from 1.5-2.5 years, amounting to 41% of the total participants, and 276 people who had practiced for four years or more, amounting to 13.77% of the total participants. See Table 4 for more details.
Table 4: Durations of Practice of the 2,005 Survey Participants
Length of Practice (years)
-0.5
0.5-
1-
2-
2.5-
3-
3.5-
4-
5-
Total
Number of People
147
200
195
263
340
173
174
276
14
2005
%
7.33
9.98
9.73
11.77
16.95
8.63
8.67
13.77
0.7
100
2.2 Distribution of the Number of Patients and Types of Illnesses Before and After Practicing Falun Gong Cultivation
Table 5 below shows that many survey participants were plagued with various illnesses. The statistical analysis gathered in the study was derived from three distinct categories: Category I, which involved cases in which illnesses disappeared completely; Category II, which involved cases in which the participants' illnesses were abated, and Category III, which involved cases in which participants' reported no changes at all. There were 1,899 survey participants who had one or more kinds of illnesses prior to cultivation practice, amounting to 94.7% of the total 2,005 participants; the most common health problems were related to the digestion system, the skeletal and joint system, and the cardiac system. Some participants were dealing with two or three different kinds of illnesses simultaneously. Of the reported 5,323 cases of illnesses, 4,000 cases were completely resolved after practicing Falun Gong, amounting to a cure rate of 75.15%; 1,240 cases felt some relief, amounting to 23.3% of the total cases, and only 83 cases or 1.56% of the total participants did not report any changes. See Table 5 for details.
Table 5: Study of Health Problems of Survey Participants
Categories of Illnesses
Number of Patients Before Cultivation Practice
Percentage of Total (%)
Changes After Cultivation Practice
Number Disappeared
%
Number Alleviated
%
Number Not Changed
%
Trophonosis (Nutrition) and Metabolic Diseases
133
2.5
116
87.23
17
12.78
--
--Endocrine Diseases
109
2.05
79
72.8
29
26.6
1
0.92
Neural Diseases
433
8.13
323
74.6
100
23.09
10
2.3
Five Senses Organs Diseases (eye, ear, lip,tongue, & nose)
463
8.7
304
65.66
141
30.45
18
3.81
Circulatory System Diseases
874
16.42
668
76.43
195
22.31
11
1.26
Respiratory System Diseases
405
7.61
293
72.35
107
26.42
5
1.23
Digestive System Diseases
1118
21.00
868
77.64
240
21.47
10
0.89
Urinary System Diseases
288
5.41
223
77.43
59
20.49
6
2.08
Gynecological Diseases
129
2.42
107
82.95
21
16.28
1
0.78
Dermatological Diseases
149
2.83
93
60.40
51
34.23
5
3.36
Bone Diseases or Arthritis
1098
20.63
833
75.87
252
22.95
13
1.18
Eccentric & Miscellaneous Diseases
39
0.73
26
68.42
12
31.58
1
2.63
Occupational Diseases
6
0.11
5
83.33
1
16.67
--
--
Tumors
79
1.48
62
78.48
15
18.99
2
2.53
Total
5323
--
4000
75.15
1240
23.30
83
1.56
There were 106 practitioners surveyed who did not have any health problems prior to the start of their Falun Gong practice.
Table 6: Changes in 2,005 Survey Participants' Illnesses Before and After Practicing Falun Gong
Before Cultivation Practice
Health Changes after Cultivation Practice
Group
Number of People
Total Number of Illness Cases
Number of Cases in Which Illnesses Disappeared
Number of Cases in Which Illnesses Alleviated
Number of Cases in Which No Changes Occurred
People Having One Kind of Illness
374
347
245
94
8
People Having Two Kinds of Illnesses
475
950
678
262
10
People Having Three Kinds of Illnesses
513
1539
1135
381
25
People Having Four Kinds of Illnesses
333
1332
1085
253
24
People Having Five Kinds of Illnesses
231
1155
889
250
16
Healthy People
1
--
--
--
--
Total
2005
5323
4000
1240
83
2.3 Changes in Medical Expenses Before and After Falun Gong Cultivation Practice
The study showed that medical expenses were greatly reduced after survey participants started practicing Falun Gong. Out of all the participants with illnesses, 34 spent over 10,000 yuan (~US$1,544) per year; some spent over 80,000 yuan per year, and some spent between 300 yuan and 500 yuan per year. After practicing Falun Gong, 95.50f the survey participants became healthy and energetic, and no longer incurred any medical expenses, with only one person still paying over 10,000 yuan in annual medical expenses.
Table 7: Differences in Medical Expenses Before And After Cultivation Practice of Falun Gong
Annual Medical Expenses (Yuan)
Before Cultivation Practice
After Cultivation Practice
Number of People
%
Number of People
%
0
266
13.27
1915
95.51
1-500
737
36.76
54
2.69
501-1000
373
18.6
18
0.90
1001-2000
287
14.31
11
0.55
2001-4000
187
9.33
6
0.30
4001-5000
74
3.69
--
--
5001-10000
47
2.34
--
--
Over 10000
34
1.7
1
--
Total
2005
100
2005
100
2.4 Differences in Personal Addictions Before and After Practicing Falun Gong
Out of the total survey participants, 377 or 18.8% were addicted to smoking prior to taking up the practice of Falun Gong. However, after starting the practice, all but three people quit (0.15% of total) and eight people (0.4%) smoked less than before, but had not yet quit. Out of the 536 people who were addicted to drinking alcohol prior to the start of their cultivation practice, all but three people (0.15%) quit and another seven people (0.35%) drank less, after they started practicing Falun Gong. Out of the 420 gamblers, all but 11 people (0.55%) quit gambling after the start of their cultivation practice, but 11 people (0.55%) still gambled. See Table 8 for details.
Table 8: Differences in Bad Habits Before and After Practicing Falun Gong
Prior to Cultivation Practice
Changes After the Start of Cultivation Practice
Habit
Once in a While
Frequently
Not at All
Total
No Changes
%
Doing Less
%
No Smoking at All
%
Total
Smoking
128
249
1628
2005
3
0.15
8
0.4
1994
99.45
2005
Drinking
300
236
1489
2005
3
0.15
7
0.35
1995
99.5
2005
Gambling
228
192
1585
2005
1
0.05
10
0.5
1994
99.45
2005
3. Discussion
As shown in Tables 1-5, after survey participants took up the practice of Falun Gong, they experienced many positive changes in their bodies and minds, which is one of the reasons the practice spread so widely, so fast. The people who practiced it ranged from seven years old to 85 years old and came from every level of society, including factory workers, farmers, cadres, scientific/technological researchers, experts in their fields, scholars, professors, and company managers. They also had different levels of education, with most of them being high school graduates, specialized high schools, colleges, universities, or graduate schools, with only 115 people (5.74%) being illiterate. However, most of these illiterate people were able to read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong, after making some effort.
The results in Table 5 indicate that 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 illnesses in total. After practicing cultivation, survey participants conducted their daily lives according to Falun Gong's requirements and paid close attention to personal character cultivation. They studied the teachings of Falun Gong, persisted in doing the five sets of exercises, and thus greatly improved their minds and bodies. Of the survey participants with health problems, 75.15% had their health problems resolved, while 23.3% found that their conditions had improved.
The results from Table 7 indicates that 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, which is up from 13.27%, prior to taking up cultivation practice. This effectively saved thousands of dollars per year for the government and for the survey participants' workplaces.
The results from Table 8 indicate that among the 2,005 survey participants, 377 smoked tobacco products, 536 drank alcohol, and 420 regularly gambled, for a total of 1,333 cases. However, often times a participant had 2-3 health issues that they were dealing with. After practicing Falun Gong and having their minds and bodies purified, the participants realized on their own that they should voluntarily quit these destructive habits, thus avoiding many painful and costly illnesses. This further contributed to building a better society and harmonizing families.
Please note: In order to protect the participants in the survey, the names and details of the research staff have been intentionally omitted, as well as the specific details of the number of survey participants from the various practice site areas.