Turning the Great Law Wheel

[Immortal4life]

Falun Dafa- Turning the Great Law Wheel

Introduction Video-

The Nature of the Universe is Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yfY6YlBJBA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qoXgKjMguE

It is totally free. Everything to get started can be got free off the internet. You can start learning this practice right here and right now!

Detailed Video Instructions of the Falun Gong Exercises-

Instruction on the Falun Gong Meditation-

Video of the lectures and teachings of Falun Dafa
Falun Dafa - 9-Day Lectures in Guangzhou

Here are the main study books of Falun Dafa
Falun Dafa - The Falun Dafa Books

Turning the Law wheel, Great Law book
ZHUAN FALUN-INDEX

Mr. Li Hongzhi on Buddha Law-

ON BUDDHA LAW

Nothing is as profound as BUDDHA LAW. Of all teachings in the world it is the most wondrous and highest science. To open up this field, ordinary people have to fundamentally change their way of thinking. Failing that, the reality of the universe will forever remain something of a myth to mankind, and ordinary people will forever grope around inside the box created by their own ignorance.

So just what exactly is BUDDHA LAW, then? Is it religion? Is it philosophy? That is just how the "cutting edge" scholars of Buddhism see it. They merely study it on a theoretical level, subjecting it to criticism and so-called research, as if it were philosophy. The truth is, BUDDHA LAW is not limited to the little portion in scriptures, which is only BUDDHA LAW’s initial-level Law. Instead, there is nothing that BUDDHA LAW cannot explain—it thoroughly unravels all mysteries, from those of particles and molecules to those of the universe, from small things to great things. It is a different discourse at different levels on the nature of the universe—to be True, Good, and Endure—at different levels, what Daoists call "the Dao," or what Buddhists call "the Law."

No matter how advanced the science of today’s human race may be, it can only account for a portion of the universe’s mysteries. Once we mention specific phenomena of BUDDHA LAW, there is always someone who says, "We’re in the electronic age now, and science is so advanced. Spaceships have flown to other planets, and you still talk about those naive old beliefs?" To tell it like it is, as advanced as computers may be, they can’t compare to the human brain, which to this day is a mystery that baffles researchers. Regardless of how far spaceships may travel, they still cannot fly beyond this material dimension in which the human race exists. The knowledge mankind has today is extremely shallow and nothing more than a small part of the whole—it is nowhere near a real understanding of the Truth of the universe. Some people don’t even dare to face up to, approach, or acknowledge the facts of phenomena that objectively exist, all because these people are too narrow-minded and are unwilling to change their longstanding way of thinking. Only BUDDHA LAW can completely unveil the mysteries of the universe, of space-time, and of the human body. It can truly distinguish virtue from vice, and good from evil, and it can put an end to wrong views while providing the right views.

The ideas that guide today’s science are only able to confine its development and research to this material world, as a subject won’t be studied until it is known—it takes that approach. As for phenomena that are intangible and invisible, but that objectively exist, real manifestations of those things appear here in our material world, yet they are shunned and considered unexplainable. Stubborn people simply insist, without supporting evidence, that those are just "natural" phenomena. People with ulterior motives have acted against their own consciences by dismissing all of it as "blind belief." And people who don’t have inquisitive minds have shied away from these matters with the excuse that science is not yet advanced enough. Mankind will make a leap forward if it can take a fresh look at itself and at the universe, changing its rigid way of thinking. BUDDHA LAW can allow people to thoroughly understand immeasurable, boundless worlds. Throughout all the ages, only one thing has been able to explain perfectly the human race, the many material dimensions that exist, all life, and the entire universe: BUDDHA LAW.

Li Hongzhi
June 2, 1992

 

Edited February 15, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

Archives of lessons-
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Clearwisdom.net
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net

Sending forth righteous thoughts at set times, to rectify the cosmos
Essentials for Further Advancement II
Righteous Thoughts

The hand positions for sending forth righteous thoughts-
http://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/jjyz2_31.htm

Tables for sending forth righteous thoughts
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net


Falun Dafa is a great cultivation path, being severely persecuted in China
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Clearwisdom.net
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)

Falun Dafa: A Brief Introduction

Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) is an ancient form of qigong, the practice of refining the body and mind through special exercises and meditation. Like tai chi, qigong is a vital part of many people's lives in Asia; almost every Chinese park is brimming by the break of dawn with people practicing these arts.

In just eight years since its public introduction, Falun Dafa has grown to become the most popular form of qigong ever in Chinese history. The major reason for this is that Falun Dafa distinguishes itself from other qigong practices by emphasizing not only physical cultivation, but also cultivation of one's moral character in daily life according to higher principles taught by Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Dafa's founder.

Falun Dafa's effectiveness in improving health and its profound principles have quickly made the practice immensely popular throughout the entire world. Since being introduced to the general public in 1992 by Mr. Li, Falun Dafa has attracted tens of millions of people in over 40 countries. Most major cities and universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe have English-speaking Falun Dafa practice groups.

The people who practice Falun Dafa come from every imaginable walk of life, as Falun Dafa transcends cultural, social, economic, and national boundaries. The practice has spread largely by word of mouth, as those who learn it usually find the benefits simply too good to keep to themselves.

 

More here-
Falun Dafa - An Brief Introduction

Here are some interesting books about peoples experiences with the practice
Falun Gong Stories
Falun Gong Stories
Learning and Practicing

Info on the Falun pattern
The Falun Emblem

Interesting short article talking a little bit about what Falun Gong is-
The Epoch Times | The Falun Gong Phenomenon

Here is a very interesting article-
The Epoch Times | Epoch Times Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party - Part 5

Also a good article-
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights

Mr. Li Hongzhi spoke to his students in Chicago
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net

 

 

 

The Three Things: The three things Master Li asked practitioners to do are to study the Fa [the teachings of Falun Dafa], send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and about the persecution to the world's people.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

[Immortal4life]

Mr. Li quietly watching the world from amidst the mountains
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
http://clearwisdom.net/emh/article_images/master_li_in_july_99_high.jpg

[Immortal4life]

From the closing part of the last chapter of Zhuan Falun by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the main teachings of Falun Dafa-

A Person With Great Spiritual Inclination
ZHUAN FALUN-The Ninth Talk

Now, what’s "a person with great spiritual inclination"? A person with "great spiritual inclination" is different from somebody with "a good base." People with great spiritual inclination are hard to find. It’s only once in a great while that somebody like that is born. Of course, for starters, someone with great spiritual inclination has to have a lot of virtue. That field of his white matter has to be pretty big. You can be sure of that. And at the same time, he has to be able to bear the hardship of hardships, he has to have great endurance, he has to be able to make sacrifices, he has to be able to guard his virtue, and he’s got to have good comprehension, just to give you an idea.

And what’s the hardship of hardships? In Buddhism it’s believed that being human is suffering hardship—as long as you’re a human being you have to suffer. They say that none of the beings in other dimensions have this kind of body that ordinary people do, so they don’t get sick, and they don’t have the problems of birth, aging, sickness, or death. They just don’t have that kind of suffering. The people in other dimensions can float in the air and they’re weightless, and it’s just so wonderful. But ordinary people, exactly because they have this body, they have these problems: if it’s cold they can’t stand it, if it’s hot they can’t stand it, if they’re thirsty they can’t stand it, if they’re hungry they can’t stand it, and if they’re tired they can’t stand it, and then they have to deal with birth, aging, sickness, and death. You get the idea, it doesn’t feel good.

I read in the paper that when the Tangshan City earthquake hit, a lot of people died, but some folks were resuscitated. A special investigation was done with that group of people, and they were asked what it felt like to die. But, to people’s surprise, they all talked about one unique situation—and they were all consistent on this—and that is, at the very moment they were dying they didn’t have any fear, and just the opposite, they suddenly felt a sense of relief and could feel an excitement brewing. Some of them felt like they’d been suddenly freed of the restraints of their bodies, as if they’d floated up like something buoyant and wonderful, and they saw their own bodies, some of them saw beings in other dimensions, and some even went off to various places. They all said that they experienced at that instant a sense of relief and a brewing excitement, and there wasn’t any feeling of pain. So this tells us that when we have a mortal human body we’re suffering. But since we all came to this world the same way we don’t realize that we’re suffering.

I’ve said that a person has to bear the hardship of hardships. The other day I mentioned that mankind’s concept of space-time is different from that of other, larger space-times. What’s for us over here a traditional block of time, like two hours, is actually a year for beings in another dimension. Let’s say somebody is here cultivating in this tough environment—to them it’s just incredible. He wants to find the Dao, and he wants to cultivate, so this guy’s just amazing to them. He suffers so much, but he hasn’t ruined his original nature and he still wants to cultivate and return. Why can a cultivator be helped with no conditions attached? That’s why. Say somebody meditates for a whole night in the ordinary people’s dimension, when they see it, they can’t help but say he’s just amazing. "He’s already been sitting there six years"—and that’s because a couple hours for us is a year over there. The human dimension is just extremely special.

So what is "bearing the hardship of hardships"? I’ll give you an illustration. There’s this guy who goes to work one day. His company is in a slump, and it’s got to do something about its lack of productivity, so his company has to be restructured to increase individual accountability, and extra employees have to be laid off. He’s one of them, so he loses his job all of a sudden. Now how’s that feel? He has no source of income now—how’s he going to support his family? He doesn’t have any other skills. So he goes home depressed. When he gets home he finds out his elderly parent who lives at his house is sick, really sick, so he gets worked into a frenzy and quickly sends his parent to the hospital. He goes through a ton of trouble to borrow some money so he can secure a bed at the hospital for his parent, and heads back home to get some things for him or her. No sooner does he get home than a teacher comes and tells him, "Your son hurt somebody in a fight, you’d better hurry over and patch things up." He takes care of it, goes back home, sits down, and just moments later a phone call comes, "Your wife is having an affair." Now of course you won’t run into that. The average person couldn’t take the hardship, and he’d think, "Why go on? I’m gonna find a rope and hang myself—I’ve had enough! Time to put an end to it all!" I’m saying that you have to be able to bear the hardship of hardships. And of course it doesn’t have to take that form. You get caught in the middle of people scheming against each other, tensions wear on your character, and there’s all that fighting for personal gain—that’s not much easier. A lot of people just live to prove their worth, and they’ll hang themselves when it’s too much. So if we want to cultivate in an environment this complicated, we’ve got to be able to bear the hardship of hardships, and we’ve also got to have great endurance.

So what’s "great endurance"? To be a practitioner you should, for starters, be able to "not hit back when attacked, not talk back when insulted." You have to endure. If you don’t, what are you calling yourself a practitioner for? Some people have said, "This endurance thing is hard to do. I’ve got a bad temper." If you have a bad temper then just change it. Practitioners have to endure. Some people blow up even when they’re disciplining their kids, they’ll yell and make a big scene. You don’t have to be like that when you’re disciplining your kids. You shouldn’t really get angry. You should teach your kids with reason and good sense, and that’s the only way you can really teach them well. If you can’t even get over little things, and you lose your temper, then forget about gong. There are people who say, "If I’m walking down the street and somebody kicks me, I can endure it, since nobody knows me." I’d say that’s not good enough. Maybe later on you’ll be slapped in the face a couple times in front of the very person you least want to lose face around, and that’s to humiliate you, to see how you handle it, and to see whether you can endure it. Maybe you can endure it but you can’t get it off your mind. That’s not good enough. You know, when a person reaches the Arhat level he’s not fazed by anything he comes across. He’s not the least bit concerned about any human things and he’s always upbeat. It doesn’t matter how much he loses out, he’s upbeat and doesn’t mind. When you can really do that, then you’ve achieved the initial Arhat Fruition.

Some people have said, "If we endure that much, ordinary people will say we’re so weak and so easy to take advantage of." I’d say that’s not being weak. Let’s think about it. Even among ordinary people you find older folks and people with better education who always exercise polite restraint and don’t stoop to the other person’s level. Then that should be doubly so for us practitioners. How is that weak? I’d say it reflects your great endurance, it’s a reflection of your strong willpower. Only practitioners have that kind of great endurance. There’s a saying, "When the common man is humiliated, he draws his sword to fight back." He’s an ordinary person, so of course—"You insult me, I’ll insult you. You hit me, I’ll hit you right back." That’s an ordinary person for you. Could you call him a practitioner? If you don’t have a will of steel, or if you aren’t able to control yourself, you won’t be able to handle it right.

You know about General Han Xin who lived in ancient times, and how they said Han Xin was talented. He was Emperor Liu Bang’s chief general, he was the pillar of the state. And why was he able to do such big things? They say that from a young age Han Xin was no average person. There’s a classic story about Han Xin being "humiliated under somebody’s legs." Han Xin was already practicing martial arts even in his youth, and a martial artist would always carry a sword on him. One day Han Xin was walking down the street when a thug blocked his path, with his hands on his hips, "What do you have that sword slung over your shoulder for? Would you dare kill a man? If so, I dare you to cut off my head." And he stuck out his head as he was saying that. Han Xin thought, "Why would I want to cut your head off?" Back then, too, you’d be reported to the authorities for cutting off somebody’s head, and you’d have to pay for it with your own life. Could you just kill somebody on a whim? When he saw that Han Xin didn’t dare kill him, he said, "Since you don’t dare to kill me, crawl through between my legs." And Han Xin really did crawl under his legs. That showed that Han Xin had amazing endurance, and that he wasn’t like your average guy, and that’s why he could do such big things. "A man has to struggle to prove his worth"—those are ordinary people’s words. Think about it, everybody, isn’t life exhausting then? Isn’t that a pain? Is it worth it? And Han Xin was an ordinary person, after all—we cultivators should be a lot better than him. Our goal is to reach a level beyond ordinary people, to forge ahead to even higher levels. We won’t run into anything like he did, but when a cultivator is insulted or humiliated around ordinary people, it’s not necessarily any easier. I’d say that those frictions with people that wear down on your character aren’t any easier, they’re actually worse, and they’re pretty hard to handle.

Now at the same time, a cultivator has to be able to let go—let go of all kinds of attachments and desires that people have. You can’t up and do that in one shot, but we can do it gradually. If you could just do it right off today, then you’d be a Buddha today. Cultivation takes time. But you shouldn’t slack off, either. If you say, "Teacher said cultivation takes time, so let’s take our time," that’s not the idea! You have to really be strict with yourself. In Buddha Law cultivation you have to boldly and vigorously forge ahead.

You also have to be able to guard your virtue, you have to guard your character, and you can’t act rashly. You can’t just do whatever you want—you have to guard your character. There’s a saying you probably hear all the time when you’re around ordinary people, "Accumulate virtue by doing good things." Practitioners don’t think about accumulating virtue, though. What we do is guard our virtue. And why do we make a point of guarding virtue? Because here’s what we’ve seen. Ordinary people make a practice of accumulating virtue, and when they’ve accumulated virtue and done good things they’ll get good things in their next life. But that doesn’t apply to us here—if your cultivation’s a success you’ll attain the Dao, and there won’t be any question of the next life. But there’s another layer of meaning to this "guarding virtue" we’re talking about here. It’s that these two kinds of matter we carry with us on our bodies aren’t accumulated in just one lifetime, they’ve been passed down for ages. You can scour the city but there’s a chance you won’t run into any good deeds to do. And you could even do that every day and maybe you still wouldn’t come across anything.

But there’s yet another layer of meaning, and a person needs to know about it if he’s going to accumulate virtue. Maybe you see something that looks like a good thing to do, and you go and do it, but maybe it turns out to be a bad thing. Or maybe you see something that looks like it’s a bad thing, and you step in to stop it, but maybe it turns out it was a good thing. And why is that? It’s because you can’t see the underlying causes. Judicial laws govern ordinary people’s affairs, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But being a practitioner is a higher thing. So as a higher person you have to hold yourself to higher laws and higher logic. You can’t evaluate things with the reasoning of ordinary people or with ordinary laws. When you don’t know the underlying causes of something you’ll probably handle it wrong. That’s why we talk about nonaction—you can’t just do whatever you want. Some people say, "But I just want to make sure justice is served." Then I’d say great, we should all just enroll in police academy then? But we’re not telling you to do nothing when you come across terrible things like murder and arson. I’m just explaining that when people are fighting with each other, and maybe one person even kicks the other, or one of them slugs the other one, maybe that guy owed the other person something, and now they’re settling the debt. So if you step in they can’t settle it, and they’ll have to do it again the next time around. What this means, then, is that you’d probably do the wrong thing and lose virtue since you can’t see the underlying causes.

It’s fine for an ordinary person to do something about some ordinary people’s thing. He sizes it up with the reasoning of ordinary people. But you, on the other hand, you have to use higher reasoning to size things up. And there’s a problem with your character if you don’t do anything when you see something awful like murder or arson. How could you then demonstrate that you’re a good person? If you don’t even do anything about things like murder and arson, then what would you do something about? But one thing is, these things don’t have a lot to do with us cultivators, so chances are that wasn’t planned for you, and chances are you won’t be made to encounter them. When we talk about guarding virtue, it’s to have you avoid doing bad things. Maybe you do that thing ever so slightly, but it could still be doing a bad thing, and then you’ll lose virtue. And once you lose virtue, how are you going to raise your level? How will you achieve your final goal? So these kinds of questions are part of it. And also, your comprehension has to be good. If you’ve got a good base, maybe it’ll make your comprehension good, and influences from your environment can play a role, too.

And we’ve said, too, that if every one of us cultivates inward, if every one of us examines his own character for causes, if when we don’t do well we look inside ourselves for the cause, and we try to do better next time, and if we think about other people first any time we do something, then the world will change for the better, morals will go back up, people’s civility will improve, and crime will go down. Maybe we won’t even need policemen. There will be no need for things like neighborhood watch, and everyone will watch over himself, and they’ll look inside their own minds to fix things. Wouldn’t you say that’d be great? We know how laws and regulations are now getting more and more complete and tight over time. Then why do people still do bad things? Why don’t they follow the law? It’s because you can’t police their minds, and when nobody is watching they’ll still do bad things. But if everyone were to cultivate inward things would be totally different, and you wouldn’t need to be a whistleblower all the time.

We can only teach the Law up to this level. You have to cultivate to get what’s higher. The questions some people are asking are getting more and more specific. Now if I were to answer every question in your life, what’d be left for you to cultivate with! You have to cultivate for yourself, and you have to come to your own realizations. If I spelled everything out you wouldn’t have anything left to cultivate with. But you don’t have to worry, because the Great Law is now being spread, and you can base your actions on the Great Law.

* * *

I think the time for my transmitting the Law is pretty much coming to a close, so I want to leave you with the true things, and this way you’ll have the Law to guide you from here on out as you cultivate. The whole time I’ve been transmitting the Law, I’ve made a point of being responsible to you and to society, and we’ve really been able to follow through on this. I won’t comment on whether we’ve done it well or not—public opinion will tell. My wish was to spread the Great Law to the public and have more people benefit from it, and to make it possible for those people who truly want to cultivate to follow the Law and cultivate up to high levels. And while we’ve been spreading the Law, we’ve spelled out how to act like a good human being, and I hope that after you finish this class, at the very least you can be a good person even if you can’t be somebody who cultivates by the Great Law, and that will benefit our world. Actually, now you know how to be a good person, and after this class you can be a good person.

There have been some things that haven’t gone smoothly while I’ve been transmitting the Law, and big-time interference has come at us from all sides. But thanks to all the enthusiastic support from the organizers and community leaders, and also all the efforts of our staff members, our classes have gone pretty well.

All the things I’ve taught you during the classes are to guide you in cultivating to high levels, and nobody has ever taught these things before when they preached the Law. What we’ve taught is really clear-cut, and we’ve incorporated things that have been put forth by modern science and today’s human-body sciences, and what’s more, the level we’ve explained it at is quite high. We’ve done that mainly for you all, to help you truly obtain the Law in the time ahead, to cultivate up—that’s my starting point. While we’re transmitting the teachings and the exercises, a lot of folks feel that the Law is pretty good, but hard to put into action. But actually, I think that whether it’s hard depends on the person. A really average, ordinary person doesn’t want to cultivate, and he’ll feel that cultivation is just way too hard, that it’s unthinkable, and he’ll think it’s a waste of time. He’s an ordinary person and he doesn’t want to cultivate, so he’ll think it’s really hard. Lao-zi said, "When the highest type of men hear the Dao, with diligence they will practice it. When average men hear the Dao, it seems some is kept and some is lost. When the lowest type of men hear the Dao, they laugh at it heartily. If they didn’t laugh at it, it wouldn’t be the Dao." For a true cultivator, I’d say it’s easy—it’s not some impossible mission. And in fact, a lot of our veteran students here in the audience, and a lot of them who aren’t here, have already cultivated to levels that are quite high. I didn’t tell you this before because I was afraid you’d form attachments, that you’d be pleased with yourselves, and so on, and that would affect how your potency grows. For every one of you who makes up his mind to cultivate, you will be able to endure things, and when your personal welfare is on the line, you will be able to let go of your attachments, and you will be able to take those things lightly. As long as you can do that it’s not hard, in fact. Now those people who say it’s hard, it turns out, they just can’t let go of those things. Doing the exercises isn’t hard in its own right, and there’s nothing hard about raising your level in and of itself. They only say it’s hard because they can’t let go of their human thoughts. The reason is, it’s hard to let those things go when your personal welfare is on the line—that benefit is right there, in front of you, how can you let it go? When they think it’s hard, we should know that that’s the reason why it’s hard. When we get into conflicts with people, if you can’t swallow that anger, or you aren’t able to handle it as a practitioner, I’d say that just doesn’t work. Back when I was cultivating, a lot of men of great character told me this: "It’s hard to endure, but you can endure it. It’s hard to do, but you can do it." And that’s really how it is. When you go back you might want to give it a try. When you’re going through an awful tribulation, or maybe a critical juncture, give it a try. When it’s hard to endure, try to endure it. When it seems impossible to do, or just hard to do, give it a try and see just what you can do. And when you can really do it, just like that worn and weary traveler, you’ll see, "the shade of willows, the blooms of flowers, a place to rest my head"!

We should probably stop here, because if I say too much it’ll be hard for you to remember it all. So I’ll just say a few things in parting. I hope that in your cultivation that lies ahead you’ll go about things as a practitioner and truly keep cultivating. I hope that both our new students and veteran students are able to cultivate in Dafa, and have complete success! I hope that after you go back home you’ll seize the day to really cultivate.

 

Videos exposing the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa-

Video- Why is Falun Gong persecuted in China?
Why is Falun Dafa persecuted in China

Video-Rescuing Falun Gong children in China
Rescuing Falun Gong Children
More Rescuing Children

9 Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=nine...ries+on+the+ccp

Falun Dafa in Toronto 2006

China Harvesting Organs form Falun Gong practitioners

Clarifying the Truth in DC
YouTube - ????1
YouTube - Copley??
YouTube - ????2
YouTube - ??????2
YouTube - ???

torture
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
FalunInfo.net - The Official Source on Falun Gong and the Human Rights Crisis in China
Search Results
Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net

Clarifying the Truth in DC
YouTube - ????1
YouTube - Copley??
YouTube - ????2
YouTube - ??????2
YouTube - ??? Edited February 14, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Seth Ananda]

You forgot mention the cult like aspects!

 

like if you go with a friend, then the falun authorities find out that you or they dare to continue some other practice, then that person is an 'evil practitioner'

 

That Li Hongzhi can see every ET in the world, and knows that they are all bad, and is teaching Falun to train people to be able to fight ET's with their new Falun Superpowers!

 

That their is a bunch of ambiguous stuff about interracial relationships, homosexuality, and what not...

 

That Li Hongzhi has a super celestial eye that can see/foresee everything, yet could not tell - even with his logical mind - that organising a mass protest/sit down on the Chinese Government (only how long after Tiananmen square) would end with his followers in re-education camps...

 

That Li Hongzhi is the final Authority on everything, and outranks even Buddha and Jesus, and to even question him is considered a sign of low cultivation or even 'Evil' energy!!!

 

 

I spent some time with this group as the practice is good but i could not stomach its insane cult like tendencies, and eventually I gave up the practice as I don't want to be even energetically linked to Li and his Fanatics.

[adept]

What Seth said above. Unfortunately this is a racist, bigoted cult with hero worship on a grand scale. Like a mini North Korea

[thetaoiseasy]

edit. always say too much.

Edited February 15, 2013 by thetaoiseasy

[Immortal4life]

You forgot mention the cult like aspects!

I simply presented it as it is, without any emotional outbursts or fantastical claims.

 

Professionals say it is not a cult

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200203/3761.html

 

Pullitzer Prize Winning Journalist Says Falun Gong is not a Cult nor a Sect

 

When asked to define Falun Gong on Canadian TV’s Nielsen Report" in 2001, Ian Johnson of the Wall Street Journal, who won a Pullitzer Prize for his reporting on Falun Gong in China, said, "It' hard to define"..." I think a cult implies something that has a doomsday

scenario, mass suicide as its goal / likely outcome. I don’t think Falun Gong is that. I think a sect is usually considered a splinter group of an existing religion. But Falun Gong is not that either."

 

Also-

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/6/29/11785.html

 

The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong reports (June 18) that Swiss journalist Daniel Wermus had interviewed Alain Vivien, who heads France's Inter-Ministerial Mission Against Sects. He was quoted as saying: "In France, this movement has never gone against the law. It is only a free association in conformity with French law. We cannot mistake the word cult, and use it for any religious movement, be it old or recent. "According to French law, it [Falun Gong] does not [deserve to be called a cult]."

 

And-

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2000/7/30/7566.html

 

The Falun Gong practice is free of charge. The teaching of the exercises is done voluntarily. It teaches people to be kind and improves health and fitness. There are no memberships, religious rituals, or office buildings. Everyone is free to come and go as he or she wishes. How can it be called a cult? Everyone would like to see an "evil cult" eradicated. And yet, why has Falun Gong been so well received in over 30 countries around the world? Is it possible that all these people lack the ability to distinguish good from evil?

 

Among the great numbers of Falun Gong practitioners, you will not find corrupt people who accept bribes and you will not find pleasure-seekers who gamble or go to prostitutes. You will not even find people doing unhealthy things like smoking. If this is what’s "evil," then what is "righteous?"

 

like if you go with a friend, then the falun authorities find out that you or they dare to continue some other practice, then that person is an 'evil practitioner'

What are you even talking about? Falun Authorities? Okaaaaay.

 

That Li Hongzhi can see every ET in the world, and knows that they are all bad, and is teaching Falun to train people to be able to fight ET's with their new Falun Superpowers!

 

That their is a bunch of ambiguous stuff about interracial relationships, homosexuality, and what not...

 

 

Getting to Know Falun Gong: Marvellous Connection to Chinese Culture for an American Couple

 

Although the environment changed, her seeking of spiritual relief became stronger. She described that feeling - to seek for that feeling is just like finding a home, the final destination, and the place where one feels very comfortable. She discovered that the majority of priests and ministers did not put their hearts into the teachings of conventional religions.

 

Falun Gong puts an end to Prejudice, in Chinese people, and all people.

 

Misconceptions-

http://faluninfo.net/article/654/

 

Knowing the democratic West to be a tolerant, pluralistic, and diverse place, Chinese authorities have sought to brand Falun Gong as contrary to these basic values. In a word, they’ve sought to cast it as “intolerant.” Several journalists have taken the bait.

The characterization is patently misleading, and rests solely upon an outsider’s uninformed interpretation of doctrine. It’s found to be at odds with lived practice.

Consider the first of the two major issues Chinese authorities cite: an alleged intolerance of homosexuality. (We can’t help but note the irony of China’s communist rulers having until recently banned homosexuality, labeling it a mental disorder.)

Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are welcomed by the practice just like anyone else, and not accorded any different treatment. Whether they continue to live that lifestyle, or self-identify with that term, is solely a personal choice and not something anyone in Falun Gong would force upon the individual. Central to Falun Gong is the making of one’s own decisions.

Falun Gong’s teachings do suggest that certain behaviors, including homosexuality, generate more karma than others or are not conducive to certain aspirations in the practice. But this it is left at the level of teaching, and not a creed or regulation. How one understands a given teaching, and to what extent he or she applies it, is always a personal matter.

A second, related point that must be emphasized is that Falun Gong’s teachings on this and other matters do not equate to a “position statement” or “stance” on some social issue. They are intended solely for the individual aspirant, and to be applied to his or her own life; they are not meant to be applied to others, much less non-practitioners. Falun Gong does not have any position on what other people should or shouldn’t do with their lives. It simply offers its teachings on personal change to whomever is interested in its path to spiritual growth.

What holds true for homosexuality holds true for interracial marriage and interracial children, if not more so. Falun Gong’s teachings have little to say about the matter. What some journalists have picked up on, prompted by Chinese state media intimations, is the presence of a passage in one book where Falun Gong’s founder mentions the issue in passing.

These teachings can be summarized as a belief that different heavens correspond to different races on earth, and that persons of mixed race lose a direct connection to their corresponding heaven, at least in the corporeal sense; a person's soul in unaffected, just as is their ability to engage in cultivation practice. This in no way amounts to an endorsement of racial purity; in Li Hongzhi's writings, he states in essense that the phenomenon is nobody's fault, and one does not need to be concerned about it.

One most inflamatory result was a New York Times journalist who wrote, without attribution, that Falun Gong believes children of mixed race are the "spawn" of the Dharma-ending period (a time of moral decline referred to in Buddhist scripture.) Needless to say, no such language appears in Falun Gong's teachings. Regrettably, the journalist did not temper his own, outsider’s reading of that passage with investigation or evidence. They failed to check with any living, actual persons who do Falun Gong, preferring, seemingly, to not let a sensational reading of the passage be spoiled by evidence to the contrary.

Had they looked into the matter, they would have found their assumptions to be just that, assumptions. Many who practice Falun Gong have married and had children with individuals of a different race after taking up the practice. Of the 14 individuals who make up the Information Center’s staff, fully 4 fall into this category. If Falun Gong teaches racial segregation, it’s doing a poor job of it.

If the practice does not breed racial intolerance in the life of the individual, one might readily imagine how much less so it translates into a general “stance” on interracial marriage in society.

The two most frequently cited forms of “intolerance” end up suggesting, upon closer examination, just the opposite. Indeed, if anything, it would seem that something in Falun Gong is instead conducive to greater tolerance.

 

That Li Hongzhi has a super celestial eye that can see/foresee everything, yet could not tell - even with his logical mind - that organising a mass protest/sit down on the Chinese Government (only how long after Tiananmen square) would end with his followers in re-education camps...

You seem to be misinformed about how the persecution came about, and what actually happened. Mr. Li Hongzhi never organized or promoted any protest.

 

The Zhongnanhai Appeal-

http://misconceptions.50webs.com/22.htm

 

What Happened at Zhongnanhai in 1999?

http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/Video_What_Happened_at_Zhongnanhai_on_April_25_1999-a7296.html

That Li Hongzhi is the final Authority on everything, and outranks even Buddha and Jesus, and to even question him is considered a sign of low cultivation or even 'Evil' energy!!!

Well, I presume Buddhists don't recognize Jesus, and Christians don't recognize Buddha. Falun Dafa is unique and is it's own thing.

 

I spent some time with this group as the practice is good but i could not stomach its insane cult like tendencies, and eventually I gave up the practice as I don't want to be even energetically linked to Li and his Fanatics.

So you are scared of being energetically connected to other people you dislike? Ok then.....

 

I think in addition to the Qi Gong and meditation exercises, a unique aspect is the self improvement aspect, and character development, which can have a tangible effect in one's life.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

What Seth said above. Unfortunately this is a racist, bigoted cult with hero worship on a grand scale. Like a mini North Korea

Lol, can you be just a little more melodramatic and grandiose?

 

:lol: :lol:

Edited February 15, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Jetsun]

That guy Ian Johnson says its not a cult because it doesn't have a doomsday but my understanding from other readings is that it does have a doomsday and their dear leader is the one who holds the keys whether you are allowed into heaven or hell. Is this an incorrect understanding?

[Immortal4life]

No one said the world is going to end, or that there will be a doomsday or anything like that. A cult also has to take people away from their family and friends. Falun gong practitioners stay in society with normal lives and come and go as they please. Unfortunately the Chinese Communist government repeats over and over that Falun Gong is an "evil cult", so there are misunderstandings.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Birch]

A cult doesn't need a doomsday scenario - although it does require a belief-structure that sets its members aside as very different from everyone else who is not part of the cult. There's a bunch of very interesting work on cults.

[Immortal4life]

Here is what Wikipedia had to say-

 

Categorization

 

Falun Gong is a multifaceted discipline that means different things to different people, ranging from a set of physical exercises for the attainment of better health and a praxis of self-transformation, to a moral philosophy and a new knowledge system.^[33] Scholars and journalists have adopted a variety of terms and classifications in describing Falun Gong, some of them more precise than others.

In the cultural context of China, Falun Gong is generally described either as a system of qigong, or a type of "cultivation practice" (xiulian). Cultivation is a Chinese term that describes the process by which an individual seeks spiritual perfection, often through both physical and moral conditioning. Varieties of cultivation practice are found throughout Chinese history, spanning Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions.^[8] Benjamin Penny, a professor of Chinese history at the Australian National University, writes "the best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2,500 years."^[51] Qigong practices can also be understood as a part of a broader tradition of "cultivation practice".^[8]

In the West, Falun Gong is frequently classified as a religion on the basis of its theological and moral teachings,^[52] its concerns with spiritual cultivation and transformation, and its extensive body of scripture.^[8] Human rights groups report on the suppression of Falun Gong as a violation of religious freedom, and in 2001, Falun Gong was given an International Religious Freedom Award from Freedom House.^[8] Falun Gong practitioners themselves have sometimes disavowed this classification, however. This rejection reflects the relatively narrow definition of "religion" (zongjiao) in contemporary China. According to David Ownby, religion in China has been defined since 1912 to refer to "world-historical faiths" that have "well-developed institutions, clergy, and textual traditions"—namely, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism.^[53] Falun Gong lacks these features, having no temples, rituals of worship, clergy or formal hierarchy. Moreover, if Falun Gong had described itself as a religion in China, it likely would have invited immediate suppression.^[8] These historical and cultural circumstances notwithstanding, the practice has often been described as a form of Chinese religion.^[54]

Although it is often referred to as such in journalistic literature, Falun Gong does not satisfy the definition of a "sect."^[31] A sect is generally defined as a branch or denomination of an established belief system or mainstream church. Although Falun Gong draws on both Buddhist and Daoist ideas and terminology, it claims no direct relationship or lineage connection to these religions.^[10][55] Sociologists^[who?] regard sects as exclusive groups that exist within clearly defined boundaries, with rigorous standards for admission and strict allegiances. However, as noted by Noah Porter, Falun Gong does not share these qualities: it does not have clearly defined boundaries, and anyone may practice it.^[37]

Cheris Shun-ching considers cults to be new religious movements that focus on the individual experience of the encounter with the sacred rather than collective worship, and to that end describes Falun Gong as a new religious movement “with cult-like characteristics." However, Chan defines a "cult" differently than as the term is usually understood; she calls it a group that does not have a "prior theological tie with an established religious body," that holds "beliefs and practice [that] are very often mystically and individualistically oriented," and which is "loosely structured with a fluctuating membership and tolerant of other organizations and faiths."^[56] Some scholars avoid the term "cult" altogether because "of the confusion between the historic meaning of the term and current pejorative use."^[57][58] These scholars prefer terms like "spiritual movement", "new religious syncretism", or "new religious movement" to avoid the negative connotations of "cult" or to avoid improperly categorizing those which do not fit mainstream definitions.^[32][59]

Organization

 

As a matter of doctrinal significance, Falun Gong is intended to be "formless," having little to no material or formal organization. Practitioners of Falun Gong cannot collect money or charge fees, conduct healings, or teach or interpret doctrine for others.^[60] There are no administrators or officials within the practice, no system of membership, and no churches or physical places of worship.^{[3][61][62][63]} In the absence of membership or initiation rituals, Falun Gong practitioners can be anyone who chooses to identify themselves as such.^[64] Students are free to participate in the practice and follow its teachings as much or as little as they like, and practitioners do not instruct others on what to believe or how to behave.^[37][44][65]

Falun Gong is centralized in that spiritual authority is vested in the corpus of teachings of the founder, Li Hongzhi, but organizationally it is decentralized with local branches and assistants afforded no special privileges, authority, or titles. Volunteer "assistants" or "contact persons" do not hold authority over other practitioners, regardless of how long they have practiced Falun Gong.^[32][66] As such, spiritual and ideological authority in the practice is completely centralized with Li Hongzhi.^[60] Li's spiritual authority within the practice is absolute, yet the organization of Falun Gong works against totalistic control, and Li does not intervene in the personal lives of adherents. Practitioners of Falun Gong have little to no contact with Li, except through the study of his teachings.^[37][66] There is no hierarchy in Falun Gong to enforce orthodoxy, and little or no emphasis is given on dogmatic discipline; the only thing emphasized is the need for strict moral behavior, according to Craig Burgdoff, a professor of religious studies.^[66]

To the extent that organization is achieved in Falun Gong, it is accomplished through a global, networked, and largely virtual online community. In particular, electronic communications, email lists and a collection of websites are the primary means of coordinating activities and disseminating Li Hongzhi's teachings.^[67] The extent of Falun Gong's reliance on the internet as a means of organizing has led to the group's characterization as "a virtual religious community."^[32]

Outside Mainland China, a network of volunteer 'contact persons', regional Falun Dafa Associations and university clubs exist in approximately 70 countries.^[68] Li Hongzhi's teachings are principally spread through the Internet.^[63][69] In most mid- to large-sized cities, Falun Gong practitioners organize regular group meditation or study sessions in which they practice Falun Gong exercises and read Li Hongzhi's writings. The exercise and meditation sessions are described as informal groups of practitioners who gather in public parks—usually in the morning—for one to two hours.^[37][63][70] Group study sessions typically take place in the evenings in private residences or university or high school classrooms, and are described by David Ownby as "the closest thing to a regular 'congregational experience'" that Falun Gong offers.^[36] Individuals who are too busy, isolated, or who simply prefer solitude may elect to practice privately.^[36] When there are expenses to be covered (such as for the rental of facilities for large-scale conferences), costs are borne by self-nominated and relatively affluent individual members of the community

Edited February 15, 2013 by Immortal4life

[thelerner]

Immortal your posts saying its not a cult were from the European Falun society, not exactly impartial. Similarly the Wikipedia is probably written by 'experts' who are in Falun. That being said I've heard good things about the qi gong taught and I think most of the members are sincere. It has helped many people, but the leader may have some crack pot ideas along w/ the good ones, but if you're a not a high level member or in China it may not effect you.

 

There was an exhaustive thread about Falun two years ago. Here is a link: http://thetaobums.com/topic/15972-falun-dafa-thread-open-discussion/?hl=falun

Edited February 16, 2013 by thelerner

[Immortal4life]

I woudn't call that thread exhaustive, more like.....a clusterfuck or train wreck of trolling, knee jerk reactions, and emotions out of control, no offense to the creator of that thread or those who posted in it. I like this one better.

 

It is true that some of the sites I linked to are Falun Gong sites, but the quotes saying Falun Gong is not a cult, come from independent experts who are not practitioners of this system. Therefore the statements are unbiased.

 

Here is what Wikipedia says specifically about the claims of it being a "cult"-

 

The Chinese government's view that Falun Gong is a destructive cult, widely used as part of state propaganda against the practice, was later picked up by some elements of the anti-cult movement in the West.^[233][234] However, such views are largely criticized or dismissed in mainstream Western scholarship of the practice.^[235]

 

If we take a look at things objectively, and can bring our views more in line with mainstream scholarship, we can bring some credibility to TTB and it's discussions.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

In this two-part interview, Joel Chipkar Spokesperson for Falun Gong Information Center (http://faluninfo.net) discusses the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) movement and the misconceptions circling Falun Gong.

Chipkar explains how the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) discipline debuted in China and quickly became a sensation across China, even being awarded and endorsed by the communist party itself.

Chipkar details Falun Gong's (Falun Dafa's) widely popular beginnings and what actually lead up to the persecution of Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) by the Chinese communist regime that started in 1999 and continues to this day.

Chipkar also reveals misconceptions created by the Chinese regime against Falun Gong. For example, Chipkar uses facts, common analogies and the regime's own history to explain how the label of "political" and "cult" planted against Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) by the communist party is actually an insidious plan to defame and eliminate the popular Falun Gong (Falun Dafa).

Chipkar also targets the misconception that Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) has been crushed in China by the communist regime. He also touches on the misconceptions that the human rights situation in China may be improving.