A young Falun Gong member intended to set himself on fire at China's National Games after being ordered by the sect's leader in a dream to seek "nirvana", a report said today.
Falun Gong guru Li Hongzhi appeared to Du Li, 19, in a dream to tell him he must attain heavenly bliss by December 1, Hong Kong newspaper the Sun quoted police in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou as saying.
Du was stopped by police as he sought to enter the National Games stadium in Guangzhou on November 24, the day before the closing ceremony, to execute his fiery plan, the independent Chinese-language daily said.
During a routine search, officers found Li carrying a will that described his intention to emulate the mass self-immolation by five Falungong followers, including a 12-year-old girl, in Beijing in January.
The young girl and her mother died and the other three suffered horrific burns during the incident on Tiananmen Square.
The Falun Gong movement abroad has consistently denied the five were followers of the sect and has accused China of setting up the incident to discredit the movement.
Du had joined the Falun Gong in 1998, a year before it was banned on the mainland as an "evil cult", according to the Sun.
Falun Gong, led by the US-based Li, combines Buddhist-based philosophy with slow-motion meditation exercises.