March 28 — Television advertising by Chinese-speaking immigration lawyers in the Los Angeles area has a new twist. Included among the usual offers of assistance and expertise to those applying for permanent residence in the United States are ads that offer help to Falun Gong practitioners.
BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS FALUN GONG? The movement has been drawing attention in the West for the last two years. Some Western China scholars are even praising it for the scientific basis of its principles. Falun Gong has drawn the attention of Chinese intellectuals, too, particularly those searching for a spiritual movement that is grounded in traditional Chinese thought but takes account of rational, scientific and modern considerations. Whatever their educational background or technological knowledge, all Chinese lean towards wearing a “Confucian thinking cap, Buddhist robe and Taoist sandals.” I am no exception.
Thus it was during my extensive reading for my latest book,”Watching the Tree,” that I read the work of Li Hong-zhi, founder of Falun Gong.
I was greatly disappointed. As a medical doctor as well as a writer, I found the work anything but rational or scientific.
I was greatly disappointed. As a medical doctor as well as a writer, I found the work anything but rational or scientific. His book “Zhuan Fa Lun” (“Turning the Wheel of the Law”), for example, challenges the very etiology of all diseases and denies even the microbial role in causing infections. His view (on page 3) is that “a person’s illness and misfortune are caused by the evil deeds he has carried out in his past.” By suffering, writes Li, “he is repaying his debt. If you change his condition, you are doing evil.”
Li also ascribes moral qualities to inanimate objects such as stone and wood. “The minute particles in the air, stone, wood, earth, steel, human body and every other material,” he says on page 15, “all contain the special qualities of truth, benevolence and tolerance within them.”
Later, he speaks of old cultural ruins bearing relics “from eras that existed over a hundred thousand, a few hundred thousand, a few million or even hundreds of millions of years ago.” Yet archeological evidence has shown that an agriculture-based civilization began less than 11,000 years ago.
Then there are his references to “tall ancient buildings” discovered at the bottom of many oceans. “These edifices have been beautifully carved,” he writes, “and are not the cultural relics of human mankind. Therefore they must have been constructed long before our earth was covered by ocean waters. Now who could have done this tens of millions of years ago? We humans were not even monkeys then …”
Is he proposing that our earth was inhabited by aliens from outer space? Has anyone else seen these edifices?
Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi
These are a few examples of Li’s “scientific theories.” In his book, he also claims that he will implant a wheel in the abdomen of each of his disciples. This wheel will keep on turning day and night and protect his followers from harm.
Some 100 pages later he gives the example of one his disciples who was involved in a traffic accident in Beijing. However, at the moment of impact, the disciple’s bicycle was suddenly dragged backwards by a mysterious force for almost two feet. He immediately understood that his teacher Li Hong-zhi had protected him.
On the same page he tells of another disciple in Chang Chun who was almost pierced by a steel rod “two inches thick and [13 feet] long” that fell from the fourth floor of a construction site. Just before impact, “someone” patted his head and he turned around to look up. At that moment he saw a large wheel spinning just above his head while the rod fell and pierced the ground immediately beside him.
“My saintly body (fa shun) will protect you until you are able to protect yourself.”
— LI HONG-ZHI
founder, Falun Gong “These incidents are so common,” writes Li on page 153, “that they are no longer worth counting.… You might or might not encounter them, but I will guarantee that you will have no danger.… This is what I will give you. My saintly body (fa shun) will protect you until you are able to protect yourself.” Thus Li views himself as a living Buddha with supernatural powers capable of protecting his disciples everywhere at all times. Is this the reason he changed his date of birth to coincide with that of Buddha?
Throughout China’s long history, religious cult leaders and secret societies have appeared from time to time to lead the masses into rebellion, causing wars, upheaval and great suffering. There were, among others, the Taoist Yellow Scarf Society during the Han Dynasty in A.D. 184, the Wu Dou Mi Religious Society during the Jin dynasty in 399, the Bai Lian Sect in 1796 and the Taiping Rebellion during the Qing Dynasty in 1850. Like his predecessors, Li Hong-zhi also claims that he possesses miraculous “powers” which will cure disease and protect his followers from harm.
Among educated Chinese circles, Li’s books are viewed with amusement and amazement. Some of his followers in the United States and Canada may indeed be highly educated—as various commentators have written—but they seem to have forgotten their knowledge of basic sciences. Can it be that the attraction of a green card is greater than their commitment to modern science?
Whatever the intellectual content (or lack of such) of the Falun Gong philosophy, the Chinese government is certainly cracking down on Falun Gong supporters. If a government is faced with a potential David Koresh (leader of the Waco, Texas, Branch Davidians), how should they deal with him? In China at present, suppression is merely providing Falun Gong members with a sense of solidarity. Until the Beijing authorities recognize that there is a burning spiritual hunger among the Chinese people and set about providing legitimate facilities to fulfill this need, cults such as Falun Gong will continue to flourish.
Adeline Yen Mah is a physician and writer. Her memoir, “Falling Leaves,” was a New York Times best seller. Her latest book is “Watching the Tree.”