Why Falun Dafa Is Banned. Falun Gong - Ancient Knowledge for Modern People

The swastika is a common Buddhist symbol for Falun Gu'n (Chinese trad. 法輪功, simpl. 法轮功, pinyin Fǎlún Gōng, literally meaning "practice of the Wheel of the Law") or Falu'n Dafa (Chinese trad. 法輪 大法, simpl. 法轮 大法 , pinyin Fǎlún dàfǎ, literally means “Great Law of the Wheel of the Law”) is a Chinese organization, whose adherents call it “the school of self-improvement of soul and life”, which became widely known in the early 1990s in China. Falun Gong is said to teach meditation techniques through exercises to improve physical health as well as moral and spiritual purity. Falun Gong is also called Falun Dafa ("The Great Law of Falun"). The school has millions of followers in almost all countries.

Falun Gong adherents claim that they strive to follow truth, kindness, and patience in their own daily life.

Critics of the Falun Gong teachings believe that hatred is preached to any individual or organization that criticizes the favorite, Li Hongzhi, as well as refusal of medical assistance and pharmaceuticals, which allegedly led to countless cases of death and spiritual insanity of followers. In critical literature, the organization is called a sect.

Founder of Falun Gong

The founder of Falun Gong is Li Hongzhi. In 1992, he introduced Falun Gong at the Eastern Health Expo in Beijing. In 1993, Falun Gong also participated in this exhibition, where he received the three highest awards. At the same time, this method of practice in China began to be called Golden Falun Gong - for its effectiveness in healing the body. Soon the way to practice Falun Gong became popular throughout China. Li Hongzhi graduated from the main book of the teaching system, Zhuan Falun, in 1994. In addition to describing the principles of Falun Gong, the book touched upon development topics, the meaning of place and time, and the mysteries of the universe.

Falun Gong Practitioners Show Exercises Falun Gong practitioners do exercises designed to promote health in the open air. The principles of this method of practice are fully described in Zhuan Falun and other books, also on video and audio cassettes, as well as websites.

Suppression of Falun Gong Activities in the PRC

In 1999, the Chinese government took away Falun Gong's legal status and protections and prohibited its publication. In 1996, Li left China to give Falun Gong lectures in Europe, Asia and Australia. In 1998 he moved to New York. Falun Gong practitioners in China, on orders from above, began to be persecuted by the police. On April 25, 1999, approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners held a day-long, peaceful demonstration outside the Central Appeals Cabinet.

The government responded on July 22, 1999 with a complete ban on Falun Gong in China. It also tried to issue an international arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi on charges of developing a "sinister cult" that spreads prejudice to deceive people. For political reasons, the warrant was not taken into account by the United States government and the international police organization Interpol. Falun Gong practitioners around the world have been explaining the truth about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party.

Falun Gong practitioners themselves maintain that this teaching is not a religion or a cult, and has nothing to do with politics. They say that followers should not leave tangible property, work, or family life. The goal of the practice is to gradually get rid of selfish desires.

Falun Gong

The Falun Gong (Wheel of Law Practice) movement was founded in 1992 by retired military man Li Hongzhi. It combines within itself elements of Buddhism, Taoism and the classical healing practice of qigong.

The movement has gained immense popularity. According to some sources, up to 70 million people took part in it in China. Chinese immigrants to the United States were also fascinated by the new teaching. The number is believed to be around 8 million.

The Chinese authorities were frightened by this unusual popularity of the religious movement and began to fight with it. Falun Gong leaders have brought thousands of their own followers to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, demanding official recognition of the movement. But this demonstration of a significant number of adherents led to a reversible result. Traffic was banned in July 1999.

Video: Falun Dafa Falun Gong Qigong Exercise

Since then, its activists have occasionally held public protests, but their participants have been arrested. In late 2000, in Tiananmen Square, several alleged Falun Gong adherents committed self-immolation. But the organization's management considered this the result of police provocation and refused to admit that the victims belonged to the movement.

Falun Gong favorites have repeatedly emphasized that it is not a religion, but a spiritual practice. Li Hongzhi, for example, states that members of the movement can belong to any religion. In this he is similar to the neo-Hindu gurus who say that the practice of Indian yoga is compatible not only with Hinduism, but also with other religions. But the syncretic teaching that frames the practice of Falun Gong contains Buddhist and Taoist tenets.

The movement has no fixed membership or clergy. Its participants emphasize that they are not so much an organization as a group of like-minded people united on a volunteer basis. This frightened the Chinese authorities, who do not like amateur performances, especially in the field of religion.

Over the past two years, there have been many Falun Gong-related events in China. The authorities launched a massive attack on this para-religious organization, subjecting its members to harsh repression. This short article outlines the essence of the teachings and practices of Falun Gong in the most general terms, as well as analyzes the reasons for the violent conflict between the authorities and this sect.

The name of the sect consists of two parts: "Falun" - in Buddhist terminology means "the wheel of the law" of the Buddha (dharmachakra). In Chinese, "fa" means Buddhist, and "moon" means disc, circle, wheel, rotation, which goes back to the Hindu concept of "chakras" (cosmic law), as well as to the yogic concept of chakras as some energy centers of the body. One of the Chinese names for Buddha is Lunwang, that is, "the king of the law turning the wheel"; the same word denotes the chakravartins - mythical universal rulers, supposedly preparing the world for the coming of the Buddha. "Gong" - is directly related to the ancient Chinese psychotechnical tradition of the Taoist direction. By itself, the hieroglyph "gun" means, among other things, "achievement", "feat", "action", "effect", "skill", etc. In traditional Chinese philosophy, the word "qi" is understood as "pneuma", the universal substance of the universe, as a filler of the human body associated with blood circulation, and as a manifestation of mental activity 1. The word qigong refers to a variety of different traditional systems, mostly of Taoist origin, that pursue the goal of inner cultivation through meditation and breathing exercises. An important role in this is played by the idea of ​​the unity of man and the cosmos - the microcosm and the macrocosm.

There are a great many different qigong schools in China today. The communist authorities admitted their existence as a kind of traditional breathing exercises. Moreover, "qigong", along with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, has always been advertised, including abroad, as one of the achievements of ancient Chinese culture. The mystical aspect has always been carefully separated, indicating that it is enough just to take the appropriate postures and follow the rhythm of breathing in order to achieve healing. Public performances of qigong masters, lying under reinforced concrete floors or lifting a truck, were seen as a kind of Chinese circus.

And so in 1992 a new "qigong" school appeared, calling itself "Falun Gong". Its founder was a certain Li Hongzhi, a native of the town of Gongzhuling, in Haide County, Jilin Province in Northeastern China. He was born on July 7, 1952, but later, in an effort to gain additional authority among his followers, he changed his date of birth so that it would coincide with the Buddha's birthday according to the lunar calendar. Li Hongzhi's biography is unremarkable: he studied in high school, worked in an army stable in the 1970s, then became a trumpeter for the forest police. From 1982 to 1991, he worked in the security service of a food company in Changchun. In May 1992, he began to preach his teachings, claiming that he had secretly studied with Buddhist and Taoist teachers for many years. Official Chinese propaganda, apparently relying on intelligence data, asserts that Li Hongzhi began to practice "qigong" only in 1988, mastered two styles of this gymnastics a little (jiugongbaguagong and chanmigong), and also combined them with elements of Thai national dance, with which met during a trip to Thailand. The practice of "Falun Gong" includes gymnastics in addition to "spiritual exercises". These are five complexes that bear the following names: the "Buddha stretches thousands of arms" method, the "Falun" standing pile method, the two-pole piercing method, the "Falun" celestial circle method and the method of strengthening miracles 2.

In fact, the attempts of the Chinese authorities to portray Li Hongzhi as the illiterate adventurer 3, which he most likely is, do not clarify the essence of the matter at all. Indeed, by the time the government began to suppress the sect, it had 39 branches in various cities in China, 1,900 training centers and 28,000 "primary organizations." How did the Falun Gong sect become so popular that its followers number in the millions? It is difficult to give a more precise figure: Li Hongzhi speaks about 100 million, the Chinese authorities - about 2-3 million. Since one deliberately overestimates the data, while others underestimate, the truth, apparently, is in the middle.

It is obvious that the reasons for the spread of "Falun Gong" in the PRC are rooted in the current state of Chinese society, and more precisely, the emergence of the sect was quite consistent with, as they say in China, the spirit of the times. The reforms carried out by the Chinese Communist Party over the years have pursued the goal of ensuring progressive economic development and modernization, while maintaining the CCP's monopoly of political power, in particular through strict ideological control. However, the results are not quite as expected. The disproportionate development of various regions of the country, corruption, the growth of unemployment in cities and hidden unemployment in rural areas, and many other factors have given rise to a mood of discontent, which is quite widespread and rooted in various social strata. The complete devaluation of the values ​​of the official ideology and the suppression of attempts to achieve minimal political reforms led to disillusionment in public life.

The search for a solution to life conflicts began to gradually shift into the sphere of mystical searches, but not within the framework of officially recognized religions. Religious organizations existing in the PRC (regardless of religion) are strictly controlled by the authorities, do not have ramified national structures and do not enjoy the confidence of the majority of the population. And then a "teaching" appears, outwardly based on the officially recognized health-improving practice of "qigong". This means that it can spread in the most diverse circles of society. Recruiting new followers can be gradual. At first, those who want to "just get healthier" over time master the religious teachings, begin to systematically "study" the texts of "Falun Gong", worship "Teacher" and so on. Gradually, information about "miraculous healings" spreads in society and a wave of new members begins to arrive in the ranks of the sect with renewed vigor. This is how the centuries-old tradition of secret societies and sects that have emerged from time to time in China and posed a significant threat to power is revived. In modern conditions, the attractiveness of "Falun Gong" for workers, peasants, ordinary employees, pensioners is as follows:

1. the discrediting of the Communist Party caused the need to join some other paternalistic organization, so as not to feel abandoned to the mercy of fate;
2. the outwardly health-improving and inwardly hidden religious character of the sect made it quite safe in the eyes of the people: it is not some kind of opposition political party;
3. in an atheistic society, the sect had an understandable success, using some scientific arguments along with myths;
4. living in desperate conditions, disillusioned with the reforms, millions of people seized on the idea of ​​the impending collapse of the universe as a saving straw: there is no need to worry more about the problems of everyday life, the main thing is to strive for the correct transition to a new world that will be recreated after the catastrophe.

Initially, Li registered with the China Qigong Study Association, but was soon forced to leave because the religious concept of Falun Gong did not fit into the materialist ideology of the official organization. Presumably, by 1998, when Li Hongzhi moved to New York, relations between the sect and the authorities were already quite tense, and the inventor of "Falun Gong" had amassed enough funds to continue to lead his followers from abroad without being in danger. repression.

Information about the theory and practice of Falun Gong was disseminated in China in the form of books, laser discs, video and audio tapes. While Li Hongzhi lived in China, he traveled extensively around the country, conducting paid trainings and giving lectures. The authorities announced that the total income. received by the leadership of the sect amounted to about 5.5 million US dollars. 5 The scale of the case can be judged by the fact that by the end of 1999 the police had confiscated about 10 million copies of books and other printed materials of "Falun Gong" 6.

The growing number of Falun Gong adherents over time has become a concern of the Chinese authorities, especially since many members of the Communist Party have begun to practice, as well as government officials and the military. As the professor at the University of Pennsylvania J. de Lisle notes, the mass entry of the communists into the sect is a sign of an obvious decline in party discipline and a general destabilization of the internal political situation 7. It became clear to the CPC leadership that an enemy appeared on the horizon, much more terrible than the "bourgeois liberals," since, unlike the latter, it enjoys, if not massive, then multimillion support from the population.

Critical articles began to appear in the press, in which "Falun Gong" was qualified as a "heretical sect" (xijiao) 8 and as a "cult."

In response, the sect resorted to silent demonstrations (in 1998, near the television centers that criticized them), then at Tianjin Normal University on April 22, 1999, and finally in Beijing. Falun Gong practitioners were most prominent on April 25, when about 10,000 people lined up around the Zhongnanhai government headquarters. An organized force appeared abruptly and unexpectedly in the political arena, which decided to oppose itself to the totalitarian regime. The sect has demonstrated an exceptional ability to effectively mobilize its members. This is exactly what Li Hongzhi aspired to in his time, creating the primary cells of "Falun Gong" in the field. Modern means of communication such as e-mail, facsimile messages and telephone have made it possible to ensure almost immediate execution of orders 10.

The official reaction to such audacity was not long in coming. Literally a few days later, repressions against the sect and its members unfolded throughout the country. The sectarians tried to resist: their peaceful demonstrations were held in almost 30 cities 11. On July 22, 1999, the Falun Gong sect was outlawed for spreading false claims, cheating, and inciting disorder. The next day, Li Hongzhi tried to draw the attention of international organizations and governments of other countries to the conflict, but achieved only that he himself was put on the wanted list on July 29. Hundreds, if not thousands of supporters of the sect ended up in the dock. Many, according to press reports, were subjected to extrajudicial measures of influence. At the present time, we do not yet have accurate information about the statistics of these repressions. Special orders were issued categorically forbidding members of the Communist Party and officials of state institutions to participate in the sect.

It should be borne in mind that at present the teaching of "Falun Gong" has already spread in many countries of the world, primarily in the United States 12. Li Hongzhi's eclectic system has found an appreciative audience in societies that have been processed by "New Age" concepts. The commercial bait of a quick and "clean", "non-drug" recovery with the prospect of a significant extension of life also worked. Therefore, it becomes clear how easily it was possible to launch a campaign in defense of the sect in many countries. As for the position of the media, politicians and the "public", it was also implicitly predetermined. After all, the topic of human rights violations is the most important instrument of Washington's pressure on Beijing, so no one even began to understand the essence of the matter in detail. Falun Gong practitioners have been declared innocent sufferers.

The mood of the West worried the PRC, which would like to understand the reasons for its harsh actions. The importance the Chinese government attaches to its fight against "Falun Gong" can be judged by the fact that at a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, in September 1999, Chinese President Jiang Zemin presented the American President Bill Clinton with a book in which The activities of the sect 13 were described in unpleasant tones, which, presumably, did not make an impression on the Washington administration.

On November 18 and 19, 1999, the US House of Representatives and Senate passed a resolution urging the PRC government to respect human rights and not pressure Falun Gong. Simultaneously with the participation of supporters of "Falun Gong" in the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc., a noisy campaign of protests unfolded; analysis of what this sect really was 14.

It goes without saying that international support for Li Hongzhi and his supporters sparked angry protests from Beijing and did not change his policy. On December 26, four leaders of the sect (all CCP members!) Were sentenced by a Beijing court to prison terms ranging from 7 to 18 (!) Years. Trials and arrests continued in the future. Many leading figures in Falun Gong have been charged with stealing state secrets. This concept is rather vague when it comes to a socialist society, where huge amounts of information are classified "just in case." For us, it is important that during the campaign the authorities emphasize the anti-state nature of the sect.

Interestingly, while refuting the criticism of American lawmakers, Chinese diplomats argued that Falun Gong is not a religious organization (that is, a permissible phenomenon in the religious life of society), but a "cult" that does not obey the law, undermining public order, violating religious freedom. who deceive their followers, are associated with criminal offenses and seek political activity. It is obvious that the PRC resorts to such rhetoric to maintain a dialogue with the American audience, some of which will never agree with the persecution of any religion, but will sympathize with the suppression of the "cult." As a matter of fact, this rather ambiguous and differently understood term itself was borrowed by Peking propagandists from the arsenal of American religious studies.

One of the main charges leveled against Falun Gong is that practicing the exercises developed by Li Hongzhi leads to mental illness and death. (Xinhua News Agency reported on July 30, 1999 that throughout China at that time 743 people lost their lives due to the practice of Falun Gong, and by the end of the year this figure had risen to 1400). At the same time, they refer to the American "Diagnostic and Statistical Handbook of Mental Disorders", which mentions "a psychotic reaction associated with practicing" qigong "". This is a rather strange propaganda trick, since the American book, in turn, refers to the "Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders." Nevertheless, we will give a detailed definition of the mentioned psychotic reaction (belonging to the category of specifically culturally conditioned), which we are talking about: "an acute, short-term attack, characterized by dissociative, paranoid or other psychotic and non-psychotic symptoms, arising as a result of training ..." "... The most susceptible to individuals involved in excessive engagement in this practice" 15. In this regard, the countless facts cited by the Chinese media become explainable that the followers of "Falun Gong": cut open their belly with scissors; jumped out of the window; self-burned; drowned by jumping into a well; perceived their parents as demons and killed them, as well as their husbands, wives and children, etc.

Representatives of "Falun Gong" in the PRC and abroad claim that they do not belong to a "cult" because they do not have a leader, they do not have any form of religious worship or ritual.

To argue that "Falun Gong" does not have a leader, one can only be in a state of deep, almost painful delusion, or wishing to deceive public opinion. After all, it is Li Hongzhi who is the only source of information about the doctrine of the sect and only through him is it possible to practice correctly. He says this himself in a document called "The Regulation regarding the transmission of the law and gong to the disciples of the great Falun law": my level of hierarchy "(as in the text. - Approx. Auth.). In other words, Li Hongzhi has arrogated to himself the unattainable status of a person who owns the secrets of the universe and is located on a "hierarchical level" of exceptional height. The book "Zhuan Falun" 16 also says: "I have achieved considerable success and had a positive impact on all (italics ours. - Auth.) Society," "no one but me transfers the gong to the highest levels of the hierarchy" (p. 5 ), "I can help everyone" (p. 8), "behind you is my Body of the Law, there is no danger for you" (p. 69), "if you listen to the sound recording constantly, you will understand deeper and deeper the essence of the Law and extract from it all new and new understanding. All the more so when you read my book "(p. 71). Therefore, the adepts were recommended to constantly read and listen to the works of their teacher, who insisted that he was invisibly present nearby. They were taught that without a mentor they are helpless: "You cannot explain this Law" (ibid.).

The "teacher" constantly accompanies his followers invisibly. He is omnipresent. Here is an example from the book Zhuan Falun, which talks about the various trials that practitioners have to endure: “The form of such an obstacle comes from the devil, and it happens from the Teacher who tests you, for which he resorts to such techniques as creating things out of nothing "(p. 115).

Without completely rejecting traditional religions, Li Hongzhi admits the worship of Buddha images. However, he emphasizes that they must be sanctified by righteous people. Since it is not easy to find such people, and otherwise an unclean spirit, such as a fox, a ferret, may enter the statuette (p. 101), the following method of consecration is proposed: “Take my book (since it contains my photograph) or simply my photograph and, holding the Buddha statue in hands folded in a uniform (as the text apparently means mudra. - Author) of a large lotus, ask the Teacher to consecrate the image as you would ask me. Just half a minute is enough, and the issue will be resolved. " (p. 103). The photograph of the "Teacher" itself exudes divine power, and his "spirit", presumably, infuses the figure in order to become an object of worship !?

The sect has established a requirement for strict adherence to internal rules. Violators are at risk. The April 20, 1994 document signed by Li Hongzhi titled "Requirements for Counseling Centers for the Great Law of Falun" states: "It is strictly forbidden for disciples of the Great Law to practice other gongfa ... If something happens to them without listening to the advice, then they themselves will be responsible for this "(hereinafter in this paragraph, as in the text posted on the Internet. - Author). It also speaks of the obligatory resistance to any opposition to the sect: "To resolutely boycott acts that violate the content of the 'great Law." that it is necessary “to simultaneously improve both spirituality and bodily movements.” Thus, the assertion of the sect's lawyers that its members were simply engaged in physical education is refuted.

The fact that Falun Gong adherents explicitly ascribed supernatural powers to their leader can be judged by the opposite, according to the methods of official counter-propaganda. Xinhua News Agency reported that for 1982-1992. Li Hongzhi was constantly purchasing medicines for treatment. This means that among the sectarians there is a conviction that Li is absolutely healthy and does not need the help of doctors. It is pertinent to note here that the sect is accused of the deaths of many people who refused medical assistance, relying on the methods of the "Teacher".

In order to finally decide whether "Falun Gong" is a religious sect, it is necessary to refer to the texts of its founder Li Hongzhi. Analyzing his statements is the best way to answer the question posed.

Professor of Heidelberg University Barend ter Haar, who opened a special page on the Internet for an academic discussion of the problem of "Falun Gong", considers the teachings of Li Hongzhi as "a combination of a religious lifestyle and meditative practice", he sees in the texts of the sect "clearly Buddhist inspiration" (admitting, however, that I "fluently" read the book Zhuan Falun).

In the book Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi points out that the sources of his ideas are "Buddha's law" and "Tao system", i.e. seemingly in accordance with the Chinese syncretic tradition. In order not to be caught in dogmatic errors or poor knowledge of the canon, he refuses to qualify his system as religious. The idea of ​​"the most mysterious, supernatural science" comes to the fore. On the one hand, this gives the author complete freedom in the development of his "system". On the other hand, it quite rightly appeals to the consciousness of a modern Chinese who retains at least unconscious ties with the national religious tradition, convinced by atheistic propaganda of the "superiority of science over superstitions", disillusioned with "the ideas of Marx and all others" and in search of a new ideology.

It is understandable why a detailed analysis of Li Hongzhi's ideas has not yet been presented. Reading the tapes of his lectures, which are an obscure eclectic decoction based on information gleaned from various religious systems, as well as from popular science and pseudoscientific literature, is a thankless task. And nevertheless, let's get started.

Cosmology. Outer space "was kind" and gave rise to the first life. The reason for this is not only that the cosmos acts as an impersonal creative or self-expanding instance, but also contains substances that can give rise to life (bow to materialism, there will be many of them, because for Li Hongzhi it is important to convince his followers of the "scientific nature" of his teaching ). The main properties of the pantheistically deified cosmos, all matter, living and inanimate, are three: "truth, kindness and patience" (zhen, shan, ren). Therefore, everyone who strives to comprehend the truth must develop the same in himself.

Li Hongzhi claims that in some places on earth there are remnants of civilizations that existed a hundred million years ago. However, these civilizations disappeared at regular intervals, burying almost all people under their ruins. He claims: “Once I checked in detail and found out that mankind suffered death 81 times” (p. 15).

In addition to the Earth, there are thousands of planets inhabited by intelligent beings that travel in space in UFOs. Their experience is an example of the fact that there are alternative paths of development, in which people at their present level of development do not understand everything. "UFOs of aliens fly at an unimaginable speed, they can increase and decrease. They followed a completely different line of development. They have a different approach to science" (p. 148).

In the universe, there are numerous hierarchies of enlightened beings akin to Li Hongzhi, who observe his activities and have the ability to create peace, apparently acting as demiurges acting on behalf of the cosmic law. There are also saints of a lower level - "terrestrial Buddhas and terrestrial Taoists" who secretly live in the mountains and forests. "There are several thousand of them all over the world, most of them live in our country (China. - Auth.)". They use "rather primitive techniques" of self-improvement, lower than "Falun Gong" (p. 103). Thus, we can find an appropriate place for the members of the sect: they are in the middle between the inhabitants of heaven and the saints who have not yet left the vale of the earth.

Sect symbolism. The Falun Gong emblem is a yellow circle with a red circle in the middle. In the red circle there is a yellow hieroglyph "wan" (Buddhist swastika, the sign of the heart of Buddha), along the circumference on the yellow field there are four more such hieroglyphs, as well as four symbols of the "great limit" - "taiji" 18. Li Hongzhi claims that this emblem is a model of the universe, which is in constant rotation.

Ontology. "Everything is predetermined by fate", "all the actions of ordinary people ... are predetermined by fate." The cause of a person's torment is evil deeds committed in past lives and forming karma (ate). To avoid suffering, i.e. not to get sick, get rid of calamities and "become sinless" is proposed the path of self-improvement, "return to the source of life" (Taoist idea) and "achieving truly awakening" (Buddhism). To do this, you need to practice "Falun Gong", which will allow you to simply heal the body at first, and then "the human body will already be completely replaced by a high-energy substance" (p. 8). At the same time, it is noted that “from the point of view of a high level of hierarchy, a person does not live to be a person” in the modern sense of the word (spoiled by “social relations”), but to merge with the Universe (p. 56). At the level of ordinary people there are those who "must be completely destroyed", but they are given "one more chance" for salvation through the practice of "Falun Gong" (ibid.). In addition to spiritual perfection, Li Hongzhi, quite in the Taoist spirit, also promises to achieve immortality of the body: "qualitative changes will take place, which is why ... a person will remain young forever" (p. 169).

Li Hongzhi admits the existence of evil spirits. "Devils are everywhere" (p. 61), he writes, recognizing the possibility of people being possessed by "unclean animal spirits such as a fox, a ferret and a snake" (p. 60). He also states that practicing "Falun Gong" can attract the devil (p. 112) and gives numerous examples of how this happens, obviously based on both personal observation and the experience of his followers. It is difficult to save yourself from the devil: "without the protection of my body of the Law, you yourself will not be able to do this" (ibid.).

The doctrine of salvation. Achieving "zhen, shan, ren", according to Li Hongzhi, is the main goal of Taoists, Buddhists, and members of Falun Gong. The shortest way to cultivate yourself is "qigong" in the Falun Gong version. This technique is attributed to a prehistoric origin, and it is emphasized that scientific research in a certain way fixed the specific manifestations of the "body of qigong masters", i.e. it is emphasized that "qigong" is not an "idealistic view", but a "materialistic reality" (p. 16).

"Gong" is considered as "cultivation energy", which should be increased by receiving from the hands of the "Teacher". For this, certain conditions are necessary, in particular, the cultivation of "xinxing", or the thinking unchanging principle in a person. Xinxing includes te, or materialized morality. (In passing, we note that Li Hongzhi avoids the question of dividing the world into spirit and matter: "matter and spirit are identical," "matter ... is a natural spirit" - p. 18). "De" is "white matter", and karma is "black". The task is to drain karma and build up "te". For this, it is proposed to humbly endure all kinds of ill-suffering, since the victim's karma automatically flows onto the offender, which in turn improves his "de" at the expense of the enemy. Therefore, it is even proposed to engage in a kind of "vampirism", running into conflicts for the sake of collecting "de" 19. Improvement of "te" allows the "Teacher" to build up "gunas" in the student, and he gradually reaches the "level of Buddha". Li Hongzhi claimed that in his lectures, he "personally put" Falun "into the" lower abdomen "of his listeners (p. 24). "Falun", being a "universe in miniature", "has all the superpowers inherent in the universe, can automatically move, rotate" (ibid.). With this "Falun", the members of the sect expected to achieve supernatural results. It seems that the idea of ​​an energy ring located in the lower part of the human body was borrowed by Li Hongzhi from the tantric tradition. She teaches that at the base of the spinal column there is a certain latent energy - kundalini, which, being awakened by yogic exercises, rises along the "central energy channel" and ultimately leads to the transformation of the body into incorruptible 20.

All Falun Gong practitioners inevitably improve their health and morale, Li Hongzhi notes. As an illustration, the experience with the introduction of sectarian teaching "in socialist production" is given: with diligence and prudence, willingly carry out any task that is entrusted to them. No one is chasing personal gain. All this has led to a change in the spiritual image of the plant. The economic efficiency of the plant has also improved "(p. 82).

Li Hongzhi promised his students to make them the receptacle of the deified space and, in the future, become the rulers of the universe. The influence of the Buddhist tradition is clear here, which understands the universe as alien to any teleology and is the result of the karmic actions of living beings in all their reincarnations. Only, according to the teachings of Li Hongzhi, successfully self-cultivating people can become an elite group that determines the further transformation of the world. He attributes to himself the ability to teach the followers of the sect to stand above the laws of karma, from the point of view of Buddhism, immutable. You just need to surrender to the power that the "Teacher" puts in you: "Falun has mental ability. He himself knows what to do" (p. 26). The deified leader of the sect subordinates the adepts to his will through zombification. Continuously reading his books and listening to his voice, they indulged in psychophysical exercises, believing that Li Hongzhi had planted a "microchip of eternity" in them. They expected eternal youth, omnipotence and heavenly delights, but became slaves.

The ultimate goal of self-improvement and achievement of the "highest hierarchy", higher than the "degree of Zhulay" (Tathagata), ie. Buddha, appears rather banal in the performance of Li Hongzhi: "Life without disease, without suffering, when you have everything you want - this is how the life of the inhabitants of heaven looks like" (p. 39). A self-perfectionist "needs only to stretch out his hand, and he will have whatever he wants," and this will happen in his own paradise - "Paradise" (p. 91).

In the sermon of Li Hongzhi, one can feel the eschatological tension: "For the last time, in the last period of decline and destruction of the dharma (as in the text. - Auth.), We preach the orthodox Law" (p. 69). Who did not have time, he was late! Moreover, soon it is necessary to prepare for the worst: "a big explosion took place in outer space long ago," and its consequences will soon reach the earth. "The property of the Universe and the substances in it will explode completely," and you need to have time to create a new spiritual property in yourself, corresponding to a new universe, the one that after the catastrophe will be created by the "great enlightened ones" (p. 96).

Representatives of the higher hierarchies sometimes come to human society, but not without fear. The fact is that their memory is erased, and they can easily "get bogged down in a swamp of glory and self-interest." A good way to overcome this impasse is the "method called madness" (sic!). A person with good data for self-improvement must be "forced to be in a state of madness, to lock a certain part of his brain" for two or three years. When he is properly tormented, his "de" will improve, "tun" will rise. "After that, the person is restored to consciousness" (p. 111-112). In other words, if someone just goes crazy practicing Falun Gong, there is nothing to worry about, he will drain his karma.

Wonders. Here we come to a very important topic: miracles. Li Hongzhi has repeatedly stressed that his students can do all sorts of incredible things ("white magic" - p. 22; "many living beings are produced in your body" - p. 23), of course, thereby tempting people 21. What is the use of warnings to refrain from performing miracles? The audience needs them.

The authorities did not stand aside either, they were scared. Discussing the discovery of the mystical all-seeing "third eye" (tianmu) among his students. Li Hongzhi spoke of the need to restrain the ability to "all-seeing": otherwise "state secrets could not be preserved" (p. 30). After the beginning of the repression, the authorities, for greater seriousness, accused the sect of stealing state secrets.

The followers of Li Hongzhi supposedly can see the future, have answers to all questions, and can heal diseases. But it is strictly forbidden to do the latter: "The worldly community is precisely such that is in a state of birth, old age, illness and death, existing by predetermination ... If you cure someone, it means that you violate this principle" (p. 145) ... Adepts are told that in time they will be able to work miracles, but they should restrain themselves, following the example of the "Teacher": they can do everything, but they do not ...

Relations with other religions. About Chan Buddhism: "In fact, they distorted the meaning of Shakyamuni's statement" (p. 9). Li Hongzhi is quite dismissive of Buddhism in general, noting that the Buddha's teachings are much primitive, since he preached "to people who originated from the newly formed primitive society and were very primitive" (p. 11). The leader of "Falun Gong" himself declares that he is at such a high level of "hierarchy" (tsengzi) that he can continue the revelation of "Buddha Law" to a much greater extent than is done in Buddhism.

So, we are faced with a teaching that claims to be more true and a higher level of dedication to the secrets of the universe than the religious traditions recognized in China. The author of this teaching acts as an indisputable authority, a "Teacher" who possesses wisdom inaccessible to other people and is associated with the "celestials". He acts as a transmitter of heavenly secrets to perishing people, he is their savior. All followers of the sect are invited to perform psychophysical exercises to change the body, transforming it into another "energy substance", which, in particular, is not subject to aging. The need to quickly accept the teachings of "Falun Gong" is motivated by the impending universal catastrophe, in which only zealous adherents of the sect can be saved.

Falun Gong adherents believe that special psychophysical exercises can save you from death. However, there is a main precondition: the "Teacher" places in the body of the adepts a certain mystical self-propelled intelligent omniscient entity "Falun". The cultivation of "Falun" is the main religious ritual of the sect, although outwardly it may look just like gymnastics. This is deception.

In addition, Li Hongzhi claims that even with the help of his photograph, images of the Buddha can be sanctified. Hinting by the date of his birth to connect with the Tathagata, he pursues a very specific goal: "to move into the statue" and become an object of worship.

Falun Gong has a clear organizational structure and well-established communication channels using the most modern means of communication. Thanks to this, the sect has the ability to quickly and effectively mobilize its members for mass actions.

Members of the sect are required to strictly adhere to orthodoxy, deviations from the "teachings" of Li Hongzhi are not allowed. The practice of "Falun Gong" implies constant appeal to the works of the founder of the sect: books, audio and video recordings, which allowed the organizers of the cult to put their business on a commercial basis and have significant income.

Appealing to the consciousness of a modern Chinese, religiously and ideologically disoriented, the "Falun Gong" sect, hiding behind the slogan "scientific", in fact, fraudulently recruited a huge number of people into its ranks. Li Hongzhi devoted their despair to his vanity and self-interest.

At the same time, we do not yet have sufficient grounds to assert that Falun Gong is a totalitarian sect. It may not have been long enough for the structure of the organization to fully crystallize. This can now be judged by the nature of the development of the international Falun Gong community, to which the efforts of Li Hongzhi and his entourage are now making.

Let us emphasize once again: regardless of what exactly is the essence of the teachings of "Falun Gong", the problem concerning the relationship of the Chinese state with the sect is primarily of a political nature. This was openly stated by many Chinese leaders, including the honorary chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League of China (one of the non-communist parties in the PRC) Qian Weichang. Wang Zhaoogo, head of the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee, was even more harsh in his assessment: the Falun Gong incident can only be compared with the riots on June 4, 1989 (This refers to the student demonstration in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.) The Xinhua News Agency described the Falun Gong sect as "a political force that opposes the Chinese Communist Party and the central government. It preaches idealism, theism (it is completely unclear on what basis such a conclusion is made. - Author) and feudal prejudices. It has created strongholds. points (zhan) throughout the country at different levels and even infiltrated some important party and government offices. " In November 1999, the head of the Communist Party and State, Jiang Zemin, himself condemned Falun Gong, calling the sect a "cult."

The PRC government hastened to establish a legal framework to fight against Falun Gong. On October 30, 1999, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted a resolution banning the activities of "heretical religious organizations." The document, which does not contain any mention of "Falun Gong", lacks a definition of what such "cults" are, only specifying that they operate "under the guise of religion, qigong or other illegal forms." The most dangerous consequence of the activities of "cults", according to the text, is "violation of the law", "organization of mass gatherings with the aim of undermining public order", "murder, rape, fraud", etc. was involved in cult organizations fraudulently. Considering in this regard that, according to Hong Kong observers, 35,000 members of the sect have already been persecuted, one can imagine how extensive the ranks of Falun Gong are.

An explanation soon followed by the Supreme People's Court and the Main People's Prosecutor's Office of the PRC as to what "cults" are: "illegal groups using religion, qigong or other means as a cover, deifying their leaders, attracting new members to their ranks and implementing control over them, deceiving society by fabricating and spreading superstitions and threatening society. " The aforementioned authorities also explained that "Falun Gong" falls under the provisions of sections 1, 2 and 3 of article 300 of the Criminal Code of the PRC, which refers to "sects spreading superstition and secret societies." One cannot refrain from drawing analogies between what is happening now and the events of the distant past, when various secret societies and millenarian religious sects organized anti-government movements and uprisings, often endangering the existence of dynasties.

Participation in the communist sect, apparently, caused the greatest concern of the authorities. An example of someone who was into "Falun Gong" is the case of General Yu Changxin, a senior scholar at an institute under the Air Force. In January 2000, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for participating in a sect.

It must be said that the repressions did not completely break the readiness of the sectarians to fight against the authorities. This is quite consistent with the teachings of Li Hongzhi, who argued that the accumulation of merit for a good rebirth is possible only through enduring suffering ("You need to experience some hardships, endure a certain amount of grief and suffering, it is unacceptable that you do not experience anything" 23) ... The end of October 1999 was a time of quite massive demonstrations of sectarians who came to Beijing in an organized manner from different parts of the country and from abroad. Thus, they testified to their disagreement with the decision of the NPC Standing Committee to ban sects. It was with the aim of harming for the idea that Falun Gong adherents staged a New Year demonstration in Tiananmen Square on January 1, 2000. A month later, an attempt was made to close the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging on Beijing's Tiananmen gate with Li Hongzhi's. In both cases, a significant part of the protesters were holders of passports of foreign states and could not be subjected to the same harsh repression as the citizens of the PRC. Another attempt to hold a demonstration was made on the occasion of the lunar new year on 4 February 25.

The Internet plays a significant role in the confrontation between the Chinese authorities and the sect. The global computer network is used by both sides to spread their views on the problem of banning "Falun Gong" in the PRC. Obviously, the PRC government was unprepared for the followers of Li Hongzhi to make e-mail the most convenient means of communication between Falun Gong branches in different provinces and were able to hold protests very effectively.

Interestingly, there has been a recent crackdown on other qigong groups, such as the Zhungong School, which has about 20 million followers and about 100 branches, 1,000 training centers and 180,000 teachers in different parts of China. The Qilin Group of Companies, based in Tianjin and engaged in tourism and health services, was closed. This group, according to the press, financed Zhungong. The confiscated funds of Zhungong amounted to approximately US $ 10 million. 26 The founder of "Zhungong" - Zhang Hongbao - went on the run.

The fact that another group was subjected to repression by the authorities indicates that the PRC government is seriously concerned about a completely new problem for it - the onset of mysticism, well-organized and strongly rooted in the national tradition.

Priest Peter Ivanov, Dr. sciences

Notes (edit)

1. Kobzev A.I., Yurkevich A.G. Qi. // Chinese philosophy. Encyclopedic Dictionary. Ed. M.L. Titarenko. M .: Mysl, 1994, p. 431.
2. See: Li Hongzhi. Falun Dafa. M .: Publishing house of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, 1999, pp. 320-331.
3. Li Hongzhi's texts, mostly recordings of his public speeches, shocked readers with their low literary quality. In response to accusations of illiteracy. Li Hongzhi resorted to a specific trick: he declared that the modern language was not able to adequately convey his teachings. In Russian it looks like this: "... it is by no means possible to express the guiding direction of Dafa at different higher levels of hierarchy and manifestation of the Fa (Fa) at every degree with modern normative words, it is even impossible to set in motion the evolution and rise of bentyi (Own body) disciples and gong, it is impossible to set in motion such a significant change "(Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun. Great Buddha Law Falun. M .: Publishing house of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, 1998, p. 189). The text gives the impression of complete nonsense also because, like all the other works of Li Hongzhi, translated into Russian, whether published in Russia or posted on the Internet, is the result of the works of the Chinese who do not speak Russian sufficiently.
4. Xinhua News Agency, 1999, July 22.
5. Xinhua News Agency, 1999, Dec. 26.
6. Toronto Globe and Mail, 2000, Jan. 31.
7. de Lisle J. China. Who's Afraid of Falun Gong? Asia Times, 1999, Aug. 10.
8. The mention of heresy causes bewilderment among the European reader, since heresy is a deviation from the true doctrine. So, we must assume that the CCP has true knowledge that Falun Gong distorts? In fact, the Chinese term "xijiao" would be more correct to translate as "false teaching." It is also important to bear in mind that in the history of China, such teachings were viewed by the authorities as a threat to the stability of the state.
9. University professor He Zuoxiu spoke in a youth magazine criticizing the spread of Falun Gong among teenagers.
10. The organization of the sect in Chongqing, the capital of Sichuan province, looked like this: at the top - the central office, three branches, 56 training centers of the first and second levels, 890 study groups. 358 leaders of the sect worked at all five levels of the city organization.
11. At the end of 1999, according to the authorities, there were 78 demonstrations with 300 or more participants. Xinhua News Agency, 1999, Dec. 26.
12. According to the Internet, Falun Gong organizations exist in the United States (at least 45 states), Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, England, Russia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
13. Associated Press, 1999, Sep. 12. Ji Shi's book is called "Li Hongzhi and His Falun Gong." Beijing, Xinxing Publishing, 1999.
14. An exception is an employee of the J.C. Fairbenck Center for East Asian Studies at Harvard University, who now teaches in Beijing, prof. K.-A. Schlefogt. He reproached the world press for bias, since the media deliberately turn a blind eye to the fact that "Falun Gong" manipulates its members, instilling in them unquestioning obedience and suppressing their will, deifies its leader and pursues the goal of enriching a narrow group of people, as well as its practice causes direct harm to human health. “Decisive action by the authorities is extremely important,” he writes, “because cults deprive people of the ability to defend themselves. leads the sect "(" China Daily ", 1999, Aug. 18.). K.-A. Schlevogt noted that many other qigong directions have the opportunity to continue to develop in China. As further developments showed, he was here not quite right.
15. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). 4th Edition. Wash., American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 847
16. Where this book is cited, only the page number is indicated in the text in parentheses.
17. Li Hongzhi himself makes extensive use of the concept of "heresy", referring to various new religions and sects infiltrating China (Zhuan Falun, p. 52).
18. Falun Gong's symbolism is rooted in the Buddhist-Taoist tradition. Nevertheless, Li Hongzhi makes a reservation that he has nothing to do with the Nazis: "Some say: this sign is similar to Hitlers (as in the text. - Auth.). I will tell you that this sign in itself does not represent any concept about classes "(p. 93).
19. One of the sect's followers living in Moscow spoke at a conference on Falun Gong. It was carried out with the help of "Swedish comrades" in September 1999 in St. Petersburg. He shared with his colleagues the method of improving "te": for this it is best to be in a traffic jam during rush hour. There is anger all around, but you sit there and proudly build up the "material of morality" (data from the Russian site "Falun Gong" on the Internet; which, apparently, is also maintained by the Chinese. for being predetermined ").
20. Paribok A. Kundalini. Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism // Dictionary. M .: Publishing house of the Republic, 1996, p. 249-250.
21. “If you open everything to people, then, having seen this, that all this is true, then everyone will begin to cultivate, including those who have no forgiveness” (p. 22).
22. China Daily, 1999, Nov. 1.
23. Zhuan Falun, p. 48.
24. South China Morning Post, 2000 Jan. thirty.
25. Chicago Tribune, 2000, Feb. II.
26. Australian Financial Review, 2000, Feb. 1; South China Morning Post, 2000, Feb. 2.

A gong- "high-energy matter" in the form of "small particles with a very high density", "manifested in the form of light."

History

The political and economic changes that took place in the PRC after the end of the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) and the beginning of reforms (1978) contributed to a certain liberalization of Chinese society and at the same time influenced the public consciousness and spiritual culture of the country's population.

As the Russian researcher A. A. Rabogoshvili writes in his work, for the PRC this period was marked by a revival of religious activity - “along with such institutionally and legislatively formalized religions as Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, most of the population turned to this called syncretic religions and popular beliefs, not officially recognized by the authorities and therefore attracting special attention. " At the same time, according to the researcher, the greatest public resonance is caused by various religious movements that have arisen or resumed their activities on the territory of the PRC. The most famous of these was the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) movement, which was founded in 1992.

According to He Guanghu, professor of philosophy at the People's University in Beijing, the revival of religiosity in China was due to the state's militant atheism during the Cultural Revolution and the onset of anomie in Chinese society after its end. The American researcher Ian Johnson, who analyzed the circumstances of the emergence of new religious movements based on qigong in the PRC, concluded that ideological transformations in the country and the discrediting of traditional religions contributed to this.

Popularizing the Teachings and Practices of Falun Gong

The persecution of Falun Gong in the PRC

Prerequisites

The features of religious life in China differ significantly even from neighboring countries, not to mention the Christian or Muslim world. For historical reasons, in China, throughout its five thousand year history, no religion has become dominant. Moreover, the very word "religion" did not exist in the ancient Chinese language. In its modern meaning, this word came to China from the Japanese language, in which it was artificially created at the end of the 19th century for the needs of Christian missionaries.

Confucianism has become the official orthodox ideology since the 2nd century BC. Therefore, throughout the history of China (with rare exceptions), the policy of the ruling dynasties was based on the fact that all religious life outside Confucianism was viewed as contrary to the interests of the state. Buddhist and Taoist monastic communities and monasteries were under strict state control, and various measures were taken to limit the number of monks. For example, according to the laws of the Qing dynasty, men over 16 years old were not allowed to tonsure, it was forbidden for the only son in the family to take monasticism, a woman under 40 years old could not become a nun.

If Buddhism and Taoism were subjected only to various kinds of restrictions, then the attitude towards religious sects was especially harsh. Over the centuries, sects and secret societies have played a significant role in the history of China, exerting a significant influence on the social, economic and political situation in the country. The secret sects were seen as a threat to the imperial power, and therefore the laws against them were very strict. For example, the 1740 statute contains the following provisions:

All those who preach heretical teachings<…>sentenced: the leaders to death.<…>Accomplices<…>must be sent to Muslim cities and given up there into slavery.<…>Those engaged in breathing exercises should be sentenced to 80 sticks.

The last punishment actually meant a death sentence, since hardly anyone could withstand 80 blows.

After the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the PRC, the authorities continue to control religious activities in the country. For example, in the Charter of the followers of Taoism there is such a clause:

The goals of this organization: under the leadership of the people's government to unite the followers of Taoism throughout the country, to foster patriotism and love for religion, to observe the constitution, laws, regulations and to follow the political guidelines of the state.

The Criminal Code of the PRC contains an article on the activities of sects and heretical organizations.

Ban

The skyrocketing numbers of Falun Gong adherents took the Chinese authorities by surprise. Over the years, an organization has been formed in the country that is not under the control of the Communist Party organs, does not share the ideological guidelines of the CPC, and has in its ranks, in addition to ordinary citizens, a significant number of members of the Communist Party, leading officials of state institutions and the military. The leading and guiding force in the person of the CCP has a rival who is popular among the population and has support in state structures. In fact, a religious society has emerged in the country in many respects reminiscent of sects from the times of monarchical China.

Alleged organ harvesting

Some human rights organizations and politicians claim that those arrested for practicing Falun Gong in the PRC are being tortured and forcibly removed for transplantation from them on a massive scale.

To investigate reports of forced organ harvesting and other persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China, the non-governmental organization CIPFG, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (registered in Washington DC), was established.

To conduct an independent audit, the CIPFG hired experts - human rights lawyer David Matas and ex-member of the Canadian parliament and ex-Canadian government secretary of state for the Asia-Pacific region David Kilgour. The report compiled by them based on the results of the audit acknowledges the existence and prevalence of the practice of cutting organs from Falun Gong practitioners held in prisons in China for subsequent transplantation to others, and the prisoners then die. The experts summarized that the statements made public are so shocking that they are almost impossible to believe: "They reveal such a manifestation of evil, which, in spite of all forms of human life, our planet has never seen."

This point of view was supported by the Vice President of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott. Investigating the information about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Macmillan-Scott traveled to China in 2006, where, in particular, he met with Mr. Cao Dong, who had already served a prison term for practicing Falun Gong. After meeting with Macmillan-Scott, Cao Dong was arrested again and since then there has been no news of him. Macmillan-Scott wrote about this to President of the European Parliament Hossep Borel Fontelles, asking him to sort out this incident with the Chinese authorities during a business visit to China. In 2009, Macmillan-Scott hosted the "Silent Genocide" press conference in London on the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, where he said:

My investigation, my meetings with people and my experience, all this led me to the conclusion that for ten years the totalitarian communist regime of the PRC has persecuted Falun Gong, these innocent and kind people. I believe the time has come to bring the communist regime to justice for genocide.

On June 19, 2008, The Epoch Times published an interview with an anonymous witness who, according to the publication, was held in the No. 2 Detention Center in Wuxi in 2005-2007. According to him, other inmates told him about the organ harvesting from two to three Falun Gong practitioners between 2002 and 2003.

However, there is no consensus among human rights defenders regarding the existence of this practice. In particular, Wu Hunda, a prominent Chinese dissident and human rights activist, questioned such information:

In March of this year, the Epoch Times newspaper affiliated with the Falun Gong movement reported that 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners had been imprisoned in the secret Suyatun concentration camp near Shenyang City, where organs and skin were removed from them before they died. However, all these allegations are based solely on the testimony of two witnesses, whose names have not been named. When Harry Wu asked the Falun Gong leadership to meet with these people, he was refused. He conducted his own investigation in the area where, according to the information available, the concentration camp was supposed to be. However, there was only a remand prison, which did not have the sophisticated equipment necessary for transplantation. American diplomats who visited the area in April also did not find anything similar to what Falun Gong officials say.

Awards

Learning and lifestyle

For information on the theory and practice of Falun Dafa, see the books and article by Li Hongzhi. His work Zhuan Falun is considered the main one.

Teaching

Falun Dafa as a syncretic teaching

The concept of matter is also different from how modern scientists understand it. Scientists are researching dangerous things like neutrons and atoms. If they are not in a lead container, then radioactivity cannot be avoided. This understanding is based on the existing theory, supported by measurements and observations. Scientists cannot find out more than this. In fact, every item is alive. This is what Buddha Shakyamuni said. Any object of any space is a material existence and is life. Neutrons, atoms, gamma rays and even more microscopic matter can be controlled artificially.

In fact, the universe is basically energy. The more microscopic the matter, the stronger its radioactivity. This is the most basic of the main points. Modern scientists do not dare to admit this, because they are not able to know it.

Considering that science, due to its superficiality, has led human society to a fall in morals, Li Hongzhi reproaches her that she cannot even prove the existence of Gods. It is argued that science "was transmitted to people not from the Saints, but from aliens located within the Three Realms, with the aim of conquering humanity."

Don't believe too much in science. Within certain limits of material space, it can bring a certain improvement to human society, but at the same time, accordingly, it gives rise to a colossal disaster.

Falun Gong as Hyper-Tao Buddhism

Li Hongzhi states that the principles that Shakyamuni and Lao Tzu expounded were calculated for the understanding of primitive people and were limited by the principles of our Galaxy. While the teachings of Li Hongzhi embraces the principles of the evolution of the entire universe.

According to the teachings of Li Hongzhi, the primary life of a person originates in the Universe, which supposedly has the fundamental characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance (Zhen-Shan-Ren; Ch. 真 - 善 - 忍), and, therefore, a person is also initially endowed with these properties that have been lost as a result of degradation.

Reasons for Faln Gong's popularity

To stand out from the crowd of conventional qigong schools, Li Hongzhi focused his efforts on giving his teachings features of mysticism, exclusivity and exclusivity. To do this, he draws the attention of his followers to the following provisions:

• Falun Gong is a teaching that dates back to prehistoric times.

Our Falun Dafa is one of the eighty four thousand schools in the Buddha system. It was never transmitted openly in the real historical period of human civilization, but in some prehistoric period it saved people on a large scale.

• Falun Gong is an all-encompassing teaching that has passed on the Buddha Fa for the first time.

The Great Law of Falun for the first time in centuries passed on to people the property of the universe (Buddha Law). "Buddha's Law" is an insightful vision of all the innermost secrets, ranging from a particle, a molecule to the Universe, from even smaller to even larger - there is nothing uncovered, nothing left out.

• Li Hongzhi endowed himself with supernatural abilities and exclusivity.

At this time, in our country and abroad, no one but me truly transfers Gong to the highest levels.

Experiments have shown that the number of gamma rays and thermal neutrons emitted by me is 80-170 times higher than the norm inherent in ordinary matter.

I have given over 100 million people good health and countless critically ill patients have become healthy. It is a fact .

Here we do not do exercises with qi, it belongs to a low level, and you do not need to do this.<…>I will cleanse your body, I will make you move forward, I will put in you an integral complex of the self-improvement system, and you will find yourself at a high level of self-improvement from the very beginning.

The Law preached by Shakyamuni was read two thousand five hundred years ago for ordinary people who were at a very low level, that is, for those people who originated from the newly formed primitive society and were very primitive. The last period of decline and destruction of the dharma, about which Shakyamuni spoke, is the essence of today. It is no longer possible for today's people to improve themselves according to this Law.

The principles that both Shakyamuni and Laozi expounded at one time are the inner principles of our galaxy. What does our Falun Dafa practice? We are improving according to the principles of the evolution of the Universe, according to the highest property of the Universe "Zhen Shan Ren". We practice such greatness as if we were practicing the universe.

• Falun Gong practitioners who strictly follow Li Hongzhi's instructions are guaranteed the acquisition of supernatural powers, exceptional health, and eternal youth.

After a while, the appearance of our disciples who have devoted themselves to Falun Dafa will change dramatically: the skin will become tender, the face will become flushed, the elderly will have fewer wrinkles to such an extent that there will be very, very few of them - this is a universal phenomenon.

Ordinary people will not notice your change on the surface, your cell molecules will retain their previous structure and arrangement, there has been no change in their structure, but the energy inside them has changed. Therefore, such a person will naturally not grow decrepit, the cells of his body will cease to die off and, therefore, youth will never leave him.

• For all of his followers, Li Hongzhi implants Falun, a rotating high-energy substance with mental abilities, which independently transforms his body without the participation of a student.

Our Falun Dafa produces Falun in the lower abdomen. When I preach Falun Dafa, all of you gradually receive the Falun I have invested. He has all the superpowers inherent in the universe, can automatically move, rotate. It will always rotate in the lower part of your belly. Falun will never stop and will revolve forever from the moment it is invested in you. When Falun rotates clockwise, it automatically extracts energy from the universe, moreover, it itself can transform energy, supply energy that is needed to change the elements of all parts of your body.

Falun Dafa in Russia

A number of materials published by Falun Gong in Russia have been declared extremist and included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

These are the following editions:

Brochure "Report on Verification of Allegations of Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners in China" by David Matas and David Kilgour, St. Petersburg, 2007, printed at the printing house of LLC "Typographic Complex" Slovo "" with a circulation of 5,000 copies (decision of the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar dated August 26, 2008);

Fact Sheet "Falun Dafa in the World" "World Human Rights Torch Relay" (judgment of the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar on August 26, 2008);

Information sheet "World torch relay in defense of human rights" (decision of the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar on August 26, 2008);

On May 13, 2007, Professor Gao Chunman, a 70-year-old Chinese citizen and Falun Gong practitioner, was expelled from Russia (previously denied political asylum).

Notes (edit)

1. Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun Falun Dafa
2. Rabogoshvili A.A. Buryat State University, Ulan-Ude, 2008
3. Falun Gong :: Encyclopedia of Modern Esotericism. Glossary of Terms :: Lotus Site
4. L.A. Kravchuk. Adaptation of syncretic sects to modern conditions (on the example of the Chinese sect "Falun Gong") // Way of the East. Tradition and modernity. Materials of the V Youth Scientific Conference on Philosophy, Religion, and Culture of the East. Symposium series. Edition 28... - SPb. , St. Petersburg Philosophical Society, 2003. - S. 49-51.
5. Falun Dafa Center for Spiritual and Physical Cultivation Officially Established in Russia Falun Dafa Information Center
6. 法轮 - 佛教 語。 比喻 佛 語。 謂 佛說法 ， 圓通 無礙 ， 運轉 不息 ， 能 摧破 眾生 的 煩惱。 (The wheel of the law is a Buddhist term. A figurative Buddhist expression. Explaining the teachings of Buddha, explaining the teachings of Buddhism, fully knowing, not knowing obstacles, constantly rotating tirelessly, you can destroy the passions and temptations of living beings). 汉语大词典 (Large Chinese Dictionary in 12 volumes. Beijing, 1975-1993).
7. 法輪 - Wheel of the dharma. The term translated as "wheel" -cakra, was a kind of weapon in ancient India. Therefore, the dharmacakra is a weapon that is able to crush all evil and all opposition, overcoming the mistaken beliefs of non-Buddhists. Like Indra's wheel, it rolls on from man to man, place to place, age to age. The wheel of the Doctrine. Dharma means the truth, wisdom or knowledge; cakra means a wheel or establishment. Dharmacakra, the compound word means the Doctrine or the Law established by Gautama Buddha. The doctrine alludes to the Four Noble Truths. The perfect one, the fully enlightened one, set rolling the unsurpassed wheel of the Law in the Deer Park at Isipatana also known as Sarnath near Vārāṇasī // Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
8. 大法 - 佛教 語。 謂 大乘 佛法。 (Great Law is a Buddhist term. This refers to the Great Vehicle). 汉语大词典 (Large Chinese Dictionary in 12 volumes. Beijing, 1975-1993).
9. Features of the Gongfa of Falun Dafa - "Falun is a rotating high-energy substance with mental powers."
10. Falun Gong. Chapter 1.2 of Qi and Gong of Falun Dafa - “A person who has reached a high level of cultivation, he no longer emits qi, but a mass of high-energy matter that manifests in the form of light. These are very small particles with a very high density, and this is gong. "
11. Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
12. 中国政府取缔法轮功合理合法
13. Religions of China. Reader. Edited by E. A. Torchinov. SPb., 2001.S. 5.
14. Baojuan on Pu-ming. (Translation, research and comments by E. S. Stulova) M., 1979. S. 49.
15. Baojuan on Pu-ming. (Translation, research and comments by E.S. Stulova) M., 1979, p. 46.
16. Wen Jian, L.A. Gorobets. Taoism in the modern world. SPb., 2005.S. 119
17. War against everyone. Part 3. Chinese direction. | East + West Review Analytics Agency
18. 5. Jiang Zemin's Collusion with the Chinese Communist Party to Persecute Falun Gong - The Epoch Times - Latest news and photos from around the world ...
19. Verification Report of Internal Organs Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China (Part 1) - The Epoch Times - Latest News and Photos ...
20. England overtakes China in terms of the number of prisoners per capita / ROL
21. Account Suspended
22. About Organ Harvesting
23. Edward McMillan-Scott convinces the President of the European Parliament to find out the whereabouts of missing Falun Gong practitioners - The Epoch Times Ukraine
24. Account Suspended
25. Organ Harvesting Confirmed By Former Detention Center Inmate - The Epoch Times - Latest news and photo coverage from around the world. Exclusive news from China
26. Portal-Credo.Ru - A well-known human rights activist doubts the authenticity of the evidence of the seizure of internal organs from members of the Falun Gong movement in Chinese concentration camps
27. Harry Wu questions Falun Gong's claims about organ transplants
28. An eyewitness account: How organs are harvested from living people in China - The Epoch Times - Latest news and photo reports from around the world. Exclusive news from China
29. A. D. Zelnitsky. Way of the East. Tradition and modernity // Materials of the V Youth Scientific Conference on Philosophy, Religion, and Culture of the East. Symposium Series... - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Philosophical Society, 2003. - V. 28. - S. 52-54.

Lishai Lemish reviews history and reveals the reasons why the Chinese Communist Party is campaigning to persecute Falun Gong

"If Falun Gong is kind, then why is the Chinese government so afraid of it?" After nine years of persecution, this issue remains valid. Here I will try to give an answer to it.

In the 80s. Every day at dawn, about 200 million Chinese people filled parks in China where they practiced the flowing exercises known as a form of qigong. In 1992, Master Li Hongzhi began teaching Falun Gong as an ordinary qigong practice. However, Master Li did not focus on improving the body and developing supernatural abilities, but on self-improvement to achieve spiritual perfection.

Falun Gong gained immense popularity almost overnight. Master Li traveled all over China, passed on the practice, talked about its principles. Information about Falun Gong was passed by word of mouth, and soon [Falun Gong practitioners] could be found in thousands of parks. The Chinese Consulate in Paris invited Master Li to teach the practice at their premises, and official figures showed that thanks to Falun Gong, the government saved millions in medical costs.

Spreading rapidly until July 1999, Falun Gong is suddenly becoming the number one social threat according to the communist government. Practitioners are sent for "re-education to labor camps," where they are starved, beaten and tortured with electric batons. By 2008, there were over 3,000 cases of practitioners killed as a result of the state's persecution. There is very strong evidence that even more practitioners have voluntarily become kidney, liver and heart donors. We do not know how many of these victims actually are.

Why is this brutal persecution happening?

Inconclusive explanations

Faced with international criticism and domestic sympathy for Falun Gong, the ruling CCP in China began to seek the rationale for its campaign. She stated that Falun Gong is a threat to society, that it is a superstition-based, well-organized overseas dangerous group of meditators. State media reported horror stories of injuries and suicides, but outsiders were not allowed to investigate the cases. When people somehow manage to thoroughly investigate such cases, they find that it happened to people who do not exist at all, and the crimes are committed by people who have nothing to do with Falun Gong. Human rights organization Human Rights Watch calls such official statements simply "bogus".

Some scholars believe that the party leaders feared Falun Gong because it reminded them of past religious uprisings. However, judging by general impressions alone, it is impossible to see how bloody these groups were: for example, the often-cited uprising in Taiping, which resulted in the death of 20 million people. Falun Gong has always been strictly non-violent and has no rebel plans.

One of the latest defamatory explanations against Falun Gong is that on April 25, 1999, 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in the political heart of Beijing, frightening the party leaders and triggering the persecution.

However, in fact, the peaceful demonstration was the result of a three-year escalation of the crackdown on [Falun Gong]. In fact, it was a direct response to the arrests and beatings of practitioners in nearby Tianjin and the media smear campaign against Falun Gong.

The opinion of one leader

This was the main incident, but it was caused by other reasons. On that April day, Premier Zhu Rongji received representatives from this group of 1 practitioners and listened to their complaints. Those arrested were released. Practitioners who participated in this incident told me that they were greatly encouraged by the fact that negotiations between the government and the people had begun.

However, that evening, Chairman Jiang Zemin sharply rejected Zhu's conciliatory stance. He branded Falun Gong as a threat to the party and said that it would be humiliating for the party if Falun Gong was not immediately eradicated. Indeed, many experts attribute the campaign to Jiang's obsession with Falun Gong as much as other factors.

Popularity result

It seems that Jiang and other party opponents of the compromise (some of whom still hold high office and support the campaign) feared the great popularity of Falun Gong in various social strata of society. In northern cities, workers performed exercises together in the courtyards of factories before going to the machines. Professors and students meditated on the lawns of Tsinghua University. Party leaders' wives and senior Party cadres have formed their own small group in central Beijing.

This fear of Falun Gong's popularity explains why, just weeks after Falun Gong's main book Zhuan Falun became a bestseller in 1996, publication was banned. And also why, after the government reported that it estimated the number of Falun Gong practitioners (70 million) outnumbering the party members, special agents began to interfere with practitioners' exercise.

Rogue party-state explanation

For decades, the party has been persecuting various groups: intellectuals, people employed in the arts, clergy, conservatives, reformists, and for this it organizes various political movements. Some are persecuted because they are out of party control or have their own ideology. Falun Gong, with its spiritual teachings, sense of community and community independence, falls into this category.

The persecution targets other groups when the party leadership begins to intrigue to align power. It seems that Falun Gong has also fallen victim to this situation, since the persecution can be used as an excuse to strengthen the security apparatus. This provided an opportunity for the party to add fuel to its [state] machine, from the purges of the Cultural Revolution to Internet surveillance.

As torture survivor Zhao Ming told me when we met in Dublin, "The party persecution machine already existed - Jiang just pressed a button."

Deprive Lemish

When Falun Gong books became bestsellers in 1996, they were banned; When the state media estimated that 70 million people were practicing Falun Gong, which was more than the number of members of the Chinese Communist Party, at that time, a wave of lies about Falun Gong swept the media, and the state security authorities began to spy on the practitioner and harass them in every possible way.

It was in response to these violations by the authorities of their country's Constitution that practitioners gathered in Beijing in April 1999.

In a 1999 Washington Post article, it is stated that “Jiang has single-handedly made the decision that Falun Gong“ must be eliminated ”(article in English). Journalists and internal sources noted Jiang's "envy" of Falun Gong and his obsession with "eradicating" the practice.

China analyst Willie Lam believes that by organizing a nationwide campaign, Jiang wanted to "set up" power for himself, while at the same time destroying a group he saw as a threat to his power.

In addition, the difference between the ideology of the atheistic Communist Party and the ideology of the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, which is based on the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, played a role.

Finally, as noted in The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, the persecution of Falun Gong is the latest in a series of brutal campaigns used by the party to remind the population that people are under its constant control.

Mao Zedong once said that in China, a cultural revolution should be carried out every seven or eight years. Indeed, since 1950, not even ten years have elapsed without the state carrying out some brutal campaign to suppress the masses. From the crackdown on counterrevolutionaries, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the brutal suppression, to the persecution of Falun Gong, the Party has killed 60 to 80 million Chinese citizens.

- The Chinese Communist Party is not stupid - would it hardly kill innocent people like that?

Hitler is not stupid - but he killed 6 million Jews. Why did the Khmer Rouge kill one in every four Cambodians? If Tibetan monks want only to piously worship and meditate, why are they still tortured and killed in the Chinese gulags? If teenage girls in Darfur did nothing wrong, why were they raped? Mladic was not a fool, why did he want to kill all the Muslim men in Srebrenica?

One can look at things from the perspective of the criminals and thus understand their economic and political motivations behind the massacres. However, we believe that to some extent there is evil here, with which it is difficult to agree - how can such things be done in relation to a person?

On the other hand, very many Chinese either take part in this campaign, or turned a blind eye to it precisely because they intuitively know what evil the Communist Party can commit. After public executions, organizing, cannibalism and massacres - a total of 60 to 80 million of these people's relatives died during the CCP's rule - the evil perpetrated against Falun Gong was already all too recognizable.

“If Falun Gong is good, why was it banned? Why isn't it done to other groups?

First, many other groups have also been banned and persecuted. Christians who refuse to attend party-controlled churches, Tibetan Buddhists and, of course, Democrats and other human rights activists are all persecuted in China, and in some cases, the persecution lasts for decades. There are also areas of qigong that are forbidden, and you will not see their followers doing exercises in the parks of China.

There is no need to look for those who are persecuted more than others. These groups are grossly abused and tragic for countless families of these people. Moreover, the aggressor against these groups is the same person.

When asked how the current persecution of Falun Gong is different from the persecution of other groups, it can be answered that the difference is as follows:

Falun Gong was the largest group in society in terms of the number of adherents, excluding the Communist Party. According to the estimates of the Chinese government itself in the late 90s. at least 70 million people were involved in this practice, reflecting the huge number of people affected by the persecution. The US Department of State notes that Falun Gong practitioners make up about half of all inmates in China's forced labor camps according to reports. Based on the reports of survivors in these camps, it can be concluded that in some cases, about 90% of the inmates are Falun Gong practitioners. In the winter of 2007, a huge number of additional Falun Gong adherents were placed in new cells.

Jiang Zemin and the Communist Party launched an extensive campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. In the early days of the persecution, it was common for the Chinese to react to the campaign as a Maoist, evocative, and which they believed was a thing of the past. In this regard, Falun Gong, like the groups during the Cultural Revolution, has become a target of persecution: practitioners and followers are attacked by intense propaganda, house-to-house searches of followers are conducted, they are beaten, publicly condemned, and tortured for which no one is responsible. Like many groups in the 1960s, Falun Gong has become the target of financial ruin and massive exile to forced labor camps for its adherents, a process that is systematic and carried out on a scale not seen since Mao's death in 1976.

- How did the persecution start?

The persecution officially began at 3 pm on July 22, 1999, when China Central Television (CCTV) began broadcasting programs about the new ban with anti-Falun Gong propaganda. Falun Gong practitioners who were on their way to petition the government to support the practice at the time were grabbed, put on buses, and detained in stadiums and conference rooms. This was followed by the burning of Falun Gong books and demonstration trials.

Two days before the nationwide persecution was announced, Falun Gong coordinators who were regarded as the main leaders were arrested at night at their homes.

More than a month before the persecution began, on June 10, Jiang Zemin set up the 610 Office to eradicate Falun Gong. Two months earlier, about 20 Falun Gong practitioners had been arrested and beaten after they protested peacefully in the form of a sitting meditation in front of the publishing house of a magazine that slandered Falun Gong. This arrest led to the famous event at the walls of Zhongnanhai, when thousands of practitioners gathered there. During 1998, Falun Gong practitioners meditating in parks were vigilantly monitored by security officials and interrogated.

The beginning of the persecution can be seen as early as 1996, when the first article criticizing Falun Gong appeared in the Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily, initiating attacks on Falun Gong in the state media.

Didn't Falun Gong practitioners surround Zhongnanhai? Wasn't this provoking the Chinese government?

On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the walls of the Zhongnanhai government headquarters in Beijing. This meeting was legal, and the assembled people intended to go to the nearby State Bureau of Appeals, not to the government headquarters.

The right to appeal against abuses committed in China is guaranteed by the Constitution. In fact, on the eve of these events, the authorities in Tianjin, near Beijing (in that city, Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and beaten), advised Falun Gong practitioners to petition directly in Beijing.

The practitioners gathered in response to the state's persecution that had already begun. In this case, it was the result of a 3-year media attack on Falun Gong, beatings of 45 Falun Gong adherents in Tianjin City, and the banning of Falun Gong books.

This gathering of people was completely peaceful. Also, not a single passage or passage was blocked, the movement was free.

In fact, this could have led to a completely different result. On that day, Zhu Rongji, who was the prime minister at the time, met with Falun Gong representatives and promised to resolve their problems. The practitioners who were detained in Tianjin were released. However, a few hours later, when everyone had already dispersed, Jiang Zemin intervened and completely changed the policy. He accused the practitioners of keeping Zhongnanhai under a "siege" and stated that if Falun Gong was not destroyed, it would be a shame for the party and show its weakness.

- Does it seem like Falun Gong has changed its nature and is now highly politicized?

First, although Falun Gong practitioners are protesting, suing Chinese officials, and persuading the Chinese to leave the Communist Party, they remain persistently disinterested in gaining power.

The founder of Falun Gong and practitioners in China and beyond have been constantly clarifying that they do not want to conquer power, they only want to stop the persecution. Many years have passed and the CCP has not changed its genocidal policy against Falun Gong, so the only seeming possible way to stop the persecution is to destroy the Communist Party.

Second, this activity was not carried out in any form by Falun Gong practitioners before the persecution began. Before the suppression began, all that Falun Gong practitioners did was meditate and read Falun Gong literature in a group or at home and introduce others to the practice.

Last but not least, even if Falun Gong was involved in politics, what's wrong with that? In any free society, this clearly cannot be the basis for persecution. Only in a state with an authoritarian Communist Party regime, a regime that does not tolerate any ideology different from it, is it considered that it is a crime to engage in politics.

- What is the form of the persecution?

In China, the Communist Party uses all available methods to force people to give up their beliefs through intimidation and pressure. Falun Gong practitioners are denied education, fired from jobs, deprived of custody of their children; they are publicly abused, abducted and sexually abused in police stations. Those who expose the abuse they suffered in custody are sent to prison for "divulging state secrets."

All practitioners are denied defense by lawyers, and some are sentenced to up to 18 years in prison simply for their faith. Hundreds of thousands were reportedly sent to forced labor camps (China's gulag system) without trial or investigation. Many healthy, normal people were sent to psychiatric hospitals, where they were forcibly injected with drugs that destroy the nervous system.

Currently, the Center has confirmed 3,415 Falun Gong adherents' deaths as a result of the persecution (many more are believed to be); hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are being held in prisons and forced labor camps. Independent experts also confirmed the fact of selling Falun Gong practitioners from prisoners.