In May
of 1992, an astounding Qigong practice caused a sensation in the capitol city
of China, Beijing. With its profound principles and miraculous effects, it took
this ancient city by storm. The news got around fast, and word spread from
person to person. Very quickly, it found its way to over 40 countries and
regions around the world and has been warmly welcomed by those governments. In
a short few years, it has attracted one hundred million followers.
This
is the “Falun Dafa” that Mr. Li Hongzhi established.
[Falun
Dafa ¾ The path of returning to one’s true self.
]
Since
the beginning of civilization, mankind has always been drawn to explore the
meaning of human life. Our ancestors believed that the human body is part of
the integrated entity of the immense universe, and through cultivating the mind
and body, harmony between humans and the universe can be achieved.
People
called methods of cultivation the Tao [the Way], or Fa [the Law]. They longed
for the opportunity to listen to great enlighten beings teaching the Tao and
lecturing on Fa in person.
Throughout
history, cultivation practice has been enshrouded in a veil of religion. People
kept their faith in orthodox religions, stayed away from evil and believed in
goodness, cultivated their selves and nurtured their character, and believed
that this would lead them to return to the wonderful worlds from whence they
came. For this reason, they lived a free, fulfilling life and were full of hope
for the future.
In
order to pursue cultivation, some gave up their comfortable life and went into
the mountains to cultivate the Tao in solitude – they took nothing with them.
Upon reaching modern times, however, people no longer know what true
cultivation is about. And their goal is to acquire more things, rather than
give them up.
This
indulgence in material comfort and the pursuit to satisfy material desire has
gradually become the predominant ideology of contemporary human beings. The
exploration into human life and the universe from the perspective of spirituality
is often regarded as something beyond reach, or even something superstitious.
The
material comfort and satisfaction provided by modern technology has, at the
same time, however, caused people to suffer from anguish and exhaustion, as a
result of their having to be constantly working and on the run.
Are
there still cultivation practices that transcend the ordinary and depart from
worldly mediocrity, to elevate the spirit and uplift both the mind and the
body?
One
day in 1992, Mr. Li Hongzhi and a few of his students attended the
International Health Expo in Beijing, and introduced the public to a
cultivation practice that he established ¾
Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong. With his profound teachings and
supernatural abilities, he won the hearts of those at the Expo. At the
conference, Falun Dafa was awarded the highest recognition, and Mr. Li Hongzhi
was given the title of “the most popular Qigong master.”
In the
two years following the Expo, at the invitation of local Qigong associations
around China, Mr. Li Hongzhi taught Falun Dafa and visited almost all major
cities in China. Close to twenty thousand people attended the seminars that Mr.
Li Hongzhi personally taught. The number of students reached up to four or five
thousand in each of the seminars offered by Mr. Li in the later period of his
teaching. This was unprecedented.
In his
teachings, Mr. Li Hongzhi unveiled a secret hardly known by most people: that
Qigong practice is cultivation, while cultivation originated from prehistoric
civilization.
Prehistoric
civilization is also called prehistoric culture, which is being studied
nowadays to a great extent. Scientists today are preoccupied with studying
ancient civilizations and prehistoric cultures in order to discover the roots
of human life, and understand the meaning behind the mystical relics and
artifacts that remain standing today. In June 1968, American scientist William
Meister found a trilobite fossil with a human footprint on it. The footprint
was left by someone who wore shoes. The trilobite is a creature that existed
between 600 million and 260 million years ago. Meister’s discovery proves that
human beings existed at that time and that, moreover, they had a certain degree
of civilization.
In the
same year, American scientist Dr. Valentine(?) discovered a huge under-seas
edifice near the islands of the Bahamas. After some tests, it was determined
that this architectural structure had a history of 10 thousand years. Later, a
huge stone wall was found under water near the North _____ Islands.
There
have been many similar discoveries. Scientists publicly acknowledge that their
discoveries are relics of prehistoric civilizations existing long before this
present human civilization. It is also known that in every civilization there
were saints, or enlightened beings, born who taught people methods of
cultivation. At the beginning of this human civilization, there were Lao-tse,
Sakyamuni in the East, and Jesus in the West. Even though they were oceans and
continents apart, the teachings they imparted were very similar.
Similar
to any orthodox practice, Falun Gong has also been passed down from a very
remote age. Mr. Li Hongzhi modified it to accommodate modern times and has made
it public for the purpose of helping people elevate themselves to high levels.
In his lectures, Mr. Li pointed out that there are two fundamental reasons as
to why people’s cultivation energy doesn’t grow as they practice qigong. One is
that they don’t know the principles at high levels so they don’t know how to
practice cultivation. The second is that they haven’t paid attention to
cultivating their xin-xing [“mind nature;” moral quality]. Mr. Li said, “There
exists a fundamental characteristic in this universe. It can be summarized in
three words and they are: Zhen, Shan, Ren [Truthfulness, Benevolence,
Forbearance].” Mr. Li also expounded on the correlation between qigong practice
and sports, and qigong and religion. And he explained the fundamental cause of
illness, the relationship between Chinese and Western medical practices, and
the difference between alternative qigong healing and traditional hospital
treatment.
In
1995, Mr. Li compiled the contents of these lectures into a book, Zhuan
Falun, to provide systematic guidelines for people to cultivate themselves
in their quest to achieve higher levels of enlightenment. Those in search of a
genuine cultivation system have literally climbed the highest mountains and
crossed the deepest rivers to find the well-known masters. But after coming
upon Falun Dafa and reading Zhuan Falun, however, they discovered that
they had found the very thing they had been searching for all their lives. They
found in this one book the answers to the questions they had for many years
about the universe, life, mankind, and cultivation.
Among
Falun Dafa cultivators, there are people of all different professions and all
different ages – from elderly Tai Chi masters to young children. There are also
many people from the scientific community, who have Masters and Doctoral
degrees, and people who are medical doctors and college professors. Even though
they’ve mastered the most advanced technology, they can still see flaws in
today’s science. And upon listening to Mr. Li’s flawless explanations of the
human body, matter, morality, illnesses, time-space, and the universe, they
were drawn to China’s ancient cultivation culture and stepped into the practice
of cultivation as well.
In his
book and in his lectures, Mr. Li expounds on the different meanings of
Zhen-Shan-Ren [Truth-Compassion-Tolerance] at different levels. He also
explained how to cultivate xin-xing, how to be a good person – or even a better
person – by giving many vivid examples in everyday life.
An
article entitled “Anonymous Elder Quietly Gives to the Community” published in
the March 17th issue of the Dalian Daily, reported that an elderly man
in one year quietly built four public roadways totaling 3,500 feet for his
community. When asked which organizations he belonged to and how much money he
was paid, he said, “I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner. I don’t want money for doing
a little something for others.”
On
February 16th, the Beijing Daily published a reader’s letter praising an
anonymous young man from Beijing who donated 80,000 yen to the Research
Institute of Lanchow Chemical Company and 100,000 yen to China Petroleum
Science and Research Institute. This Beijing donor explained that it was
through cultivation practice in Falun Dafa that he gained new understanding
about the meaning of life, the purpose of life, and what it means to cultivate
xin-xing.
During
the 1998 Yantzee River flood in Wuhan, there was a group of people who worked
day and night as the vanguard for the rescue effort, all on a voluntary basis
without any type of financial reward. When journalists eventually asked who
they were, they replied: “We are Falun Dafa cultivators.” During that time,
many of the names of the financial donors broadcast on Wuhan’s television were
“Falun Gong practitioners.”
Among
the 100 million people practicing Falun Dafa , there are countless similar
examples in the aspect of xin-xing improvement and moral transcendence.
Contemporary science has discovered that a person’s mental and emotional state
directly affect his physical health. Dafa practitioners’ xin-xing improvement
has resulted in significant improvement in their physical health. In September
of 1998, a research team staffed by medical school faculty members and other
specialists conducted a study on the mental and physical health of over 10,000
Falun Dafa practitioners in over ten cities in Guangdong province. According to
the study, the number of practitioners who had suffered from at least one ailment
before they started practicing Falun Dafa was close to 10,000. After practicing
cultivation for a few months or 2 or 3 years, 70% of them either fully
recovered or basically recovered, saving over12 million yen a year in medical
costs.
In
February of 1999, U.S. News and World Report quoted a senior official
from China’s Sports Commission as saying “Each Falun Gong practitioner saves
the country 1,000 yen each year. If there are 100 million people practicing,
the savings in medical costs is 100 billion yen. This amount of money can be
used elsewhere for the country.”
Falun
Dafa is a practice that cultivates both the mind and the body. In addition to
the part about cultivating xin-xing, there is also the part about practicing
the exercises. Its five sets of gentle exercises are easy to learn, and anyone ¾ the old as well as the young ¾ can learn. Although the movements are only
a few, what’s being practiced is quite thorough. As soon as one begins
practicing, places where energy is congested in the body are opened up, large
amounts of energy from the universe are absorbed in, and very quickly the waste
substances in the body are eliminated so that the body is cleansed and
purified.
In
other traditional cultivation practices, people spend large amounts of time
exercising or meditating, and when they stop, their cultivation stops. In those
practices it’s not possible for the practitioners to practice 24 hours a day.
However, the energy mechanisms that Falun Dafa cultivators carry in their
bodies function 24 hours a day and do not stop. Mr. Li call this phenomenon “Fa
cultivating people.” When a cultivator practices the exercises, Falun (which is
a continually spinning Law wheel) and the energy mechanisms in his body are
reinforced. This has solved the problem wherein people don’t haven enough time
to practice because of their busy schedules and the resulting conflicts between
work and practice time.
The
cultivation principles of Falun Dafa are based on the universe’ theory of
evolution. The universe is constantly rotating. That’s why the practice is not
concerned with time, location, and orientation. There is no mind-intent and its
practitioners won’t go astray.
Although
the efficacy of Falun Dafa is quite miraculous, Mr. Li Hongzhi absolutely
prohibits his students from using this practice to obtain person gains. He
frequently points out that the imparting of Dafa is to guide people to practice
cultivation toward high levels, and he requires that his students seek neither
fame nor profit, conduct no worship of any individual, teach the practice on a
voluntary basis, and not get involved in politics. This has caused quite a stir
in today’s society, which is one based on personal gain and monetary
compensation. Many people do not believe it, and do not understand it, but more
people have decidedly joined in. Falun Dafa cultivators and their “free
teaching” banners can be seen everywhere, in public parks and plazas. Their
beautiful music and peaceful, slow movements amidst bustling crowds and noisy
traffic is a noticeable contrast and seems to offer a piece of pure land in the
midst of chaos.
On
October 12, 1996, Mr. Li Hongzhi came to Houston, Texas, for the first time to
teach Falun Dafa. Houston’s city government issued a proclamation to name that
day “Li Hongzhi day.” Washington, D.C., declared August 9th
through 13th, 1999 to be Falun Dafa week. On June 25, three
officials from the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago issued awards to
Mr. Li and declared June 25th to be “Illinois Falun Dafa Day” and “Chicago
Master Li Hongzhi Day.”
Since
1992, Falun Dafa has won over 100 awards of recognition in over forty countries
worldwide. This is indeed like what’s said:
“Those who hear about it look for
it,
Those who obtained it treasure it,
The number grows day by day,
And
they are countless.”
Throughout the ages, to practice
cultivation and obtain the Tao has been the dream for countless generations of
people. For this dream, many left behind their wealth, possessions, and
families to search for it – painfully and painstakingly. Today, Mr. Li Hongzhi
has already laid this Truth, this Great Law ¾ this Dafa ¾ at the feet of everyone.
Please be very sure not to miss this chance of a lifetime.
[Cherish it ¾ the path of returning to your true self is
right in front of you!]
Falun Dafa is in this human world;
Near or far, all are related
through predestination.