18 International Journal of Cultic Studies Vol. 4, 2013
accreditation and claims to have been
established per the World Health Organization
Alma Alta Declaration of 1962 (which actually
not promulgated until 1978) and was recognized
by the United Nations Charter for the University
of Peace. However, the only initiative of the
United Nations with this title is not a real
university but a discussion forum in Costa Rica.
This detail was determined in 2006 by a Belgian
criminal court, which found Mr. Dang guilty of
the use of false academic titles, fraud, forgery,
illegal practice of medicine, and criminal
conspiracy as leader of an organization involved
in these crimes “under the guise of a spiritual
quest” (de Cordes, 2011). As a result, HUEFI
no longer acknowledges such affiliation and has
dropped all references to Master Dang’s false
titles, which he received from this university
(PhD, MD, DSc, KStJ). HUESA, in contrast,
still claims to be affiliated with that university
and mentions Mr. Dang’s titles, along with the
2001 Albert Schweitzer Award he allegedly
received from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation
for his humanitarian work (Luong, M. D., 2002,
p. 1).2
Teaching Program
Today, HUEFI, HUESA, and their partners
teach Master Dang’s “original” healing method
based on meditation and the opening or
activation of chakras or energy centers of the
body. This opening supposedly allows people to
harness universal energy and transfer it with the
hands and through telepathy in order to restore
health by reestablishing the energy balance of
damaged cells in the body, and to achieve
happiness and spiritual development. The free
flow of universal energy in the body is said to
relieve stress, improve the power of
concentration, and contribute to the mental
development of the practitioners/students and
humanity at large (Tran, 2012). HUEFI cites as
scientific proof of these claims works on
psychoenergetics and bioenergy fields by
scholars such as William A. Tiller and Gary E.
2 It is unknown whether this award refers to the Albert Schweitzer
Gold Medal for Humanitarianism awarded by the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation in conjunction with Johns Hopkins
University, or the Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism awarded
by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Neither institution was able
to confirm Mr. Dang’s claims.
Schwartz, among others (Tran, 2012, Chapter 4,
Section 2). However, the organization fails to
mention that these works are highly speculative
and controversial, and have been received with
skepticism by the scientific community. 3
To learn Mr. Dang’s method, it is necessary to
undertake a uniform and well-structured
educational program that focuses on training
students to acquire an ever-increasing number of
meditation and energy-transfer techniques, and
the theoretical knowledge necessary for their
application. According to publicly available
information, students initially learn the function
and location of the chakras and have their
chakras opened by the instructor (levels 1–3, 4,
5). In subsequent intermediate levels (5.1, 5.2,
6, 7, 7+), students learn how to transfer energy
at a distance, and meditation methods that
enhance their ability of concentration. Also,
students “receive answers about the spiritual
backgrounds of these teachings” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 3). In the advance levels
(11, 12, 13, 13+, 13++) students learn about
emotions, how to clear emotional blockades, and
how to “detect, train, and enhance certain
capacities of [the] brain” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 4). The last specialized
levels (16, 17, 18, 19, 20) are dedicated to the
interaction between consciousness and
mentality, well-being, spirituality, and science.
In addition to new meditation and energy-
transfer techniques, students “learn ...answers to
enhance their knowledge in the different topics
of the seminars” in order to improve the quality
of life and work for themselves and humanity
“in practical experience” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 1-5).4
Prospective students are left to make a decision
about starting the training program based on this
3 Physicists such as Victor Stenger explain that the forms of energy
proposed in psychoenergetics and bioenergy fields are speculative
and exist beyond those recognized by physics. However,
scientifically recognized forms of energy are frequently
misinterpreted and used to explain the hypothetical connection
between human consciousness, reality, and healing (2001 1999).
4 HUESA offers an additional 4-day seminar, level 21. No
explanation is given other than the fact that it is held in Australia at
Uluru or Ayers Rock (HUESA-Australia, 2010). This place is
significant mainly because Mr. Dang maintains that the first man
on earth, whose brain he allegedly found carved in the famous
rock, lived there 3 million years ago. Mr. Dang uses this as the
point of departure for explaining how to train and enhance the
higher capacities of the brain (Luong, M. D., 2004b, pp. 5–6).
accreditation and claims to have been
established per the World Health Organization
Alma Alta Declaration of 1962 (which actually
not promulgated until 1978) and was recognized
by the United Nations Charter for the University
of Peace. However, the only initiative of the
United Nations with this title is not a real
university but a discussion forum in Costa Rica.
This detail was determined in 2006 by a Belgian
criminal court, which found Mr. Dang guilty of
the use of false academic titles, fraud, forgery,
illegal practice of medicine, and criminal
conspiracy as leader of an organization involved
in these crimes “under the guise of a spiritual
quest” (de Cordes, 2011). As a result, HUEFI
no longer acknowledges such affiliation and has
dropped all references to Master Dang’s false
titles, which he received from this university
(PhD, MD, DSc, KStJ). HUESA, in contrast,
still claims to be affiliated with that university
and mentions Mr. Dang’s titles, along with the
2001 Albert Schweitzer Award he allegedly
received from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation
for his humanitarian work (Luong, M. D., 2002,
p. 1).2
Teaching Program
Today, HUEFI, HUESA, and their partners
teach Master Dang’s “original” healing method
based on meditation and the opening or
activation of chakras or energy centers of the
body. This opening supposedly allows people to
harness universal energy and transfer it with the
hands and through telepathy in order to restore
health by reestablishing the energy balance of
damaged cells in the body, and to achieve
happiness and spiritual development. The free
flow of universal energy in the body is said to
relieve stress, improve the power of
concentration, and contribute to the mental
development of the practitioners/students and
humanity at large (Tran, 2012). HUEFI cites as
scientific proof of these claims works on
psychoenergetics and bioenergy fields by
scholars such as William A. Tiller and Gary E.
2 It is unknown whether this award refers to the Albert Schweitzer
Gold Medal for Humanitarianism awarded by the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation in conjunction with Johns Hopkins
University, or the Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism awarded
by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Neither institution was able
to confirm Mr. Dang’s claims.
Schwartz, among others (Tran, 2012, Chapter 4,
Section 2). However, the organization fails to
mention that these works are highly speculative
and controversial, and have been received with
skepticism by the scientific community. 3
To learn Mr. Dang’s method, it is necessary to
undertake a uniform and well-structured
educational program that focuses on training
students to acquire an ever-increasing number of
meditation and energy-transfer techniques, and
the theoretical knowledge necessary for their
application. According to publicly available
information, students initially learn the function
and location of the chakras and have their
chakras opened by the instructor (levels 1–3, 4,
5). In subsequent intermediate levels (5.1, 5.2,
6, 7, 7+), students learn how to transfer energy
at a distance, and meditation methods that
enhance their ability of concentration. Also,
students “receive answers about the spiritual
backgrounds of these teachings” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 3). In the advance levels
(11, 12, 13, 13+, 13++) students learn about
emotions, how to clear emotional blockades, and
how to “detect, train, and enhance certain
capacities of [the] brain” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 4). The last specialized
levels (16, 17, 18, 19, 20) are dedicated to the
interaction between consciousness and
mentality, well-being, spirituality, and science.
In addition to new meditation and energy-
transfer techniques, students “learn ...answers to
enhance their knowledge in the different topics
of the seminars” in order to improve the quality
of life and work for themselves and humanity
“in practical experience” (HUEFI, n.d.,
Seminars section, para. 1-5).4
Prospective students are left to make a decision
about starting the training program based on this
3 Physicists such as Victor Stenger explain that the forms of energy
proposed in psychoenergetics and bioenergy fields are speculative
and exist beyond those recognized by physics. However,
scientifically recognized forms of energy are frequently
misinterpreted and used to explain the hypothetical connection
between human consciousness, reality, and healing (2001 1999).
4 HUESA offers an additional 4-day seminar, level 21. No
explanation is given other than the fact that it is held in Australia at
Uluru or Ayers Rock (HUESA-Australia, 2010). This place is
significant mainly because Mr. Dang maintains that the first man
on earth, whose brain he allegedly found carved in the famous
rock, lived there 3 million years ago. Mr. Dang uses this as the
point of departure for explaining how to train and enhance the
higher capacities of the brain (Luong, M. D., 2004b, pp. 5–6).
