Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 193
not depart until the Fa-rectification is over‘. He also states that ‗[t]he very final stage of Fa-
rectification is taking place‘.56 The Fa-rectification is the process they are all currently
involved in (also referred to as a time of ‗tests‘ and tribulations‘), during which all evil will
be eliminated from the universe and the Fa will receive its rightful place as the universal
truth.
During the Fa-rectification the tasks of practitioners have again increased. They must ‗clarify
the truth‘ (about Falun Gong), validate the Fa (let people know it is good), save sentient
beings (convert others), eliminate evil (elaboration on this follows), and increase their
personal cultivation level which is based on the level of suffering they endure and the
amount of ‗stepping forward‘ to defend the Fa they are able to do. This not only encourages
practitioners to maintain a pro-active stance to hasten the moment, but may also create a
frustrating situation for them, since it is implied that as long as the persecution continues,
they will not be able to reach their final goal.57
Possibly in order to respond to this sense of frustration and failure, a number of new
elements have developed in the FLG belief system. In mid-April 2001, after the United
Nations Committee on Human Rights declined to accept the US proposal to inquire into
China‘s human rights record, there appeared a series of testimonials on the FLG website
where practitioners talked about taking the fight into ‗other dimensions‘. Shifting the battle
to other dimensions may be one way for Li and practitioners to claim victories through
supernormal powers in other dimensions when things do not go well on the worldly plane.58
This may also help solve the problem for Li of his claimed powers being perceived as failing,
or of his control over events and his ‗pre-arrangements‘ being called into question. Another
recent development is the addition of ‗Retribution of Evil‘ stories where ‗evil is met with
evil‘. The FLG website has a ‗Retribution‘ section with up-to-date examples describing how
those hostile to the Falun Gong (or their family members) have suffered or died from
disease, accidents, poisonings, explosions, etc., thereby illustrating the efficacy of the Fa in
distributing retribution.59
Potential Justification for Violence
At the end of the Fa-rectification is the apocalyptic moment when practitioners will reach
Consummation and depart to their Dafa paradise and others will receive punishment and
death.61 In early December 2000, Li posted a message to the FLG website: ‗When this test
concludes, all bad people will be destroyed by gods. Those Dafa disciples who are able to
come through the test will leave through Consummation. Those people who‘ll be left behind
will have to eradicate sins by paying, with horrible suffering‘. Several weeks later, Li posted
another message: ‗Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification matter is over, human kind
will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who have in their minds ―the Dafa of
the cosmos isn‘t good‖ will be the first eliminated‘. And in March 2001 he stated that: ‗if
people‘s minds contain thoughts that resist Dafa, once this evil drama is over a large-scale
elimination of human kind will commence‘.62
As groups feel an increased frustration of their ultimate goal and an increased persecution,
their apocalyptic ideas may increase and the battle between good and evil intensify. This
appears to have happened for the FLG. Whether or not this leads a group to violent
behavior is a major question whose answer is impossible to predict. It should be noted that
most millennial groups never instigate violence. However, some groups who believed in
other dimensions, supernatural powers and great cosmic battles did resort to violence, such
as the Aum Shinrikyo.63 This does not, however, mean that the FLG will leave or alter their
message of non-violence in order to fight their battle.
There is however, a trend in Li‘s recent teachings that could become a justification for the
use of violence. Li‘s message has increasingly intensified the need to ‗eliminate the evil‘ and
recent postings have stated that it is now possible for practitioners to ‗use different abilities
not depart until the Fa-rectification is over‘. He also states that ‗[t]he very final stage of Fa-
rectification is taking place‘.56 The Fa-rectification is the process they are all currently
involved in (also referred to as a time of ‗tests‘ and tribulations‘), during which all evil will
be eliminated from the universe and the Fa will receive its rightful place as the universal
truth.
During the Fa-rectification the tasks of practitioners have again increased. They must ‗clarify
the truth‘ (about Falun Gong), validate the Fa (let people know it is good), save sentient
beings (convert others), eliminate evil (elaboration on this follows), and increase their
personal cultivation level which is based on the level of suffering they endure and the
amount of ‗stepping forward‘ to defend the Fa they are able to do. This not only encourages
practitioners to maintain a pro-active stance to hasten the moment, but may also create a
frustrating situation for them, since it is implied that as long as the persecution continues,
they will not be able to reach their final goal.57
Possibly in order to respond to this sense of frustration and failure, a number of new
elements have developed in the FLG belief system. In mid-April 2001, after the United
Nations Committee on Human Rights declined to accept the US proposal to inquire into
China‘s human rights record, there appeared a series of testimonials on the FLG website
where practitioners talked about taking the fight into ‗other dimensions‘. Shifting the battle
to other dimensions may be one way for Li and practitioners to claim victories through
supernormal powers in other dimensions when things do not go well on the worldly plane.58
This may also help solve the problem for Li of his claimed powers being perceived as failing,
or of his control over events and his ‗pre-arrangements‘ being called into question. Another
recent development is the addition of ‗Retribution of Evil‘ stories where ‗evil is met with
evil‘. The FLG website has a ‗Retribution‘ section with up-to-date examples describing how
those hostile to the Falun Gong (or their family members) have suffered or died from
disease, accidents, poisonings, explosions, etc., thereby illustrating the efficacy of the Fa in
distributing retribution.59
Potential Justification for Violence
At the end of the Fa-rectification is the apocalyptic moment when practitioners will reach
Consummation and depart to their Dafa paradise and others will receive punishment and
death.61 In early December 2000, Li posted a message to the FLG website: ‗When this test
concludes, all bad people will be destroyed by gods. Those Dafa disciples who are able to
come through the test will leave through Consummation. Those people who‘ll be left behind
will have to eradicate sins by paying, with horrible suffering‘. Several weeks later, Li posted
another message: ‗Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification matter is over, human kind
will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who have in their minds ―the Dafa of
the cosmos isn‘t good‖ will be the first eliminated‘. And in March 2001 he stated that: ‗if
people‘s minds contain thoughts that resist Dafa, once this evil drama is over a large-scale
elimination of human kind will commence‘.62
As groups feel an increased frustration of their ultimate goal and an increased persecution,
their apocalyptic ideas may increase and the battle between good and evil intensify. This
appears to have happened for the FLG. Whether or not this leads a group to violent
behavior is a major question whose answer is impossible to predict. It should be noted that
most millennial groups never instigate violence. However, some groups who believed in
other dimensions, supernatural powers and great cosmic battles did resort to violence, such
as the Aum Shinrikyo.63 This does not, however, mean that the FLG will leave or alter their
message of non-violence in order to fight their battle.
There is however, a trend in Li‘s recent teachings that could become a justification for the
use of violence. Li‘s message has increasingly intensified the need to ‗eliminate the evil‘ and
recent postings have stated that it is now possible for practitioners to ‗use different abilities
