Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 201
What Falun Gong Really Teaches
Samuel Luo
San Francisco, California
Abstract
In the West Falun Gong, founded by Li Hongzhi, has successfully marketed
itself as an innocent victim of the Chinese government's repression. However,
if one examines Falun Gong's teachings and practices closely, one finds that
its image of being a spiritual exercise masks the centrality of its founder's
god-like status and the cult-like use of deceptive and manipulative techniques
to increase membership.
Ever since Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in July 1999, it has gained
support and sympathy from human rights groups. By focusing just on its status as a victim
of an oppressive regime, Falun Gong has also gained uncritical support from the media. As a
result of all the favorable media attention, Falun Gong has been able to spread throughout
the U.S., not only in the Chinese community but in the non-Chinese community as well. But
what is the Falun Gong really about?
When Falun Gong was introduced to my parents in early 1999 in San Francisco, it was
presented as an exercise that promised to improve health. I can‘t describe how shocked I
was when I heard my mother start talking about the aliens who live among us and saying
that human society is bad, the end of world is coming, and Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun
Gong, is offering the last chance to save mankind. How did an exercise become a world-
saving religion?
Since immigrating to the United States in 1998, master Li has promoted his Falun Gong as a
Tai Chi like exercise1 However Falun Gong (exercise of the Dharma wheel) is just the
exercise component of Falun Dafa (great law of the Dharma wheel) both terms refer to a
unique system of belief and exercises that were created by Li Hongzhi and first introduced in
China in 1992. The free Falun Gong exercises work as a lure to recruit people into a system
of belief that Li has described as ―the highest principle of the universe.‖ In fact, Li has
made it very clear to his followers that ―those who only do the exercise but do not study the
Dafa they are not disciples of Falun Dafa whatsoever‖2.
Li‘s Falun Dafa is usually taught to newcomers after they feel comfortable with the
exercises. In it you learn that only Falun Gong practitioners can detect the highest moral
principles of the universe3, the existence of mixed races is a serious problem4, modern
science is destroying mankind5, and homosexuality is not the standard of being human6. Yet
to Li the worst thing that mankind can do is think negatively towards his Dafa (great truth):
―Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification [Li‘s judgment day] matter is over, humankind
will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who in their minds think that the
Great Fa of the cosmos isn‘t good will be the first weeded out‖7. The enlightened master
also repeatedly warns his disciples that: ―A Dafa disciple who fails to achieve the effect of
the safeguarding and upholding Dafa has no way of reaching Consummation (Falun Dafa
paradise)‖8.
While heavily borrowing Buddhist terms for his Dafa, Li portrays himself as a supernatural
being whose teachings are superior to those of Sakyamuni (Buddha) and Jesus9. Although
Li has continually denied that Falun Gong is a religion, these denials are difficult to reconcile
with his repeated claims that he is providing the only hope for mankind in this ―Dharma-
What Falun Gong Really Teaches
Samuel Luo
San Francisco, California
Abstract
In the West Falun Gong, founded by Li Hongzhi, has successfully marketed
itself as an innocent victim of the Chinese government's repression. However,
if one examines Falun Gong's teachings and practices closely, one finds that
its image of being a spiritual exercise masks the centrality of its founder's
god-like status and the cult-like use of deceptive and manipulative techniques
to increase membership.
Ever since Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in July 1999, it has gained
support and sympathy from human rights groups. By focusing just on its status as a victim
of an oppressive regime, Falun Gong has also gained uncritical support from the media. As a
result of all the favorable media attention, Falun Gong has been able to spread throughout
the U.S., not only in the Chinese community but in the non-Chinese community as well. But
what is the Falun Gong really about?
When Falun Gong was introduced to my parents in early 1999 in San Francisco, it was
presented as an exercise that promised to improve health. I can‘t describe how shocked I
was when I heard my mother start talking about the aliens who live among us and saying
that human society is bad, the end of world is coming, and Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun
Gong, is offering the last chance to save mankind. How did an exercise become a world-
saving religion?
Since immigrating to the United States in 1998, master Li has promoted his Falun Gong as a
Tai Chi like exercise1 However Falun Gong (exercise of the Dharma wheel) is just the
exercise component of Falun Dafa (great law of the Dharma wheel) both terms refer to a
unique system of belief and exercises that were created by Li Hongzhi and first introduced in
China in 1992. The free Falun Gong exercises work as a lure to recruit people into a system
of belief that Li has described as ―the highest principle of the universe.‖ In fact, Li has
made it very clear to his followers that ―those who only do the exercise but do not study the
Dafa they are not disciples of Falun Dafa whatsoever‖2.
Li‘s Falun Dafa is usually taught to newcomers after they feel comfortable with the
exercises. In it you learn that only Falun Gong practitioners can detect the highest moral
principles of the universe3, the existence of mixed races is a serious problem4, modern
science is destroying mankind5, and homosexuality is not the standard of being human6. Yet
to Li the worst thing that mankind can do is think negatively towards his Dafa (great truth):
―Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification [Li‘s judgment day] matter is over, humankind
will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who in their minds think that the
Great Fa of the cosmos isn‘t good will be the first weeded out‖7. The enlightened master
also repeatedly warns his disciples that: ―A Dafa disciple who fails to achieve the effect of
the safeguarding and upholding Dafa has no way of reaching Consummation (Falun Dafa
paradise)‖8.
While heavily borrowing Buddhist terms for his Dafa, Li portrays himself as a supernatural
being whose teachings are superior to those of Sakyamuni (Buddha) and Jesus9. Although
Li has continually denied that Falun Gong is a religion, these denials are difficult to reconcile
with his repeated claims that he is providing the only hope for mankind in this ―Dharma-
