1. Is Falun Gong a Cult?

It is understandable why this question is raised in the West: It comes from not knowing. Confused by a barrage of persuasive, dramatized accusations rippling forth daily from the Chinese Government’s propaganda machine, Westerner’s often learn to associate the terms “cult” or “religion” with Falun Gong. These characterizations are, however, grossly misleading. They tell more about Chinese Officials’ political agenda than about Falun Gong. Due to the problematic connotations of the derogatory label “cult,” we think a response to this accusatory term is due. Falun Gong is most comfortable being subjected to fair scrutiny.

Most simply, Falun Gong is not a cult. Cults dominate all aspects of their member’s lives, negatively controlling their minds and bodies. Members surrender all material goods, both to enrich the cult itself and to render the cultists completely dependent. Cults typically live communally, with members being deprived of sleep and food, all the while being brainwashed with the cult’s doctrine. All Falun Gong activities are free and entirely voluntary, as practitioners are never asked for money or donations. They live normal lives, with their own families, and hold ordinary jobs of all kinds. Whether they practice or not simply depends on whether they believe it to be a good thing, for there is no supervision or compulsion of any kind.

The first issue usually connected with cults is that of money. Cult members are pressured to bring in money by raising funds and from their own homesteads. The results are typically catastrophic for their families and friends. Falun Gong is not involved in any such activities. No one is asked to donate anything, no one raises any funds, and money is not exchanged. Our practice is very simple and does not require any material resources. If we attend an experience sharing conference out of town, we will often travel together and share hotels. At the end of a trip, travel and lodging expenses are often paid on one account for convenience. Great care is taken that everyone pays only his or her own share and that no one has finished with any profit. If someone overpays it is not accepted and the difference is returned. It is done the way you would expect when traveling with friends you greatly trust.

Some materials are often used in Falun Gong that may be purchased by practitioners should they wish. They are ordinary and actually quite optional when it comes to purchasing them. The most important of these are the books. There has been a lot of criticism of Mr. Li because of the sale of books. This is ridiculous--Stephen King is never criticized for selling books, regardless of their content. Nor are spiritual figures, such as the Dalai Lama or Tich Nhat Hahn--both of whom have published dozens of books--or other Buddhist masters. Everybody understands and fully expects someone to make money if they publish a successful book. But if Mr. Li has created Falun Gong in order to trick people and is doing it for the purpose of making money, then he is doing so in an extremely inefficient and foolish manner.

The books of Falun Gong are 'Falun Gong' and 'Zhuan Falun', with Zhuan Falun being the primary text. Every practitioner should read Zhuan Falun for a firm understanding of the practice, but it’s not necessary a practitioner to buy it. A beginner approaching the practice site is welcome to borrow a copy. If he becomes interested in practicing Falun Gong, he probably will not be asked for its return (although this would be up to the person who loaned it--it’s just that practitioners are usually very generous and are happy to see someone’s interest develop; the question of property of the book isn’t an issue). If the new person decides he is not interested in Falun Gong, he might be asked to return the book. It is never necessary for him to buy a copy in order to find out if he is or is not interested. This would never happen in a cult, or even in most ordinary organizations. The interested borrower usually returns it anyway. He then may buy his own copy, borrow one from a library, or even download a free copy from the Internet. It is not necessary to buy one at all. If one has no Internet access, someone will download and print a copy for that person, taking no money for it.

The price usually charged for martial arts books, taiji quan books or meditation books are usually higher than “regular” books--often much higher. Yet as of Fall, 1999, one could get the books of Falun Gong for as little as $6 to $12 each. This is at least half of the fair market value of “regular” books and easily one third of what one would expect to buy martial arts books for. Zhuan Falun is more than 390 pages long and most copies are imported from Hong Kong. These people obviously are not after our money. With production, publication, import, all of the various people that have to be paid percentages, etc., when a book is published and distributed, what large profits is Mr. Li taking? He surely could take more and it would be completely reasonable, simply on the business level. He has chosen otherwise, however, making the practice accessible to all economic classes.

There is an exercise video available. The copies some people have are dubbed duplicates. They are copied at the suggestion of practitioners who loan them. Should one buy it, one could get it for a mere $9-$12. It comes in a professional plastic case with a color insert. One might wonder how they clear the material expenses, as there is obviously no profit in it. Have you ever priced a kung fu or taiji instruction video? Kung fu videos are often even as high as sixty dollars or more; twenty at least. And what does it cost to learn Tae Bo? All instruction in Falun Gong throughout the world is free. No one is persuaded to buy anything and the materials are available for free. If you decided to take up Falun Gong and don’t wish to spend a penny on it, this is completely possible. No practice site in the world collects any money, as no fees or donations are accepted. This is a lousy way to run a business, but a great way to run an upright self-cultivation practice.

Another feature evident in cults is the preoccupation with recruitment and isolation of its new members. Practitioners of Falun Gong are very interested in getting the word out about our practice. What does this mean? Simply, they want to let people know there is such a cultivation practice known as Falun Gong, or “Falun Dafa.” Why? We find the benefits simply too good to keep to ourselves, for many of us have enjoyed remarkable improvements in health, mind, and spirit. Practitioners will mention to others that there is a book called Zhuan Falun by Li Hongzhi, and that it teaches good things. They have found the practice to be exceptionally good and leading them to a higher understanding; the positive results manifest in a variety of ways. So they wish to share it and get the word out. But getting the word out does not include coercion or even persuasion. A book to read, exercises to learn--the rest of Falun Gong is up to you. Practice with a group, fine. Practice at home, fine. Read with the group, read at home--all the same. We think it is very good for beginners to at least be in contact with an experienced practitioner, as there is often interference when someone begins a serious self-cultivation practice. But it’s up to the beginner to establish this contact--asking questions, etc. If you’ve borrowed a book from someone and they haven’t heard from you, they may call to ask if you’re finished with it; please return it if you’re not interested in reading it. But you will never find a practitioner showing up at your door, your workplace, calling you on the phone, etc., telling you why you should be interested. Self-cultivation is up to you--no one can do it for you and no one can persuade or convince you into enlightenment. It is nothing so cheap! If you can do it, great. You will find there is support. If you cannot, how can someone push you to do it? In fact, it would be detrimental to one’s own progress in cultivation if someone were to push a person to do something he or she didn’t want to do or to drag someone to a site he or she didn’t want to go to. As a simple example, how could anyone meditate if they didn’t want to? Wouldn’t it be impossible? It is up to you to decide to do it. Falun Gong is also like that.

No practitioner is under any pressure, guidance, encouragement or reward to bring in or recruit other people. We would never do that. You can “hear” the Fa (law or principle of the universe) or you can opt not to-- that is your own business. We certainly want people to know that it is available to them, but that is all we can do. Also, practitioners are not isolated in any way. We do not leave our normal environment or undergo an “indoctrination.” When we are introduced to Falun Gong and as we progress in cultivation, we do not leave our families, our schools, or our workplaces. What would be the purpose? For an upright system, there is none. Everything in Falun Gong is in the open. Our principles are described in the book. Our practice sites are open. There is nothing hidden. The openness is most remarkable.

We can promise that if you are approached for money or pressured to do or say something against your will for the sake of Falun Gong, it is not a genuine Falun Gong site or that person is not a true practitioner. We simply do not behave this way. If you tried to pay a practitioner he or she would not come close to accepting it. This is the case the world over.

One further feature of cults that the Chinese Government has tried to attribute to Falun Gong is apocalyptic prophecy. According to the numerous state-run publications in China, Mr. Li Hongzhi has prophesized the end of the world, claiming that only he can prevent its complete annihilation; if people do not “follow” him, they are said to be in grave danger. China’s Civil Affairs Ministry has claimed that: “The evil ideas and fallacies that Li Hongzhi has preached are diametrically against modern science and civilization and contrary to moral standards... He has predicted the end of the world and that the Earth will blow up. He has styled himself as the only savior of the world and alleged that disasters and sufferings can be avoided only by practicing Falun Gong.”^[1] And according to China’s official state press, “Because of his doomsday prediction, Li ordered his followers to concentrate on Falun Gong and forbid them to hold any other human belief.”^[2] The same article continues, “Li’s doomsday idea denies the truth of the existing world and it has created strong anti-government and anti-social sentiments. Its true purpose is to win public support for his wicked political ambitions.” (Note: somehow this is officially-sanctioned “news” in China.) As with the matter of the alleged “1,400 deaths,” were such zealous rhetoric not so consequential it would prove almost laughable.

In actuality, these are outright lies which clearly intend to deceive their reader. Mr. Li has been explicit about the “doomsday” topic on a number of occasions, as from Falun Gong’s early days certain spiteful individuals have circulated this rumor. Consider Mr. Li’s own words:

There are some crooked religions that are spreading. All of them teach about the end of the world--they all talk about these things. Of course, I have said that catastrophes do exist. Buddhism also believes in them, and Christianity, Catholicism, and Taoism share the same viewpoint as well. This is the law of the universe’s evolution, but it is absolutely not like what those wicked religions have professed... I can proclaim here to everyone in all earnestness that all of those alleged catastrophes on earth, the doom of the universe, and things of this sort in the year 1999, are absolutely non-existent. Why would there be catastrophes?^[3]

Nowhere in any of Mr. Li’s writings has he stated anything to contradict this statement, and neither has he uttered otherwise in any lecture. The Chinese Government has put words in his mouth which suit its violent agenda: to totally eliminate Falun Gong from the face of China, if not the world. If the Chinese officials have so clearly distorted the truth on this matter, we can hardly find reason to seriously engage its claims that Falun Gong and Mr. Li have produced anti-government or anti-social sentiments, that they harbor any political ambitions, or other such imaginings; such claims are built upon complete fabrications, as just shown. It is the Chinese Government that forbids any other belief, not Mr. Li or Falun Gong. It would seem that the accuser is projecting its guilty conscience on the accused.

So it is understandable why someone who knows nothing about Falun Gong or who knows of it only through the news may think it could be a cult. Anyone who looks closely at what we believe, how we behave, or what Mr. Li has taught will not reach such a conclusion. There has been a lot of propaganda and lies spread about Falun Gong recently by the Chinese government. We appeal to everyone to investigate before accepting these misrepresentations. One will quickly find no correspondence between the Chinese Government’s claims and what one experiences for oneself.

Of course a church is not a requirement for a religion. But religions do have ritual, worship or devotional practices, special observances, sacraments, etc. The only thing resembling ritual in Falun Gong is the exercises we do, and that no more qualifies as ritual than the stretches one does before aerobics. Believe it or not, one will find more ritual at a baseball game than in Falun Gong.

There is no deity offered for worship in Falun Gong-- not even a personality to follow. This probably surprises a lot of people who will point out that Li Hongzhi is entitled “Master,” suggesting that he servers such a role. Mr. Li, however, tells us that he is not a figure to be worshipped, and neither does he present any deity for us to follow. Instead, we “follow” the Fa (Way or Principles) of Nature. “Master” is a respectful title for one’s teacher used in Asia. Throughout Asia, one of the most respected members of society is the teacher, irrespective of the subject. Mr. Li is indeed a profound teacher and is highly respected and revered, but he is not worshipped. It is the teachings and their principles that teach us how to elevate ourselves to higher levels. Progress is made by the practitioner according to how well he or she practices self-cultivation. Falun Gong simply shows people how they can cultivate themselves to higher levels of wisdom, understanding, and health.

In martial arts, it is typical to bow to the portrait of the master when entering the practice area or school. No one considers Aikido, for example, to be a religion, though its founder is revered in such a manner. Falun Gong does not even have this minor formality of bowing to the teacher. It is completely formless. Mr. Li has repeatedly deflected and shunned misguided attempts to honor him as a religious figure. It is the practitioner’s heart and conduct that count in Falun Gong, not one’s reverence and devotion towards the teacher.

Neither will one find in Falun Gong some form of initiation ritual or consecration that delineates “membership” or “profession of faith.” The boundary between a true practitioner, an on-and-off practitioner, and your average person on the street is not a matter of formal designation, allegiance, or membership. That is, you will not find anything like baptism, first communion, confirmation, taking of vows, donning of particular garments (such as the Buddhist robe or the Nun’s habit), barmitzva, or the likes. If you want to practice Falun Gong, fine. You can practice the exercises with a group or at home, just as you can study Mr. Li’s book on your own or with a group. You can do these on and off or all the time. You can call yourself a “practitioner” or not. These things are the external trappings, the forms our inner self-cultivation takes. But performance of these does not mean one is or is not a practitioner; we don’t even bother to consider such things, as they are not what matters. We just each pay attention to how we must each improve ourselves. It is the heart that matters, and no practitioner can or would want to judge another person’s heart. There is obviously no such thing as membership, then.

Some people remark, “It looks strange, all of you carrying around the same books.” This sight should not seem strange. We are students. The same thing happens in every college classroom in the country; those textbooks cost more, too. Religious texts teach people how to devotionally honor a deity, pay respects, pray for intercession, etc. Zhuan Falun, however, teaches us how to improve ourselves. It is centered on the practitioner, not on a distant god or on receiving divine assistance. It does teach us high level principles and answer questions so many people have never found the answers to anywhere else--including in religions. One often finds a tendency in religion to “resolve” the sticky issues by appealing to faith. Faith is an important component in religion, so this is not necessarily a criticism. Yet Zhuan Falun gives a concrete guide to cultivation and does not ask the reader to take up cultivation practice out of “faith.” The book is very rational, systematic, and even scientific. Many Ph.D. scientists and Medical Doctors practice Falun Gong. Were Falun Gong interwoven with superstition, pseudo-science, New Age mysticism, or appeals to faith, these discerning professionals would most likely stay far away from the practice, even shunning it. The reason we read Zhuan Falun regularly is because it is a subtle and profound book. As we reach higher levels of understanding, the book reveals higher principles. It has been compared to a ladder, and reading the book each time is like climbing up another rung of understanding.

We have no temple in Falun Gong, no priests, no objects of worship, no ritual, and no consecration. Mr. Li’s texts simply outline the principles of self-cultivation. Each person follows them or not according to his or her understanding and aspiration. There is respect for the teacher, naturally, but it is the principles for improving ourselves that we follow and look to. Embracing empathy and compassion for others, putting our self-interests behind others’, improving our morality, getting rid of bad habits and interests--these principles have helped us, enriched us, elevated us and even liberated us from what we were. Thus, we continue to practice Falun Gong enthusiastically.

Question: In Japan there are more than a thousand religions being spread, and Japanese people always describe Falun Gong as a religion.
Teacher: Here’s what I think about this. From now on, when somebody says Falun Gong is a religion, just let it go. If they want to learn more you can tell them how Falun Gong is not a religion; and if they don’t want to learn more, you don’t need to talk about whether it’s a religion. If somebody wants to call it a religion, so be it, since in society the term “religion” doesn’t have any bad connotations. Dafa disciples don’t take up the form of religion when cultivating, since you don’t observe rituals and don’t want those rituals to interfere with you. What I’m telling you is a basic principle in the Fa. However much ordinary people can understand it… in fact, I told you long ago that ordinary people would call us a religion. I discussed that before when I was teaching the Fa. ^[4]

3. Is Falun Gong an Organization?

A lot of misunderstanding comes from the basic problem of looking at Falun Gong practitioners in the collective and trying to interpret what they do on the basis of organizations (such as religions) that exist for other people or purposes. Those organizations are familiar and easy to understand. Yet Falun Gong is done on an even more simple basis--the individual.

Start by considering the following: How does one begin the cultivation system known as Falun Gong? A person might for whatever reason (curiosity, health seeking, mention from family/friends) attend a lecture, join a practice session in the park, attend an experience sharing conference, read a book, explore a website--there are countless avenues into Falun Gong. He or she finds the things he encounters to be good and interesting. Many people feel as if “this is something I’ve been searching for all my life.”

With their interest sparked, they naturally try to find others for more information. Perhaps they find a local practice site and learn the exercises or borrow, buy, or download a video for the same reason. They are taught the exercises and are told that they should read the book Zhuan Falun thoroughly (this is no easy book to grasp) to understand the principles. As their understanding increases, questions are asked and responded to. Practitioners give each other encouragement to get through the difficulties that are involved in improving oneself. The real “organization” of Falun Gong, however, remains at the individual level--it is all dependent on one’s relation to and understanding of the teachings and on one’s own cultivation experience. This is a critical issue to grasp when trying to understand many of the questions that are asked.

Some people persist, “But surely, practice sites are structured, maintained and organized.” Not really. Frankly, an aerobics practice site is more strictly organized than a Falun Gong practice site. Aerobics has a teacher who is in charge of everything--including the organization of the session--and who teaches the movements and leads the practice. There is no one like this at the Falun Gong practice site. A practice site is simply wherever practitioners decide to gather to practice together. There is no leader and no position of instructor. If you must root out a leader, who are your candidates? The person who established the site? Who is he or she?

Someone said “How about we practice at such-and-such park?” and others agreed. In the case of one local “group,” they found it convenient to use the porch of a local community center. Someone volunteered to contact the center to get the permission and to schedule a time. So he “established the site,” you could say. Is he the leader? Hardly--anyone could have done it. The skeptic continues, however: “Well, then, candidate #2- who supplies the music? How about the mats you sit on?” Someone got a hold of some carpet remnants and thought they would be good to use as mats and so cut them up. One person lived close to the center and said he would bring them to the site each week; he lives closest and simply carries them. Because he needed to be counted on to attend most days (since he was to bring the mats), his wife said she would bring a tape player for the practice music. Are these the leaders? Anyone can do these things. They were simply the ones who volunteered--it was convenient. Perhaps one asks, “Well surely the person who greets newcomers and teaches them the exercises and lends a book is important.” Why so? Actually, different people do this at different times. Normally, a practitioner is eager to share Falun Gong with someone who approaches him or her. We do these exercises every day, and they are quite simple. Who would be unable to teach them? Usually there are extra books, so anybody can pass one on. If not, the newcomer can borrow a practitioner’s.

We enjoy practicing together, and generally find it easier to do in a group. After all, why do aerobics people gather together? Once they learn the routines, isn’t it easier to do it at home without travel? Well, no: the group inspires you. Aerobics is surely easier to do in a group. It is not so different for Falun Gong, although plenty of people elect to do the exercises at home anyway. What is the difference? There are no “requirements” to come to an exercise site. The only requirements are the requirements of cultivation, and those are all internal: striving to be a better person, getting rid of bad habits and attachments to unhealthy things. If you can do it, you are a practitioner. If not, all the studying and group exercise you do will be minimally effective. Yes, we do have to agree on a time if we wish to practice together. But this is no more than is involved in meeting for lunch. We have to be organized enough to show up at the same place at the same time. Does that make us an organization?

The fact remains the same: all activities are completely free, open to the public, and run totally by volunteers. There are only volunteers in Falun Gong, actually, as nobody is given ranks or positions, such as in the martial arts or some other qigongs. Rankings and positions usually reflect levels of initiation or investments of time and energy; they provide sort of a tangible reward or recognition or one’s efforts. Obviously, this is antithetical to the nature of Falun Gong: we just practice self-cultivation--something unconditional--and support one another in this endeavor. Hierarchy would be of no benefit to our practice. What is more, there is no keeping of money, desire for material profit, or accepting of donations involved at any level; an organization can hardly sustain itself without some form of charity or donation. It is hard to have an “organization” without organization, such as rank, duty and position. As Falun Gong has none of these, it can hardly be considered an organization.

The Chinese Government has alleged that Falun Gong is highly organized and a menace to social stability. The Government has tried to substantiate such imaginative claims by a variety of means. Most notable of these is its supposed exposure of Falun Gong’s “organizational structure,” something said to consist in China of tightly-knit, multi-leveled branches.^[5] Such incriminations are based on distortion and misrepresentation, rather than fact. Yes, in China there were a number of “assistance centers” set-up by Falun Gong practitioners. Yet these were completely voluntary ventures, much like those in the Western world, consisting of individual practitioners seeking to share this beneficial practice with others. In China, the demand for teaching Falun Gong to newcomers was exponentially higher than elsewhere, as in just 7 years over 70 million people came to learn this practice. Simply, the most efficient and sound way to teach newcomers in this situation is to have some people volunteer to do so; at the same time, veteran practitioners would have a place to gather to read and discuss. This was done by way of setting up “centers.” These centers, however, are not like the institutions we in the West might imagine them to be. Rather, a “center” might be an office in some one’s workplace, an extra room in somebody’s apartment, or a local sports center’s unoccupied space. They are not so much property purchased for the purpose of Falun Gong activities as they are spaces occupied by people wanting to learn or improve in their Falun Gong practice. These centers do not accept donations, and neither do they keep money.

So what of the long-since defunct Falun Gong Research Society, one might ask? This was the closest thing to an “organization” that Falun Gong has had in its brief history, but it was nothing like one might expect. This was simply the name under which Mr. Li first registered himself and his several assistants in 1992 when he sought to introduce Falun Gong to the general public. In China, one best not dare go on a lecturing tour without some sort of official recognition--one must be fully “legal,” and this means registered. Thus, the Research Society was born. How “organized” was this fledgling institution? Apparently not much, as all of its activities (which lasted from 1992-1994) were run by a Chinese Government organization, the China Qigong Science and Research Society (CQSRS). The Research Society merely handled expenses involved in the lectures and travel costs. The one other institutional function it assumed was also mandated by Chinese law, and this involved efforts to coordinate the publication of Mr. Li’s two books. Some of the publishing was even done through a Government-run organization, ironically, and only guided by the Research Society. When Mr. Li would give a lecture, it would be orchestrated by the CQSRS and local hosting organizations. Come 1994, when Mr. Li finished his public teaching, the “organization” no longer was needed, and he soon filed for withdrawal from the CQSRS. There is little issue of Falun Gong acting in China as an “organization” (in the negative sense) as we in the West might imagine.

Perhaps some people are misled by larger-scale Falun Gong activities, such as experience sharing conferences. Indeed, such conferences take a bit more organizing than practice sites, but it is really just the same thing on a larger scale. Someone volunteers to book a room. Someone volunteers to get the word out “where and when.” Perhaps one would like to share some of his or her experiences in practicing cultivation--it may help others. Many people thus do so, while many more never do. Who attends? Whoever wants to. Transportation and hotels are arranged individually--just as you would do it. The conferences are funded, as needed, completely out of individuals’ pockets and individual contributions. They are absolutely free and open to the public, as nobody is excluded and no profit is made or sought.

Falun Gong’s teacher, Li Hongzhi, is usually invited to attend these conferences. Sometimes he is able to make it, sometimes he is not. We all look forward to listening to his lectures and anytime he attends and agrees to lecture he is definitely the keynote speaker. But it actually is not his conference--it is the practitioners’ gathering, as they began it and it is for their self-cultivation. Many practitioners will speak and usually the things they have to say are very moving and powerful. We find ourselves much benefited through such sharing, and so enjoy organizing and pulling off such conferences. Many regions and practice groups like to host these, and their size can be anywhere from a 20 person rendezvous to 1998’s gathering of over 3,000 in New York City.