With the inducement of Li Hongzhi on families and on destroying families, what do Falun Gong practitioners do in dealing with their family members?
2.1Falun Gong on parents
· Don't accept their biological parents in the world of human beings
"The body structure of humans was created by Gods."
"The one who gives birth to your Primordial Spirit is your real mother. In the course of samsara, you have had mothers who were human and non-human, and there are too many of them to be numbered...Who is your mother? Who is your son or daughter? No one knows it after one passes away."[2]
"Who are your real relatives?... From one life to another, how many parents, wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers have you had in each lifetime?... you are even unable to count them...Which ones are real?... Your real parents are in the place where the universe created you. That is where your parents are...Therefore, your real parents are right now watching you over there, hoping that you will return; but instead of returning, you get lost here and still feel that your relatives are all here."[3]
During his earlier lecture recorded with videotape, Li Hongzhi even said: "I'm the oldest being in the universe and I created all my fathers and mothers in different lives."
Everyone was given birth to by his or her parents, that's something even a three-year-old child knows; but Li Hongzhi reversed the normal ethics and moralities, announcing that "God created people," "soul produces people," even that "Li Hongzhi himself created people," that your mother giving birth to you in this world is not your real mother, and your real mother is the one giving birth to your soul. Li Hongzhi asked the practitioners to chop up any blood relationship in this world, to abandon all human relations, to refuse to acknowledge their biological parents, let alone other relatives. So the practitioners refuse to fulfill their household duties and ignore the sufferings of their relatives. In order to "protect Fa," to "go up to a higher level," and "to gain Consummation," some practitioners left their unattended bed-ridden parents and babies crying piteously for food, some were indifferent to the parents kneeling down in front of them trying in vain to talk them out of the cultivation, some even refused to shed a tear when their parents passed away.
Former practitioner Liu Chang once told a journalist that she "came from the paradise" and showed no affection at all to her bed-ridden father suffering rectal cancer that she left at home unattended. Similarly, Li Hongzhi didn't accept his own mother either and told his disciples: "My mother is a demon to me." One year later, he said to his disciples: "I'm the Buddha several levels higher than my daughter, and tens of thousands levels higher than Sakyamuni, my power is tens of thousands levels higher than Sakyamuni; I'm XX Buddha and my mother is a demon to me." Li Hongzhi hated his mother very much for her revealing the truth about his lies to others, saying: "Human beings are degenerating and there are demons everywhere. These demons interfere with your cultivation and the wretched demons just deserve to be killed." As for Li Hongzhi, his mother is a demon that deserves to be killed; this shows clearly how disobedient and unfilial he has been. Furthermore, Li Hongzhi was born on July 7, 1952, in order to cheat others into believing that he's been Sakyamuni reborn, he changed his birth date into May 13, 1951, but at that time, his father Li Dan just met his mother Lu Shuzhen and they hadn't got married yet. Li Hongzhi changed his birth date at will, this is the most disrespectiful and disobedient thing that one has ever done to the parents.
· Don't show filial piety and respect to parents
"People say that Buddhism is now a mess, and Confucianism's things have crept into Buddhism, like filial piety, affection between men and women, and so on – these things have crept into Buddhism. But these things don't belong in Buddhism."
"I would say that this is your wishful thinking. You are unable to interfere with the lives of others, and neither can you control others' fates, including those of your wife, sons, daughters, parents, or brothers. Can you decide those things?"
"When you show filial piety to your parents, that too is because of qing, and your parents doting on you is also due to qing – it's all human qing."
"Even praying to get rid of bad fortune and sickness for your family is an attachment of affection for your family."
"You can't kowtow to deceased people, though. They are waiting for you to save them, so what would you kowtow to them for."
Filial piety is the top virtue and a traditional morality for Chinese people; it's also an important morality advocated by doctrines of different religions in the world. In the teachings of Islamism, "filial piety" is the second important only next to the worship of Allah. While Christianism holds that since it's impossible for God to take care of everyone, the role of mother has been created. All peoples in the world are grateful to parents giving birth to and raising them. "Mother's Day" was originated in the US. Even animals will repay their mothers when they grow up, for example, the grown-up crow will feed their aged mothers and the baby sheep will kneel down for the milk from their mothers. But Li Hongzhi is openly against the showing of filial piety and respect to parents, announcing that it's wrong to seek medical care for relatives, propagating that to respect parents is "emotion of human being" and "attachment," which should be discarded. With his teachings, a lot of Falun Gong practitioners become cold-blooded and selfish during the cultivation, even refusing to kowtow to show their piety when their parents pass away.
Zhang Zhenyu, a practitioner of Yancheng City, Shandong Province, didn't care about the medical conditions of his critically ill mother and even prevented other family members from sending his mother to hospital. He refused to kowtow to show filial piety when his mother finally passed away, not even shedding a tiny tear.
Minghui published on April 23, 2008, an article Revelation on Passing the Test of Life and Death among Senior Practitioners, revealing the experience of the anonymous author in torturing his or her critically ill mother. The author felt a violent antipathy to the mother, who hadn't devoted wholeheartedly into the cultivation. Later on, the mother fell ill and wanted to see doctor, which was a taboo for Falun Gong practitioners. The author managed to put up with a compromising solution: "On the one hand, measures for ordinary human beings were used: to take her blood pressure and blood sugar, to give her some medicines when it became worse, and to ask for treatment advice from acquaintances working in famous hospitals; on the other hand, the treatment measures for cultivators were used: to send forth Righteous Thoughts, to listen to Fa, to recite pithy formula on Fa-rectification, and we cultivators will sit in a circle to read scripture." But, "thing became worse and worse and finally, she couldn't even take in water. At this hopeless moment (according to the notion of ordinary human beings), Master enlightened us, and several advanced practitioners also came for help. At the sight of my mother, they said what Master used to say: 'How can ordinary human beings be able to cure the illness of God?'" Then, the author "let go of the emotion for the mother," and "read to mother repeatedly what Master said in Teaching the Fa in San Francisco in 2005," "if you can't practice anymore, you should insist on practicing; if you vomit after eating anything, you should insist on eating, if you feel dizzy and sick when you sit, you should insist on sitting."
· Some even kill their parents cruelly
"Human beings are degenerating and there are demons everywhere. These demons interfere with your cultivation and the wretched demons just deserve to be killed."[10]
"If the evil has already reached the point where it is unsavable and unkeepable, then various measures at different levels can be used to stop it and eradicate it...Completely eliminating the evil is for Fa-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation."[11]
Accordingly, Falun Gong practitioners believe that those interfering with the study of Fa are demons, including their parents, some even kill their parents in order to "remove demons."
On August 23, 1996, Wang Xuezhong, a Falun Gong practitioner in Jiahe County, Hunan Province, said his father Wang Jirong was a demon and hacked him 17 times at head, neck, and chest, killing the old man on the site.[12]
2.2Falun Gong on spouse
On the one hand, Li Hongzhi propagates that Dafa disciples shall cultivate, be abstinent, and give up normal sexual life with their spouses in order to gain Consummation; but on the other hand, he proposes to promote "Consummation" through "Male-Female Dual Cultivation."
· Cultivating your heart and mind, letting go of your desires, despising normal sexual life with spouses
"Cultivation will be fruitless if you don't get rid of emotion, desire, and all the feelings of ordinary human beings. Right in the midst of ordinary people you have to get rid of every bit of all those bad thoughts you have, and that's the only way you can improve and go up."[13]
"Those who are attached to lust are no different from wicked people. While reciting the scriptures, they even cast furtive glances; they are far from the Dao and are wicked, everyday people. "[14]
"What do the old forces and the old cosmos see as the gravest thing? Lust...In other words, these things are extremely serious to them. So the old forces and all of the gods in that cosmos will not defend anyone who violates the prohibition on this, anyone who doesn't do well in this regard; in fact they will push you downwards."[15]
Desires are normal physical need of human beings, just like Mencius said: "Appetites for food and sex are human nature," while the sexual life enjoyed by a husband and a wife serves as the foundation for a stable and happy marriage and a harmonious family. But, Li Hongzhi said it was the obstacle on the road of cultivation, the evil influence on Consummation, that the attachment to desires will prevent you from progressing and from going up, to make things worse, you'll be got by the old forces and be expelled by all the gods in the universe because of this. Accordingly, in order to reach a higher level and to gain Consummation, Dafa disciples shall give up desires as well as normal sexual life between husband and wife.
Minghui published on June 4, 2008, an article How Did I Cut off Desire, claiming in the name of a Dafa disciple that: "Fame, interest, emotion, these are obstacles preventing you from improving your cultivation... You have to get rid of all the obstacles so as to find your way back to your real home as soon as possible. Therefore, when I let go of all the fames and interests, I resolutely cut off desires preventing cultivators from reaching Consummation."[16]
But as ordinary people with all kinds of feelings and desires, to ask them to stand the test is to strangle human nature, and how can anyone really do this?
Minghui also published on April 3, 2008, an article The Immortal Flesh of Master Tang said: "Most of us practicing Dafa have got married, but in the end, the married practitioners have to let go of these (emotions), and many people just can't do it and are so annoyed about this."[17]
On October 12, 2007, another article The Innermost Thoughts and Feelings of a Young Practitioner published on Minghui, saying: "Since I obtained Fa ... I've grown up now and come across the issue of marriage ... I've made up my mind not to get married ... Some fellow practitioners said on Minghui that to recite Fa would help to get rid of desires and lust. In fact Master said Fa could get rid of all the attachments; not only desires and lust, all human feelings can be got rid of by merging into Fa. I've always paid special attention to all my thoughts and feelings; once I heard others talking about these things in front of me, I know that I've got something neglect and will send forth Righteous Thoughts to snuff out the lust and the desires. I have to be strict with myself to stay away from all the troubles."[18]
· "Male-Female Dual Cultivation" will help you to improve power and to gain Consummation
"In the community of cultivators, there is a cultivation practice called double cultivation of a man and a woman... Double cultivation of a man and a woman is for collecting yin to supplement yang and vice versa with mutual complement for mutual cultivation, enabling the goal of balancing yin and yang to be achieved...Because a human body inherently has yin and yang, with the interactions of yin and yang, it can itself achieve a balance of yin and yang; it can thus give birth to many living beings."[19]
"We've discovered that nowadays a lot of men have female master souls, while a lot of women have male master souls. That fits exactly with the celestial phenomenon in which the yin and yang are reversed, where yin is prospering and yang is in decline, as Daoists put it...When conjoining the hands, the left hand is on top for males, while the right hand is on top for females. Why is that? It's because the male body is one of pure yang and the female body is one of pure yin. In order to attain a balance of yin and yang, males should suppress the yang and give play to the yin, while females should suppress the yin and give play to the yang."[20]
"Buddhas and Gods don't have ordinary human emotion, nor do they have an ordinary human way of thinking or the notions that are in ordinary humans' understandings of things."[21]
Since Li Hongzhi hints that Male-Female Dual Cultivation will purify body and improve cultivation, a lot of Falun Gong practitioners despise normal husband-wife sexual life but craved for "Male-Female Dual Cultivation" so as to promote Consummation. Male and female practitioners therefore live together for the dual cultivation practice, which is against ethics and moralities, damages marriage, and even results in a broken marriage and family or other tragedies.
Practitioner Xiaomei used to be a decent and righteous woman with a happy and harmonious family. But in order to gain Consummation, she practiced Male-Female Dual Cultivation with her practitioner, cutting through the bottom line of marriage moralities and ending up with a miserable broken family. (Please refer to Case 2)
During the first half year in 2004, Li Mingying from Longjing City, Yanbian, Jilin Province, passed the test of emotion and affection and started to practice Male-Female Dual Cultivation with her younger sister and sister's husband. In order to remove the demon, two sisters killed Jin Tao, the husband of Li Mingying, with sticks. When Jin Tao's mother Peng Shouxian who was a practitioner too, visited her dying son and, at hearing that they did this in order to remove the demon for him, she sat down on the ground with them around Jin Tao, chanting scriptures till he died.[22]
· Ordinary people don't deserve a marriage with cultivators
In his Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi discussed the relationship between husband and wife: "From a high-level perspective, everyday people are playing with mud while in society without realizing that it is dirty. They are playing with mud on earth." In other words, practitioners shouldn't have sex with their spouses who are ordinary human beings. Minghui holds the same opinion, such as in How Do I Treat Marriage and Family, the author said: "In case the senior practitioners get married with ordinary people or junior practitioners, it's like God gets married with an ordinary human being, will this happy in the heaven? You should think about it more rationally so as to better cultivate the Fa during the last stage of Fa-rectification practice."[23]
Accordingly, no practitioner wants to get married with ordinary people; those getting married with ordinary people will break up in the end or to allow the family cease to exist except for in the name. A practitioner once said in the article What is Qing published on Minghui: "As for those attaching to emotion (Qing), have no pity on them even if they die a miserable death; ordinary people have so many karmas with them, just like those getting stuck in the mud."[24] As a result, Dafa disciples will usually end up with following tragedies in their marriage:
To divorce ordinary spouse for the sake of cultivation: Wang Junyuan used to have a happy family, both his wife and he were graduates of University of Science and Technology of China. In 1995, Wang Junyuan went to study in the US and, in order to be with him, his wife gave up her job with a good salary. The two were a happy couple at that time. But then Falun Gong changed his wife and destroyed his family. After practicing Falun Gong, his wife didn't work hard, study, or care about the family as she used to do. She even left the newborn at home and lived else where alone, claiming that practicing "Falun Dafa" was the most important thing and the top priority in her life, that it would be her ultimate happiness if she could obtain a true teaching this life. She refused to give up cultivation no matter what. Just like that, a family that used to be so happy and harmonious was ruined by Falun Gong.[25]
To marry someone they don't really love for the sake of cultivation: An article published on Minghui, To treasure those Master Plans to Save, described: "I felt that I was the happiest person in the world after I got to know him, a practitioner, for I got both Dafa and the one I loved. But he once told me not to take it too seriously, that he didn't like the girls with my character, and that he was with me just because of cultivation." [26]
To get married with someone they don't really know for the sake of cultivation: Another article published on Minghui To take Marriage Seriously, said: "A fellow practitioner ..., about 29 years old ... one day, someone introduced a woman from Northeast China to him. He told her the truth and she could accept that; so he wanted her to practice Dafa and showed her the books about Dafa ... The two got married and, after marriage, he found out that she was so old and she used to be a prostitute. His mother gave her a treatment for a long time, and finally they had a child."[27]
To have sex with other men besides their husbands: According to Its Unwise to Reveal the Truth to Others at the Price of Marriage published on Minghui: "There's a senior practitioner, when her husband was persecuted, a man ... seduced and raped her. She got pregnant, then gave birth to a son and the two started to live together ... Some senior practitioners told her...to continue the dirty life, and the reason was that her family shouldn't be allowed ... to be against Dafa, and that sacrifice was necessary in order to 'protect Fa'. Another female fellow practitioner had always being asked by men... to establish a relationship, ... some senior practitioners didn't do anything about it under the excuse that Fa shall not be affected."[28]
2.3Falun Gong on children
· To take the affection with children more lightly
Li Hongzhi denied any genetic relations between children and parents in the first place: "You know that in this lifetime you are family, but did you know that in your previous life you might not have been? ...In this lifetime that person is your child, but whose child was he in his previous life?"[29]
"Who are your real relatives?... From one life to another, how many parents, wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers have you had in each lifetime?... you are even unable to count them...Which ones are real?... Your real parents are in the place where the universe created you. That is where your parents are...Therefore, your real parents are right now watching you over there, hoping that you will return; but instead of returning, you get lost here and still feel that your relatives are all here."[30]
Li Hongzhi denies the consanguinity between children and parents and advocates to take relationship more lightly; therefore, Dafa disciples no longer love and care about their children, causing great damages to the healthy growing up of these kids.
In March 1997, Li Xiuqin living at Lianzhuang Town, Ninghe County, Tianjin, started to practice Falun Gong and gradually became obsessed with it. All day long, the only thing in her mind was practicing and she did nothing else at home. Being affected by the theories of "removing karma" advocated by Li Hongzhi, Li Xiuqin refused to get injection or take medicine when she fell ill, what's more, she didn't allow Liu Wenyong, her son, to go to hospital. In early 1999, Liu Wenyong had skin disease and his father wanted to take him to hospital, Li Xiuqin stopped them by force. Li treated her son according to the usual practice of Falun Gong and missed the best time for medical treatment. Shortly after that, the condition of the boy became increasingly worse, with a large amount of red spots all over the body and some even started to rankle. The doctors at local hospital finally diagnosed it as dermal cancer. Liu Wenyong, who was critically ill and cried all day long, said to his mother: "Mother, think about it, how happy our family used to be. But look at it now, it's not my home. Grandma cries all the time; Dad doesn't want to step out of the house and don't want to eat. I'm so worried about them and have to guard the two of them closely ... Sister and I have nothing decent to eat and to wear, why is that? My dear mother, think about it, don't do this to us just because you practice Falun Gong!"[31]
Song Li, a farmer of Jiguanshan Town, Fengcheng City, Liaoning Province, practiced Falun Gong together with her husband. In order to get rid of the "fame, interest, emotion" of ordinary people, the couple left home in order to concentrate on cultivation, leaving behind a 72-year-old mother and two children studying at primary school unattended. The old and the young could do no farming work and had no income, having to depending on relatives for a life. The performance of the children at school became increasingly poor.[32]
· To deprive the children of their education right
As for Li Hongzhi, family and school education were nothing for children. According to his theory of "karma," after a person was born, his or her entire life had been arranged and set in advance. Whether one will be happy or not is decided by the karma of his previous life, and education won't change his or her fate.
"As everything is pre-arranged, then why should you still educate them?"[33]
"If he listens to you, you can offer him a kind word of advice when he's willing to listen. You're best off not saying anything when he's irritated, as saying something then is just like saying nothing, and you might even get yourself all frustrated. It's not your fault if he can't be disciplined at all."[34]
"If you can't teach him anymore, and he insists on doing something, there is nothing you can do. As long as he doesn't commit crimes, you really can't do much."[35]
As for the education of Falun Gong practitioners, Li Hongzhi actually has evil intention and plans. He denies the function of education, trying to turn the children of all Falun Gong practitioners into new followers so as to enlarge the organization and to recruit more members.
"What do they (some children) come for? To obtain the Fa. They knew that the old Fa had degenerated, and they came to temper themselves again. Don't consider them average people."
"Many youngsters have a significant background – they are all to attain this Fa."
Being affected by these opinions and theories, many Dafa disciples didn't pay attention to the education of children, and some even forced their children to learn Falun Dafa. A lot of practitioners sent their children to learn Falun Gong theories at the so-called Minghui School, to send forth Righteous Thoughts, clarify the truth, make all kinds of strange movements. As for these things, there're plenty of examples on Minghui.
Minghui published an article on May 13, 2008, Tentative Understanding by a Young Disciple from Mainland China: "I'm a young disciple from mainland China as well as a freshman in high school ... I read at least one Teaching everyday and go to bed around midnight of 12 o'clock after sending forth Righteous Thoughts."[38]
A freshman in high school at his adolescence has to "send forth Righteous Thoughts" at 12:00 at night everyday, this is totally against the goal of modern education and will inevitably cause great physical and mental damages to the boy. UNESCO has pointed out clearly that, due to the immature mental conditions of the youth, it's inappropriate to promote religious education among the youth.
· To cruelly kill the children
Being affected by the theories of Li Hongzhi including "removing karma," "removing demons," and "saving people," some practitioners refuse to seek medical care for their children, some kill the children as "demons," and some "go up to the paradise" to gain "Consummation" together with the children.
According to The Cultivation Stories of Long Fei published on Minghui on March 26, 2008: "I vomited and had diarrhea ... what made me the most uncomfortable is that Master helped me to purify my body, it's a good thing ... I could make it."[39] In this article, Long Fei fell ill and still believed that it was because his Master was purifying the body, refusing to take medicine or see doctor. That's how Falun Gong puts the lives of the youth at risk.
Ma Xiurong, a practitioner living in Nanguan District, Changchun City, Jilin Province, forced the sick son to practice Falun Gong in order to treat the illness and "get rid of the demons." Five months later, the 12-year-old child died miserably at home due to the lack of scientific medical care.[40]
CCTV, 17 Selected Murder Cases of Falun Gong Obsessed Followers (May 31, 2001)
