Li Hongzhi preached his heretical ideas and fallacies on every possible occasion, and developed them into books such as "Zhuan Falun" and "Falun Fofa". These books have been widely circulated. The following fallacies, which Li Hongzhi has repeatedly preached to the Falun Gong practitioners, are all from the books he and his principal followers wrote and sold as well as from the cassette and videotapes of his speeches.
(1) Hawking the theory of "doomsday" and declaring that mankind has come to the brink of destruction
On many occasions Li Hongzhi told his audience, "The human race has experienced many destructive catastrophes. The next destruction--complete destruction--will come soon. It will be destruction of both the form and the spirit, and will be really horrible." He said, "I found that mankind has experienced 81 calamities in the past, and each time there were only a few people who survived." He declared that our planet should have been totally destroyed last year and it was he himself who had made the destruction postponed by 30 years.
(2) Cursing the human race and regarding the Earth as a rubbish heap
When preaching to Falun Gong practitioners, Li Hongzhi repeatedly told them that mankind was very dreadful. He said, "If you look around, you will find that the human world today is extremely terrible, full of vicious persons." And, "The human race, as a whole, is deteriorating, and there are devils everywhere. The human race, while developing to the present stage, has become distorted and is full of evil. Hence, the gods have completely lost confidence in mankind. This is one of the major reasons why the gods do not care about human beings any more." He told his followers, "The reason why you were born on the earth was not merely to be human. You should have the goal of gaining complete understanding about the world and the rest of the universe, so as to escape confusion and return to the other world. However, there are some people who cannot do this. As a result, they have to be born into the world again according to the doctrine of samsara, until the world comes to an end. That's why the Earth has experienced many catastrophes... Bad people fall down in the universe, dropping into the central part of it, which is the earth. Consequently, the earth serves as the rubbish heap of the universe." He added, "Those who have descended to the level of ordinary people are destined to be destroyed."
(3) Negating modern science and urging his followers not to recognize modern science
Li Hongzhi proclaimed to Falun Gong practitioners, "Science today is not science in the real sense...Because you can never use this science to probe into the profound mysteries of the universe. The (science and) technology of mankind cannot reach a higher plane of understanding... Yet, we practitioners can, and Buddha is a scientist at the highest level. The science of mankind today is, in fact, developed from a wrong basis; its understanding of the universe, mankind and life is all wrong. So, in our circles of practitioners we never acknowledge modern science, holding it to be erroneous."
(4) Claiming that only he himself and his "Falun Dafa" can save mankind
Li Hongzhi repeatedly told Falun Gong practitioners, "'Falun Dafa' has, for the first time in the history of human kind, enlightened human beings to the characteristics of the universe (Law of Buddha), which is tantamount to providing mankind with a ladder to Heaven. Now I am the only person in the world who is spreading the orthodox Law of Buddha. Therefore, I am doing something that has never been done by our predecessors. Indeed, I am doing something people have never done before--propagating the fundamental law of the universe, which you cannot read in any book, past or present, Chinese or foreign. The theory I propound is related to the nature of the universe; it is the fundamental Law of Buddha." He further told the practitioners, "I am here to save you from this miserable world. If I cannot save you, there is no one in the world able to do so. Existing human society has deteriorated to its extreme point. Hence, no one cares about you, except me; the others just watch you being destroyed. My law-bodies are so numerous that they are beyond calculation. Therefore, I can look after as many people as I want, maybe the entire human race."
(5) Claiming that diseases are "karma retribution" and forbidding his followers to see doctors or take medicine
"Karma" is a Buddhist term, basically having neither good nor bad connotations. Li Hongzhi, however, used it to express the concept of retribution for sin. He preached to Falun Gong practitioners, "The basic cause of all illness and misfortune is 'Karma', a kind of karma field formed by black materials, which is the fundamental cause and the most important source of illness." He proclaimed, "Birth, old age, disease and death are preordained. They are karma retributions. Once you owe debts, you have to repay them. Illnesses can never be cured completely. Only by practicing 'Falun Gong' can karma be dispelled. No other means will do. The essence of illness is the problems in another space reflected in this space. For instance, if pathogenic bacteria live in another space, how can man deal with them? So we practitioners do not talk about illnesses, because they are all the results of karma. Those who sincerely practice Falun Gong will not fall sick or encounter danger. The power achieved by practicing Falun Gong can automatically eliminate viruses and karma. Taking medicines merely presses back karma, making it impossible to cleanse one's body; so medicines are not able to cure diseases. One who passes this barrier will become a superman."
(6) Claiming that he himself has "Law-bodies" and has installed "wheels of law" in the abdomens of the Falun Gong practitioners
Li Hongzhi preached to Falun Gong practitioners, "None of you, my disciples, or masters of other schools of Qigong, has law-bodies. As far as I know, I'm the only one in the world who has law-bodies. I have countless law-bodies, who look exactly like me. They are in another space, and can change their sizes limitlessly and freely. I am the main body, but they have the ability to do things independently. They can look after you, protect you, help you to practice, and do other things. They are actually embodiments of me. That is how I can protect you. Most of my law-bodies wear the kasaya and they have curly, blue hair, as blue as a sapphire." He told Falun Gong practitioners, "Today, human society is extremely chaotic and dirty. Human beings are stained with too much karma and evil thinking. But I can cleanse you of all that, and install in you the bright golden 'wheels of law'(or Falun), together with many other things included in 'Falun Dafa,' so that you can cultivate yourselves and purge your hateful, dirty bodies... This is a precious chance never met before since remote antiquity and you are incomparably lucky to have it. The 'wheel of law,' which I install in a practitioner's abdomen, revolves 24 hours a day. It automatically helps the practitioner in his or her practice. In other words, although the practitioner is not practicing all the time, the 'wheel of law' is cultivating the practitioner non-stop."
(7) Distorting and belittling religion and claiming that "Falun Dafa" is the "orthodox law"
In the guise of "Law of Buddha", Li Hongzhi usurped some religious terms and distorted them. His heretical ideas are in essence anti-religious. Li Hongzhi called his "Falun Dafa" the "highest Law of Buddha" and the "orthodox law" superior to all religions. In order to make Falun Gong practitioners have total faith in "Falun Dafa" and abide by the doctrines of his heretical cult, Li Hongzhi forbade the practitioners to believe in any religion. He said, "The existing religions cannot save people from torment any more. They cannot help you attain self-cultivation, and they are on a low plane. Why should you want to adulterate the "Falun Dafa"? You must shun the things on a low plane because they will cause confusion in the body you have cultivated or the things you will get from practicing Falun Gong. In that way, you will not be able to return home, but will undermine the road for your advance." He further claimed, "As for Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and some other religions, I admit that they have been orthodox religions in history. However, in this historical period and in this society, when the concept of mankind is being modernized, it has become impossible for people to understand the true concept of the nature of man from ancient ideas... You cannot understand the old religions, and of course you cannot be saved by them. Consequently, they will not care about you. I tell you this because I'm afraid you may be led astray by the religions that cannot relief people of their torment." He also said, "Some religions have come into being in this century. No, not only this century, over the past few centuries many new religions have appeared. Most of these religions are fakes." Leaders of China's religions circles pointed out that Li Hongzhi and his "Falun Dafa" have nothing to do with religion, and their heretical ideas are directly opposed to religious doctrines and anti-religious.
(Chinanews, February 23, 2001)
