Li Hongzhi

Master Li Hongzhi, founder and leader of the Falun Gong

Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; pinyin: Lǐ Hóngzhì – family name is Li). He is the founder of the Falun Gong, which is also called Falun Dafa, an international movement that originated in the People's Republic of China. His ethnicity is Han Chinese amd he speaks Mandarin.

The date of his birth is disputed. According to the Falun Gong “Li was born into an ordinary intellectual's family in the city of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, China, on May 13 (the eighth day of the fourth month by China lunar calendar), 1951.” [1]. But the Chinese government asserts that he was born on July 7, 1952 and that he “changed his date of birth to make it coincide with the birthday of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, in an attempt to show that he was the reincarnation of Sakyamuni”. [2].

Divinity of Master Li

No one seems to know who Master Li is and his followers conceal information about him, noted Nina Willdorf from Boston Phoenix. “Talk to several local practitioners, and certain patterns emerge. No one knows much about Master Li's past or present, and followers are reluctant to discuss even what little they do know about him.”[3] Falun Gong’s official website, Clearwisdom.net, introduces the Master with a saintly sketch:

"Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced the practice of Falun Gong to the general public in China in 1992. He then taught the practice publicly for two years in China, after which the practice continued to grow primarily by word-of-mouth. In keeping with Chinese tradition, Mr. Li is often respectfully referred to as "Master" or "Teacher." He is not accorded special treatment, nor does he accept money or donations from students of Falun Gong. He has ensured that the practice be available to all people, and without any terms or conditions. For his contributions to humanity he has been given over 400 honors and awards, and is a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee."[4]

Master Li didn’t used to be so secretive about himself. Appearing as an appendix in Li’s famous Zhuan Falun, an article called “A short biography of Mr Li Hongzhi, Chairman of Falun Gong Research Society”[5] recounted the Master’s story from his birth up to the time he became a popular Master.

According to this biography at the age of four Li began his decades-long training that prepared him to be the greatest Master of all time. His first teacher was a Buddhist master named Quan Jue (literally, complete enlightenment). Quan Jue’s training consisted mainly in cultivating his pre-school pupil’s innate supernatural powers and instilling great moral principles within him. at the age of eight, the young adept attained many supernatural powers. He could levitate off the ground and become invisible simply by thinking “Nobody can see me!” The other two supernatural abilities the young Master acquired were controlling others’ movements by thoughts and teleportation—he could move himself anywhere he wanted by thought alone.

In the following decades he continued to receive trainings from various Masters in spirituality as well as Kung Fu and sword-fighting. The article makes one point clear: all the trainings took place at night in secret locations where no one could witness them. Through these secret trainings Master Li obtained great abilities. The supernatural powers he possessed were “unimaginable for ordinary human beings.” But these powers were not as important as his wisdom: “He discovered the truth of the universe…he saw the origin of humankind and foresaw the development and future of the humankind.”

Despite the biography’s recounting of intensive, decades-long physical and moral training that only legendary saints and heroes undergo, it doesn’t provide the basic background information of Master Li’s life. Master Li apparently grew up in a vacuum.

By 1996, Li was hinting that he was not just an ordinary human being, but rather a reincarnated deity who has lived many previous lives. “The things imparted to me by my several masters in this life are exactly what I intentionally arranged a few lifetimes ago for them to obtain. When the predestined occasion arrived, it had already been arranged that they [would] impart those things back to me so that I could recall my fa (Law) in its entirety.”[6]

Since 1996, Master Li’s statements about his identity have become ever more grandiose. In March, 2002, Li announced that “no being knows who I am. Yet without me, the cosmos wouldn't exist.” [7] On February 15, 2003 at a Falun Gong conference near Los Angeles, Master Li was able to engineer an even more dramatic version of his glorious story. He started by telling his followers that his situation isn’t something that ordinary human beings can imagine. Then he described his origins: “I came from the inside, and came from the outside; I came from nothing, formed into something, appeared at the pinnacle of the colossal firmament, and then from there I descended step by step to the most [lowest] surface, the Three Realms [our world, where humans live]. No being knows who I am.” Master Li went on to reveal what he has done for the human race. “In fact, today's human race would have been destroyed a long time ago if it weren't for the fa-rectification. The standard of the human race's thinking is already at a level lower than hell. It's because of the Fa-rectification that I atoned for the sins of all sentient beings in the Three Realms.” Fa-rectification is a term used by Master Li to refer to a period in the near future when his great law will come to judge everyone on Earth. It is the Falun Gong Judgment Day.[8]

Li then explains what he has done for the followers: “As far as our students are concerned, it was as if I scooped you out of hell back then.” With these words, Master Li received a round of applause, and said: “I have truly borne for you the sins you committed over hundreds and thousands of years…I will also save you and turn you into Gods…since you'll become Gods at levels that high, I have to give you the honors of Gods at levels that high and all the blessings that you need.”[9]

Master Li as a mundane human being

File:LiHongzhiInterview high.jpg

A 1997 Interview of Li Hongzhi

An article done by UCLA Center for East Asian Studies provides the following account of the Master:

Li Hongzhi was born in Gongzhuling City (former Gongzhuling Town), Jilin Province, on July 7, 1952.

Between 1960-69, he studied in Changchun Zhujianglu Primary School, and finished his junior middle school studies in Changchun No. 4 and No. 48 middle schools.

In the period 1970-78, he worked as a trumpet player at a PLA stud farm and Jilin Provincial Forest Armed Police Troop.

In the following four years, he was an attendant at a guest house of the Forest Armed Police Troop.

Li was discharged from military service in 1982, and went to work in the security department of the Changchun Cereals and Oil Co.

In 1991, he quit the job and began practicing qigong. In May 1992, he began to propagate the ideas of Falun Gong.[10]

Interviewing the Master

File:PaintingLord.jpg

Falun Gong practitioners often worship Li as "The Main Buddha" (主佛).

From April to July, 1999, Li was interviewed by a number of western media. The following are some of the highlights:

• On May 2, 1999, when asked why he left China, Li told the Agence France-Press that:

"My daughter wanted to go to the States. I also wanted her to study more English language. I heard the US education was pretty good."[11]

• On July 25, 1999 Li told Mae M. Cheng from Newsday that: "I have never gotten upset with human beings," he said. "I have never been to hospitals, never been ill."[12]

• Li had a dialogue with Times reporter on May 10, 1999:

TIME: Have you seen human beings levitate off the ground?

Li: I have known too many.

TIME: Can you describe any that you have known?

Li: David Copperfield. He can levitate and he did it during performances.

TIME: Would you use qigong to cure an illness?

Li: I can do all of this, but I won't do it.

TIME: Are you a human being?

Li: You can think of me as a human being.

TIME: Are you from earth?

Li: I don't wish to talk about myself at a higher level. People wouldn't understand it. I am trying to save those people who can return to a high level and to a high moral level. Modern science does not understand this, so governments can do nothing. The only person in the entire world who knows this is myself alone. [13]

Arrest warrant for Master Li

On July 29, 1999, Chinese authorities issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi. A request for arrest warrant was also sent to Interpol, and his passport was revoked, preventing him from traveling internationally. Interpol rejected the request on the grounds that it violates article three of the organization's constitution which forbids the Interpol from intervening in "matters of a political, religious, military or racial character".

Disputes

Birthdate

In 1999, after the persecution against Falun Gong was launched, the Chinese authorities alleged Li fraudulently changed his birth date: Li claims that he was born on May 13, 1951, however, Chinese authorities allege that his actual birthdate was July 7, 1952, and that he changed it so as to be the same as Buddhism's founder Sakyamuni.

In an interview with Time magazine, Li asserts that he merely corrected his birth data which was confused during the Cultural Revolution, and has not drawn particular significance to it, claiming to be "just a very ordinary man".

Making money with Falun Gong

According to a Wall Street Journal report "American Dream Finds Chinese Spiritual Leader," on November 1, 1999, Li was offered a house in New York for $293,500 in 1998 shortly after immigrating to the US, then was offered another for $580,000 in New Jersey in 1999. John Sun, a wealthy New York Falun Gong practitioner, pointed out in a letter to the editor of Wall Street Journal that he bought the house in Li’s wife’s name as an attempt to offer it as a gift, but Mr. and Mrs. Li firmly refused to accept the house.

Patent

According to the People's Daily article, Jing Zhanyi a senior engineer applied for a process patent paid for by Li Hongzhi. This issue has caused quite a stir in the Falun Gong community and brought out questions about Mr. Li character.

People's DailyClumsy fraud, harmful heresy

Awards and Recognition

See also: Criticism and controversies about Falun Gong § debatable significance of Falun Gong awards and recognitions

At the Asian health expo of 1992 and 1993 in Beijing, Falun Gong is successively nominated as the "Star Qigong". According to Falun, Li Hongzhi received "The Award for Advancing Boundary Science" and "Qigong Master most Acclaimed by the Masses" at the Oriental Health Expo, Beijing in 1993.

In September 1999, Li was awarded honorary citizenship of the city by the Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

Li Hongzhi was nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize by nearly 600 professors and government officials from 21 countries. Mr. Li was also nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2001 by 28 members of the European Parliament, but failed to make the shortlist.

Quotes

“I have neither form nor name, and I am different from anything that composes any being in the cosmos. To the sentient beings in the cosmos, I have nothing. Perhaps when the cosmos is no more, only I am there. I have nothing. No being knows who I am. Yet without me, the cosmos wouldn't exist. The reason I have come here is to save all sentient beings amidst the Fa-rectification at a time when the colossal firmament of the cosmos is disintegrating.”

External links

• A Short Biography of Mr. Li Hongzhi, Founder of Falun Dafa, President of the Research Society of Falun Buddha Science
• Who is Master Li by Samuel Luo, a Falun Gong critic.
• Book: Practitioners recollection about their Teacher (Li Hongzhi) while He was introducing Falun Gong (free to download)
• Videos of Li Hongzhi's Nine day lecture in Guangzhou, China. (English overlay)
• 1999 statement by Li Hongzhi
• Interviews with Li Hongzhi, New York Times Magazine, August 8, 1999
• Extensive May 1999 interview with Li Hongzhi several news agencies, in Sydney Australia
• May 1999 interview with Li Hongzhi by Time Magazine Asia
• Who is Li Hongzhi? BBC Interview (RealPlayer video)
• Li Hongzhi interviewed by Time Magazine Asia in August 1999
• The actual teachings of Li Hongzhi, online
• Summary of a 2004 interview with Li Hongzhi with NTDTV, the first since 1999, hosted on a Falun Dafa website
• 2001 San Jose Mercury News critical article held at Rick Ross, a "cult watchdog" group