Academic views on Falun Gong

Criticism and controversies about Falun Gong abound.

Li as a savior or supernatural entity

Another feature of Falun Dafa is promotion of Li’s role as the exclusive savior of mankind in this “Dharma ending” period; In Zhuan Falun [1] he states “If I cannot save you, nobody else can do it.” If a Falun Gong practitioner were only to do the exercises, but fail to follow the requirements of the Fa, that person would not be considered a Dafa disciple. Falun Gong practitioners are promised the possibility of becoming "Gods" as long as they safeguard and uphold the Dafa. In 2003, Li Hongzhi said: [2]

"I have truly borne for you the sins you committed over hundreds and thousands of years. And it doesn't stop at just that. Because of this, I will also save you and turn you into Gods. I have spared no effort for you in this process. Along with this, 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 to have at levels that high."

Also found is the idea that Master Li has numerous Fashen (spiritual Law bodies) which protect practitioners from harm. These Law bodies “exercise great supernatural power." They surround practitioners at all times and know everything that is on their minds.[3] Li Hongzhi states in the Zhuan Falun  : “If you can really cultivate in the right way, nobody dares to touch you rashly. What’s more, you are under the protection of my Law bodies, so you will never be in any danger.” [4]

While protecting practitioners, the Master’s Law bodies also cure the illnesses for those who practice at the Falun Gong exercise sites. However practitioners are warned that if they fail to follow the requirements of the Fa, bad consequences will result. In Zhuan Falun [5] Li Hongzhi states that if a practitioner does not follow the requirments of the Fa, his "body will be reset to the level of everyday people and the bad things will be returned to you.”

In addition to providing disease-curing benefits, it is believed that cultivation practice will actually prolong one’s life. But there is danger for those who might not live up to the Fa’s requirements. In Zhuan Falun [6] Li Hongzhi states that when a practitioner continually practices cultivation, his life will be prolonged. However, there is a criterion "that the life prolonged beyond your predestined time to live is completely reserved for your practice. If your mind goes wrong a little bit, your life will be in danger because your lifetime should have long been over", referring to old people whom he claims should have died already, according to his conception of their predestined life span.

Falun Gong and homosexuality

Li has made statements disparaging of homosexuality and homosexuals. It is a matter of dispute whether homosexuality as a practice (or "orientation") is compatible or incompatible with Falun Gong. The teachings of Falun Gong are seen as homophobic by critics, while defenders of the Falun Gong dispute whether statements made by Falun Gong's founder are fairly interpreted.

Chinese authorities and Falun Gong

In 1999, Falun Gong was banned in China. Mass arrests were made, and between 900 and 2,000 deaths reported. Chinese authorities and Falun Gong supporters dispute the cause of the deaths, variously attributed to "suicide" or "torture". There are also disputes arising over whether the ban was justified in China was justified.

Questionable significance of Falun Gong awards and recognitions

There is some controversy about how meaningful Falun Gong’s many municipal awards and recognitions are and how they are used to promote the Falun Gong. Falun Gong expert Patsy Rahn (2000), states they “are documents routinely obtained by groups from public officials in the US for public relations purposes” and may be used to mislead people in China into believing “that the American government supports Master Li and his Falun Gong practitioners.” [7] Noah Porter (2003) argues that these awards are not always easy to get, citing one example from Tampa, Florida. [8]

In 2006, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution which was subsequently misrepresented on an official Falun Gong website. Given San Francisco’s long tradition of tolerance and the Falun Gong’s teachings on homosexuality, there was controversy about the exact wording of the resolution. As reported in the Sing Tao Daily (2/1/2006), four of the supervisors, when asked about the resolution, stated “that they either don’t understand the Falun Gong belief system or do not support it; in addition, they feel uncomfortable about the Falun Gong’s homophobic positions.” The Chinese supervisor who had co-sponsored the resolution, and worked to amend it in committee, was quoted in the Bay Area Reporter [9] :

"I am concerned about these homophobic teachings. It is a good thing these were called out. I don't think people understand the Falun Gong. So to the extent it is educating the community, it is a good thing."

Aware of these teachings, the sponsors of the resolution amended the original draft language to include a disclaimer. As a result, the Board passed Resolution 66-06 [10], condemning the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, while also stating that “the views expressed by Falun Gong practitioners are not officially sanctioned by the City and County of San Francisco” and that the resolution “in no way encourages the practice of any particular faith, philosophy, religion or belief system, including but not limited to Falun Gong.” Shortly thereafter, the Clearwisdom website published an altered version of the resolution which omitted the disclaimer language. Bowing to pressure, the editors of Clearwisdom eventually deleted the entire text of San Francisco’s Resolution 66-06 from their website.

There are also reports of politicians being manipulated into commending Li Hongzhi without knowing all the facts about his teachings. According to a San Jose Mercury News article, American politicians have been caught in the middle in the battle between the Chinese government and the Falun Gong. In January, 2001 four US representatives from northern California—Representatives Tom Lantos, Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren and Pete Start—signed a letter to the Nobel Peace Prize praising Li Hongzhi for promoting the “highest humanitarian values.” When asked whether they knew about Li’s teachings on homosexuals and race before they signed that letter, three of the representatives said no. Representative Anna Eshoo, who subsequently rescinded her nomination, stated: “Obviously I wouldn’t recommend to the Nobel Institute someone who’s anti-gay, because that’s a human right.” [11]

Attitude toward traditional medicine

These critics point to what they see as dangerous consequences in practicing Falun Gong, including alleged health risks from abandoning traditional treatment when practitioners are sick.

Claims about preventing catastrophes and cosmic explosions

In 2002, Li claimed that after spreading Falun Gong for ten years, some of humanity's predestinations had been averted, including a "comet catastrophe" and "the third world war." [12]

In Zhuan Falun, Li explains that catastrophes “which destroy everything in the universe” are recurring events in the history of our universe. He claims he “made a careful investigation once and found out that mankind has been through the state of complete annihilation eighty one times.” [13]

In a speech in Boston in 2002, Li reported that scientists have discovered that the observable universe “is expanding faster and faster, and the speed of the expansion keeps accelerating.” Explaining that “something only expands before it explodes,” Li told his audience that he and the immense force of Fa-rectification have so far been able to avert an explosion:

Although the universe is expanding, I’m doing things at an extremely fast speed, and I can definitely catch up with it. If I don’t catch up with it, I can tell you, the final disintegration would make everything in the surface dimension cease to exist. If I do catch up with, everything is resolved. Not only will I catch up with it, but I will also surpass it, and that's when the Fa rectifies the human world [14]

Deng and Fang (2000), suggest that Li’s teachings on cosmic explosions and the existence of advanced pre-historical civilizations were “borrowed from Western catastrophists and pseudo-archaeologists” whose ideas were commonly reported in Chinese media as “scientific facts.” They report that early in the history of Falun Gong scientists “criticized Li and his followers for creating a deceptive science by misusing scientific terms and theories.” [15]