1. The Law Wheel and Falun Gong

Q: What does the Law Wheel consist of?

A: The Law Wheel is an intelligent being consisting of high-energy matter, one that automatically transforms gong. It doesn’t exist in our dimension.

Q: What does the Law Wheel look like?

A: As for the Law Wheel’s color, you can only say that it’s golden yellow. But this color does not exist in our dimension. The base color of the inner circle is a bright red, while the base color of the outer circle is orange. There are two red-and-black Taiji symbols that belong to the Daoist system, and there are two red-and-blue Taiji symbols that belong to the Original Great Dao system. They are two different systems. The srivatsa symbol “” is golden yellow. People with a lower level Third Eye see the Law Wheel rotating, and it’s similar to an electric fan. If you can see it clearly it’s beautiful and can inspire the practitioner to cultivate more boldly and diligently.

Q: Where is the Law Wheel initially located? Where is it located later on?

A: I really only give you one Law Wheel. It is located at the lower abdomen, the same location where the elixir we spoke of is cultivated and kept. Its position doesn’t change. Some people can see many Law Wheels spinning. Those are used outside by my Law Bodies to adjust your body.

Q: Can Law Wheels be developed through exercises and cultivation? How many of them can be developed? Is there any difference between these and the one given by Teacher?

A: Law Wheels can be developed through exercises and cultivation. As the strength of your gong increases, more and more Law Wheels will develop. All Law Wheels are the same. The only difference among them is that the Law Wheel located at the lower abdominal area doesn’t move around since it is the root one.

Q: How can a person feel and observe the presence and rotation of the Law Wheel?

A: There is no need to feel or observe it. Some people are sensitive and will feel the Law Wheel’s rotation. During the initial period after the Law Wheel is planted, you might not be used to it in your body, and have abdominal pain, feel like something is moving, have a sense of warmth, and so on. After you get accustomed to it you won’t have any sensation of it; people with abilities can see it, though. It’s just like your stomach: you don’t feel the movement of your stomach.

Q: The direction in which the Law Wheel rotates on the Law Wheel emblem is not the same as the one on the students’ tickets (referring to the first and second seminars in Beijing). The Law Wheel printed on the students’ tickets for the seminar rotates counterclockwise. Why?

A: The goal is to give you something good. Its outward emission of energy adjusts everyone’s bodies, and for that reason it doesn’t rotate clockwise. You can see it rotating.

Q: At what point does Teacher plant the Law Wheel in students?

A: Let’s discuss this here. We have some students who have done a lot of practices, and what’s challenging is that we have to get rid of all the disorderly things in the body, keeping the good and discarding the bad. So it adds a step. After that a Law Wheel can be planted. The size of the Law Wheel that’s planted depends on the level of the person’s cultivation. Some people have never done qigong before, and by being readjusted and having a good underlying base, their sicknesses can be eliminated during my class; they leave the level of qi and enter into the state of “Milk-White Body.” And under such conditions a Law Wheel can be planted. But many people have poor health and they are constantly undergoing adjustment, so how could a Law Wheel be planted before the adjustments are completed? They are the minority, though. Let’s not worry. I have already planted the energy mechanism that can form a Law Wheel.

Q: How is the Law Wheel carried?

A: It’s not carried. I send forth a Law Wheel and plant it in your lower abdomen. It’s not in our physical dimension, but a different one. With the intestines that are inside of your lower abdomen, what would happen if it started to spin and it were in this dimension? It exists in another dimension and isn’t at odds with this one.

Q: Will you continue to give out Law Wheels in your next class?

A: You will get only one. Some people sense the rotation of many Law Wheels, but those serve an outer function and are only for adjusting your body. The biggest feature of our exercises is that when energy is emitted, a string of Law Wheels is released. So before you even start to practice, you already have many Law Wheels spinning in your body and adjusting it. The Law Wheel that I really give to you is the one located in the lower abdomen.

Q: If we stop practicing does it mean our Law Wheel will vanish? How long will the Law Wheel stay in my body?

A: As long as you regard yourself as a cultivator and follow the character requirements that I have set forth, when you are not doing the exercises, not only does it not disappear, but it strengthens. Your gong strength will even keep growing, in fact. But that said, if you do the exercises more than anybody but fail to act in line with the character standard I set, then I’m afraid your effort was a waste. You do the exercises but the effect is nil. No matter what system you practice, if you don’t follow its requirements, in all likelihood you are cultivating in a crooked way. If you have only bad things on your mind and are thinking [something like], “So-and-so is just so awful. I’ll fix him once I get some abilities,” then even if you are learning Falun Gong, when you add that stuff in and fail to follow my character guidelines, aren’t you doing a crooked practice?

Q: Teacher often says, “Spending even $100 million won’t buy you a Law Wheel.” What’s meant by that?

A: It means that it’s incredibly precious. And what I give you isn’t just a Law Wheel: I give other things which guarantee your cultivation, and they are precious. All of them are priceless.

Q: Can people who came in late get a Law Wheel?

A: As long as you come before the last three days [of class], you can have your body adjusted and, a Law Wheel, along with many other things, can be planted. If you come during the last three days it’s hard to say, but you will still be adjusted. It’s not easy to plant things. If your conditions are favorable it is possible things will be planted.

Q: Is the Law Wheel the only thing used to correct the wrong states of the human body?

A: We don’t rely solely on Law Wheels. Your teacher uses many methods to correct things.

Q: What was the background of Falun Gong’s creation in prehistory?

A: That is a huge question you are asking, and it’s a bit too high. It goes beyond the scope of what we are supposed to know at this level, so I can’t discuss it here. But there is one thing you should know: This is not qigong of Buddhism the religion, but Buddhist system qigong. It’s not part of Buddhism. We do share the same goal as Buddhism though, it’s only that our cultivation disciplines are different; we have taken two different paths. Our goal is the same.

Q: How long is Falun Gong’s history?

A: The system of practice I trained in is a little different than the system I made public. The Law Wheel I cultivated is more powerful than the one I’m imparting, and gong developed faster than under this system. But despite that, the system of practice I’ve introduced to the public still allows for rapid growth of gong, so the demands on the cultivator’s character are stricter and higher [than is common]. The things I have introduced to the public were reorganized and have less strict requirements [than what I practiced], but they are still stricter than the average cultivation way. Since it is different from what it originally was, I am called its founder. As to the length of Falun Gong’s history, not counting the years before it was public, you could say that it started last May (in 1992) when I began teaching it in the Northeast [of China].

Q: As we listen to your talks, what does Teacher give us?

A: I give Law Wheels to everyone. There is a Law Wheel for cultivation and there are Law Wheels for adjusting the body, and along with this my Law Bodies look after you—every one of you—as long as you cultivate Falun Gong. If you don’t, the Law Bodies naturally won’t look after you. They wouldn’t do that even if they were told to. My Law Bodies know well what you’re thinking.

Q: Can Falun Gong allow me to cultivate to a Rightful Attainment?

A: Dafa is boundless. Even if you cultivate to the Tathagata level that’s still not the top. Ours is an upright cultivation way, so get cultivating! What you achieve will be a Rightful Attainment.

2. Exercise Principles and Methods

Q: After they finish the Great Cosmic Orbit exercise and return home, some people have dreams where they vividly see themselves floating in the sky. What’s that all about?

A: I can tell you all, when that kind of thing happens during your meditation or dreams, those are not in fact dreams. It is the result of your soul leaving your physical body—something nothing like dreaming. When you dream you don’t see things so clearly or in much detail, but when your soul leaves the body what you see and how you float up can be realistically seen and remembered well.

Q: If the Law Wheel becomes deformed, what bad consequences will it have?

A: That signifies that the person has deviated, and so the Law Wheel has lost its effectiveness. Also, it will bring many problems to your cultivation. It’s like choosing not to walk on the main street but on a side road, where you get lost and can’t find your way. You will encounter problems, and such things will manifest in daily life.

Q: When doing the exercises by ourselves, what should we do about the environment at home? Can we have a Law Wheel in our house?

A: Many of you who are sitting here have seen the presence of Law Wheels in your homes, and family members have started to benefit from it. As we’ve said, there exist many dimensions in the same time and at the same location. Your home is no exception, and it needs to be taken care of. The way it is generally handled is to eliminate the bad things and then install a shield so that nothing bad can find its way in.

Q: While doing the exercises, when qi hits a sick spot it hurts and feels swollen. Why is that?

A: Sickness is a type of black energy cluster. That spot will feel swollen after we break it into pieces during the early phase of the class. It has lost its root then and started to discharge outward. It will be expelled quickly, and the illness will no longer exist.

Q: My old health problems disappeared after a few days of the class, but suddenly reemerged a few days later. Why?

A: Because improvements take place rapidly with our cultivation system and your levels change in a very short period of time; your health problem is cured before you even know it. The later symptoms are what I’ve described as the coming of “ordeals.” Sense and observe things carefully. They aren’t the same symptoms your old health problem had before. And if you look for other qigong masters to adjust your body, they won’t be able to, for it is karma manifesting as your gong grows.

Q: While cultivating, do we still need to take medicine?

A: You should think and decide for yourself about this. Taking medicine while cultivating implies that you don’t believe in cultivation’s ability to heal; why would you take medicine if you believed in it. If you don’t hold yourself to our character standard, problems might come up and you might say that Li Hongzhi doesn’t let you take medicine, but Li Hongzhi asked you to make strict demands on your character, and have you done that? The things that exist in the bodies of true cultivators are not those of everyday people, and none of the diseases and ailments that everyday people have are allowed to occur in your body. If you can handle your thoughts well and you believe in the healing power of cultivation, and you decide then to discontinue your medicine, you aren’t concerned about it, and you don’t go to get it treated, then naturally there will be somebody who heals it for you. All of you here are getting better day by day, and every day you feel better and better. So what’s going on? My Law Bodies have been busy going in and out working on the bodies of many of you, and they are helping you by doing those things. If your mind isn’t steady as you cultivate and you adopt an attitude of doubt or of “let’s try and see,” then you will get nothing. Whether you believe in Buddhas or not is determined by your awakening capacity and underlying base. If a Buddha who could be seen clearly with human eyes were to appear here, then everyone would go to learn Buddhism and there wouldn’t be any issue of changing your thinking. You first have to believe if you are to see.

Q: Some people want to invite Teacher and his disciples to do healings. Is that okay?

A: I didn’t come to the public to do healing. Where there are human beings there is sickness. Some people can’t seem understand what I say, but I am not going to elaborate further. Buddhist practices aim to broadly save sentient beings, and healing people is allowed. But when we do healing it is organized and promotional in nature. I’ve just come to the public and am not well known, so others don’t recognize me and perhaps nobody would come to hear my talks. By giving health consultations and healing people we let everybody witness Falun Gong, and the results have been excellent. So we didn’t do it entirely for healing people. Using powerful gong to do healing full-time or as a job is prohibited. Replacing the laws of this world with higher laws wouldn’t work; it would change the state of things, and the effectiveness wouldn’t be good. To be responsible to students of cultivation, we have to adjust your bodies such that there is no longer illness, and only then can you cultivate toward higher levels. If you always worry about your health problem and have no interest in cultivating, then even though you might not say that, my Law Bodies are very clear about what you’re thinking, and you will get nothing in the end. We have already adjusted your bodies in this class. Of course, you first need to be someone who cultivates. I won’t start to treat illness for you and ask for more money halfway through the class series—we don’t do that kind of thing. If your health problem hasn’t been cured, it has to do with your awakening capacity. We of course don’t exclude those individuals who are quite ill. The reactions might not be apparent in your body, but they are in fact huge and strong. Perhaps a one-time adjustment isn’t adequate, but we have done our best. It’s not that we aren’t being responsible to you, but that the illness is just too severe. When you go home and cultivate, we will keep healing you until you are fully cured. The cases like this are few.

Q: How do we enter into stillness when doing the exercises? Is it considered an attachment when we think about problems at work while doing them?

A: You should take things that are related to self-interest lightly, and keep a clear and clean mind at all times. If you could prepare and know in advance when an ordeal was coming and what it would be, then it wouldn’t be an ordeal. Ordeals mostly come suddenly and out of nowhere. If you can be firm and resolute you will definitely make it through, and that is how your character is evaluated. Once your attachments are gone, your character is improved, you no longer fight and contend with others, your animosity and grudges are forgotten, and your thinking is cleaned up, then you can talk about a still mind. If even then you can’t become still, then think of yourself as a second person, and look upon those thoughts as belonging to somebody else. Overwhelming as those thoughts may be, you should step out of them and let them go their own way. Some people suggest chanting the Buddha’s name or counting numbers. But those are tricks, though. When we do the exercises, we don’t need to focus our thoughts on something, but we do have to be aware that we are practicing. As for your challenges at work, when it’s not about self-interest or about something you are attached to, then it’s a good thing. I know a Buddhist monk who understands this facet of cultivation. He is the abbot of a temple and has many tasks, but once he sits down [to meditate] he separates himself from those things. He’s sure not to think of them, and that is an ability. When you are really, truly doing your exercises there is no trace of self or distracting thoughts. You can still do well with your work when you don’t mix in your personal things.

Q: What should we do when bad thoughts surface as we do the exercises?

A: It’s possible from time to time many bad things will surface when you are doing the exercises. You have just started cultivating, and it’s not possible to reach a really high realm overnight; nor would we impose too high of requirements on you at this point. It’s not realistic to ask you to prevent even a single bad thought from entering your mind. That’s something you gradually accomplish. At the beginning it’s all right [if there are bad thoughts], but don’t let your thoughts run wild. Over time your mind will elevate, and you should hold yourself to higher standards since you are cultivating Dafa. After this class you are no ordinary person. The things you now carry are so unique that you have to make strict demands on your character.

Q: When I do the exercises it feels like my head and abdomen are spinning, and there is discomfort in the chest area.

A: That’s something at the initial stage caused by the Law Wheel turning. That symptom might go away later on.

Q: What should we do if we attract small animals as we exercise?

A: Any kind of qigong exercises can attract small animals, so just ignore them, that’s all. It has to do with there being a positive energy field, and that’s especially so with Buddhist qigong, for this gong contains factors that help to broadly save living beings. When our Law Wheel turns clockwise it saves oneself, and when it turns counterclockwise it saves others. It then turns back and starts over again, so everything around us benefits.

Q: In the exercise Coursing Between the Two Poles, is it counted as one time when the hand moves up and down once? When doing Buddha Stretching A Thousand Arms, should I imagine myself to be large and tall before I stretch my arms?

A: It counts as one time when each hand has moved up and down once. When you do Buddha Stretching A Thousand Arms don’t think about yourself. You will naturally feel large and tall. You only need to have a sense that you are the largest being between heaven and earth, and just standing there is enough. If you always pursue that feeling, it is an attachment.

Q: When doing the meditation, what if I can’t fold my legs into the lotus position?

A: If you can’t fold your legs you can do the meditation by sitting on the edge of a chair, and it will be effective just the same. But since you are a practitioner, you have to exercise your legs and manage to cross them. You can sit on the edge of a chair and slowly train your legs to cross, and you should eventually be able to cross them.

Q: If family members do bad things and are not True, Kind, and Tolerant, what should we do?

A: If your family members don’t practice Falun Gong, then it doesn’t matter. The main issue is cultivating yourself. Just cultivate yourself and don’t complicate things. You should be more easygoing [with others] and spend more effort working on yourself.

Q: In daily life I sometimes do the wrong thing and regret it, but then it happens again. Is that because my character is lacking?

A: Since you can write about it [in your question], it proves that you have improved your character and can recognize your faults. Everyday people are oblivious when they do something wrong. So it means that you have already surpassed everyday people. You did something wrong the first time and didn’t guard your character, but it is a process. Try again to improve next time you run into a problem.

Q: Can people in their forties or fifties reach the state of “Three Flowers Gathered Atop the Head”?

A: We cultivate both mind and body, so age doesn’t matter. As long as you stay focused as you practice and follow the character guidelines I’ve set forth, your life will keep being extended as you keep practicing. Doesn’t this give you enough time to cultivate? But there’s one thing about exercises that cultivate both mind and body: If when your life has been extended a character problem comes along, your life will immediately be in danger, for your life was extended for the purpose of cultivation. So once your character has problems your life will right away be in danger.

Q: How much strength does “firm yet gentle” mean we should use?

A: You have to explore this for yourself. For example, when we do large mudras the hands look soft, but the mudras are actually done with strength. The force is quite strong between the forearm, wrist, and among the fingers. But they appear soft. That is “firm yet gentle.” When I performed the mudras for you I gave you this, so you will gradually come to experience it as you practice.

Q: Is it true that sexual relations between men and women are unnecessary? Should young people divorce?

A: We discussed sex earlier. We haven’t told you, at your current level, to become a monk or nun—it’s you who wants to become one. What’s key is that you get rid of that attachment [to sex]! You have to let go of every attachment you can’t give up. For everyday people it is a kind of desire, but for us, as cultivators, we have to be able to let it go, to take it lightly. Some people are just intent on seeking after it, that stuff fills their heads, and it would be considered going overboard even if they were everyday people. Now they are cultivators, though, so there is all the more reason they shouldn’t be like that. But, since you cultivate and maybe your family members don’t, it’s okay at the present stage to lead a normal life. When you reach a higher level you will know what to do.

Q: Is it okay to sleep when doing the meditation? How should I handle it? I sometimes lose awareness for as long as three minutes and don’t know what is going on.

A: Sleeping is a problem. Can a person sleep while meditating? When you fall asleep during meditation it is a form of meddling by wicked entities. You said “lose awareness”? That won’t happen. Maybe it’s that you didn’t write your question clearly? If you lose awareness for three minutes it doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. People who can enter into deep stillness often lose awareness of things. But, if the time is long then it is a problem.

Q: Is it true that anyone who is determined to achieve a Rightful Attainment by cultivating can do so? What if his underlying base is lacking?

A: It all depends on what kind of determination you have—the critical factor is how determined you are. As for people whose underlying base is lacking, it still depends on their determination and capacity to awaken.

Q: Can I do the exercises when I have a cold or fever?

A: I can tell you that after you finish this class you won’t have sickness, hard as that is to believe. Then why do my students sometimes have symptoms like those of a cold or fever? That is going through an ordeal, through hardship, and it means it is time to elevate to another level. They all understand this, and they don’t let it concern them, and that way it passes.

Q: Can pregnant women practice Falun Gong?

A: It’s no problem, because the Law Wheel is planted in another dimension. There are no vigorous movements in our practice that could negatively impact a pregnant woman. It actually benefits them.

Q: When Teacher is away from us, is there any spatial distance?

A: A lot of people think something like: “Teacher isn’t in Beijing. What should we do?” And when a person does other types of exercises that’s how it is—the teacher can’t watch over you every day. But now I have taught the Law to you, you have been given its truths, I’ve taught you the exercises, and a complete set of things has been given to you. What’s left is for you to cultivate now. You can’t say that being by my side guarantees things and being apart doesn’t. We can illustrate it by talking about Buddha’s disciples. It has been over two thousand years since Shakyamuni passed away, and those disciples still carry on cultivating without second thoughts. So cultivating is in your hands.

Q: Will practicing Falun Gong result in bigu fasting?

A: No, it won’t, because bigu[1] is a cultivation method of the Original Great Dao cultivation way which existed even before Buddhism or Daoism; it dates back to before religion came about. This method is often a part of solitary cultivation. The reason being, in the time of the Original Great Dao system there was no monastic system, and they had to cultivate halfway up a mountain and nobody could supply them with food there. So it was during that period of time when they had to cultivate in seclusion, which required that they remain still for six months to a year, that they adopted the approach [of bigu]. Today, our cultivation doesn’t need bigu. It’s a method used under special circumstances, and it is definitely not some supernatural ability. Some people teach it. But I would say if everybody the world over didn’t need to eat it would disrupt the way of ordinary society, and that would be a problem. If nobody ate anything would it be a human society? That’s not allowed, and things shouldn’t be like that.

Q: To what level can these five exercises take us?

A: These five exercises make it possible for you to cultivate to an extremely high level. Of course, you will know which level you should cultivate to when the time arrives. That’s because there is no limit to our practice, and when you truly have arrived at that point there will be another predestined arrangement for you, and you will gain the Great Way of an even higher level.

Q: “The Law refines the practitioner.” Does this mean that since the Law Wheel always rotates we don’t need to do exercises?

A: Doing the exercises is different from monastic cultivation. When a person cultivates at a monastery or temple, he does in fact have to sit in meditation, like you. It is a skill that needs to be practiced—you can’t just say you want to increase your gong and have it grow atop your head without doing a single exercise. Is that a cultivator? Every school has its own set of inherited things that needs to be developed via exercises.

Q: People who do other practices claim, “Practices that don’t use direction with thought are not cultivation ways.” Is that right?

A: People say all kinds of things, but nobody has taught the Great Way to you like I have. The Buddhist system believes that a cultivation method which uses intention cannot be of a very high level; when I say “a cultivation method that uses intention” I’m not referring to the movements that practices have. Meditation and Jieyin are movements, so the size or number of movements isn’t the issue. “Intention” and “non-intention” refer to your thoughts. In terms of pursuit, if you pursue something and have intention, then those are attachments. That’s what it means.

Q: Character is not the same as virtue. You said that virtue determines a person’s level, but then you said that the level of character determines the level of gong. Are these statements contradictory?

A: Maybe you didn’t hear it clearly. Character (xinxing) covers a broad range of things, with virtue being a part of it. It also includes tolerance, the ability to bear hardship, awakening capacity, how you deal with conflicts, and more. All of these have to do with character and involve the transformation of gong and virtue. It’s a broad thing. How much virtue you have doesn’t indicate how much gong you have. Instead, it suggests how much gong you can develop later on. Only by way of tests that improve your character can virtue be transformed into gong.

Q: Each one of my family members practices a different type of qigong. Will they interfere with one another?

A: They won’t, [or at least with Falun Gong]. I can’t say whether they will impact each other. But as for our Falun Gong, no one can interfere with it. And you will benefit your family since we do upright cultivation and you won’t go awry.

Q: There are all sorts of ideas circulating in society, like those in chain letters. How should we deal with them?

A: I’ll tell you, that stuff is pure deceit. Don’t return their letters. It’s so silly. You can ignore it. You can tell whether it’s upright with just one look. Our Law has strict requirements for character cultivation. I call some qigong masters “qigong dealers,” as they treat qigong like some kind of commodity and turn it into an asset to swap for money. Those people don’t have anything real to teach, and even if they did have a little something or other it wouldn’t be of a high realm. Some of it is even evil.

Q: If a Falun Gong student has formally converted to Buddhism at a temple, what should he do? Should he rescind it?

A: That has little to do with us. Although you converted it was only in form.

Q: A few of us have felt like our heads are swollen and dizzy after learning [Falun Gong].

A: It might be because you are new students whose bodies haven’t been fully adjusted. The energy I emit is powerful. Your head will feel swollen when your ill qi is driven out. It happens when we are treating the illness in your head, and it’s a good thing. But the quicker the illness is eliminated, the stronger the reaction. When we held seven-day classes some people couldn’t take it, and problems would have come up if we shortened it further, for the energy sent out is powerful and the reactions are really strong; the head felt so swollen some people could hardly take it. It seems a ten-day class is safer. Reactions will be a little stronger for people who came late.

Q: Can we smoke and drink after we take up the practice? What if we have to drink due to the nature of our jobs?

A: Here’s how I look at it. The Buddhist qigong we do prohibits drinking. It’s possible after you go a while without a drink you will want to drink again. Then quit gradually, but don’t take too long or you will be punished. As for smoking, I think it’s an issue of willpower. As long as you want to quit, you can. Everyday people often think, “Today I’m going to quit.” But a few days later they can’t stick with it. Then after a couple days they have that thought again and try to quit once more. They’ll never be able to quit going about things that way. Everyday people live here in this world, and there is no way for them to avoid social intercourse when interacting with others. But, since you have taken up cultivation, you shouldn’t consider yourself an everyday person anymore. As long as you have the willpower you will achieve your goal. Of course, some of my students still smoke. When they’re on their own they can quit, but when someone else hands them a cigarette they are too polite to refuse. They want to smoke, and it doesn’t feel good to go a couple of days without smoking, but when they smoke again they don’t feel well. You have to exercise self-control! Some people are in the public relations business, and this dictates that they frequently wine and dine clients. This is a hard problem to solve. Do your best to drink as little as possible, or think of a way to solve it.

Q: When we still cannot see the Law Wheel spinning, if we think of it spinning clockwise, will we affect the Law Wheel that happens to be spinning counterclockwise?

A: The Law Wheel spins automatically. It doesn’t need the guidance of your thought. I’ll stress this again: Do not use intention. Actually, intention can’t control it in the first place. Don’t think that you can use your intention to force it to rotate in the opposite direction; the Law Wheel located in the lower abdomen isn’t controlled by intention. The Law Wheels that are used externally to adjust your body might accept your intention if you wish to have them rotate in a particular way; it’s possible you can sense that. But I will tell you: Don’t do that. You can’t do our practice if you use intention. Wouldn’t practicing with intention turn into “the practitioner refines gong”? It should be the Law Wheel or the Law refining the practitioner. Why can’t you ever let go of that intention stuff? Any cultivation—even Daoist cultivation—that has reached a high level is not guided by intention.

Q: What is the best time, location, and direction to practice Falun Gong? How many times a day is appropriate? Does it matter if we do the exercises before or after meals?

A: The Law Wheel is round and a miniature of this universe, so it cultivates by the laws of the universe, and the universe is in motion, so it is the Law that refines the practitioner. When you aren’t cultivating it cultivates you, and this is different from any cultivation principle or theory that has been made public. Mine is the only system where “the Law refines the practitioner.” All other cultivation methods take the path of elixir, they’re unlike ours, and they artificially cultivate gong and store up elixir. Our system can be done anytime, for when you don’t practice the gong cultivates you. There is no need to choose a time. Do the exercises as much as you can, do them in keeping with how much time you have. Our exercises are pretty relaxed in this sense, but we do have strict character requirements. Our practice isn’t concerned with direction either. Whichever direction you choose to face is fine, because the universe is rotating and in motion. If you face west, it’s not really west per se. If you face east, it’s not really east per se. I have asked my students to face west when they exercise just as a show of respect. But it doesn’t have any impact in fact. You can exercise at any location, inside or outside of your home. But I still think that we should find a place with relatively good ground, surroundings, and air. And it should be far away from dirty things like trash cans or bathrooms. Nothing else matters much though. Dafa’s cultivation is not concerned with time, location, or direction. And you can exercise before or after meals, but if you are too full, practicing right away won’t feel good. It’s better to rest a little while. Also, when you are so hungry that your stomach is rumbling it will be hard to calm your mind. You should handle things based on your own circumstances.

Q: Is there anything we are required to do after finishing the exercises, such as rubbing the face?

A: After doing the exercises we don’t worry about cold water and those kinds of things, nor do we need to rub the face or hands. Those things are meant to open the human body’s meridians and acupuncture points and are done at an initial stage. We cultivate the Great Way, which has none of those things. Now your body is no longer in the post-adjustment state. It seems terribly hard for an everyday person to become a cultivator, and some practice ways aren’t able to directly change the human body. Some of their requirements are complicated. We don’t have those here, and we don’t have such concepts. Don’t concern yourself with what I haven’t talked about—just keep focused on cultivating. Since we cultivate the Great Way, within a matter of days your body will pass through the initial state in which it fears various things, or the process in which it has various requirements. I wouldn’t say outright that it is equivalent to several years of practice with other cultivation methods, but it’s about the same. I don’t talk about things at lower levels, such as such-and-such direction, meridian, and whatnot. We just teach higher things. Dafa cultivation, or true cultivation, is about forging yourself via cultivation, not doing exercises.

Q: Can we use the bathroom right after we’re finished with our exercises? There are lots of bubbles in my urine. Is qi leaking out?

A: That’s not a problem. Since we cultivate at higher levels our urine or excrement does indeed contain energy, but it’s just a small amount and has no impact. Cultivating the Great Way means providing salvation to sentient beings. That little leakage is no big deal; what we gain back is much greater. The energy I give out while teaching this class is immensely powerful, and it remains all over the walls afterwards.

Q: Can we spread and promote Falun Gong? Can we teach it to people who didn’t attend the class? Can people who haven’t attended the class practice at the assistance centers? Is it all right to mail audiotapes and books to relatives or friends who live out of town?

A: You won’t go awry spreading our practice and helping more people to benefit from it. I have told you many Laws, that is, I’ve let you know the Law, and let you understand and see something of higher planes. I’ve told you things in advance since I was afraid that if I waited you wouldn’t understand them when you saw them or ran into them. You can teach other people to do the exercises, but you haven’t the ability to plant a Law Wheel. What’s done then? I have said that my Law Bodies will leave you if you cultivate on and off and don’t really practice. Whereas if you do truly cultivate, the Law Bodies will look after you. So when you teach somebody the exercises, you carry the information I taught to you, and it carries the Law-Wheel-forming energy mechanism. If the person you teach puts effort into practicing, a Law Wheel will form. If the person is predestined and has a good underlying base, he or she can get a Law Wheel right on the spot. Our book is very detailed. A person can still cultivate well without having been taught in person.

Q: Is breathing taught as a part of Falun Gong? How do we regulate breaths?

A: There’s no need to regulate your breath when you cultivate Falun Gong. We don’t concern ourselves with breathing. That’s what a person learns at the entry level. We don’t need it here, because regulating and controlling your breath has to do with cultivating elixir, and involves adding air, feeding the fire, etc. Breathing in an upstream style, downstream style, swallowing saliva, and so on, that’s all about cultivating elixir, and we don’t cultivate that. Everything you need is provided for by the Law Wheel. And some higher and more difficult things are accomplished by your shifu’s Law Body. No school of cultivation’s things—and this includes even those in the Daoist system, which discusses things in greater detail—are cultivated forth by intentional, artificial ways. In reality it is the school’s advanced shifu who helps the person to forge and transform those things, and this is done without the person’s knowledge. You couldn’t possibly accomplish those things with your own man-made effort, unless you have enlightened, or unlocked gong.

Q: Do we need to use mind focusing when we do the exercises? Where should one’s attention go in these exercises?

A: We don’t use mind focusing here. I’ve been telling you all not to use mind focusing and to give up your attachments. Don’t seek out some kind of thought. In the third exercise, where the two palms carry qi so that it courses between the two poles, all that is needed is one quick thought. Don’t think about anything further.

Q: Is collecting energy the same as collecting qi?

A: What would we want to collect qi for? What we cultivate is a Great Way, and later on you won’t be able to even emit qi. What we cultivate is not qi, which is on a lower level. Instead we emit light, and energy is collected by the Law Wheel, not ourselves. To use Coursing Between the Two Poles as an example, the exercise isn’t about collecting qi, but is in fact to drive it through the body; it can also have the effect of collecting energy, but that’s not the main purpose. How does a person collect qi? If you want to talk about collecting qi, well, how would one go about doing that? Since you cultivate Dafa, with but a wave of your hand you can feel heaviness above your head, since a great deal of qi will come. But what use is that qi? Also, you don’t have to deliberately gather the energy we collect.

Q: Does Falun Gong cover “building a foundation in one hundred days” and “embryonic breathing”?

A: That’s all on a lower level, and we don’t practice it. We have long since passed those unstable, beginner stages.

Q: Is Falun Gong concerned with the balance of yin and yang?

A: That’s still about working qi, and it’s a lower thing. When you break out of that level, there will no longer be a question of yin-yang balance in your body. It doesn’t matter which system you cultivate: As long as you receive real teaching from a shifu, it’s guaranteed you will, when you leave the lower level behind, have everything you cultivated before be fully discarded—nothing is kept! Then a new set of things is cultivated at the new level. After that new level is passed, another new set of things is again cultivated, and so on. It goes like that.

Q: Can we do the exercises when it thunders? Should someone who does Falun Gong fear sounds?

A: This should illustrate it for you. I once taught students in the courtyard of a large building in Beijing. It was going to rain and the thunder was intense. At that time they were doing exercises that were taught only to [those] disciples, ones done by walking in a moving-stance on a Law Wheel. I saw the rain coming, but they weren’t finished with the exercise. The heavy rain, however, couldn’t fall. The clouds were sitting very low, rolling atop the building, and it was so dark, with lightning crashing and booming. A thunderbolt struck the edge of the Law Wheel at that point, but we weren’t harmed in the slightest. We could make out clearly where the thunderbolt had struck the ground, and yet we went unscathed. This tells us that our practice gives us protection. When I practice I usually don’t care what the weather is, and whenever I think of practicing I just practice. As long as there’s time I practice. And I’m not afraid of sounds, either. Other methods fear sounds, since when a person is in a deeply calm, serene state and suddenly hears a loud sound it feels like the qi all over his body is about to explode, and it flickers and runs outside of the body. But don’t worry, our cultivation doesn’t deviate like that. Of course, though, do your best to find a quiet place to practice.

Q: Should we visualize Shifu’s image?

A: There is no need to visualize. When your Third Eye is open you will see my Law Body next to you.

Q: Is there any requirement when practicing the five exercises? Must they all be done together? Can we count silently when doing those that require nine repetitions? Will it be counterproductive if we do more than nine repetitions or don’t remember certain movements accurately?

A: You can practice whichever of the five exercises you’d like, but I think it’s best to do the first one before the others since it opens up the entire body. You should do it once first. Then, after your whole body has been amply opened up, you can go on to the other exercises, and that’s more effective. Practice as much as you can, according to how much time you have. You can also opt to do one particular exercise. The movements in the third and fourth exercises should be repeated nine times each, and as is written in the book you can count silently to yourself. After you go home you can try asking your child to stand nearby and count while you practice. After doing the nine repetitions you won’t be able to sense the energy mechanism even if you try, since that’s how my things work. At the beginning you need to think about it, but once you have gotten into the habit you will stop naturally. If you don’t remember some movements correctly or do too many or too few repetitions, just correct them and it should be fine.

Q: Why is it that ending the movements does not end the practice?

A: The Law Wheel turns automatically, and it knows instantly that you have stopped doing the exercises. It has a tremendous amount of energy and can instantly take back what it has emitted much better than you ever could with intentionality. It doesn’t end the practice, however, as it is just taking back energy. Other practice forms actually do end the minute their exercises are over. But our system is being practiced at all times—even after the movements are stopped—so the practice can’t be concluded. Even if you wanted to stop the Law Wheel’s revolution you couldn’t. If I discussed it on a deeper level you would not understand. If you could stop its rotation, I would have to stop, too, and could you stop me?

Q: Can we do Jieyin and Heshi as a standing-stance exercise?

A: The first exercise, Buddha Stretching a Thousand Arms, can’t be done as a standing-stance exercise. If you use too much strength to stretch you will have problems.

Q: Must the underarms be kept hollow as we do the exercises? When doing the first one my underarms feel tense. What is happening?

A: Do you have sickness? During the initial stage, when your body is being adjusted, you might experience a variety of phenomena. You will have some symptoms, but they aren’t brought about by doing the exercises.

Q: Can people who haven’t attended Teacher Li’s classes practice together with other students in the parks?

A: Yes. And any student can teach others how to do the exercises. When students teach the exercises to others, it’s not in the manner I have been teaching you here, where I directly adjust your body. But there are people who gain a Law Wheel as soon as they take up the practice, for behind every student are my Law Bodies, and they can handle these things directly. It all depends on the person’s karmic connection. When his karmic connection is strong, he can get a Law Wheel right on the spot; if his karmic connection is not as strong, then he can, by practicing over time, develop the revolving mechanism himself. And with further practice he will manage to evolve the revolving mechanism into a Law Wheel.

Q: What’s the meaning of the mudras in the serene exercise, Reinforcing Supernatural Powers?

A: Our language can’t explain it. Each mudra contains a wealth of meaning. For the most part, they say: “I will start doing the movements and cultivating Buddha Law. I will adjust my body and enter into a cultivation state.”

Q: When a person cultivates to the state of Milk-White Body, is it true that all pores have been opened and body-breathing is formed?

A: See if you can sense it everybody: you have already passed that level. In order to adjust your bodies to the state of Milk-White Body, I had to teach the Law for over ten hours, and no less. We immediately bring you to a state that would take decades or longer to reach were you practicing other cultivation ways. Since this stage doesn’t have a character requirement, and it’s all done based on the shifu’s ability, before you have even sensed it, that level has been passed; maybe it was only a few hours long. Maybe one day you are very sensitive, but a short while later you aren’t as sensitive. In fact, a major level was just passed. With other cultivation methods, however, you would stay in that state for a year or more. Such things are actually at a lower level.

Q: Is it all right if we think about each of the movements of Falun Gong while riding the bus or waiting in line?

A: Our exercises require neither directing with thought nor some specific length of time for daily practice. For sure, the longer you do them the better. But when you don’t do the exercises, the practice refines you. That said, though, at the initial stage it’s better to practice more, strengthening [the mechanisms]. Some students find that when they go on business trips for a couple of months they have no time to practice, and yet it doesn’t have any impact. When they return the Law Wheel is still turning since it never stops. As long as in your heart you consider yourself a cultivator and you guard your character well, it will continue to function. But there’s one thing: If you don’t practice and you confuse yourself with an everyday person, then it will dissolve.

Q: Can Falun Gong and Tantrism be practiced together?

A: Tantrism uses a Law Wheel too, but it can’t be practiced together with our cultivation method. If you have cultivated Tantrism and its Law Wheel has already been formed, you can continue to cultivate Tantrism because Tantrism is an upright cultivation way as well. They can’t be practiced simultaneously. The Tantric Law Wheel cultivates the central meridian and rotates horizontally. Its Law Wheel differs from our Law Wheel, and it has mantra on the wheel. Our Law Wheel is placed vertically in the lower abdomen with the flat side facing outward. With space on the abdomen being limited, my Law Wheel alone covers the whole area. If another were placed there things would get messed up.

Q: Can we practice other Buddhist cultivation systems while practicing Falun Gong? Can we listen to audio tapes that chant Bodhisattva Guanyin’s name? Can lay Buddhists chant scriptures after they have learned Falun Gong? Can we practice other exercises in conjunction?

A: I think not. Each method is a way of cultivation. If you truly want to cultivate and not just get healed or improve your health, then you must commit to a single discipline. This is a serious matter. Cultivating to higher levels dictates that you stick to one cultivation way. This is an absolute truth. Even different Buddhist cultivation ways can’t be mixed together. The cultivation we do here is high-level, and it has been handed down for ages and ages. Practicing by way of what you can sense is haphazard. When seen from a different dimension, the transformation process is extremely profound and complex. It’s just like with a precision instrument, where if you remove one of its components and replace it with something else it will break down immediately. The same goes for cultivation: Nothing should be mixed in. It’s bound to go wrong if you mix things in. The same holds for all cultivation ways: If you want to cultivate, you must commit to one discipline. You will have absolutely no hope of cultivating if you do otherwise. The saying, “Taking the best of every school,” is only applicable to the level of healing diseases and improving health. It won’t take you to higher levels.

Q: Will we interfere with each other if we do the exercises together with people from other cultivation ways?

A: It doesn’t matter what cultivation way another person practices—be it a Daoist one, a supernatural practice, a Buddhist one—as long as it is upright, it has no impact on us at all. And you won’t interfere with him. It’s beneficial for him to practice near you. The Law Wheel is an intelligent being and it doesn’t cultivate elixir, so it can help others spontaneously.

Q: Can we ask other qigong masters to adjust our bodies? Will it have any impact if we listen to speeches by other qigong masters?

A: I believe that after this class you will sense what state your body has reached. After a while sickness is not permitted in you. When problems do come again, they may feel like a cold or stomachache but they are in fact different now. They are instead trials and tribulations. If you seek out other qigong masters, it means that you don’t comprehend or believe what I said. If you have thoughts of getting something, you will attract wicked messages that interfere with your cultivation. If the gong of that qigong master comes from his being possessed, then you too might end up attracting those beings. The same goes for listening to speeches: Doesn’t “the desire to listen” mean you are seeking something? You have to awaken to this for yourself. It is a matter of character, and I’m not going to step in. If he talks about high-level principles or matters of character then it might be all right. But you attended my class, and through great effort your body has been adjusted. Originally the messages from other practices in your body were all scrambled up, messing up your body. Everything has been adjusted now to the best state, with the bad removed and the good retained. Of course, I don’t object to you learning other practices; if you feel that Falun Gong isn’t good, you can learn other practices. But I think that if you learn too many different things it’s not good for you. You have cultivated the Great Way, and Law Bodies are right by your side. You have gained higher things and now you want to go back to seeking??

Q: If we practice Falun Gong, can we study other methods, such as massage, self-defense, One-Finger Zen, taiji, etc.? If we don’t practice them but just read related books will that have any impact?

A: It’s all right to study massage and self-defense, but when you start getting that feeling of aggression, you will feel uncomfortable. One-Finger Zen and taiji are classified as qigong. If you practice those you will be adding things, and you will make impure the substances of mine that exist in your body. It’s all right for you to read books that talk about character. But, some authors draw conclusions before even they have figured it all out, and that will confuse your thinking.

Q: When doing Holding the Wheel in Front of the Head, my hands touch at times. Is that okay?

A: Don’t let the hands touch. You need to keep a small gap. If the hands touch, the energy on the hands will go back into the body.

Q: When doing the second exercise, if we can’t hold the arms anymore, can we put them down [for a short rest] and then resume the exercise?

A: Cultivation is a tough thing. It’s not effective if the minute you feel tired you bring them down. The guideline is this: The longer the better. But you should go according to your own capability.

Q: In the full-lotus position, why is the left leg underneath the right one for females?

A: Because our cultivation takes into consideration an essential factor: The female body is different from the male body. So cultivation should match the female physique if a woman wants to use her innate body to transform herself. For women it’s usually the left leg that supports the right, which conforms to her condition. Men do the opposite, as their essential nature is different.

Q: Is it okay to listen to tapes or music or recite the verses while we do the exercises?

A: If it’s decent Buddhist music then you can listen. But in real cultivation you don’t want any music, since the ability of stillness is important. When we listen to music it is to replace countless thoughts with just one.

Q: When doing Coursing Between the Two Poles, should our bodies be relaxed or use strength?

A: In Coursing Between the Two Poles you need to stand naturally and relaxed, unlike with the first exercise. The other exercises dictate that your body be relaxed, which is different from the first one.

3. Cultivating Your Character

Q: I want to be up to the standard of being True, Kind, and Tolerant. But yesterday I dreamed that I was arguing bitterly with someone, and when I wanted to be tolerant I failed. Was that supposed to help me improve my character?

A: It sure was. I’ve told you what dreams are, so think about it and come to your own understanding. The things that will help you improve your character come suddenly and unexpectedly. They don’t wait until you are mentally prepared to welcome them. To find out whether somebody is good or bad you have to test him when he’s not mentally prepared.

Q: Does the “Tolerant” of True, Kind, and Tolerant in Falun Gong mean that we should tolerate everything, regardless of whether it’s right or not?

A: The “Tolerant” that I talk about refers to improving your character in light of self-interest and all those attachments you haven’t been willing to let go. Actually, “Tolerance” isn’t a bad thing, even to everyday people. Let me tell you a story. Han Xin was a great senior general who had loved martial arts since his youth. During his times people who were learning martial arts liked to carry around swords. When Han Xin was walking down the street, a ruffian came toward him and challenged him, saying, “What are you carrying that sword for? Do you dare to kill people? If so, then kill me first.” And as he was saying that he stuck out his neck. He said, “If you don’t dare kill me, then crawl between my legs!” Han Xin then crawled between his legs. He was really able to practice “Tolerance.” Some people consider tolerance to be weakness, as if it means you get pushed around easily. The truth is, people who can practice tolerance have a strong will. As to the right or wrong of things, you have to look and see if they really conform to the laws of the universe. You might think that you’re not at fault in some incident and that it is the other person who has upset you, but in fact, you can’t know for sure. So you say, “I know, I know, it’s just over some little thing.” But what I’m talking about is a different principle, one that can’t be seen in this material dimension. To put it in jest, maybe you owed others in your previous life, in which case can you tell whether it’s right or wrong? So we have to be tolerant. Can you go and upset and offend others first and then tolerate it? Not only should you be tolerant toward people who really upset you, but also grateful. Suppose somebody swears at you and then tells the teacher on you. Well, you should still say “thank you” to him in your mind. Maybe you’re wondering, “Wouldn’t I turn into an Ah-Q?” That’s what you think. If you handle the whole affair differently from how he does, then you have improved your character. He gains in this material dimension, but he gives things away to you in another dimension, doesn’t he? Your character has improved and black matter gets transformed. You’ve gained in three ways. Why not be thankful toward him? It’s hard to understand this the way everyday people look at it, but I’m not talking to everyday people. I am addressing cultivators.

Q: People who aren’t possessed can improve their character to avoid possession. What if somebody is already possessed? How can he get rid of it?

A: One upright thought will subdue a hundred evils. You received the Great Way today. From now on, even if possessing spirits bring you benefits, you shouldn’t accept them. When they bring you money, fame, and gain, you feel happy and think, “See how capable I am,” and you show off in front of others. Then when you don’t feel well you don’t want to live with those things and look for Teacher to treat you. How come you don’t behave yourself when they keep giving you good things? Then we can’t take care of that problem for you, because you accepted all the benefits they brought you. It doesn’t work if you only want to gain things. You should want nothing from it, even the good things it brings, and just cultivate by the method your teacher taught you. Once you manage to be upright, and once your mind is firm, that is when they start quaking in their boots; when you don’t take the good things they bring you it’s time for them to leave. If they stay on you they are doing evil, and at that point I’ll step in and handle it. With one wave of the hand they will be gone without a trace. But it won’t work if you want to have the benefits they bring you.

Q: Will people get possessed if they practice out in the park?

A: I’ve said it many times: We cultivate an upright way, and one upright mind will subdue a hundred evil things! In upright cultivation the mind is pure, so nothing can get on you. The Law Wheel is something incredible. Not only do evil things have no way to attach to you, they have fear when near you. If you don’t believe it you can practice elsewhere. They all fear you. If I told you how many possessing spirits there are out there you’d all be scared—many people are possessed. Those people keep practicing after they’ve reached their goal of healing diseases and improving health, so what do they hope to gain? So they bring on these problems when their thoughts aren’t right. But that said, we shouldn’t blame them, as they don’t know the principles. One of the goals I had in going public was to help correct these wrong things.

Q: What supernatural abilities will one develop in the future?

A: I don’t want to talk about this. Each individual has his own set of conditions, so it’s hard to say. Different abilities will be developed at different levels. The critical factor is how your character is at each level. If you have let go of one facet of your attachments, then an ability of that sort may form. But that ability has to be in its early stage, and so it won’t be that powerful. When your character hasn’t reached a very high level abilities can’t be given to you. In our classes, though, some individuals do have a pretty good underlying base. Some have developed a walking ability that shields them from rain, and some have developed the ability of telekinesis.

Q: Does “cultivating character” or “getting rid of all attachments” refer to achieving Buddhist “emptiness” and Daoist “nothingness”?

A: The “character” or “virtue” we talk about isn’t contained in the Buddhist “emptiness” or the Daoist “nothingness.” Rather, Buddhist emptiness and Daoist nothingness are included in our “character.”

Q: Will a Buddha always remain a Buddha?

A: After you’ve attained the Dao cultivating, after you have enlightened, you count as an enlightened being—that is, a being of higher levels. But there’s no guarantee that you will never misbehave. Of course, normally you won’t do wrong at that level since you have seen the truth. But, if you do handle yourself poorly you will drop down just the same. If you always do good things you will stay up there forever.

Q: What is a person with “great spiritual inclination”?

A: The determining factors are as follows: (1) the person has a good underlying base; (2) his awakening capacity is outstanding; (3) his ability to tolerate things is excellent; (4) his attachments are few, and he takes worldly things lightly. That’s having great spiritual inclination. A person like this is hard to find.

Q: Can people without a good underlying base develop gong if they practice Falun Gong?

A: People without a good underlying base can develop gong, because everyone carries some amount of virtue. It’s not possible to have no virtue at all—there’s no one like that. Even if you don’t have the white matter on you, you still have the black matter, and through cultivation it can be transformed into white matter. It’s just one extra step. When you have endured hardships while cultivating, improved your character, and made sacrifices, you will have gained gong. Cultivation is the prerequisite. It’s the shifu’s Law Bodies who transform it into gong.

Q: When a person is born his entire life has already been set. Does hard work make any difference?

A: Of course it does. Your hard work was something arranged too, so you can’t help but work hard. You are an everyday person, significant things cannot be changed.

Q: When the Third Eye hasn’t been opened, how do we tell whether the messages we receive are good or bad?

A: It’s hard to on your own. Many problems are placed in your cultivation process so as to test your character. The protection extended to you by my Law Body is to prevent life-threatening danger. The Law Body might not take care of certain problems that need to be overcome, resolved, and figured out by you. Sometimes when wicked messages come, perhaps they will tell you what the lotto numbers are, but those numbers might not be the right ones, or they might tell you other things, all of which is to see how you handle it. When your mind is right evil things can’t intrude. There won’t be any problems as long as you guard your character well.

Q: Can we do the exercises when we feel emotionally upset?

A: When your mood is bad it’s hard for you to sit down and quiet your mind. Thoughts of bad things will be running wild in your mind. Messages exist when we do the exercises, and when bad thoughts are on your mind, those things will enter as you do the exercises, and you will have made for yourself a crooked practice. The exercises you do may have been taught to you by a famous teacher, by some great shifu, or by a living Tantric Buddha, but if you don’t strictly follow their character requirements, then what you do is not their practice, despite that they taught it to you. Let’s all think about it: If you’re practicing the standing stance and feeling wiped out, but your mind is still active, and thinking, “Why is so-and-so in my company so nasty? Why did he report me?” “What can I do to get a raise?” or “Prices are rising, I should do more shopping,” then aren’t you, of your own doing, subconsciously, and unknowingly, practicing in a crooked way? So if your mood is bad it’s best not to do the exercises.

Q: What is the standard for “extremely high character”?

A: Character comes from cultivation and doesn’t have some set standard. It’s all left to you to figure out. Now if you insist on character having a standard, then it’s this: When you encounter something, you should try to think, “If it was an enlightened being who faced this, what would he do?” Role models are outstanding, of course, but they are still just examples for everyday people.

Q: We shouldn’t be suspicious toward each and every talk or speech given by a qigong master, but what if we run into con artists who cheat people out of money?

A: Maybe you won’t run into any. You should first take a look at what they say, and judge for yourself if you do run into a con artist. To tell whether a qigong master is decent you can look at his character. However high a person’s character is, that’s how high his gong is.

Q: How do we eliminate karma or, as Buddhism calls it, “karmic debt”?

A: Cultivation is itself a form of eliminating karma. The best way is to improve your character, for doing so can turn the black matter into white matter, virtue, and then virtue will be transformed into gong.

Q: If we practice Falun Gong, are there any precepts to follow?

A: The majority of what Buddhism prohibits are things we can’t do either, but we have a different perspective. We aren’t monks or nuns and we live among everyday people, so it’s different. For some things it’s enough to just take them lightly. Of course, as your gong strength keeps growing and you reach extremely high levels, what will be required of your character will be, likewise, extremely high.

4. The Third Eye

Q: When Teacher was giving his talk, I saw a three-foot golden halo above his head, and there were many golden halos behind him the size of the head.

A: The Third Eye of this person [who asked the question] has reached a high level.

Q: I saw golden light mixed in with the wine spit out by Teacher’s disciples when they were doing healings for people.

A: I’d say this person has cultivated pretty well—he could see the abilities that were emitted.

Q: Will it have any impact on a child if his Third Eye is open? Does an open Third Eye release energy?

A: It’s easy for children who are six or younger to have their Third Eye opened. If a child’s Third Eye opens and he doesn’t practice it will result in energy leakage; but someone in the family has to practice. It’s best to have him look through his Third Eye once a day, which prevents it from closing while at the same time preventing it from leaking too much. It’s best for young kids to themselves cultivate. The more they use the Third Eye, the more energy will leak out, and what it impacts isn’t their physical body but their most fundamental things. But, if the child’s things are preserved well, there won’t be any impact. What I just talked about refers to young children, not adults. Some people have a Third Eye that’s wide open and they aren’t afraid of leaking energy, but they can’t see things at a very high level. Some others, meanwhile, can see very high levels, and when they see things a Law Body or higher shifu provides the energy, and that’s not a problem.

Q: I saw a golden glow on Teacher’s body as well as on Teacher’s shadow, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye. What happened?

A: That was my Law Body. While I am here speaking I have a gong pillar on the top of my head, and that’s the state for the level I am at. It disappeared after one blink because you didn’t know how to use your Third Eye. You used your flesh eyes.

Q: How do we apply our supernatural abilities?

A: I think it would be a problem were you to apply these abilities to military science, other high technology, or espionage. Our universe has a nature. If the usage conforms to its nature then the abilities work, and if it doesn’t, the abilities will not work. Even if a person [with them] is asked to do good things, he won’t be able to effect any change at high levels. All he could do would be to sense or feel them. And it doesn’t do much harm to society’s normal course of development if the person only uses minor abilities. If he wants to change certain things, when it comes to really enormous things, he has no say in whether or not he’s needed to do that, since the development of the society does not go according to his will. He might want to achieve certain things, but the final decision isn’t up to him.

Q: How does a person’s consciousness go in and out of his body?

A: The consciousness we talk about usually goes out through the crown of the head. Of course, it’s not limited to going that way, and it can go out through any spot. It’s not like what some other practices say, such as that it has to go out through the crown of the head. It can leave the body at any location. The same goes for entering the body.

Q: There is red light in the area of the Third Eye with a black hole in the middle. It blooms rapidly. Is my Third Eye being opened? Sometimes it’s accompanied by starlight and lightning.

A: When you see starlight the Third Eye is close to being opened. When you see lightning it is almost entirely opened.

Q: I saw red and green colored halos on Teacher’s head and body. But when I closed my eyes, I couldn’t see anything. Did I see with peripheral vision?

A: You didn’t use peripheral vision. It’s just that you didn’t know how to see with your eyes closed, so you could only manage with your eyes open. Often people don’t know how to use their already-opened Third Eye. They will sometimes see things accidentally when their eyes are open, but when they want to take a good look at things they actually start to use their eyes, and so things disappear again. When you aren’t paying attention you will see them again.

Q: My daughter sees some circles in the sky, but she can’t explain it clearly. We asked her to take a look at the Law Wheel emblem, and she says that’s what it is. Is her Third Eye really open?

A: Children who are six or younger can have their Third Eye opened just by one glance at our Law Wheel emblem. But you [the adult] shouldn’t do that. Children can see it.

Q: I don’t know how to use my opened Third Eye. Would Teacher please explain?

A: When the Third Eye is completely opened you will know how to use it, even if you didn’t before. When it is bright and easy to use, even those who didn’t know how to use it will know how. Vision through the Third Eye happens unintentionally. When you want to take a more careful look, you have inadvertently switched to your eyes and used the optic nerve. And that is why you can’t see with it anymore.

Q: When the Third Eye is open, do we get to see the entire universe?

A: There are levels when it comes to opening the Third Eye. In other words, how much of the true state of things you can see depends on your level. The opening of your Third Eye doesn’t mean that you can see everything in the universe. But you will gradually raise your level through further cultivation, right up until you reach enlightenment. At that point you will be able to see more levels. Yet even then there is no guarantee that what you see is the Truth of the whole universe. Shakyamuni was constantly improving his level as he went about preaching back in his day, so every time he reached a new level he would discover that what he taught previously was not definite. His talks would change again at the next level. That’s why he finally said, “There is no Law that’s definitive.” Each level has its own laws. It was impossible for even him to perceive the Truth of the whole universe. As the average person sees it, the idea that someone in this world could cultivate to Tathagata level is unfathomable. They only know of the Tathagata level and they don’t know that there are levels still higher, so they cannot know or accept things of a higher nature. Tathagata is but a very minor level of the Buddha Law. That’s suggested by the saying, “The Great Law is boundless.”

Q: Do the things that we see on your body really exist?

A: Of course they really exist—all dimensions are formed of matter. It’s only that their structures are different from ours.

Q: My premonitions about the future frequently come true.

A: That’s the ability of “prediction” that we’ve talked about. It’s actually the lower level of the power of knowing fates. The gong we cultivate is in a different dimension where there is no concept of time or space; it is the same no matter how far the distance or how long the time.

Q: Why do colorful people, the sky, and images appear during practice?

A: Your Third Eye has been opened. What you saw belongs to another dimension. That dimension is layered, so you might have seen one of its levels. It’s that beautiful.

Q: I heard a loud sound during practice and felt as if my body had been cracked open. I suddenly understood many things. Why?

A: It’s easier for some to experience this, and it’s a process whereby part of the body is exploded and opened. You reached enlightenment in some regards. It is classified as gradual enlightenment. When you are finished with one level of cultivation, a portion of it is exploded and opened. It’s all perfectly normal.

Q: At times I feel as if I can’t move. Why is that?

A: During the initial stage of cultivation you might suddenly feel as if you can’t move your hand or some part of your body. Why is that? It’s because you have gained an ability called “freeze gong.” It is one of your innate abilities, and it is powerful. When someone has done wrong and is fleeing the scene, you can say “freeze,” and he will instantly be frozen still.

Q: When can we start giving others treatments? I used to treat others’ sicknesses with some effectiveness. After I’ve learned Falun Gong, if people come to me for treatments, can I treat them?

A: I think that for those of you in this class—regardless of what kinds of exercises you’ve practiced, how long you have practiced them for, or whether you’ve reached the level of being able to heal people—at this lower level, I don’t want you to treat people since you don’t even know yourself what state you have reached. If you were able to heal some people before, it may have been because your upright thoughts at the time came into play, or it could have been a passing-by shifu giving you a hand since you were doing a good deed. But, even though the energy you’ve developed by cultivating helps you to do something, it can’t protect you. When you do a treatment for someone you are in the same field as the patient. Over time the patient’s black qi will make you sicker than he is. If you asked the patient, “Are you recovered?” he would say, “A little better.” What kind of treatment is that? Some qigong masters say, “Come back tomorrow and again the day after that. We’ll do a few sessions of treatments.” And he does it in “cycles.” Isn’t that deceitful? Won’t it be wonderful if you can hold off on giving treatments until you reach a higher level? Whoever you treat will recover. And how good that will feel! If you have developed gong at a not-so-low level, and if it’s absolutely necessary that you give a treatment, then I will unlock your hands and bring out your ability to heal. But if you are to cultivate to higher levels, I think it’s best you stay away from such things. Some of my disciples are giving treatments, and that’s to promote Dafa and participate in some of society’s activities; they are by my side and being trained by me, so they are protected, and there won’t be problems.

Q: If we’ve developed supernatural abilities can we tell others?

A: It’s not a problem if you tell others who practice Falun Gong, provided that you are modest. The reason for having you all practice together is so that you can share experiences and discuss things. Of course, if you run into outside people who have abilities you can tell them. It doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t brag. Problems will come up if you want to brag about how capable you are. If you brag for a long time your abilities will disappear. But, if instead you merely want to talk about qigong phenomena and discuss things, and if you don’t have any inappropriate thoughts of your own mixed in, then I would say it’s no problem.

Q: Buddhists talk about “emptiness” and Daoists “nothingness.” How should we put it?

A: The Buddhist “emptiness” and the Daoist “nothingness” are unique to their cultivation methods. Of course, we too must reach that level. We talk about cultivating intentionally and gaining gong unintentionally. We cultivate character and get rid of attachments, so the end results are emptiness and nothingness all the same. But we don’t particularly emphasize them. Because you live in the material world, you need to make a living and have a career. You have to do things. Doing things inevitably involves a question of whether what you do is a good thing or a bad one. What should we do? What we cultivate is character (xinxing)—the most prominent feature of our method. As long as your thoughts are upright and the things you do meet our requirements there won’t be problems with character.

Q: How do we sense the growth of our supernatural abilities?

A: If during the initial stage of cultivation you develop abilities you will be able to feel it. If you haven’t yet developed abilities but your body is sensitive, then there’s a chance you will be able to feel it. If neither is the case then there is no way for you to tell. The only thing you can do is to keep cultivating without awareness of them. Sixty to seventy percent of our students have their Third Eye open. I know they can see. Though they don’t say anything, they observe things with their eyes wide open. Why do I ask you to practice together? I want you to share experiences and discuss among the group. But, to be responsible to our practice you shouldn’t speak loosely outside of the group. Sharing among ourselves and improving together is fine.

Q: What does a Law Body look like? Do I have Law Bodies?

A: A person’s Law Body looks the same as that person. You don’t have Law Bodies right now. When your cultivation reaches a certain level you will be finished with Triple-World-Law cultivation and enter an extremely high level. Only then will you develop Law Bodies.

Q: After the class is finished, how much longer will Teacher’s Law Bodies stay with us?

A: When a student suddenly begins to cultivate higher things it represents a big turning point for him. I’m not referring to changes in his thinking, but to his entire person. So when an everyday person gets what he’s not supposed to get as an everyday person, it becomes dangerous, and his life will be threatened. My Law Bodies must provide him with protection. If I couldn’t do that and yet I still spread the Law, then it would be the same as harming people. Many qigong masters are afraid of teaching cultivation and doing this since they can’t handle the responsibility it entails. My Law Bodies will protect you right up through your enlightenment. If you stop halfway, though, the Law Bodies will leave you of their own accord.

Q: Teacher says, “People with an average underlying base cultivate not through exercises, but through character.” Is it correct to say that as long as a person’s character is high he can achieve a Rightful Attainment without doing exercises?

A: Theoretically that’s correct. As long as you cultivate your character, virtue can be transformed into gong. But you have to regard yourself as a cultivator. If you don’t, the only thing you can achieve is continued accumulation of virtue. You might be able to amass a great deal of virtue—accumulating virtue by persisting in being an upright person. In that case, even if you regarded yourself as a cultivator you couldn’t go further, as you would not have learned the Law of higher levels. As you know, I’ve disclosed many things. Without Teacher’s protection it’s hard to cultivate to higher levels. You couldn’t cultivate at higher levels for even one day. So, reaching enlightenment is not that easy. After your character has improved, though, you can assimilate to the nature of the universe.

Q: What is the principle behind remote treatment?

A: It’s simple. The universe can expand or shrink, and so can supernatural abilities. I remain in the original location and don’t move, but the abilities that have been emitted can reach ill persons as far away as the United States. [To treat a person,] I can either release abilities to his place or directly summon his soul to come here. That’s how remote treatment works.

Q: Can we know how many kinds of supernatural abilities will be developed?

A: There are more than ten thousand types of abilities. It’s not important to know just how many there are exactly. Knowing the idea, knowing this Law, is sufficient. The remainder is left for you to cultivate. Knowing too much is neither necessary nor good for you. A shifu [traditionally] looks for a disciple, and he takes him in, but the disciple doesn’t know anything. And he wouldn’t be told either. It would be all up to him to figure things out.

Q: When I close my eyes in the class I can see you teaching on the stage. Your upper body is black. The desk is black, too. The cloth behind you is pink. Sometimes you are surrounded by green light. What’s going on?

A: It’s a matter of the level you are at. When the Third Eye has just opened you will perceive white as black and black as white. Then after your level has improved a bit everything you see will be white. After yet further improvement you will be able to differentiate all colors.

5. Hardship

Q: Are the hardships we meet with tests arranged by Shifu for his students?

A: You could say that. They are planned so as to improve your character. Suppose your character hasn’t reached the level that is required: then could you enlighten and meet with success? Does it work to send an elementary school student to college? I don’t think so! If we were to let you cultivate to a higher level when your character hadn’t truly improved, when you still couldn’t take anything lightly, and when you couldn’t forgo anything, then maybe you would raise a ruckus with the enlightened ones over some trivial little thing. That’s unacceptable! That is why we put so much emphasis on character.

Q: What’s the difference between a cultivator’s hardships and those that everyday people go through?

A: There’s not much difference. Your hardships are arranged according to your path as a cultivator. Everyday people are paying for the karma of everyday people, so they all have hardship. But, your being a cultivator doesn’t mean you will be free of hardship and that person, since he’s an everyday person, won’t. It’s the same in both scenarios. It’s just that your hardships are orchestrated for the purpose of improving your character, whereas his are orchestrated to pay off karmic debt. The truth of the matter is, hardships are one’s own karma that I utilize to improve a disciple’s character.

Q: Are hardships similar to those eighty-one hardships that occurred on the journey to the West to get scriptures?

A: There is some similarity. The lives of cultivators have been prearranged. You won’t have too many or too few hardships, and there won’t necessarily be eighty-one of them. It depends on how high you can cultivate to with your underlying base; it’s been planned according to the level you might achieve. Cultivators will experience the process of abandoning everything that everyday people have but that cultivators should not have. It is indeed tough. We will think of ways to make you give up all the things you find hard to let go, and that way you improve your character with the hardships.

Q: What if when we practice there are people who try to do harm?

A: Falun Gong doesn’t fear harm by other people. At the initial stage you have my Law Bodies protecting you, but, that’s not to say you won’t encounter anything at all. It’s not like you can develop gong just by sitting on the couch all day sipping tea. Sometimes when you meet with hardship you call out my name and see me right before you, but, it’s possible I won’t help you, since that hardship is something you need to overcome. But when you are truly in danger I will help you. Real danger normally won’t exist, though, since your path has been altered and nothing is allowed to happen by chance.

Q: How should we deal with hardships?

A: I have emphasized it again and again: Guard your character! If you can ensure that you don’t handle things wrong, that’s good. And that’s especially true when it’s a case of somebody infringing upon your interests for some reason, for if you fight back like an everyday person, then you are an everyday person. You’re a cultivator, so you shouldn’t handle things that way. The things you run into that challenge your character are meant to improve your character. It’s to see how you deal with them and whether you can maintain and improve your character through that thing.

6. Dimensions and Humankind

Q: How many levels of dimensions are there in the universe?

A: According to what I know, the number of layers of dimensions in the universe is innumerable. When it comes to the existence of other dimensions, what exists in those dimensions, and who lives there, it’s really hard to know using current scientific means; modern science has yet to produce material proof of them. Yet some qigong masters and people who have abilities can see other dimensions. That’s because other dimensions can be seen only by the Third Eye, not the human flesh eye.

Q: Does every dimension embrace the nature True, Kind, Tolerant?

A: Yes, every dimension embraces the nature True, Kind, Tolerant. People who conform to this nature are good people, while those who violate it are bad. Those who assimilate to it attain the Dao.

Q: Where did the original mankind come from?

A: The original universe didn’t have as many vertical or horizontal levels. It was quite pure. Over the course of its development and movement life was generated. That was what we called the most original life. It was in conformity with the universe, and nothing bad existed. Being in conformity with the universe meant that it was the same as the universe, having whatever capabilities the universe had. As the universe was developing and evolving, some heavenly paradises appeared. Later, more and more lives appeared. Speaking with the terms at our low level, social groups were formed in which mutual interactions developed. During this evolutionary process, some people changed, deviating further away from the nature of the universe. They became not as good, and so their supernatural powers weakened. Cultivators thus stress “returning to what is true,” which means returning to the original state. The higher the level, the more assimilated it is to the universe and the more powerful its endowment. At that time, some lives became bad as the universe evolved, and yet they couldn’t be destroyed. Plans were therefore made so that they could improve themselves and assimilate again to the universe. They were sent to a lower level to bear some hardship and improve themselves. Later on people kept coming to that level. Then a division happened at that level. Then people whose character had deteriorated could no longer remain at that level, and so another, even lower, level was created. It went on like this with lower and lower levels gradually getting differentiated, up until the level that today’s human race occupies was generated. That is the origin of today’s human race.

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