The Falun Emblem
The symbol of our Falun Dafa is Falun. Those with supernormal abilities can see that this Falun is rotating. The same is true for our small Falun badges, which are also rotating. Our cultivation is guided by Zhen-Shan-Ren, the characteristic of the universe, and by the principles of the cosmos’ evolution. Therefore, what we cultivate is quite immense. In a sense, this Falun emblem is a miniature of the universe. The Buddha School conceptualizes the universe as a World of Ten Directions with four faces and eight sides. Perhaps some people can see a vertical energy column above and below Falun. With its top and bottom, Falun exactly makes up the ten-directional world and constitutes this universe. It represents the Buddha School’s summary of the universe.
This universe, of course, consists of numerous galaxies including our Milky Way. The whole universe is in motion, and so are all galaxies within it. Therefore, the Taiji symbols and the small srivatsa 卍 symbols in the emblem are also rotating. The entire Falun is rotating, and the large 卍 symbol in the center is rotating as well. In a sense, it symbolizes our Milky Way. Because we are of the Buddha School, the center retains the symbol of the Buddha School; this is how its surface looks. All different substances have their forms of existence in those other dimensions where they have very substantial and very complicated processes of evolution and forms of existence. This Falun emblem is the miniature of the universe. It also has its own form of existence and process of evolution in all other dimensions, so I call it a world.
When Falun rotates clockwise, it can automatically absorb energy from the universe. Rotating counter-clockwise, it can give off energy. Inward (clockwise) rotation offers self-salvation while outward (counter-clockwise) rotation offers salvation to others—this is a feature of our practice. Some people have asked, “Since we’re of the Buddha School, why are there also Taiji symbols? Doesn’t the Taiji symbol belong to the Tao School?” It is because what we cultivate is very immense, which amounts to cultivating the entire universe. Then think about it, everyone: This universe consists of two major schools, the Buddha School and the Tao School. With either of them excluded, it will not constitute a complete universe, and neither can it be called a complete universe. Consequently, we have included things from the Tao School. Also, some people have said that in addition to the Tao School, there are also Christianity, Confucianism, and other religions. Let me tell you that once its cultivation reaches a very high level, Confucianism belongs to the Tao School, and many religions in the West are classified as belonging to the Buddha School when their cultivation reaches high levels. There are only two such major schools.
Then why are there two Taiji symbols that are red at the top and blue at the bottom and another pair of Taiji symbols that are red at the top and black at the bottom? What people normally know is that Taiji is made of the two substances of black and white, the qi of yin and yang. That notion comes from a very low level, as Taiji has different manifestations in different dimensions. At the highest level, its colors manifest in this way. The Tao that we commonly understand has this red at the top and this black at the bottom. For instance, some of our cultivators’ celestial eyes are open, and they have discovered that the red they see with their naked eyes is green in the adjacent dimension. Golden yellow becomes purple if seen in another dimension, as it has this inversion. In other words, colors change from dimension to dimension. The Taiji with the red at the top and the blue at the bottom belongs to the Great Primordial-Tao School, which includes the cultivation practices from the Qimen School. The four smaller 卍 symbols are from the Buddha School. They are the same as the one in the middle, which is also from the Buddha School. The colors of this Falun are relatively bright, and we use this Falun as the symbol of Falun Dafa.
The Falun that we see through the celestial eye is not necessarily in these colors. Its background color can change, although its pattern does not change. When the Falun that I have installed in your lower abdominal area rotates, your celestial eye may see it as red, purple, green, or perhaps colorless. Its background color keeps changing in the order of red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, blue, and purple. As a result, what you see may be different colors, but the colors and pattern of the 卍 symbols and the Taiji within it will remain the same. We feel that the background color of this image looks relatively nice, so we have settled on it. Those with supernormal abilities can see many, many things beyond this dimension.
Some people say, “This 卍 symbol looks like Hitler’s stuff.” Let me tell you that this symbol itself does not connote any ideology of social classes. Some people say, “If its corner tilts to this side, it’ll be Hitler’s thing.” It is not so, because it rotates both ways. Our human society began to know this symbol widely twenty-five hundred years ago in Shakyamuni’s time. It has only been several decades since Hitler’s time during World War II. He appropriated it, but the color he used was different from ours. It was black and pointing upward, and was used in the upright position. That’s all I will say regarding this Falun; I have only mentioned its superficial form.
Then what does this 卍 symbolize in our Buddha School? Some people say that it stands for good fortune, which is an interpretation of everyday people. Let me tell you that 卍 signifies a Buddha’s level, and only those who have reached the level of Buddha can have it. A Bodhisattva or an Arhat does not have it. But senior Bodhisattvas, such as the Four Senior Bodhisattvas, have it. We have found that these Senior Bodhisattvas have far surpassed the level of ordinary Buddhas, and they are even higher than a Tathagata. Beyond the level of Tathagata, there are too many Buddhas to count. A Tathagata has only one 卍 symbol. Those who have reached beyond the level of Tathagata will have more 卍 symbols. A Buddha whose level is twice as high as a Tathagata has two 卍 symbols. For those who are still higher, they have three, four, five, and so on. Some have so many that they are all over their bodies, including on their heads, shoulders, and knees. When there is not enough space for them they will even appear on their palms, fingers, soles of their feet, toes, and so on. As one’s level continually increases, one will have more and more 卍 symbols. Therefore, the 卍 symbol represents a Buddha’s status. The higher a Buddha’s status, the more 卍 symbols a Buddha has.
The Qimen School
In addition to cultivation practices from the Buddha School and the Tao School, there is the Qimen School practice, which calls itself Qimen cultivation. With regard to cultivation practices, everyday people have this perception: From ancient China to this day, people have regarded practices from the Buddha School and the Tao School as orthodox cultivation ways, and they also call them the authentic schools of cultivation. This Qimen School has never been made public, and very few people have heard about its existence, except from literary works.
Is there a Qimen School? Yes. During the course of my cultivation, especially in the later years, I came across three highly-accomplished masters from the Qimen School. They imparted to me the essence of their practices, things very unique and very good. Simply because it is very unique, what it cultivates is quite unusual and cannot be understood by most people. In addition, they state that they are neither of the Buddha School nor of the Tao School. They do not cultivate Buddhahood or the Tao. Upon learning that they do not cultivate Buddhahood or the Tao, people call them the “Side Door and Clumsy Way” (pangmen zuodao). They call themselves the Qimen School. Side Door and Clumsy Way has a deprecating connotation, but here it is not in a negative sense, as it does not accuse the school of being an evil practice—that is for sure. The term’s literary definition also does not imply an evil practice. In history, the Buddha School and the Tao School have been called the “orthodox schools” of cultivation. When this practice cannot be understood by the public, people call it “Side Door” or a side way and an unorthodox school. What is “Clumsy Way” about? “Clumsy” implies awkwardness or a bumbling way. A term in ancient China, “clumsy” often referred to being awkward. Side Door and Clumsy Way carries this implication.
Why isn’t it an evil practice? This is because it also has strict xinxing requirements. Its cultivation also follows the characteristic of the universe. It does not violate the characteristic or the law of the universe, and neither does it engage in committing wrong deeds. Therefore, it cannot be called an evil practice. The Buddha School and the Tao School are orthodox schools, not because the characteristic of the universe conforms to their practices, but because the cultivation practices of both the Buddha School and the Tao School observe the characteristic of the universe. If the Qimen School’s cultivation also complies with the characteristic of the universe, it is not an evil practice, but a righteous school as well. This is because the criterion for discerning good or bad and benevolence or evil is the characteristic of the universe. Its cultivation abides by the characteristic of the universe, so it is also a righteous way, even though its requirements differ from those in the Buddha School and the Tao School. It does not widely teach disciples, and it is taught to a very small population. The Tao School teaches a lot of disciples, but only one disciple receives the genuine teachings. The Buddha School believes in salvation of all beings, so whoever is able to cultivate may go ahead and do so.
A Qimen School practice cannot be inherited by two persons, for it is passed down to only one chosen person over a long period of time in history. Therefore, throughout history it could not be seen by everyday people. Of course, when qigong became very popular, I found that a few people from this school also came out to teach. After some public teaching, however, they realized that it was not feasible because the master forbade some of it from being imparted to the public. If you want to spread the practice, you cannot be selective about the students. Those who come to learn it will bring different xinxing levels and different mentalities, as they are people of all different kinds. You will be unable to select disciples for teaching. Therefore, the Qimen School cannot be widely taught in public. Doing so can easily cause danger because its practice is very unique.
Some people wonder that while the Buddha School cultivates Buddhahood and the Tao School cultivates the Tao, what will a Qimen School cultivator become after completing cultivation? This person will be a wandering god without a definite boundary in the universe. It is known to everyone that Tathagata Shakyamuni has the Saha Paradise, Buddha Amitabha has the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, and Medicine Buddha has the Glazed Paradise. Every Tathagata or great Buddha has his or her own paradise. Every great enlightened being constructs a paradise of his or her own, and many of his or her disciples live there. Yet one from the Qimen School does not have a designated boundary in the universe, and this person will be like a wandering god or roaming immortal.
Practicing Evil Cultivation
What is practicing evil cultivation? It has several forms. There are people who specialize in practicing evil cultivation, since throughout history there have been people who pass down these things. Why do they pass them down? It is because they seek fame, personal gain, and money among everyday people; those are what they want. Of course, such a person does not have a high xinxing level and cannot get gong. What can he get then? Karma. If one has a lot of karma, it can also become a form of energy. But this person does not have any cultivation level and he cannot be compared with a practitioner. In comparison with everyday people, however, he can restrain them because karma is also a form of energy. When its density becomes very high, it can also strengthen the supernormal abilities in one’s body and produce such an effect. Therefore, throughout history some people have taught this. Such a person claims, “By doing bad deeds and by swearing, I can increase my gong.” He is not increasing gong. Actually, he is increasing the density of this black substance, since doing bad deeds can bring about the black substance, karma. Therefore, this person’s petty inborn supernormal abilities can be reinforced by this karma. He can develop some minor supernormal abilities, though they are incapable of accomplishing anything significant. These people hold that by doing bad deeds they can also increase gong—that is what they say.
Some people say, “While a Tao is one foot tall, a demon is one yard high.” That is a false saying among everyday people. A demon will never be higher than a Tao. There is this fact that the universe we know as human beings is just a tiny one among numerous universes, and we call it the universe for short. Every time our universe goes through a period of a great many years, it always experiences a great catastrophe that destroys everything in the universe, including planets and all lives. The motion of the universe follows a law. In our universe of this time, the human race is not the only species that has become corrupt. Many lives have already observed the situation that, as far as the present time is concerned, a big explosion occurred long ago in the space of this universe. Today, astronomers cannot observe it because what we can now see through the most powerful telescopes are things 150 thousand light-years back. In order to see the changes of the present cosmic body, we must wait for 150 thousand light-years to pass. That is quite a distant age.
At present, the entire universe has already undergone a great change. Whenever such a change takes place, all lives in the whole universe will be completely destroyed and lie in ruins. Every time this situation occurs, the characteristic and all the matter inside the previous universe must be blown up. Usually, all lives will be killed from the explosion. Yet not everyone has been wiped out from the blast each time. After the new universe is reconstructed by the great enlightened beings at an extremely high level, there are still some that survive the explosion. The great enlightened beings build the universe according to their own characteristics and standards. Therefore, it has a different characteristic from that of the previous universe.
Those who have survived the explosion will continue to hold onto the previous characteristic and principles to do things in this universe. The newly constructed universe will observe the characteristics and principles of that new universe in its operation. Thus, those who escaped the explosion have become the demons that interfere with the principles of the universe. Nonetheless, they are not that bad since they are only abiding by the characteristic of the previous period’s universe. They are what people refer to as heavenly demons. However, they are no threat to everyday people, and neither do they harm people. They only stick to their principles to do things. In the past, this was not supposed to be known by everyday people. I have said that there are many Buddhas beyond the level of Tathagata. What do those demons account for? They are very minute in comparison. Old age, illness, and death are also forms of demons, but they are created to maintain the characteristic of the universe.
Buddhism believes in samsara, which brings up the issue of asura. In fact, asura refers to living beings in different dimensions, but they do not have innate human nature. To a great enlightened being, they are at a very low level and are quite incompetent. Nevertheless, they are scary in the eyes of everyday people since they have a certain amount of energy. They regard everyday people as animals, so they enjoy feeding on people. In recent years, they also came out to teach qigong. What sorts of things are they? How can they look like human beings? They look very scary. Once you learn their things, you will have to go with them and become their species. In qigong practice, if some people have bad thoughts that agree with their mentality, they will come to teach these people. One righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils. If you do not pursue anything, no one will dare to bother you. If you develop an evil thought or go after something bad, they will come to give you a hand, and you will be following a demonic cultivation way. This problem can occur.
Another situation is called “unknowingly practicing an evil cultivation way.” What is unknowingly practicing an evil cultivation way? It is when someone does an evil practice without realizing it. This problem is very common and simply too widespread. As I said the other day, many people practice qigong with wrong thoughts on their minds. Though they are practicing a standing exercise there with their hands and legs shaking from fatigue, their minds are not at rest. One is thinking, “Prices are going up. I have to go shopping after finishing the exercises. If I don’t hurry up, things will be more expensive.” Another person thinks, “The workplace is now allocating housing. Will I get a unit? The person in charge of allocating housing is always at odds with me.” The more this person thinks about it, the angrier he becomes, “He won’t assign me a unit for sure. How should I fight him...” All kinds of thoughts crop up. As I said earlier, they make comments from family issues to state affairs. When they get to the parts that anger them, the more they talk, the more upset they become.
Qigong practice requires one to value de. In doing the exercises, if you do not think about good things, at least you should not think about bad things. It is best if you do not think about anything. This is because during low-level qigong practice, a foundation must be laid. This foundation will play a critical role, for human mind activities have quite a part to play. Think about it, everyone: What are you adding to your gong? How can what you are practicing be good? How can it not be black? How many people who practice qigong are without these kinds of ideas? Though you practice qigong all the time, why haven’t your illnesses gone away? Though some people do not have those bad thoughts at the exercise sites, they always practice qigong with an attachment to supernormal abilities, the pursuit for this or that, different mentalities, and a variety of strong desires. Actually, they have already practiced evil cultivation unknowingly. If you say that this person is practicing an evil way, he or she will be unhappy, “I was taught by a well-known qigong master.” But that well-known qigong master asked you to value de. Have you done it? During qigong practice, you always add some bad thoughts. How can you say your practice will yield good results? This is the problem, and it is unknowingly practicing evil cultivation—something very common.
Dual Cultivation of a Man and a Woman
In the community of cultivators, there is a cultivation practice called dual cultivation of a man and a woman. Perhaps you have seen the cultivation practices of Tibetan Tantrism whereby in a Buddha sculpture or portrait, a male figure holds a female body in cultivation. The male figure sometimes looks like a Buddha, and he holds a naked woman. Some may be transformations of a Buddha in the appearance of a Vajra with a cow head and horse face, also carrying a female body that is fully undressed. Why is it like this? We will first explain this matter to everyone. On our planet, it is not only China that has been influenced by Confucianism. A few centuries back our entire human race had similar moral values. Therefore, this kind of cultivation way actually did not originate from this planet of ours. It came from another planet, but this method can indeed enable one to cultivate. When this kind of cultivation way was introduced to China during that time, it was unacceptable to the Chinese people precisely because it had dual cultivation of a man and a woman and some secret practices. Therefore, during the Huichang period of the Tang Dynasty it was banned in the Han regions by the emperor. It was prohibited from being taught in the Han regions and was at that time called Tang Tantrism. Yet it was passed down in the unique environment of Tibet, a special region. Why do they cultivate this way? Dual cultivation of a man and a woman is for collecting yin to supplement yang and vice versa with mutual complement for mutual cultivation, enabling the goal of balancing yin and yang to be achieved.
It is known that according to either the Buddha School or the Tao School, particularly according to the Taoist theory of yin and yang, a human body inherently has yin and yang. Because a human body has yin and yang, it can develop through cultivation a variety of supernormal abilities and living beings like the Immortal Infant, Cultivated Infants, fashen, and so on. Because of the existence of yin and yang, one can develop through cultivation many living beings that can grow in the dantian—regardless of whether one’s body is male or female, it is the same. This theory really makes sense. The Tao School usually regards the upper body as yang and the lower body as yin. Some people also regard the back of the body as yang and the front of the body as yin. Others regard the body’s left side as yang and its right side as yin. In China, we have a saying “Male left, female right,” and this is also derived from that; it makes a lot of sense. Because a human body inherently has yin and yang, with the interactions of yin and yang, it can itself achieve a balance of yin and yang; it can thus give birth to many living beings.
This then clarifies an issue: Without applying the method of dual cultivation of a male and a female, we can still reach a very high level in cultivation. In employing the method of male and female dual cultivation, if it is used improperly, one will incur demonic interference, and it will become an evil practice. In Tantrism, if dual cultivation of a male and a female is to be used at a very high level, the monk or lama must have reached a very high cultivation level. At that time, the master can guide a person in this type of cultivation. Because this person’s xinxing level is quite high, he can conduct himself well without turning wicked. But one with a low-level xinxing absolutely should not resort to this method. Otherwise, the person is bound to follow an evil way. Because of a limited xinxing level and because he has not relinquished everyday people’s desires and lust, that is where his xinxing yardstick is, and it is bound to be evil if used. Therefore, we have said that when casually promoted at the low level, this is teaching an evil way.
In recent years, quite a few qigong masters have been teaching dual cultivation of a male and a female. What’s so odd about it? Dual cultivation of a man and a woman has also appeared in practices of the Tao School. In addition, it did not begin today, but started in the Tang Dynasty. How can the Tao School have dual cultivation of a male and a female? According to the Taiji theory in the Tao School, a human body is a small universe that inherently has yin and yang. All genuine, upright teachings have been passed down from a remote age. Any casual alteration or casual addition will mess up that particular school of cultivation and make it unable to achieve the goal of completing cultivation. So if your cultivation practice does not have dual cultivation of a male and a female, you should never do that in cultivation. Otherwise, you will go wrong and run into problems. Particularly in our school of Falun Dafa, there is no dual cultivation of a man and a woman, and neither do we need it. This is how we look at this issue.
Cultivation of Mind and Body
The issue of cultivating both mind and body has already been explained to all of you. Cultivation of mind and body refers to cultivating one’s xinxing at the same time that one’s body is being cultivated. In other words, benti is being transformed. In the process of transformation, human cells will be gradually replaced by high-energy matter, and aging will slow down. One’s body will appear to gradually return to youth and experience gradual transformation until, in the end, it is completely replaced by high-energy matter. By then, this person’s body will have already been converted to a body of another type of matter. That body, as I said earlier, will have transcended the Five Elements. Since it is no longer confined to the Five Elements, this person’s body is now a body that will no longer degenerate.
The cultivation in temples only deals with mind cultivation, so it does not teach exercises or cultivate the body. It requires nirvana, as the method that Shakyamuni taught requires nirvana. In fact, Shakyamuni himself had great, high-level Dharma, and he was able to completely transform his benti into high-energy matter and take it away with him. In order to leave this cultivation method behind, he, himself took the path of nirvana. Why did he teach it this way? He did so to have people give up, to the greatest extent, attachments and everything, even including finally their physical bodies; all attachments were to be abandoned. In order to have people achieve this as much as possible, he took the path of nirvana. Therefore, Buddhist monks throughout history have all taken the path of nirvana. Nirvana means that when a monk dies he abandons his physical body, and his own Original Soul will ascend with his gong.
The Tao School puts emphasis on cultivating one’s body. Because it selects disciples and does not offer salvation to all beings, it has very outstanding pupils. Therefore, it teaches techniques and matters of how to cultivate life. Yet in this special cultivation practice of the Buddha School, and with Buddhism in particular, these are not taught. Not all cultivation practices in the Buddha School do not teach it, however. Many high-level cultivation practices in the Buddha School also teach it. Our school of cultivation teaches it. Our Falun Dafa requires both benti and the Immortal Infant; these two are different. The Immortal Infant is also a body made of high-energy matter, but it cannot be casually shown in this dimension of ours. In order to keep the appearance of an everyday person in this dimension over a long period of time, we must have our benti. Therefore, upon the transformation of this benti, its molecular combinations do not change even though its cells are replaced by high-energy matter. Thus, this body will not look much different from that of an everyday person. Yet there is still a difference: Namely, this body can enter other dimensions.
Those practices that cultivate both mind and body make one look very young in appearance, and one looks quite different from one’s actual age. One day a person asked me, “Teacher, how old do you think I am?” As a matter of fact, she was approaching seventy years old, but she looked only forty-something. Her face was without wrinkles, glowing with a fair and rosy complexion. She did not look like a person approaching seventy. This will happen to our Falun Dafa cultivators. On a lighter note, young ladies always like to use cosmetics and want to make their complexions fairer and better. I would say that if you truly follow a cultivation practice of mind and body, you will naturally achieve that goal. It is guaranteed that you won’t need to use cosmetics. We will not give more of these sorts of examples. In the past, because there were relatively more elderly people in different professions, I was treated as a young man. Things are getting better nowadays, and there are relatively more young people in every profession. Actually, I am not that young anymore. I am heading toward fifty, and I am already forty-three years old now.
Fashen
Why is there a field around a Buddha statue? Many people cannot explain it. Some people say, “A Buddha statue has a field because monks chant scriptures to it.” In other words, the field comes from monks’ cultivation in front of it. Whether it is from the cultivation of monks or others, this energy should be scattered and not directional. The floor, the ceiling, and the walls of the entire temple should have the same field. Then why should the field on the Buddha statue be so powerful? Particularly for a Buddha statue in a remote mountain, in a cave, or on a rock, there is usually a field. Why is there this field? Some people have explained it this way or that way and still cannot explain it clearly. Actually, a Buddha statue has a field because it has a great enlightened being’s fashen. Because the great enlightened being’s fashen is there, the statue has energy.
Whether it is Shakyamuni or Bodhisattva Guanyin, if they really existed in history—think about it, everyone— weren’t they also practitioners during their cultivation? When a person practices cultivation at a very high level of Beyond-Triple-World-Fa, he or she will develop fashen. Fashen is born in one’s dantian area and is made of Fa and gong. It manifests in other dimensions. Fashen has much of a person’s power, but its mind and thoughts are controlled by that person. Yet fashen itself is also a complete, independent, real and concrete individual being. Therefore, it can do anything independently on its own. What fashen does is exactly the same as what the person’s Main Consciousness wants it to do. If a person does something in a certain way, his or her fashen will do it likewise; this is the fashen to which we refer. What I want to do can all be done by my fashen, such as adjusting the bodies of true cultivators. Because fashen does not carry a body like that of an everyday person, it manifests itself in other dimensions. Its body is not a fixed one that cannot change; instead, it can become large or small. Sometimes, it becomes very large, so large that one cannot see its entire head. Sometimes, it becomes very tiny, even tinier than a cell.
Consecration
A Buddha statue manufactured in a factory is only a piece of art. “Consecration” is for the purpose of inviting a Buddha’s fashen to a Buddha statue that will then be worshipped as a tangible body among everyday people. In cultivation, when a practitioner has a pious heart, the fashen on the Buddha statue will safeguard the Fa for this person, looking after and protecting him or her. That is the actual purpose of consecration. This can be done only with righteous thoughts expressed at a formal consecration ceremony with the help of a great enlightened being at a very high level or with the help of a cultivator at a very high level of cultivation who has this power.
A temple requires its Buddha statue to go through consecration, and people say that without consecration, a Buddha statue is not effective. Today in temples, there are no genuine great masters among the monks—they have all passed away. Since the Cultural Revolution, some of those junior monks who did not receive any real teachings have now become abbots. A lot of things have not been passed down. If you ask one of them, “What’s the purpose of consecration?” He will say, “The Buddha statue will be effective after consecration.” As to how it actually becomes effective, he cannot explain it clearly. So, he is just there holding a ceremony. He will put a Buddhist scripture inside a Buddha statue. Then he will seal the statue with paper and chant scriptures to it. He calls this consecration, but can the goal of consecration be achieved? That depends on how he chants the scripture. Shakyamuni said that one should chant the scripture with a righteous mind and undivided attention in order to produce reverberations in the paradise of his cultivation practice. Only then can a great enlightened being be invited. And only when one of the great enlightened being’s fashen arrives on the Buddha statue can the goal of consecration be achieved.
While chanting the scripture over there, some monks are thinking in their minds, “After consecration, how much money will I be paid?” Or while chanting the scripture, one thinks, “So-and-so treats me so badly.” They also maliciously compete and have many conflicts with others. Now is the Dharma-Ending Age. It cannot be denied that this phenomenon exists. We are not criticizing Buddhism here. Some of the temples are just not peaceful in the Dharma-Ending Age. If one’s mind is full of these things and expresses such ill thoughts, how can that great enlightened being come? The goal of consecration then cannot be achieved at all. But it is not absolute, as there are a few good temples and Taoist monasteries.
In one city, I saw a monk who had very dark hands. He put a scripture inside a Buddha statue and sealed it carelessly. After he mumbled a few words, the consecration procedure was over. Then he fetched another Buddha statue and mumbled a few words again. He charged forty yuan each time for consecration. Nowadays, monks have commercialized consecration and made money off it. I took a look and found that consecration was not achieved; he could not do it at all. Nowadays monks even do this kind of thing. What else have I seen? A person who seemed to be a lay Buddhist was supposedly conducting consecration for a Buddha statue in a temple. He held a mirror to the sun to reflect sunlight onto the Buddha statue. Then he claimed that consecration was done. It has become so ridiculous! Today, Buddhism has developed to this point, and it is a very common phenomenon.
A big bronze Buddha statue was made in Nanjing, and it was erected on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It is a huge Buddha statue. Many monks from all over the world came to conduct consecration for it. One of the monks held a mirror in the sun to reflect the sunlight on the face of the Buddha statue and called it consecration. In a grand ceremony as solemn as this, such an act could even take place. I find it really lamentable! No wonder Shakyamuni said, “By the Dharma-Ending Age, monks will have trouble saving themselves, let alone offering salvation to others.” In addition, many monks interpret the Buddhist scriptures from their own perspectives. Even the scripture of the Lady Queen Mother has found its way into temples. Many things that are not Buddhist classical materials have also entered temples, making these places quite chaotic and messy now. Of course, there are monks who still genuinely cultivate and are quite good. Consecration is actually to invite the fashen of a great enlightened being to stay on the Buddha statue. This is consecration.
So if this Buddha statue has not gone through consecration successfully, it should not be worshipped. If it is worshipped, serious consequences will occur. What are the serious consequences? Today, those who study human physiology have discovered that our human mind activities or human thoughts can generate a substance. At a very high level, we have found that it is indeed a substance, but this substance is not in the form of the brain waves as we have discovered in research today. Instead, it is in the form of a complete human brain. Typically, when an everyday person thinks about something, what he or she generates is something in the form of the brain. Because it does not have energy, it will disperse shortly afterward. A practitioner’s energy, on the other hand, can be preserved much longer. This is not to say that this Buddha statue has a mind after being manufactured in the factory. No, it does not. Some Buddha statues have not been through the process of consecration, and neither was the goal of consecration achieved after they were taken to temples. If consecration is done by a phony qigong master or a person from an evil practice, it will be even more dangerous, as a fox or a weasel will sneak onto the Buddha statue.
For a Buddha statue that has not been through the procedure of consecration, if you worship it, it will be too dangerous. How dangerous will it be? I have said that as humankind has arrived at this point today, everything is deteriorating. The whole society and everything in the entire universe are becoming corrupt in succession. Everything that happens to everyday people is caused by them, themselves. It is very difficult to find a righteous way or to follow a righteous way, owing to interference from various sources. One wants to pray to a Buddha, but who is a Buddha? It is very difficult to find one to pray to. If you do not believe it, let me spell it out. It will be terrible when the first person worships a Buddha statue that has not been through the procedure of consecration. How many people now worship a Buddha to attain Righteous Fruition in cultivation? There are too few such people. What are most people’s motivations for worshipping a Buddha? They seek to eliminate tribulations, solve problems, and make a fortune. Are these things from the Buddhist scriptures? They do not include these things at all.
Suppose a Buddha worshipper who is after money prostrates himself before a Buddha statue or a statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin or a Tathagata and says, “Please help me make some money.” Well, a complete mind will form. Since this request is made to a Buddha statue, it is instantly projected onto the Buddha statue. In another dimension, an entity can expand or contract. When this thought arrives on this entity, the Buddha statue will have a brain that can think, but it does not have a body. Other people also come to worship the Buddha statue. With this type of worship, they will gradually give it some amount of energy. It will be more dangerous if a cultivator worships it, for this worship will gradually give it energy and enable it to form a tangible body. Yet this tangible body is formed in another dimension. After it is formed, it exists in another dimension and can also learn some truths of the universe. Therefore, it can do some things for people. In this way, it can also develop some gong. But it helps people conditionally and for a price. It moves freely in another dimension and can control everyday people quite easily. This tangible body appears exactly the same as the Buddha statue. So it is human worshipping that creates a phony Bodhisattva Guanyin or a fake Tathagata, which looks just like the Buddha statue with a Buddha’s appearance. But the mind of the phony Buddha or phony Bodhisattva is extremely bad and is after money. It is born in another dimension. With the ability to think, it knows a bit of the principles and does not dare to commit major wrongdoing, but it does dare to do minor bad deeds. Sometimes it also helps people; otherwise it would be completely evil and would be killed. How does it help people? When someone prays, “Buddha, please help me because someone at home is ill,” well, it will give you a hand. It will make you put money in the donation box because its mind is after money. The more money you put in the donation box, the quicker the illness will be healed. Since it has some energy, it can, from another dimension, manipulate an everyday person. It will be particularly dangerous if a person with gong goes to worship it. What does this practitioner pray for? Money. Think about it, everyone: Why should a cultivator go after money? Praying to eliminate misfortune and illnesses for family members is the attachment of qing to one’s family. Do you want to control other people’s fates? Everyone has his or her own fate! If you worship it and mumble, “Please help me make some money,” well, it will help you. It’s eager for you to seek more money, for the more you want it, the more things it can take from you. That is a fair trade. Other worshippers have put plenty of money in the donation box, and it will let you get some. How is it done? You may find a wallet after walking out the door, or your workplace may give you a bonus. Anyway, it will arrange for you to get money. How can it help you unconditionally? No loss, no gain. It will take some of your gong as it needs it, or it will take away the dan that you have cultivated. It wants these things.
These phony Buddhas are very dangerous sometimes. Many of our cultivators with the celestial eye open think that they have seen a Buddha. One might say that a group of Buddhas came to this temple today, with a Buddha called so-and-so leading a group of them. This person will describe what the group was like yesterday, what the group is like today, and that shortly after one group leaves, another arrives. Who are they? They just belong to this category—they are not genuine Buddhas, but sham ones. These cases are quite numerous.
It is more dangerous if this occurs in a temple. If monks worship it, it will take charge of them, “Aren’t you worshipping me? And you are doing it with a clear mind! Well, don’t you want to cultivate? I’ll take care of you and tell you how to cultivate.” It will make arrangements for them. Where will they go if they complete cultivation? Since cultivation is arranged by it, no schools of cultivation at high levels will accept you. Since it arranges everything for you, you will have to follow it in the future. Won’t your cultivation end up in vain? I have said that now it is very difficult for humankind to achieve Righteous Fruition in cultivation. This phenomenon is quite common. Many of you have seen the Buddha light in well-known mountains and along major rivers. The majority of it belongs to this category. It has energy and can manifest itself. A true great enlightened being does not casually reveal himself or herself.
In the past, there were relatively fewer so-called earthly Buddhas and earthly Taos. Now, however, there are many. When they commit wrongdoing, the higher lives will kill them. When this is about to happen, they will run and get on the Buddha statues. Usually, a great enlightened being does not casually interfere with the principles of everyday people. The higher a great enlightened being’s level is, the less he or she would bother to interfere with the principles of everyday people, not even a bit. After all, this higher being will not suddenly shatter a Buddha statue with lightning, for he or she would not do such a thing. The higher being will thus leave them alone if they climb onto Buddha statues. They know if they are to be killed, so they will try to escape. Consequently, is what you see the actual Bodhisattva Guanyin? Is what you see a real Buddha? It is hard to tell.
Many of you may think of this issue: “What should we do with the Buddha statues at home?” Perhaps a lot of people have thought of me. In order to help my students in cultivation, I am telling you that you may do it this way. While holding the Buddha statue in hand, you can take my book (because the book has my photo) or my photo. Then you make the Big Lotus Flower Hand Sign and make a request to Teacher for consecration, just as though you are requesting it to me. It will be done in half a minute. Let me tell everyone that this can only be done for our cultivators. This consecration does not work for your relatives or friends, since we only take care of cultivators. Some people say that they will take my photo to the homes of their relatives or friends to keep evil spirits away. I am not here to keep away evil spirits for everyday people— that is the worst disrespect toward Teacher.
Speaking of earthly Buddhas and earthly Taos, there is another situation. In ancient China, there were many people cultivating in remote mountains and deep forests. Why aren’t there any today? In fact, they have not disappeared. They just do not let everyday people know, and not even one of them is missing. These people all have supernormal abilities. It is not that they haven’t been around in recent years—they are still around. There are still several thousand of them in the world today. There are relatively more of them in our country, particularly in those famous big mountains and along the major rivers. They are also around in some high mountains, but they seal their caves with supernormal powers so that you cannot see them. Their cultivation progress is relatively slow, and their methods are relatively clumsy since they have not grasped the essence of cultivation. We, on the other hand, directly target one’s mind and cultivate according to the universe’s highest characteristic and to the universe’s form. Naturally, gong increases quite quickly. This is because the ways of cultivation practices are like a pyramid; only the central path is the main route. For those who take those side and small paths in their cultivation, their xinxing level may not be high. One may become enlightened at a low level, but they are far inferior to the main road of genuine cultivation.
One from such a school of cultivation also takes disciples. Because this practice can only reach so high a cultivation level and one’s xinxing level can only grow so high, all the disciples cultivate only toward this level. The closer a side-path practice is to the fringes of cultivation, the more requirements it will have and the more complicated its cultivation will be, since it cannot grasp the essence of cultivation. In cultivation, one should mainly cultivate one’s xinxing. They still do not understand this and believe that they can cultivate by merely suffering hardships. Therefore, after a lengthy period of time and having practiced cultivation for several hundred years or more than one thousand years, they have obtained but a little bit of gong. In fact, it is not through suffering that they have gained gong. How do they get it? It resembles the case of a regular person: One has a lot of attachments in youth, but by the time one becomes old, with the passage of time one’s future seems hopeless. Those attachments are naturally relinquished and worn out. These side-path practices also use this method. They find that when one relies on sitting meditation, trance, and suffering hardships to progress in cultivation, one can also increase gong. Yet they do not know that their attachments of everyday people are slowly worn out over a long and harsh period of time, and that it is through slowly giving up those attachments that gong is increased.
Our practice has a focus and truly points out those attachments. By abandoning them, one will make very rapid progress in cultivation. I have been to some places where I would often run into those people who have practiced cultivation for many years. They said, “Nobody knows we are here. With regard to what you are doing, we won’t interfere with it or cause any trouble.” These people belong to the ranks of those who are relatively good.
There have also been some bad ones that we have had to deal with. For instance, when I gave a class in Guizhou for the first time, someone came to find me during the class and said that his grand master wanted to see me. He described his grand master and how he had practiced cultivation for many years. I found that this person carried negative qi and looked very vicious with a sickly, yellowish face. I said that I did not have time to see him and turned him down. Consequently, his old master was upset and began to make trouble for me, persisting in making trouble for me every day. I am a person who dislikes fighting with others, and neither was it worth a fight with him. Whenever he brought some bad things upon me, I would just clear them up. Afterward, I would resume my lecturing.
There was a Taoist in the Ming Dynasty, who was possessed by a snake at the time of his Taoist cultivation. Later, this Taoist died without completing his cultivation. The snake took over the Taoist’s body and cultivated a human form. That man’s grand master was that snake in human form. Because his nature had not changed, he transformed himself into a big snake to make trouble for me. I thought that he had gone too far, so I caught him in my hand. I used a very powerful gong called “the dissolving gong” to dissolve his lower body and turn it into water. His upper body ran back home.
One day, the director at our instruction center in Guizhou was contacted by that person’s disciple, who said that his grand master wanted to see her. The director went there and entered a dark cave where she could not see anything except for a shadow sitting there with eyes beaming with green light. When he opened his eyes, the cave would be bright. The cave would be dark again if his eyes closed. He said in a local dialect, “Li Hongzhi will be coming again, and none of us will again cause those troubles this time. I was wrong. Li Hongzhi comes to offer salvation to people.” His disciple asked him, “Grand master, please stand up. What’s wrong with your legs?” He answered, “I can no longer stand up as my legs were injured.” When asked how they were injured, he began to describe his trouble-making process. At the 1993 Oriental Health Expo in Beijing, he again meddled with me. Because he always committed bad deeds and interfered with my teaching of Dafa, I then eliminated him completely. After he was eliminated, all of his peers, young and old, female and male, all wanted to take action. At that point, I said a few words. They were all shocked and became so scared that none of them dared to do anything. They also came to understand what was going on. Some of them were still completely ordinary people though they had practiced cultivation for a long time. These are a few examples that I give you in addressing the issue of consecration.
Zhuyou Ke
What is zhuyou ke? In the community of cultivators, in the course of teaching qigong many people teach it as something that belongs to the category of cultivation. Actually, it is not something that belongs to the category of cultivation. It is taught as knacks, incantations, and techniques. It utilizes the forms of drawing symbols, burning incense, burning papers, chanting incantations, and so on. It can heal illnesses, and its treatment methods are very unique. For instance, if someone has grown a boil on her face, the cultivator will draw a circle on the ground with a brush-pen dipped in cinnabar ink and draw an “x” in the middle of the circle. He will ask her to stand in the center of the circle. Then he will start to chant incantations. Later he will use a brush-pen dipped in cinnabar ink to draw circles on her face. While drawing, he will chant incantations. He will keep drawing until he makes a dot on the boil with the brush-pen, and the chanting of incantations is over. He will tell her that it is now well. When she feels the boil, she will find it indeed smaller and no longer painful, for this can be effective. He can heal minor illnesses, but not major ones. What will he do if your arm aches? He will begin to chant incantations while asking you to hold out your arms. He will give a puff to the hegu point of this hand of yours and have it exit from the hegu point of your other hand. You will feel a waft of air, and when you touch your arm, it will not feel as painful as before. In addition, some people use the methods of burning papers, drawing symbols, posting symbols, and so on. They do these things.
The worldly side-path practices in the Tao School do not cultivate life. They are entirely devoted to fortune-telling, fengshui, exorcising evil spirits, and healing illness. Most of these are used by the worldly side-path practices. They can heal illnesses, but the methods employed are not good. We will not point out what they use to heal illnesses, but cultivators of our Dafa should not use them since they carry very low and very bad messages. In ancient China, healing methods were classified into subjects, such as fracture-setting methods, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, acupressure, qigong healing, herb treatments, and so on. They were classified into many divisions. Each healing method is called a subject. This zhuyou ke has been classified as the thirteenth subject. Therefore, its full name is “The Number Thirteen Subject of Zhuyou.” Zhuyou ke is not something within our cultivation category, for it is not gong attained through cultivation. Instead, it is something like a technique.
