Please note that the answers to the most frequently asked questions presented here are only practitioners’ personal understanding. If you want to know the true teachings of Falun Dafa, please read Falun Gong or Zhuan Falun.

1. Is Falun Gong a religion?
2. Is Falun Gong related to Buddhism or Taoism?
3. What's the difference between Falun Gong and Taichi?
4. Does Falun Dafa have any political affiliation or intent?
5. Are practitioners forbidden to take medication?
6. Why did China ban Falun Gong?
7. How can I learn Falun Dafa?
8. Is this exercise suitable for seniors?
9. What does "Falun Dafa" mean?
10. What does the Falun emblem represent?
11. What is the meaning of "Gong" in "Falun Gong"?
12. Are there any fees charged?

Q1: Is Falun Gong a religion?

A: Falun Gong is not an institutional religion, as it does not have a professional and lay distinction; formal means of initiation; a formal creed; a religious calendar of observation; or devotional practices of worship, etc. The practice does, however, have a deeply spiritual doctrine and set of beliefs, and it does share in the same aspirations as groups more formally identified as religions, i.e., the cultivation of one’s moral self, the impulse to do good, a deepening of one’s understanding of a greater order in the universe, the will to spiritual perfection, etc. Falun Gong does have a set, standardized textual body of teachings. In this sense, as “religion” or “spiritual practice” is understood as a broader category in the West, Falun Gong qualifies. In China, Falun Gong did not identify itself as a form of religious practice, owing to different associations with the term in the context of China. Furthermore, to be identified as such would have been to incur government monitoring, increased regulation, and risk of disbandment. (“House Church” Protestants in China who do not join official, state-run “Patriotic Churches” are subjected to persecution for their religiosity, for example.) In the democratic West, however, where religions and religious beliefs are protected by law and carefully enshrined rights, the matter is of course different, and Falun Gong does not object to identification as a religious entity.

Q2: Is Falun Gong related to Buddhism or Taoism?

A: Falun Gong is not related to Buddhism or Taoism. In addition, the Buddha school and Buddhism, the Tao School and Taoism are totally different concepts. Buddhism, which has less than 20 cultivation ways, is only a tiny bit in the Buddha school, which has thousands of cultivation ways. The same is true of the Tao School and Taoism. However there are terms from the Buddhist and Taoist schools in the teachings of Falun Gong. However, the terms in Falun Dafa teachings do not have exactly the same meaning as those used in Buddhism. Some terms in Buddhism of the Han region are Chinese vocabulary, and they are not exclusively terms from Buddhism.
 

Q3: What's the difference between Falun Gong and Taichi?

A: Tai Chi was originally a cultivation practice, which consisted of improving one’s heart and mind nature (cultivation) as well as practising the Tai Chi movements. Over time, the cultivation aspect was lost and only the exercise movements remained. Falun Gong is a complete cultivation practice of the body, mind, and spirit. Practitioners of Falun Dafa cultivate their hearts in accordance with the principle of "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance" as explained in Zhuan Falun. Practitioners also do five sets of simple and gentle exercises, including a sitting meditation, to balance and improve the well being of their bodies and minds.
 

Q4: Does Falun Dafa have any political affiliation or intent?

A: Although there may be some professional politicians who practice Falun Dafa, the system itself has no affiliation to any political party or government. Practitioners are encouraged to conduct themselves with "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance" in all situations. The goal is to become enlightened to the truth of human life and to cultivate to higher levels. The focus is on an individual's self-examination and self-improvement rather than the development of an organization or a group.

Last years’ peaceful demonstration by about 10,000 practitioners in Beijing was a perfect example of self-discipline and self-restraint—qualities developed through the cultivation practice. It took place because the police in the nearby city of Tianjin used force to drive practitioners away from the offices of a youth magazine when they were calmly asking that an article containing false information be corrected. A number of people were arrested without any legal reason. The spontaneous, peaceful, and voluntary gathering in Beijing was to ask for a less-restricted environment in which to safely practice the virtuous and beneficial cultivation system of their choice, and to request the release of those who were arrested. It was not a criticism of the Chinese government and there were no signs, slogans, or political intentions. It had nothing to do with the Tiananmen Square incident 10 years ago, nor with any political party.
 

Q5: Are practitioners forbidden to take medication?

A: As Falun Gong practitioners, we do not know of any instance in which Mr. Li Hongzhi has forbidden anyone from taking medication. What Master did was simply to explain the relationship between cultivation practice and taking medication. In fact, he states time and again in his books and during his lectures that if one feels ill, one should go to the hospital. Of course, we practitioners all know from our own experiences that by practicing the exercises of Falun Gong and improving our moral character, we become physically and spiritually very healthy. This is also the reason why it is said that with the millions of people practicing Falun Gong in China, the Chinese central and local governments, as well as businesses, have saved a tremendous amount of money on health care. Falun Gong can only benefit human society.
 

Q6: Why did China ban Falun Gong?

A: Its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi first introduced Falun Gong to the public in China, in 1992. The people who initially tried the practice not only found powerful healing effects, but also found answers to their deepest questions in life. As they continued to practice, their friends and family started to notice how they became healthier and better people overall. Thus, almost entirely by word-of-mouth, the numbers of enthusiasts just kept growing. Far and wide, it spread into over 30 countries and attracted people from all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds to learn and practice.

However, back in the land where it was introduced, the Chinese Communist Party deems all matters of the soul, spirit, or faith as superstitions because they lie outside of the Marxist ideologies of materialism and atheism. Three years ago, the Chinese government chose to ban Zhuan Falun, because of its "superstitious" content.

Despite their efforts against it however, the practice continued to gain in popularity. After an official investigation into the practice, the Chinese leadership was shocked to discover that by early 1999, an estimated 70 to 100 million people all over China were practicing Falun Dafa. Orders were immediately given to the police to start harassing practitioners, prevent them from practicing together, or threaten to lock people in jail if they didn't pay large sums of money. In one incident in Tianjin, police even took to beating and detaining practitioners who dared to come forward to express their views.

Practitioners around the country responded by asking their local government agencies to assist them—all to no avail. They were simply told that the orders had come from the central government. Thus, on April 25, about 10,000 people showed up outside the main government buildings in Beijing to present a request for a legal and non-hostile environment in which to practice. The gathering was peaceful, orderly, and lawful. After a few practitioners were able to meet with certain high-level government officials, everyone quietly went home.

What the Falun Dafa practitioners did not know at the time was that the Communist Party and the government were beginning to consider the practice a serious threat to their power. In July, the government branded Falun Gong a cult and outlawed the practice. Police started ransacking people's homes, confiscating books, and arresting hundreds of people whom they considered to be Falun Dafa "organizers". Since then, tens of thousands of practitioners have been arbitrarily detained and mistreated, some even tortured to death, simply because they are not willing to denounce their beliefs. Many of these people, ordinary citizens with ordinary jobs, are now awaiting trials while their access to lawyers is denied. Recently, the persecution escalated to such an extent that the Chinese government has denounced Falun Dafa as an "evil religion" and new laws were legislated to "punish without mercy" those who were labeled "cult". In addition to launching an intensive defamation campaign against the founder and force such propaganda into every community and workplace throughout the country, the Chinese government has also issued an arrest warrant and extradition request for Mr. Li, and also sent smear materials internationally.

For those of us in North America who practice Falun Dafa, the crackdown in China seems like a terrible misunderstanding. We look at the teachings of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and we see nothing that any government wouldn't be overjoyed to have its citizens practice. The practice is peaceful and has no political agenda. We hope that people outside of China will come to understand why so many people in the world feel blessed to have found Falun Dafa as their true spiritual path.
 

Q7: How can I learn Falun Dafa?

A: All practice sites offer free instruction, and everyone is welcome. To find a site near your home, please visit http://www.falundafa.ca on the Internet. There are also instructional books and a video available from bookstores. All materials can also be downloaded for free from the Internet.

Attending the 9-day session of Master Li’s video lectures is a good way to systematically learn Falun Dafa, about 2 hours every day including the 5 sets of exercise teaching. The local practitioners hold these 9-day seminars regularly.
 

Q8: Is this exercise suitable for seniors?

A: The exercise movements of Falun Dafa are smooth, gentle ,and easy to learn. They are good for people of all ages.

Q9: What does "Falun Dafa" mean?

A: "Fa" means the law and principles of the universe. "Lun" means wheel. So "Falun" can be translated as "The Law Wheel". The Falun emblem of Falun Dafa represents the Law Wheel. "Da" means great. So "Dafa" means the Great Law.
 

Q10: What does the Falun emblem represent?

Falun is a miniature of the universe. It has Yin-Yang from the Dao School and everything in the ten directions from the Buddha school are all reflected in this Falun. You can find a detailed explanation  <here> or in Chapter 5 of Zhuan Falun .
 

Q11: What is the meaning of "Gong" in "Falun Gong"?

A: "Gong" is the abbreviation of "Qigong". Qigong, means "cultivation and practice". It originally came from the cultivation ways passed from great Qigong Masters to individual students or religious cultivators.

Q12: Are there any fees charged?

A: All Falun Gong activities are free of charge. Just as Master Li said, "When you promote it, you should not seek fame or profit. You should serve others voluntarily." The teaching of the exercises and 9-day video lectures are done voluntarily at all times.