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 practice 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 
symbols in the emblem are also rotating. The entire Falun is rotating, and the
large
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 complex 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 is there also Taiji? Doesn’t Taiji belong to the Tao School?" It is
because what we cultivate is very immense, which is the same as 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, other religions, etc. Let me tell you that
after its cultivation reaches a very high level, Confucianism belongs to the Tao
School; when many Western religious cultivation practices reach high levels,
they are classified as belonging to the same system as ours, the Buddha School.
There are only two such major schools.
Then why do two of the Taiji patterns have red at the top and
blue at the bottom, and the other two Taiji patterns have red at the top and
black at the bottom? What we generally understand 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 practitioners’ Celestial Eye are open, and they have
discovered that the red they see with their naked eyes is green in the adjacent
dimension. The golden color is seen as purple 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
symbols are from the Buddha School. They are the same as the one in the middle,
which is also from the Buddha School. The Falun in these colors is relatively
bright, and we use it as the symbol of Falun Dafa.
The Falun that we see through the Celestial Eye is not
necessarily in these colors, because 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 srivatsa1
symbols or the Taiji’s colors and pattern within it will remain the same. We
find that this background color looks relatively good, so we have adopted it.
Those with supernormal abilities can see a lot of things beyond this dimension.
Some people say: "This symbol
looks like Hitler’s stuff." Let me tell you that this symbol itself does
not connote any concepts of class. 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 Sakyamuni’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 upwards, and was used in the
upright position. I will only address so much regarding this Falun, though I
have only mentioned its superficial form.
Then what does this srivatsa
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
signifies a Buddha’s level. It only exists at the Buddha level. A Bodhisattva
or an Arhat does not have it. But senior Bodhisattvas, 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 numerous Buddhas. A
Tathagata has only one
symbol. Those who have reached beyond the level of Tathagata will have more
symbols. A Buddha whose level is twice as high as a Tathagata has two
symbols. For those who are still higher, they have three, four, five srivatsas,
and so on. Some have so many srivatsas that they are all over their bodies,
including on their heads, shoulders, and knees. When there are too many of them,
they will even appear on their palms, fingers, foot arches, toes, etc. As one’s
level continually increases, one will have more and more
symbols. Therefore, the
symbol represents a Buddha’s status. The higher a Buddha’s status, the more
symbols a Buddha has.
The Qimen School2
In addition to the Buddha School and the Tao School, there is
the Qimen School, which calls itself the Qimen cultivation practice. With regard
to cultivation practices, everyday people have this perception: From ancient
China to this day, people have regarded the Buddha School and the Tao School as
orthodox cultivation ways, and they also call them the righteous schools of
cultivation practice. 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 practice, in the later years, specifically, 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 practice. 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 practice 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 practices of both the Buddha School
and the Tao School observe the characteristic of the universe. If the Qimen
School’s cultivation practice 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, despite that 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 can
practice cultivation may do it.
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 was 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 teach it to the public, you cannot select 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
practitioner 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 Sakyamuni 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
person 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 lonesome 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
are they being passed 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 status 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 doing 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
would be one yard high." That is a false
statement made by everyday people. A demon will never be higher than a Tao.
There is this fact that the universe we know as human beings is 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 which 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 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 the 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 mentions the issue of
asura.3
In fact, it refers to living beings in different dimensions, but they do not
bear the human, inborn nature. To a great enlightened person, 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 take place.
Another situation is called "unknowingly practicing an
evil cultivation way." What is "unknowingly practicing an evil
cultivation way?" It is when someone practices an evil way 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 exercise. If I don’t
hurry up, things will be more expensive." Another person thinks: "The
workplace is now assigning apartment units. Will I get one? The person in charge
of assigning apartment units 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 thoughts crop up. As I said
earlier, they make comments from family issues to state affairs. When they speak
of unpleasant topics, they become even angrier.
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 asks you to value de. Have you
done it? During qigong practice, you always pitch in some bad thoughts. How can
you say that you will emerge from the practice with good things? This is the
problem, and it is unknowingly practicing evil cultivation—something very
common.
Double Cultivation of a Man and Woman
In the community of cultivators, there is a cultivation
practice called double cultivation of a man and a woman. Perhaps you have seen
the cultivation practices of Tibetan Tantrism where, in a Buddha sculpture or
portrait, a male figure holds a female body, practicing cultivation. The male
figure sometimes looks like a Buddha, and he holds a naked woman. Some may be
transformations of Buddha in the appearance of a Vajra with the cow-head and
horse-face, carrying an undressed female body as well. 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 cultivation practice actually did
not come from this planet of ours. It came from another planet, but this method
can indeed enable one to practice cultivation. When this cultivation practice
was introduced to China at that time, it was unacceptable to the Chinese people
precisely due to its having double cultivation of a man and woman and 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 practice
cultivation this way? Double 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 practice a variety of supernormal
abilities and living beings like the Immortal Infant, Cultivated Infants, fashen,
etc. Because of the existence of yin and yang, one can develop through
cultivation many living beings, which can grow in 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 that the left side of the body is male and the right
side female, and this is also derived from that with very sensible reasons.
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
the double 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 double
cultivation, if it is used improperly, one will incur demonic interference, and
it will become an evil practice. In Tantrism, if double 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 practice. 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 practice. 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 practice.
In recent years, quite a few qigong masters have been
teaching double cultivation of a male and a female. What’s so odd about it?
Double 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 double 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, great upright teachings
have been passed down from a remote age. Any casual alteration or casual
addition will mess up that particular school of practice and make it unable to
achieve the goal of completing cultivation practice. So if your practice does
not have double 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 double cultivation of a man and a woman,
and neither do we need it. That is how we look at this issue.
Cultivation of Mind and Body
The issue of cultivating mind and body has already been
explained to all of you. Cultivating mind and body refers to cultivating one’s
xinxing at the same time that one’s body is cultivated. In other words, benti
is being transformed. In the process of transformation, human cells will be
gradually replaced by the 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 the 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 transcend the Five
Elements. Since it is no longer confined to the Five Elements, this person’s
body will no longer degenerate.
The cultivation practice in temples only deals with mind
cultivation, so it does not teach exercises or cultivate the body. It requires
nirvana, as the method that Sakyamuni taught requires nirvana. In fact,
Sakyamuni himself had great, high-level Dharma, and he was able to completely
transform his benti into the high-energy matter and take it away with him. In
order to leave this cultivation method, 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 Primordial Spirit will
ascend with his gong.
The Tao School emphasizes cultivating the 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 practices in the
Buddha School do not teach it. Many high-level practices in the Buddha School
also teach it. Our school of practice 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 the 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 the 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
over forty. 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 practitioners. To tell a joke, young ladies always like to
apply facial makeup and want to make their complexion 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 will not need to use
cosmetics. We will not give more of these sorts of examples. In the past,
because there were relatively more elderly comrades 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 young
anymore. I am heading toward fifty, as 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 practice in front of it. Whether it is from the cultivation practice
of monks or others, this energy should be scattered and not directional. The
floor, the ceilings, 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 person’s fashen. Because
the great enlightened person’s fashen is there, it has energy.
Whether it is Sakyamuni or Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara,4
if they really existed in history—think about it, everyone—weren’t they
also practitioners during their cultivation practice? When a person practices
cultivation at the 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, and realistic individual life. 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 practitioners. Because fashen does not carry an
everyday person’s body, 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 practice, when a practitioner has this heart of
respect, 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 the
formal consecration ceremony, with the help of a great enlightened person at a
very high level, or with the help of a practitioner 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 will
serve no use. Today, the monks in temples—those genuine great masters—have
all departed. Since the Great 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 work after
consecration." He cannot explain clearly why it is useful specifically, so
he only holds the ceremony. He will put a Buddhist scripture inside a Buddha
statue. Then he will seal the statue with paper and chant the scripture to it.
He calls this consecration, but can the goal of consecration be achieved? That
depends on how he chants the scripture. Sakyamuni said that one should chant the
scripture with a righteous mind and undivided attention in order to shake the
paradise of his cultivation practice. Only then can a great enlightened person
be invited. And only when one of the great enlightened person’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 have personal conflicts. Now is the Dharma-ending
Period. 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
Period. If one’s mind is full of these things and expresses such ill thoughts,
how can that great enlightened person come? The goal of consecration then cannot
be achieved whatsoever. 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 the
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. Upon taking a look at it, I found that consecration was not achieved as
he could not do it at all. Nowadays monks even do such a 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 in the sun to
reflect sunlight on 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,5
and it was put 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 Sakyamuni
said: "By the Dharma-ending Period, 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 practice cultivation and are quite good. Consecration is actually to
invite the fashen of a great enlightened person 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 the human body 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 afterwards. 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 evolves to this day, 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 Right Fruit 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 whatsoever.
Suppose a Buddha worshipper who is after money prostrates
himself before a Buddha statue or that of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara 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 become big
or small. When this thought arrives on this entity, the Buddha statue will have
a brain and mind, 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 practitioner 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 Avalokitesvara 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 a mind, it knows a little truth and does not
dare to commit major wrongdoing, but it does dare to do minor bad deeds.
Sometimes it also helps people; otherwise it is completely evil and will 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 donate 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 practitioner goes to worship it.
What does this practitioner pray for? Money. Think about it, everyone: Why
should a practitioner go after money? Praying to eliminate misfortune and
illnesses for family members is the attachment of sentimentality to one’s
family. Do you want to change other people’s fate? 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 would like you to go after 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 if 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
practitioners 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 practice
cultivation? I’ll take care of you and tell you how to practice
cultivation." It will make arrangements for them. Where will they go if
they complete cultivation? Since cultivation practice is arranged by it, no
schools of practice 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
Right Fruit 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 person does not casually reveal him 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 person does
not casually interfere with the principles of everyday people. The higher a
great enlightened person’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 lightening, for
he or she will 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
Avalokitesvara? 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 practitioners in cultivation practice, 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 Sign6 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
practitioners. This consecration does not work for your relatives or friends,
since we only take care of practitioners. 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 towards Teacher.
Speaking of the earthly Buddhas and earthly Taos, there is
another issue. In ancient China, there were many people practicing cultivation
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 are no longer around these 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 practice cultivation 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. On those side and small paths,
one’s xinxing level in cultivation practice may not be high. One may become
enlightened without achieving a high level of cultivation. They are, however,
far inferior to the main road of genuine cultivation practice.
One from such a school of practice 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 practice cultivation only
towards this level. The closer a side-path practice is to the outskirts of
cultivation, the more requirements it will have and the more complicated its
cultivation practice 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 practice cultivation 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 normal 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 persons 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 Guizhou7
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 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 to make trouble for me everyday. 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.
Afterwards, I would resume my lecturing.
There was a Taoist in the Ming Dynasty,8
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 went 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 volunteer 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, his
fellow sisters and brothers 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 Ke9
What is zhuyou ke? In the community of cultivators, in the
course of teaching qigong many people teach it as a category of cultivation. In
actuality, it is not something that belongs to the category of cultivation
practice. It is taught as knack, incantations, and techniques. It utilizes the
forms of drawing symbols, burning incense, burning papers, chanting
incantations, etc. It can heal illness, and its treatment methods are very
unique. For instance, if someone has grown a boil on her face, the practitioner
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 the incantations. Later he
will use the brush-pen dipped in cinnabar ink to draw circles on her face. While
drawing, he will chant the 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 the incantations while asking you to hold out your arms. He will
give a puff to the hegu point10 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, etc. 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,11
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 illness, but
practitioners 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 practice.
Instead, it is something like a technique.
1 srivatsa—"Wheel of light"
from Sanskrit, the symbol dates back over 2,500 years and has been unearthed in
cultural relics in Greece, Peru, India, and China. For centuries it has connoted
good fortune, represented the sun, and been held in positive regard.
2 Qimen (chee-mun) School—"Unconventional
School."
3 asura—"malevolent spirits"
(from Sanskrit).
4 Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara—known for her
compassion, she is one of the two senior Bodhisattvas in the Paradise of
Ultimate Bliss.
5 Nanjing (nahn-jing)—capital of Jiangsu
province.
6 Big Lotus Flower Hand Sign—a hand posture for
consecration.
7 Guizhou (gway-jhoe)—a province in the
Southwest China.
8 the Ming Dynasty— a period
between 1368 A.D. and 1644 A.D.
in Chinese history.
9 Zhuyou Ke (jew-yo kuh)—the practice of
supplication.
10 hegu (huh-goo) point—acupuncture
point on the back of the hand, between the thumb and the index finger.
11 fengshui (fung-shway)—Chinese
geomancy, a practice of reading landscapes.
