‘A Crucial Message for All Human Beings’: Chinese Find Insight From Article by Founder of Falun Gong

What’s the purpose of our lives? Legends from China and elsewhere say that divine beings created humans modeled in their own image. By following heaven’s commandments, humankind can enjoy a harmonious life, while waiting for the Creator’s return.

But communism detests these traditional ideas. Since it seized power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly launched bloody campaigns to uproot traditional beliefs and values, destroying the bedrock of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

“It’s the first time for me to learn such a comprehensive explanation of how human beings came about,” said Gu Guoping, a former teacher at Shanghai University and a Shanghai resident who isn’t a Falun Gong adherent himself. “What Master Li said makes a lot of sense and is very thorough.”

Echoing his sentiment, Daniel Lou Xinyue, a Chinese American entrepreneur who lives in New York, was amazed by Mr. Li’s insight into the universe, including how it was created and structured.

“I have never heard of an explanation as clear as the one Mr. Li Hongzhi offered,” Lou told The Epoch Times.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a discipline rooted in ancient Chinese traditions that involves moral improvement, leading to spiritual enlightenment. The practice is composed of meditative exercises and a set of moral teachings centered on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

Lou has long been interested in historical and cultural classics. Growing up in Eastern culture, he had heard of the 18 realms of hell from Buddhist scriptures. He also explored works of Western religions, including the Bible, where he found descriptions of heaven.

But what’s the whole universe like? “No one ever clearly described it to me,” Lou said.

Reading Mr. Li’s piece is well worth the time and effort, he said, even if people aren’t interested in taking up the spiritual practice itself.

“I think the article has great importance to humankind as well as to the history of human thought,” he said.

Lou pointed to the first lines of the text to illustrate his reasoning.

In the article’s opening, Mr. Li states, “I am seeing imminent danger approaching humanity, and have been called upon by divine beings to pass along, for this reason, several things to everyone in this world.”

Mr. Li made it clear that there are divine beings, Lou said.

“Now, most people ... have forgotten that there are divine beings who control and maintain the order of the existing world,” Lou said.

“Why is this an era of moral decay? Because most human beings have forgotten the Creator and their divine. They have even forgotten that man has a soul, which was what Master Li described as the ’true soul' that will not die with the passing away of the physical body.”

Only by knowing this, Lou added, can humankind persist in doing good things, especially amidst painful experiences.

In the article, Mr. Li states, “Everything that happens in one’s life—whether it seems warranted or not—is, in reality, the karmic consequence of what one did in one’s past lives, for better or for worse.”

Eastern culture has long held a belief that karma will be accrued with bad or immoral deeds and that this will be paid back in this life or the next.

“[The CCP] has been procuring organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. That is an absolutely anti-human atrocity. That’s why the virus attacks [people aligned with the Party],” Gu said.

The CCP, which considered Falun Gong’s immense popularity to be a threat to the Party’s control, ordered a brutal suppression of the practice in 1999, resulting in an estimated 100 million adherents being targets of detention, torture, and forced organ harvesting.

Now, with COVID-19 spreading like wildfire across the nation, Gu said Mr. Li’s article could help Chinese people reexamine their lives.

“This article changed how I view the world, life, as well as my attitude,” he said. “It makes me more determined to stay kind and do good things.”

While he doesn’t practice Falun Gong, Lou said he has recommended Mr. Li’s article to his friends.

“Previously, Mr. Li’s teachings were only for Falun Gong disciples. But now, Mr. Li is delivering messages to all human beings,” he said.

“In my understanding, Mr. Li wants more people to be saved at this time.

“I kept sharing this article. ... I think everyone should do so because it’s such a crucial message for all human beings, no matter whether you’re in the West or the East. I recommend it to everyone.”