Falun Gong

[BarryW]

The recent incident on the White House lawn prompted me to read up on the Falun Gong group. I had always been familiar with their situation in China and had presumed them to be a relatively benign group. That was until I read this piece on Wiki

Their views on homosexuality would make even Benedict XVI blush:

Though not central to the beliefs, homosexuality is regarded as not meeting the standard of being human. Considered to be an act that brings bad karma upon oneself, Li states in Volume II of Zhuan Falun that "The disgusting homosexuality reflects the dirty mental abnormality that has lost ability to reason at this time."

.......homosexuals could expect to be singled out for punishment by the Gods. Speaking in Switzerland in 1998, Li suggested that by renouncing their sexual behavior (and presumably living a celibate life) homosexuals might experience a different outcome. When asked why homosexuals are considered "bad people" Li responded:"When gods created man they prescribed standards for human behavior and living. When human beings overstep those boundaries, they are no longer called human beings, though they still assume the outer appearance of a human. So gods can’t tolerate their existence and will destroy them"

While stating that people who are degenerated will be destroyed, Li describes a special kind of suffering for homosexuals. Not only will the “fundamental elements of their existence” be destroyed, they will also be made to undergo a particularly slow and painful process:

"That person is annihilated layer after layer at a rate that seems pretty rapid to us, but in fact it’s extremely slow in that time field. Over and over again, one is annihilated in an extremely painful way. It’s terribly frightening"

In Frankfurt (1998) Li stated that homosexuals could still practice cultivation, provided they give up their bad behavior:
"You are wantonly indulging your thoughts. Your thoughts, like the ones I just mentioned, are not actually you. The mentality that makes you homosexual was driven by postnatally-formed bad things. But you yourself were numbed by them and went along with them and wallowed in the mud. You need to find yourself again and stop doing those filthy things. Gods view them as filthy"

Li lists "homosexuality, licentious desires" as one category in his poem The World’s Ten Evils

Deng and Fang (2000) state that “the theories and behaviors of the Falungong Master and some disciples reflect a deep-seated belief of elitism (superiority of the chosen), racism (against biracial at least), and bigotry (condemning homosexuals to the harshest punishment).” [50] While observing that homosexuals are singled out for the harshest of punishments, these commentators also argue that Li Hongzhi uses a variety of fear tactics to indoctrinate and control all of his disciples. Among those fears are demonic interference, “evil forces,” alien invasions and an approaching apocalypse. These fears are supported by practitioners’ beliefs that humans have been abandoned by the Gods, they're in the period of the Last Havoc (a kind of apocalypse), and only Li Hongzhi can save them. According to Deng and Fang, when practitioners accept Li’s starkly negative valuation system, they take “a step toward removing human confidence and dignity.”

The article goes on to list a lot of foreign academic and scientific opinion that says that Falun Gong is in fact a cult, built around its leader (Li) and practices some kind of thought control.

Why have we never heard of this side of the Falun Gong? Most of what I have ever read about them in the Irish/UK/US media has been hugely sympathetic to them

[rockofcashel]

whats the difference between that and the opinions of the Catholic Church ?

[Pidge]

whats the difference between that and the opinions of the Catholic Church ?

Just what I was about to ask.

Also, it's difficult to trust an open-edit encyclopedia, while we know how active the Chinese government is against them.

It's a pity, since they may well be a cult, but the PRoC only lends them credibility by cracking down on them so very much.

[PinkoLeftie]

Why have we never heard of this side of the Falun Gong? Most of what I have ever read about them in the Irish/UK/US media has been hugely sympathetic to them

True enough, the Irish media don't seem to delve too deep into the Falun Gong/Dafa, instead they trot out the line that Falun Gong is a form of yoga.

On closer inspection there would appear to be a cult of personality about the leader, Li. It is her popularity that makes the Communist Party (of China) afraid of Falun Gong, I've read.

However, whatever Li preaches there is no excuse for the way the Chinese government treats practicioners of the relgion.

[smiffy]

I had always been familiar with their situation in China and had presumed them to be a relatively benign group.

That's a pretty daft presumption.

[rockofcashel]

But Pinko, isn't the Catholic Church a cult around the life of a man who lived 2000 years ago

Islam a cult around Mohammed

Buddhism

Hinduism

etc etc etc

all cults ....

No ?

[rockofcashel]

I had always been familiar with their situation in China and had presumed them to be a relatively benign group.

That's a pretty daft presumption.

Careful Smiff, you're messing with the BGH

[PinkoLeftie]

But Pinko, isn't the Catholic Church a cult around the life of a man who lived 2000 years ago
Islam a cult around Mohammed
Buddhism
Hinduism
etc etc etc
all cults ....
No ?

Absolutly. Did I suggest otherwise?

[Batman]

How did the protestor manage to get into the White House with such ease etc?

[BarryW]

How did the protestor manage to get into the White House with such ease etc?

She got a press pass from a friend of hers who is a journalist with the Epoch Times, the Falun Gong version of An Phoblacht or Daily Ireland