The founder of Falun Gong has issued a new message addressing the ongoing challenges facing practitioners of the spiritual discipline worldwide, more than 25 years after introducing the practice to the public and decades after persecution began in China.
Li Hongzhi, who established Falun Gong in the early 1990s, published “The Ordeals Our Spiritual Discipline Faces” on June 5, 2024, originally on Minghui.org. The message comes at a time when practitioners continue to face persecution by the Chinese Communist Party and challenges in other countries.
Falun Gong combines meditation and gentle exercises with a moral philosophy based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. After Li introduced the practice in China during the early 1990s, an estimated 70 to 100 million people began practicing. The discipline has since spread to more than 100 countries worldwide, even as practitioners in China face severe persecution by the ruling Communist Party.
In his latest message, Li addresses the complex challenges facing practitioners as they work to counter persecution and what he describes as efforts to save lives. He acknowledges the difficulties inherent in this mission, writing about the “extraordinary compassion” shown by practitioners while facing attacks from various sources.
Persecution Continues Beyond China’s Borders
The Falun Gong founder emphasizes that challenges for practitioners extend far beyond China’s borders, noting that “ordeals have been wrought upon our practice since 1999, when they began in China, and have never ceased, be it in the United States or elsewhere in the world.”
Li specifically addresses recent difficulties faced by a practitioner-founded media company, suggesting these troubles stem from practitioners “not doing well” while also acknowledging supernatural factors at work. He stresses the importance of maintaining integrity in all endeavors, even when funds are needed to combat persecution.
“You were thinking that it’s hard to fight the CCP’s persecution without funds, and wanted to make money for this cause; and that the U.S. government would be understanding if something wasn’t handled quite right. But that was your own thinking,” Li writes. “But you mustn’t forget that Dafa practitioners need to always act with integrity, or there will be problems.”
Educational Institutions Under Scrutiny
The message also addresses criticisms directed at Shen Yun Performing Arts and educational institutions like Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College. Li explains that these organizations were established to help combat persecution through non-violent means, showcasing traditional Chinese culture from before communist rule.
He defends the involvement of young students in these efforts, explaining that their participation represents practicum studies rather than exploitation. “During the admissions process, students have always been asked by the school why they wished to attend Fei Tian, and they have invariably responded that they wanted to help their teacher in the cause of saving lives,” Li writes.
The founder emphasizes that in China, practitioners of all ages, including children, have faced imprisonment and death due to persecution. He argues that the involvement of young people in counter-persecution efforts reflects the natural response of a community under attack.
A Global Spiritual Mission
Throughout the message, Li frames the challenges facing Falun Gong practitioners as part of a larger spiritual mission with global implications. He describes Shen Yun performances as not merely artistic presentations but as efforts to “dispel the adversity that people have in store for them,” benefiting Americans and people worldwide.
The founder acknowledges the enormous task facing practitioners, who he says are “few in number” outside China yet must contend with “the CCP’s evil, enormous, and fierce propaganda machine” backed by “the force of an entire nation.”
Li concludes his message by noting that spiritual disciplines should expect to face trials regardless of location, though these may take different forms. He suggests that current challenges serve a purpose in determining which individuals will “remain or be sifted out in the end.”
The message provides insight into the ongoing struggles of a spiritual movement that has faced systematic persecution in China while attempting to maintain its mission and values in democratic societies around the world. As Falun Gong continues to operate educational institutions and artistic organizations internationally, Li’s words reflect the complex balance between spiritual principles and practical challenges in the modern world.
