Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese spiritual discipline in the Buddhist tradition. Pronounced “Fah-loon Gong,” it consists of moral teachings, a meditation, and four gentle exercises that are a truly unique and highly effective way to improve your health and energy levels.

At the core of Falun Gong are the values of Truth fulness, Compassion, and Tolerance (or in Chinese, Zhen □ Shan □ Ren □). Falun Dafa teaches that these are the most fundamental qualities of the universe, and takes them to be a guide for daily life and practice.

In the words of Falun Gong’s founder, Mr. Li Hong-zhi, “assimilation to the highest qualities of the uni-verse—Zhen □Shan □ Ren □ —is the foundation of practice. Practice is guided by these supreme quali-ties, and based on the very laws which underlie the development of the cosmos.”

Falun Gong is also commonly known as “Falun Dafa.”

By 1999, Falun Gong had grown to become the largest and fastest growing practice of the sort in Chinese if not world history. In just seven years since its 1992 introduction to the public, an estimated 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong.

Cultivating Oneself with
Falun Gong

Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, corrects the movements of a practitioner during a group practice session in Chicago.

In Asia, spiritual practices of this variety are often referred to as ways of “cultivation,” or “self-cultivation,” and form an integral part of classical Chinese culture. Various Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian practices fit this rubric.

Through consistent and dedicated practice, the student of Falun Gong comes to achieve a state of selflessness, greater insight and awareness, inner purity, and balance—the deeper workings of what might be called true health. Ultimately he or she approaches a state of spiritual attainment that in the Asian tradition is known as “enlightenment” or “attaining the Dao (Way).”

Unlike monastic paths of cultivation, Falun Gong is practiced in society, with students marrying, raising children, and pursuing a wide variety of careers. As such, while Falun Gong aspires to inner transformation of the self, it nevertheless typically translates outwardly into positive change in the world, insofar as the practitioner becomes a more patient family member, a more conscientious employee, or a more active member of society

Awards in China and Beyond

Falun Gong has thus been the subject of many citations, awards, and proclamations, conferred by government officials and a variety of organizations. Many who practice Falun Gong have been the recipients of service awards in their communities and at their workplaces.