True picture of 'greatest Buddha'

EDITOR'S note: Li Hongzhi, the man who created Falun Gong, has fabricated many rumours to make himself mysterious and to cheat believers. But in the eyes of his acquaintances, what kind of person is this man who claims he has the authority to determine doomsday?

The following are excerpts from the manuscript for a documentary released by China Central Television:

Du Wanheng, master of Li Hongzhi's class at primary school:

In retrospect, he was just ordinary in the school. We had never found that he was a person of extraordinary caliber. We had not noticed that side of him. He was just an average student.

Liu Fengcai, one of Li Hongzhi's former co-operators:

He had taken part in two qigong courses for more than 10 days. After that, he presented his concoction based on some dance movements of the qigong forms.

Liu Shuqin, student of Falun Gong courses:

I did present him a silk banner for removing my mother's tumour. At that time, he said that he had removed the tumour. But later... You see, it was impossible for us to realize it. I could not see the tumour, so I thought... My mother died from cancer at last.

Zhao Jiemin, one of Li Hongzhi's former co-operators:

After modifying, cutting and pasting, he drew two pictures of himself with a colourful halo above his head and put them under his bottom. Then he took photos of the pictures and reprinted them. They were sold at 5 yuan (US$0.60) apiece. Later, he declared that he was the Buddha and that his power was hundreds of thousands of times stronger than Sakyamuni. In addition, he said that his body of Buddha was everywhere. Smoothing the ground with his feet, he said, "Every dust under my feet embodies my numerous bodies of Buddha. Whenever you are in trouble, just call out 'Teacher Li Hongzhi' and my body of Buddha will be there in a minute."

Chen Dianwu, a teacher at Changchun No 5 Middle School:

He has never exhibited his magic power. He painfully slapped my leg to cure my blood clot but they did not work. I was only cured of my illness after I spent 900 yuan (US$108) on injections.

Liang Yong, daughter of one victim:

If my father had not practised Falun Gong, he would have taken medication or gone to see a doctor when he was ill. But because he practised Falun Gong, he refused to do either.

Daughter of Li Youlin (a victim):

Since he practiced Falun Gong, he no longer cared for anything, such as his family, his wife, his son or his father. In the past year, he was so obsessed with practising Falun Gong all day long and worshiping for somebody called Li Hongzhi that he even left his old father uncared for. I am extremely hating the one who invented Falun Gong for, you know, it is him who killed my father.

Wang Jianjun, husband of Cao Yuzhen:

When she was idle, she always read the book about Falun Gong. She always sat cross-legged to practise Falun Gong. Afterwards, she cared nothing about her family and did nothing at home. Some other people said that to practise Falun Gong, one must cast aside the seven human emotions _ namely joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate and desire and sexual pleasure _ and care nothing about the family. I once asked her, "What is wrong with you, Yuzhen?" She said, "The Earth is to be destroyed, Li Hongzhi has sent me to save mankind now."

The letter she left before she killed herself reads that "Li Hongzhi, you son of a b__. You have driven me sleepless. I cannot bear any more. Forgive me, he (Li) asks me to die, so I am going to jump into the stream."

Zhao Jimin, Li Hongzhi's former co-operator:

When he failed to cure ailments as he had promised, he began to claim that he just wanted to spread the Falun Gong instead of stopping illness. He further said that if someone got an illness it was not a good idea for him or her to go to Falun courses. According to Li, practising Falun Gong will help people enter a heavenly paradise, a higher stage of spiritual life.

Song Bingchen, one of Li Hongzhi's former followers:

When he returned from Beijing, Li brought back a suitcase with a block of paper materials in it. Among the materials was a resume of Li Hongzhi with his photo. On his resume, Li mentioned the four functions _ supernatural abilities like the ability to move objects, control thinking and make himself invisible and that he understands the truth of the universe, has insights into life and can see the past and future. Li proclaimed that he began to learn gong at the age of four and by the age of eight he had mastered the Great Vehicle, a tool to heavenly paradise. He boasted that he had learned from Zhi Daozi and Master Quanjue. Zhi Daozi means a true Taoist and Master Quanjue refers to a man with a degree of thoroughness and power of understanding. When we asked Li what he could do if his followers asked him to practise the so-called Four Functions, he said: "How could I practise as I am not a man of the functions?" He told us the truth. When I further inquired why he fabricated the capability that he did not have, he admitted that such a boasting would be more convincing for his followers. Li said Zhang Xiaoping's book, A Buddha's Story, created a fury throughout the country. Li was perverse to say that to ask him to practise the Four Functions was equal to him putting on a monkey show. So, nobody should ask him to show his mysterious functions, Li concluded. All these are Li's own words.

Wife of Chen Dianwu, a retired primary school teacher, student of the first term of Falun Gong:

Li proclaimed that he was the greatest Buddha. Any other single Buddha would obey his order. When he asks a Buddha to come, the Buddha has to appear definitely.

Gao Shuzhi, mother of Li Jingchao, one of the four direct disciples of Li Hongzhi:

Li once said, "Do you know why they kowtow to me when they see me? They know that I am greater than any other Buddha. So many Buddhas died searching for me." When claiming that one Buddha stood on the shoulders of the other when searching for him, Li hinted that he was taller than any other Buddha. When claiming that many Buddha had fallen and died in an attempt to see him, Li indicated that he was on the top of the top.

Song Bingchen, one of Li Hongzhi's former followers:

He said that the Earth was going to explode. He claimed that the last two explosions of the Earth were decided by his teacher and his teacher's teacher. "Now it is my turn to decide when the Earth will explode," he told us. According to Li, the next explosion was first decided to occur in 1999 with a possible shift to an earlier date, say, 1997. "As I have settled the date of explosion, both Jiang Zemin and Li Peng visited me and asked me to defer the date of explosion," Li said. "I could delay the explosion for 30 years," Li claimed.

China daily
07/24/99