Teachings of Falun Gong - Transformation and Higher Dimensions

Transformation and Higher Dimensions

Connected with Li's discussion of cultivation practice is the idea of "supernormal abilities" and "special powers" that the adherent is supposed to develop in the course of dedicated study. These are connected to Li's teachings on apparent higher dimensional realities, which he says exist simultaneously and in parallel to the human dimension. Li teaches that supernormal powers are a by-product of moral transcendence, and are never sought after or to be employed for selfish intentions. He has said that there are up to 10,000 supernatural powers, though as Ownby points out, has never listed them. Some of those he has discussed include the opening of the celestial eye, "which may enable practitioners to see into other spatial dimensions and/or through walls" according to Ownby, clairvoyance, precognition, levitation, and "the ability to transform one kind of object into another kind of object" according to Penny, among others.

Penny says the practitioner is supposed to pass through various levels until he or she reaches the state of "cultivation of a Buddha's body". Li says: "The supernormal abilities developed at this stage belong to the category of divine powers. The practitioner will have unlimited powers at this point and will have become incredibly mighty. Upon reaching higher realms, he or she will cultivate to become a great enlightened being. All of this depends on how you cultivate your xinxing...Dedicated cultivators find a righteous cultivation way and achieve Righteous Attainment—this is Consummation."

In the book Falun Gong Li says "Dimensions, from our perspective, are very complicated. Mankind only knows about the dimension in which human beings currently exist, and other dimensions have not yet been explored or detected. When it comes to other dimensions, we Qigong masters have already seen dozens of levels of dimensions, which can also be explained in theory, but yet to be proved by science." In Zhuan Falun the question of multiple dimensions is explained this way:

"As human beings, we have a body in each of numerous dimensions. When we examine the human body now, the largest elements are cells, and they comprise the physical human body. If you can enter the space between cells and molecules or the spaces among molecules, you will experience being in another dimension. What does that body's form of existence resemble? Of course, you cannot use the concepts of this dimension to understand it, and your body must meet the requirement of that dimension's form of existence. The body in another dimension can become big or small to begin with. At that time, you will find it also a boundless dimension. This refers to a simple form of other dimensions that exist simultaneously in the same place. Everyone has a specified body in each of many other dimensions."

David Ownby says that Li regards his discussion of multiple dimensions as a superior approach to knowledge and understanding. One of science's major shortcomings, according to Li, is its inability to detect multiple dimensions. "Li argues that the universe—and human understanding of the universe—exists at many different levels simultaneously and that the process of enlightenment consists of passing through these levels to arrive at ever more complete understandings." In this context, transformation is both physical and intellectual. The motor behind such transformation is individual moral practice, alongside cultivation under an orthodox master. Moral practice, says Ownby, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for cultivation and enlightenment. Individual moral practice burns karma and reduces suffering, but unless the individual is committed to an orthodox cultivation regime, they will not be able to break through the various "levels" and attain enlightenment and transformation. "What is required in this instance is a master, someone who has...the power to channel the moral behaviour and intentions of the practitioner in the proper direction." This leads to the oft-repeated phrase in Li's texts: "cultivation depends on oneself, gong depends on the Master" (修在自己，功在師父).

Li says: "Then how is it such practices manage to reach the lofty realms of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats?" It's because the true development and transformation of gong is extremely complex. The person's very cells have to be evolved and transformed, a whole array of divine powers have to be developed, and there are a great many things yet unknown to man—things that are appropriate only for certain levels—and these too must be developed. To use an analogy, they are more intricate than even the most complicated precision instruments known to the human world, and are simply beyond man's reach… But the real evolving that takes place in other dimensions is extraordinarily complex, and beyond the means of human beings. It is all done by the person's master."

Richard Madsen, a professor of sociology at the University of California, says "among the Falun Dafa practitioners I have met are Chinese scientists with doctorates from prestigious American universities who claim that modern physics (for example, superstring theory) and biology (specifically the pineal gland's functioning) provide a scientific basis for their beliefs. From their point of view, Falun Dafa is knowledge rather than religion, a new form of science rather than faith."

Falun Gong's exposition of physical phenomenon often differ considerably from mainstream theories. In one lecture, Li says: "The truth is, many understandings science has about this immediate physical world are wrong, and even their starting point is wrong. Even the theory of gravity is wrong." Li Hongzhi describes gravity as a phenomenon happening because "all matter, including air and water, that are on Earth and within the Three Realms—all things that exist in the Three Realms—are composed of particles of all the different levels in the Three Realms, and different particles of different levels are interconnected. This interconnection can, when there's a pulling force, extend or move within the Three Realms. In other words, when you pull it, it can extend like a rubber band, and when you release it, it will go back. That is, there's a basic, stable form of existence among particles. This is why any object in this Earth's environment will come back to the ground after you move it. Of course, I'm not talking about moving a piece of rock to some different location, in which case it wouldn't return to where it was. That's not the idea. The surface of Earth is the boundary of one level. Within this level things can move horizontally since they are all at the same level. But when something moves towards a level beyond its level, it will be pulled back"

Maria Hsia Chang regards Li's teachings on these subjects "abstruse". Ownby acknowledges these as challenges to interpreting Li's message, but attempts to place Falun Gong doctrine within its historical and cultural context. Penny says "there are aspects of Falun Gong doctrine that could have been understood by a cultivator in China 1000 years ago," along with some of the teachings, such as those about extraterrestrials, for example, "that could not have appeared in China before the late 1980s". He says this is a "synthensis of age-old traditions and contemporary modes".

Schechter reports a discussion with Falun Gong spokesman Erping Zhang on the subject, when he asked for Zhang's views on "higher consciousness" in this connection. Zhang said: "Higher consciousness is a commonly used term in Eastern cultivation … one can reach a higher level of consciousness via meditation. Higher consciousness may also refer to consciousness beyond this physical dimension. Levitation is a phenomenon or a by-product of one's cultivation of mind and body." The phenomenon of levitation seems also mentioned, in passing, in one of the lectures. Li explains the phenomenon of levitation as being possible because once the human body's matter, which is "related to the Earth and is composed of surface-matter particles", has undergone transformation through cultivation of human-body, "it has severed its connection to the particles in this environment, and hence is no longer restricted by cohesive forces caused by interaction of matter of this particular realm."