編者按 隨著國(guó)家將“法輪功”定性為非法組織依法予以取締，全國(guó)各界人士對(duì)李洪志的歪理邪說(shuō)展開(kāi)了深入的揭露批判。而李洪志在其歪理邪說(shuō)中剽竊了許多佛教的專(zhuān)有名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)，如法輪、法身、業(yè)力等等，不僅迷惑、蒙騙了大量“法輪功”練習(xí)者，而且也造成一些人把佛教的教理教義與“法輪功”的歪理邪說(shuō)混為一談。因此許多佛教信眾紛紛來(lái)信，要求對(duì)李洪志歪理邪說(shuō)中涉及的佛教名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)予以剖析澄清，本刊第八期刊發(fā)了胡曉光撰寫(xiě)的從學(xué)理上進(jìn)行對(duì)比剖析的文章，本期更以問(wèn)答方式，用通俗易懂的語(yǔ)言，對(duì)李洪志剽竊、篡改佛教名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)的行徑進(jìn)行揭露，以使廣大讀者進(jìn)一步明辨是非。
問(wèn)：法輪功標(biāo)榜自己是最高佛法，故又名“法輪大法”、“法輪佛法”，那么它與佛教是什么關(guān)系？
答：沒(méi)有什么關(guān)系。因?yàn)闊o(wú)論是在思想理論上還是外在的形式上，法輪功與佛教都沒(méi)有什么共同之處，李洪志本人也與佛教沒(méi)有任何關(guān)系。從佛教界來(lái)說(shuō)， 法輪功是一種附佛外道和邪教，根本就不是佛法，所謂“最高佛法”也就無(wú)從談起！
問(wèn)：李洪志在其《轉(zhuǎn)法輪》等書(shū)中運(yùn)用了許多我們熟悉的佛教名詞概念，那又該怎樣理解？
答：李洪志不信佛教也不懂佛教，只是剽竊了佛教的一些名詞，想利用佛教的影響去蒙騙那些同樣不懂佛教的人民群眾。
問(wèn)：聽(tīng)您這么說(shuō)，是否可以這樣理解：李洪志只是利用了一些佛教名詞，而其歪理邪說(shuō)卻與這些佛教名詞體現(xiàn)的佛教義理毫無(wú)共同之處？
答：的確如此。這一方面是因?yàn)槔詈橹局挥谐踔形幕?，又不求甚解；另一方面則是他為了實(shí)現(xiàn)其不可告人的目的，有意“歪批三國(guó)”，慣于采用掛羊頭賣(mài)狗肉的兩面手法，如打著氣功名義反氣功、打著佛法旗號(hào)反佛教、打著科學(xué)幌子反科學(xué)。李洪志可說(shuō)是世紀(jì)末的一個(gè)超級(jí)騙子。
問(wèn)：但法輪功中出現(xiàn)的佛教名詞的確誤導(dǎo)了許多的人，您能分別例舉予以剖析、澄清嗎？
答：可以。不過(guò)由于李洪志剽竊佛教的名詞概念太多，我們還是從一些主要的名詞概念入手吧。
問(wèn)：那么請(qǐng)先說(shuō)說(shuō)“法輪”吧。它本是佛教的名詞，而李洪志拿來(lái)當(dāng)作其功法的名稱(chēng)和標(biāo)志，并予以無(wú)限神化，這有什么佛教根據(jù)嗎？
答：完全沒(méi)有。佛教的“法輪”標(biāo)志是沿一軸心對(duì)稱(chēng)分布八根輻條構(gòu)成的一車(chē)輪形狀，來(lái)源于古印度傳說(shuō)中的“輪寶”，它被認(rèn)為是統(tǒng)治世界的轉(zhuǎn)輪圣王使用的一種武器，具有無(wú)堅(jiān)不摧的力量。佛教借用來(lái)比喻“佛法”，并引伸出摧伏邪魔、輾轉(zhuǎn)不停、圓滿(mǎn)無(wú)缺三種涵義。佛教經(jīng)典常將佛陀說(shuō)法稱(chēng)為“轉(zhuǎn)法輪”，將佛教的發(fā)展喻為“法輪常轉(zhuǎn)”。因此“法輪”實(shí)際上是一種具有象征意義的比喻性詞匯，以后逐漸成了佛法的代名詞，法輪圖案成為佛教的標(biāo)志之一。在1956年召開(kāi)的第五屆世界佛教徒聯(lián)誼會(huì)上，它被正式確定為佛教的教徽。
而法輪功的“法輪”標(biāo)志純粹由李洪志將五個(gè)佛教的 字符和四個(gè)道教的太極符拼湊而成，以象征法輪功乃集佛道二教之大成。不僅如此，李洪志還將它描述為“宇宙的縮影”，“具備著宇宙的一切功能，它能夠自動(dòng)地運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)、旋轉(zhuǎn)”，“是一種高級(jí)生命”。他可以給人安在小腹部位，24小時(shí)不停地旋轉(zhuǎn)，正轉(zhuǎn)度己，反轉(zhuǎn)度人，從而形成“功練人”或“法練人”。
李洪志就是這樣將一個(gè)比喻性詞匯篡改、神化為一種具有極大靈性和神秘作用的實(shí)體?？梢?jiàn)，佛教的“法輪”與法輪功的“法輪”不僅外形不同，涵義也不同。李洪志只不過(guò)是利用佛教這一名詞愚弄人而已。
問(wèn)：李洪志運(yùn)用得最多的另一個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)就是“法身”，將它說(shuō)得十分具體而神秘。從佛教的角度怎樣看待他所說(shuō)的“法身”？
答：佛教講佛有三身，一是法身，二是報(bào)身，三是應(yīng)（化）身。身是聚集的意思，聚集諸法而成身。佛教通常把理法的聚集稱(chēng)為“法身”，智法的聚集稱(chēng)為“報(bào)身”，功德法的聚集稱(chēng)為“應(yīng)身”。佛是覺(jué)悟的人，法身是他的覺(jué)性，報(bào)身是他的覺(jué)相，應(yīng)身是他的覺(jué)用。通俗地說(shuō)，我們現(xiàn)實(shí)的人身是由物質(zhì)的肉體和精神的智慧聚集而成，就叫做應(yīng)（化）身，如釋迦牟尼佛應(yīng)眾生之機(jī)而示現(xiàn)的人身即是。這個(gè)人身根據(jù)自身的各種條件去適應(yīng)自然和社會(huì)的種種變化，故叫做應(yīng)（化）身。譬如一個(gè)人對(duì)其父母來(lái)說(shuō)是兒子之身，對(duì)其師長(zhǎng)來(lái)說(shuō)是弟子之身，但對(duì)其子女來(lái)說(shuō)卻是父母之身，對(duì)其弟子來(lái)說(shuō)又是師長(zhǎng)之身。如果這個(gè)人能聚集無(wú)量的戒定慧功德，那么他適應(yīng)變化的范圍和作用就非常大了，像佛教講的觀世音菩薩三十二應(yīng)身就是。這個(gè)人如果覺(jué)悟了宇宙萬(wàn)法的真相，即緣起性空的法理，由此法理聚集所成之身就叫做法身。因?yàn)榉ɡ肀旧淼淖孕跃褪强盏?，所以法身是無(wú)形無(wú)相的，它隨同法理，猶如虛空，遍一切處，這是體現(xiàn)萬(wàn)法本質(zhì)的一種理念，實(shí)際上是對(duì)佛所說(shuō)根本教法的人格化抽象，既無(wú)形象，更無(wú)數(shù)量的差別。李洪志望文生義，并納入氣功觀念，竟把“法身”說(shuō)成是在人的丹田部位產(chǎn)生的一種實(shí)體，由法和功構(gòu)成，是在另外空間體現(xiàn)出來(lái)的生命體。甚至吹噓說(shuō)：“我的書(shū)中每一個(gè)字，在淺層次上看是一個(gè)法輪，深層次上看那就是我的法身?！薄拔矣袩o(wú)數(shù)的法身，具備我非常大的神通法力”，可以隨時(shí)隨地幫助、保護(hù)法輪功練習(xí)者。這哪有一點(diǎn)佛教“法身”概念的影子！說(shuō)穿了，李洪志不過(guò)是想編造一套“法輪說(shuō)”和“法身說(shuō)”來(lái)神化自己，一方面反映了他的無(wú)知，另一方面暴露了他自命為救世主，炫惑、控制信眾的野心。
問(wèn)：“業(yè)力”和輪回報(bào)應(yīng)理論是佛教的根本思想之一，在老百姓中有著極大的影響。因此李洪志特別喜歡談“業(yè)力”和輪回報(bào)應(yīng)，說(shuō)造成人生病和一切不幸的根本原因是業(yè)力，是業(yè)力回報(bào)，欠了債就得還?？床〕运幨前巡毫嘶厝?，這樣就不能清理身體，因此不應(yīng)治病。還大肆許諾：真正練法輪功的沒(méi)有病。由此導(dǎo)致許多練法輪功者有病不治，以致病情加重乃至死亡。因此，佛教界對(duì)業(yè)力輪報(bào)問(wèn)題特別需要加以澄清。
答：佛教講“造作名業(yè)”，業(yè)就是造作，力就是力量、力用，由造作而產(chǎn)生的力量和作用，就叫做業(yè)力。廣義來(lái)說(shuō)，或從佛教的業(yè)感緣起理論來(lái)說(shuō)，從宇宙星球的成住壞空到人類(lèi)的生老病死或生命界的生住異滅等宇宙間一切事物和一切因果現(xiàn)象都可看作是業(yè)力的作用。業(yè)的涵義很多，從業(yè)的形式上看，可分為身業(yè)、口業(yè)、意業(yè)；從性質(zhì)上可分為善業(yè)、惡業(yè)、無(wú)記業(yè)（非善非惡）；從個(gè)人與他人感受的果報(bào)上可分為共業(yè)、不共業(yè)；佛教根據(jù)過(guò)去、現(xiàn)在、未來(lái)三世的因果規(guī)律，認(rèn)為行善得善報(bào)、行不善得惡報(bào)。并將這種善惡之業(yè)感召的苦樂(lè)果報(bào)，稱(chēng)為“業(yè)報(bào)”，而從業(yè)與果報(bào)間的決定程度上看，可分為定業(yè)、不定業(yè)。佛教的業(yè)報(bào)輪回理論涉及生命的本質(zhì)和生命存在的各種形態(tài)及相互關(guān)系諸問(wèn)題，是一個(gè)非常深刻而復(fù)雜的理論體系，遠(yuǎn)非三言?xún)烧Z(yǔ)可說(shuō)清楚。由于影響人類(lèi)活動(dòng)及其命運(yùn)的因素錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜，簡(jiǎn)單機(jī)械地談?wù)撌裁礃I(yè)力業(yè)報(bào)、到處濫用都是不適宜的。從佛教業(yè)力的概念來(lái)看，實(shí)際上屬于中性詞，本無(wú)所謂褒貶。但在我國(guó)民間卻附上了過(guò)多的感情色彩，往往作貶意詞運(yùn)用。李洪志更是這樣，將“業(yè)力”說(shuō)成是做壞事的果報(bào)，是一種黑色物質(zhì)，甚至把人的疾病和一切不幸一概歸結(jié)為前世的業(yè)報(bào)，是人過(guò)去欠下的債。由此或明言或暗示練法輪功者，生病是還債、是消業(yè)、是過(guò)關(guān)，鼓勵(lì)他們不要去治療。這些說(shuō)法是極端錯(cuò)誤的、庸俗的，具有極大的迷惑性和危害性，與佛教的思想和精神是完全背離的。
佛教歷來(lái)是講看病吃藥的。如佛經(jīng)列舉的四種供養(yǎng)（衣被、飲食、臥具、湯藥）中即包括“湯藥”，并將看護(hù)病人視為八種善事中的第一善事。解除眾生疾苦，是體現(xiàn)佛教慈悲精神的一個(gè)重要方面，釋迦牟尼就曾親自看護(hù)病人。大乘佛教更是提倡學(xué)習(xí)五明（即五類(lèi)知識(shí)），其中之一的“醫(yī)方明”便是醫(yī)藥知識(shí)。佛教大藏經(jīng)中就有不少專(zhuān)門(mén)介紹治療疾病的經(jīng)典。
由此可見(jiàn)，李洪志的所謂“業(yè)力說(shuō)”是對(duì)佛教業(yè)力理論的惡意篡改和極大歪曲！
問(wèn)：李洪志說(shuō)法輪功是佛法的八萬(wàn)四千法門(mén)中的一種法門(mén)，要求法輪功學(xué)員專(zhuān)修他的法，不摻雜其它東西，說(shuō)這就是“不二法門(mén)”。佛教怎么看待這一問(wèn)題？
答：“不二法門(mén)”與“八萬(wàn)四千法門(mén)”是佛教的專(zhuān)有名詞?！鞍巳f(wàn)四千”是佛教用來(lái)表示數(shù)量極多的一種習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，李洪志一方面說(shuō)“法輪功”是八萬(wàn)四千法門(mén)中的一種法門(mén)，意在讓人認(rèn)定法輪功也是佛法而又與原始佛教和現(xiàn)行佛教沒(méi)有關(guān)系；另一方面又將法輪功無(wú)限拔高，稱(chēng)為宇宙大法，讓人專(zhuān)修其法，而與其它一切思想理論或功法脫離聯(lián)系，并美其名為“不二法門(mén)”，用心十分險(xiǎn)惡。其實(shí)佛教的“不二法門(mén)”是指佛教中超越真假、善惡、有為無(wú)為乃至生死等一切對(duì)待之法的一種最高的理念或意境，人們?yōu)榱梭w會(huì)或證得這種絕對(duì)的理念或意境，可以采取多種途徑，因此佛教有“八萬(wàn)四千法門(mén)”之多。在這里，“不二”與“八萬(wàn)四千”是辯證統(tǒng)一的。
此外，李洪志聲稱(chēng)法輪功是佛法而非佛教，硬是將佛法與佛教割裂開(kāi)來(lái)，是很滑稽的。一般來(lái)說(shuō)，“佛教”主要指佛陀的言教，也即“佛法”。從宗教意義上來(lái)說(shuō)，佛教還包括僧俗組織、清規(guī)戒律、宗教儀軌等，它們是佛法在不同時(shí)代和不同社會(huì)、不同文化環(huán)境下的反映，因此也可看作是佛法的組成部分。李洪志將佛法與佛教割裂開(kāi)來(lái)，不過(guò)是望文生義地將佛教術(shù)語(yǔ)“為我所用”，讓人們遠(yuǎn)離佛教或放棄自己獨(dú)立判斷是非的想法，一心跟隨他往邪道上走，竟輕而易舉地蒙蔽了許多“一心向佛”的人，的確發(fā)人深省。
問(wèn)：李洪志在《轉(zhuǎn)法輪》中還常說(shuō)到如來(lái)、三界、三千大千世界等佛教術(shù)語(yǔ)，是否也有篡改之嫌？
答：豈止是篡改，簡(jiǎn)直是無(wú)知至極！“如來(lái)”是佛教徒從不同角度來(lái)形容佛至高無(wú)上的十種稱(chēng)號(hào)之一，而李洪志竟將它與“佛”曲解為兩種不同的覺(jué)悟?qū)哟危环鸾讨v的三界是欲界、色界、無(wú)色界，而李洪志則把它說(shuō)成是天界、地界、人界（此為薩滿(mǎn)教的說(shuō)法）；關(guān)于三千大千世界。佛經(jīng)說(shuō)，同一日月所照的我們這樣的星球?yàn)橐弧靶∈澜纭?，一千個(gè)“小世界”為一“小千世界”，一千個(gè)“小千世界”為一“中千世界”，一千個(gè)“中千世界”為一“大千世界”。因?yàn)椤按笄澜纭笔侨齻€(gè)“千”的乘積，故又名三千大千世界。因此三千大千世界實(shí)際上有10億個(gè)“小世界”。而李洪志說(shuō)：“釋迦牟尼還講了三千大千世界學(xué)說(shuō)，他說(shuō)我們這個(gè)宇宙中，我們這個(gè)銀河系中，有三千個(gè)像我們?nèi)祟?lèi)一樣存在著色身身體的星球?！?0億個(gè)與3千個(gè)，何啻天壤之別！李洪志論起佛教來(lái)就是這么望文生義！
問(wèn)：沒(méi)想到創(chuàng)立法輪功“最高佛法”的李洪志在佛教術(shù)語(yǔ)上竟會(huì)犯如此多的低級(jí)錯(cuò)誤，由此看來(lái)，人們?cè)谂欣詈橹就崂硇罢f(shuō)的過(guò)程中，對(duì)其中出現(xiàn)的佛教名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)實(shí)在應(yīng)保持清醒的認(rèn)識(shí)，謹(jǐn)慎從事，不要將它們與佛教混為一談，以免造成更大的思想混亂，傷害了廣大佛教徒的宗教感情。問(wèn)題是，李洪志為什么要大量剽竊、篡改佛教名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)？我們從中應(yīng)汲取哪些經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)？
答：李洪志深知佛教及其術(shù)語(yǔ)在我國(guó)民間有著廣泛的影響和巨大的號(hào)召力，因而大量剽竊、篡改佛教名詞術(shù)語(yǔ)，以充分地利用佛教。同時(shí)又大肆歪曲、詆毀佛教，讓其信眾遠(yuǎn)離佛教，只拜倒在他的腳下，其用心和手段都是極其惡劣的。說(shuō)到教訓(xùn)，佛教界尤其應(yīng)該反求諸己。一是應(yīng)大力強(qiáng)化佛教徒的教團(tuán)意識(shí)，提倡正信，護(hù)持正法，抵制各種形式的附佛外道。二是應(yīng)就信仰、道風(fēng)、教制、組織、人才、寺院管理等方面的問(wèn)題進(jìn)行深刻反思，切實(shí)搞好自身建設(shè)，以更好地適應(yīng)時(shí)代的發(fā)展，滿(mǎn)足廣大佛教徒學(xué)佛的需要。三是應(yīng)通過(guò)各種方式劃清與法輪功的界限，同時(shí)還應(yīng)充分利用法輪功這一反面教材，加大對(duì)法輪功的揭露、批判的力度，不僅要使廣大佛教徒在什么是佛教正法的認(rèn)識(shí)上提高一個(gè)層次，還應(yīng)使各界人士藉此增進(jìn)對(duì)佛教的了解，并由此推動(dòng)和改進(jìn)我們的弘法工作。四是應(yīng)積極從正面弘揚(yáng)充滿(mǎn)智慧的佛教哲理；充分發(fā)揮富有倫理道德指導(dǎo)意義的佛教教義，發(fā)揚(yáng)豐富多彩的佛教文化，用以?xún)艋鐣?huì) ，促進(jìn)文明建設(shè)，維護(hù)世界和平。
Answers to questions about plagiary and tampering of Buddhist terms by Falun Gong
Editor's note: With the outlaw of Falun Gong by the Chinese Government as an illegal organization, people from all walks of China has deeply launched a campaign to denounce Li Hongzhi's fallacies. However, Li Hongzhi has plagiarized a lot of Buddhist terms such as dharma chakra (or dharma wheel or Falun), dharma-kaya (or dharma body) and karma, etc., which have not only confused and cheated a great many of Falun Gong practitioners, but also made some people confuse Buddhist doctrines and creed with Falun Gong's fallacies. Therefore, many Buddhists have written to ask an analytic clarification of the Buddhist terms involved in Li Hongzhi's fallacies. In the 8th issue of our magazine this year, an article written by Hu Xiaoguang made a comparative analysis of these terms theoretically. Further, this issue denounces the plagiary and tampering of Buddhist terms by Li Hongzhi in the form of questions and answers in simple and easy languages, in order that our readers can make a clear distinction between right and wrong.
Question: Falun Gong advertises itself as the supreme Buddha dharma also called Falun Dofa that means dharma chakra great dharma or "Falun Fofa" that means dharma chakra Buddha dharma. What relations does it have with Buddhism?
Answer: Nothing related, because it has nothing in common with Buddhism either in essential ideology or external form. Li Hongzhi himself has nothing to do with Buddhism, either. From the view of the Buddhist world, Falun Gong is no Buddha dharma at all, but a crooked sect attached to it and a cult. So the so-called supreme Buddha dharma is unfounded and fantastic.
Question: Li Hongzhi has used many Buddhism terms and concepts that we are familiar with in his book Zhuan Falun (meaning turning the dharma chakra). How to understand?
Answer: Li Hongzhi neither believes in nor understands Buddhism. He has only plagiarized some of the Buddhist terms with the intention to cheat those people who don't understand Buddhism with the influences of Buddhism.
Question: Can we interterpreted from your words that Li Hongzhi is only making use of some of the Buddhist terms and his fallacies have nothing in common with the tenet embodied in these terms?
Answer: Right. On one hand, it's because Li Hongzhi, with a degree of junior middle school, never seeks to understand anything thoroughly; on the other hand, with his sinister intention, he has deliberately distorted facts by means of hanging up a sheep's head and selling dog meat. For example, he opposes Qi Gong in the name of Qi Gong, rejects Buddhism under the signboard of Buddhist dharma and argues against science under the cover of science. Li Hongzhi deserves to be a super swindler at the end of the century.
Question: But a lot of Buddhist terms in Falun Gong have actually misled many people. Would you please analyze and clarify them one by one?
Answer: Surely. However, there are too many Buddhist terms and concepts plagiarized by Li Hongzhi, so let's begin with some of the major ones.
Question: Then, please begin with Falun or the dharma chakra that is originated from Buddhism. Li Hongzhi uses it as the name and symbol of its cult and infinitely apotheosizes it. Is there any Buddhist background about that?
Answer: Absolutely no. The dharma chakra in Buddhism is the shape of a wheel with eight spokes radiating from the hub that is originated from the chariot wheel in ancient Indian legend. It is regarded as one of the weapons used by the world-ruling king Cakravarti-raja who had all-conquering powers. Buddhism borrows it to metaphorize "Buddha dharma" and extends the three meanings of subduing evils, turning all the way and round and perfection. In Buddhist sutras, Buddha's preaching is often referred to as "turning the dharma chakra" and the development of Buddhism as "continuous turning of the dharma chakra". Therefore, dharma chakra or Falun is but a metaphorical term with symbolizing meaning which has evolved to be a synonym of Buddha dharma and the figure of the dharma chakra as one of the logos of Buddhism. At the Fifth Conference of World Fellowship of Buddhists held in 1956, it was formally identified as the religious emblem of Buddhism.
Nevertheless, the logo of Falun Gong is rigged up with five Buddhist characters and four Taoist Taichi symbols by Li Hongzhi to represent that Falun Gong is the "integration of Buddhism and Taoism". Besides, Li Hongzhi even described it as "epitome of the universe", it "has all the functions of the universe and can run and turn automatically", and "it is an advanced creature." According to him, it could be equipped in people's lower abdomen and turn continuously 24 hours a day. Turning clockwise could ferry oneself and turning counter-clockwise could ferry others so as to realize "people practiced by dharma" or "dharma practiced by people".
In such a way, a metaphorical word has been tampered with and apotheosized by Li Hongzhi into a substance with extreme spirit and mysterious role. It is clear that the dharma chakra is different from "Falun" in Falun Gong either in terms of shape or meaning. Li Hongzhi is merely making use of this term to fool people.
Question: Another term that Li Hongzhi uses most is dharma-kaya or dharma body. According to him, it is specific and mysterious. How to look at the dharma-kaya or dharma body in his words?
Answer: According to Buddhism, we can understand Buddha through three aspects dharma-kaya, sambhoga-kaya and nirmana-kaya. Kaya means assembling of all the dharmas. Generally, the eternal Buddha Shakamuni exists in the basis of the spirit of all human beings. It is like the dharma exists in the basis of the universe. Dharma-kaya is the body that reflects the truth of the universe. Sambhoga-kaya is the body of wisdom that generates all kinds of beneficial teachings. Nirmana-kaya is the body of compassion that appears for saving people. In simple words, our real bodies are called nirmana-kayas which are built up with physical bodies and spiritual wisdom such as the body of Buddha Sakyamuni emerging in front of all living creatures. This body tries to adapt to various changes in the nature and society depending on his or her own conditions and is thus called nirmana-kaya. For example, one person has a body of son for his parents, a body of disciple for his teachers, on the other hand, he has a body of parent for his children and a body of teacher for his disciples. If this very person can gather immeasurable merits of reciting amitabha encompasses, the extent and role of his adaptation to the changes are very large, like the 32 nirmana-kayas of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin). If the person understands the truth of all the dharmas in the universe, i.e. the doctrine of Dependent-Arising and Emptiness, his body that has accumulated doctrines is called dharma-kaya. Because doctrine itself is empty, the dharma-kaya is immaterial as empty as doctrine in everywhere. This is a philosophy about all the dharams, actually a personalized abstraction of the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism without shape or quantitive difference. Li Hongzhi, without real understanding, with incorporation of the concept in Qi Gong, said that dharma-kaya was a substance generated at people's lower abdomen that was consisted of dharmas and was also a creature in another space. He even boasted, "Each character in my book is a dharma wheel at low level and my dharma-kaya at high level." "I have countless dharma-kayas that have great powers, " and can help and protect Falun Gong practitioners at all the times and places. It has nothing to do with the dharma-kaya in Buddhism! To tell the truth, Li Hongzhi is doing nothing but apotheosizing himself with the fabricated "dharma wheel doctrine" and "dharma-kaya doctrine", which on one hand reveals his ignorance, and on the other hand expose his ambitions to confuse and control the disciples while considering himself as the savior.
Question: Karma and retribution theory is among the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism that has great impact on the mass of people. For this reason, Li Hongzhi especially likes to talk about karma and retribution, saying that they were the essential reason for all the diseases and misfortunes and one should repay his or her debt. Taking medicine would suppress the diseases and prevent the body to clean up, henceforth diseases should not be treated. He even wantonly promised that real Falun Gong practitioners would not fall ill. Therefore, a lot of Falun Gong practitioners didn't try to heal when they were ill resulting in a worse condition or even death. So, the Buddha circle in China needs a special clarification of karma and retribution.
Answer: According to Buddhism, "Creation is karma." Karma power means the power and effect produced by creation. In broad sense or in the theory of dependent arising of experiencing for the prior good and evil, every thing and all the phenomena of karma and vipaka in the universe are the effect of karma power, from formation, dwelling, decay and emptiness of the celestial bodies, to birth, aging, sickness, and death of the mankind, or arising, abiding, changing and extinction of all existences. There are many meanings for karma. It can be divided into karma of mouth, body and awareness in terms of form; kusala-karma, akusala-karma and avyakrta-karma in nature；collective and personal karma in terms of the retribution of oneself and other people. According to the karma and retribution theory in past, present and future, Buddhism believes that good and evil will have their karmic retribution and call these phenomena "karma and vipaka". From the depending level between karma and vipaka, there are fixed karma (niyata-vedan?ya-karma) and non-fixed karma (aniyata-vedan?ya-karma). The karma and retribution theory in Buddhism relates to the essence of life and its various forms and their interrelations, thus it is a complicated and sophisticated theoretical system far to explain in a few words. It's not proper to talk about karma or retribution simply and mechanically or misuse them everywhere because the factors that influence humankind's activities and their fate are intricate and complicated. In fact, the concept of karma in Buddhism is neither commentary nor derogatory, but a neuter noun. However, in folk opinions, it has been attached excessive emotions and is usually used as a derogatory term. Yet Li Hongzhi said "karma power" was something black, the retribution of wrongdoings. He even blamed all human diseases and misfortunes to the karma of previous life, speaking them as the debt owed by people in the previous life. In such a way, he explicitly or implicitly suggested to the Falun Gong practitioners that to be ill was to repay the debt, eliminate karma and pass the test and discouraged them to take treatment. This kind of words is extremely wrong and vulgar that could lead to great confusion and harms and are completely contrary to the Buddhist ideology and spirit.
Buddhism has always supported seeing doctors and taking medicine. For example, the four kinds of offerings in Buddhist sutras -- food and drink, clothing, bedding and medicine – includes medicine. Furthermore, Buddhism looks caring for patients as the first one among the eight good deeds. To relieve all living creatures from suffering is one of the important aspects of Buddhist Mercy Spirit. Sakyamuni has looked after patients by himself. Mahayana Buddhism strongly advocates practicing medicine, or medical science and regards it as one of the five kinds of knowledge. There are many parts in Buddhism Tipitaka especially talking about therapies of illness.
Thus it can be seen that the so-called "karam theory"of Li Hongzhi is nothing but vicious tampering and great distortion of the Buddhist karma theory!
Question: Li Hongzhi said that Falun Gong was one of the eight-four thousand bundles of the Buddhist dharma, telling Falun Gong disciples only to practice his dharma instead of anything else and saying that this was the very "Dharma-gate of non-duality". How do you comment this problem?
Answer: Dharma-gate of non-duality and eight-four thousand bundles of the Buddhist dharma are both special phrases in Buddhism. In Buddhism, eight-four thousand is a phrase used to represent that the amount is extremely large. Li Hongzhi, on the one hand, said that Falun Gong was among the eight-four thousand bundles of the Buddhist dharma, aiming to convince people that Falun Gong was Buddhist dharma that had nothing to do with modern Buddhism. On the other hand, he tried to promote Falun Gong to an unlimited high level, calling it a universe dharma, telling people to practice it exclusively while separated from any other ideology or dharma, and calling it the Dharma-gate of non-duality. His vicious intentions are obvious. In fact, the Dharma-gate of non-duality in Buddhism refers to a highest ideal or conception about everything that transcends truth or fake, good or devil, action or inaction, and even birth or death. People can take a great many of ways to experience or demonstrate this absolute ideal or conception, so there are eight-four thousand bundles of the Buddhist dharma. In here, non-duality and eight-four thousand are consistent with each other dialectically.
Besides, Li Hongzhi has ridiculously alleged that Falun Gong was a Buddha dharma rather than Buddhism, simply separating Buddha dharma from Buddhism. Generally speaking, "Buddhism" mainly refers to the doctrines of Buddha also called Buddha dharma. From the religious perspective, Buddhism also includes organizations of monks and laymen, regulations, taboos and commandments and religious rituals which are reflections of Buddha dharma in different societies and cultural contexts at different times and therefore can be regarded as part of Buddha dharma. Li Hongzhi, by separating Buddha dharma from Buddhism, has no intention but to "take advantage of " the Buddhist terms without real understanding in order that people would keep away from Buddhism or give up judging independently and walk on his evil road wholeheartedly. It calls for deep thought that in such a way, Li has blinded a lot of people who believe in Buddha heart and soul.
Question: Li Hongzhi frequently mentioned such Buddhist terms as Rulai (tatha-agata), Three Realms and three thousand great thousand worlds in his book Zhuan Falun. Can we suspect that it's a kind of tampering?
Answer: It's not only tampering but also extreme ignorance. Rulai is one of the ten titles that Buddhists use to indicate the supremacy of the Buddha from different perspectives, yet Li Hongzhi misconstrued it as another consciousness level apart from "Buddha"; According to Buddhism, there are Three Realms, i.e. Realm of Desire, Realm of Form and Realm of Formlessness, while Li Hongzhi called them realms of heaven, earth and human being (a theory of Shamanism); In terms of the three thousand great thousand world, in Buddhist doctrines, our celestial body under the sun and moon forms one small world, 1, 000 of these kind of bodies form one"small thousand world"; 1,000 "small thousand world" forms one "medium thousand world", and a thousand of these "medium thousand world" form one "great thousand world". So the "great thousand world" thus consists of 1, 000, 000, 000 small worlds. The "three thousand great thousand world" indicates the above three kinds of thousands. However, Li Hongzhi said, "Sakyamuni has also talked about three thousand great thousand world, meaning that in our galaxy, there are three thousand celestial bodies which have forms as we human beings." What a great gap between 1, 000, 000, 000 and 3,000! How obvious it is to identify that Li Hongzhi has interpreted Buhhism without real understanding!
Question: One cannot expect that Li Hongzhi, the founder of the "supreme Buddha dharma" Falun Gong, has made so many stupid mistakes about Buddhism terms. This indicates that when people criticize Li Hongzhi's fallacies, they should cautiously maintain vigilant against those Buddhist terms used by them and should not lump together these terms and those used in Buddhism so as to avoid greater confusion and hurt of the feelings of common Buddhists. Why has Li Hongzhi tried to plagiarize and tamper with a lot of Buddhist terms? And what lessons shall we learn?
Answer: Li Hongzhi knows well that Buddhism and its terms have extensive influences and great appeals in Chinese society, so he has plagiarized and tampered with a lot of Buddhist terms to exploit Buddhism. At the same time, he has wantonly distorted and denigrated Buddhism, requiring his disciples to only admire himself while keeping away from Buddhism. His intentions and means are extremely wicked. Speaking to lessons, the Buddhist World should seek the cause in ourselves instead of somebody else. First, we should strengthen religious consciousness of Buddhists, promote right belief, support proper dharma and reject all kinds of crooked sects attached to Buddhism. Secondly, we should deeply reflect on the issues about belief, ethos, systems, organization, personnel and management of temples and actually strengthen our self-construction so as to better adapt to the development of the age and meet the need of the common Buddhists to study Buddhism. Thirdly, we should make a clear distinction between Falun Gong by various means and at the same time, intensify the activities of denouncing and criticizing Falon Gong while fully using Falun Gong as a negative teaching material. We should not only enable the common Buddhists reach a higher level on the knowledge of proper dharma, but also help people from all walks of life understand Buddhism better and thus drive and improve our work of darma promotion. Fourthly, we should positively advocate the wise Buddhist theories, give full play to the Buddhist doctrines of ethical guidance role, and promote the rich and colorful Buddhist culture in order to purify the society, promote the construction of civilization and protect the world peace.
(World of Buddhism, June 8, 2006)