or Falun Dafa
Controversial spiritual movement combining healthful exercises with meditation for the purpose of "moving to higher levels.
" Its teachings draw from Buddhism , Confucianism , Daoism , and the Western New Age movement . It was founded in China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, a former grain-bureau clerk from Jilin province. He originally registered it as a form of the natural-healing discipline qigong , but he later withdrew it from China's Qigong Research Association to stress its spiritual (rather than health-related) emphasis. Its members nevertheless claim great health benefits from its practice. It claims a worldwide following of 100 million, with 70 million in China; Chinese authorities claim it has as few as 2 or 3 million members. The movement has been regarded as a threat by the Chinese government, which started arresting its followers in mid-1999. Many Falun Gong members were later tried and given long prison sentences. Li emigrated to the U.S. in 1998.