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PART I. Language as Symbol
(1) Language as symbol to express thinking and emotion.Language is a unique, non-instinctive, acquired cultural function of human society. That is to say, it is one of the elements of culture, and, thus, one of the human-specific phenomena, which distinguishes human from animal. Although some animals such as dolphin have quite sophisticated communicating systems, what we may call it "language", it is merely a certain kind of instinctive expressions, only having some primary, and simple meanings. The 'language' of animals has no cultural meaning like human being have.
(2) Language as a product of human social activitiesHuman activities are collective. In ancient time, the productivity of society is very low. Primate people had to live a communal life, in which they lived and labored together. In their common life and laboring, people felt it needed to express many ideas each other. Thus, language gradually developed out of the collective life. As Edward Sapir, an American linguist, wrote in 'Language': 'Language is purely a human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols.'1
(3) In a widening sense, language as symbol includes sound symbol and written symbolGenerally, sound and character is both the symbols which can be used as tools when people communicate each other or express their emotions or ideas. The difference between sound and character is that the former is produced by organ of body while the latter is composed of the ideographic symbols, namely, the specific line or graphics. In ordinary life, speech is more popular than the written form of language, and therefore, more important than character.Generally, both speech and character is both the expression of language.
(4) Language is the carrier of thinkingPeople think by using of language. Even the imaginal thinking also links with language. In human life, people always use speech or writing to express their emotions and thinking. It is hard to image that people can live without language. No language, no thought. The usage of language can also enrich human life.Language is the only way to thought.
(5) Language can affect people's thinking and behaviorSince language is the carrier of thinking, the only way to thought, and a tool of emotion-expressing, it may affect people's thinking and behavior.
PART II. Using language to manipulate one's spirit (1) It is the common way for the cults to use specific language system to control one's spirit and behavior.To achieve their own goal, the founder or leaders of a cult always cheat the adherents. The most efficient way of cheating is the manipulating one's spirit. It is a prevalent way for the cult to control individual's behavior and thinking by the spirit manipulation.There has many ways to manipulate one's spirit. A main measure is to affect human's thinking by the use of a specific language system. Professor Margaret Singer, a well-known American cult researcher, is a linguist as well. Her project is to research how language as a symbol affects the changing of the way of thinking and how the cult establishes its own language system to manipulate the mind of its adherent. It is worth to research the way of mind manipulation used by the cult.
(2) Some cases: how the cult use specific language symbol to manipulate one's spirit.Researching Fa Lun Gong (FLG) provides many examples of spirit manipulation. FLG has its own language system, such as "Da Fa or the Great Method", "Xiu Lian or Practice," "Xiaoye or Destroying the Karma", which are often heard among the practitioners. These concepts of the language system contain specific meanings which totally different from common meanings in the ordinary usage. It is said that the meanings of these concepts can only be understood by the members of FLG. Ordinary persons, or the "Chang Ren (Ordinary persons) ", as FLG labeled, can never understand them.How is this language system established?Firstly, the concepts of the language system are ambiguous. For example, "Xiaoye or Destroying the Karma" is a popular expression among the FLG practitioners. What is the meaning of "ye"? How can we destroy it? 'Due to karma resulting from past wrongdoing, one has illness or tribulations.'2 "What we lost is actually something bad. What is it? It is karma, and it goes hand in hand with different human attachments. For example, everyday people have all kind of bad thoughts. For self-interests, they commit various wrong deeds and will acquire this black substance, karma, "3said Li Hongzhi (the founder of FLG) in his Zhuan Falun. It seems that "Ye" is something inauspicious, a 'black substances'. In fact, 'YE or karma' is a Buddhist term which means a tendency or a power made by people's thinking or behaviors. This tendency or power may affect the human life. Li Hong Zhi uses this Buddhist term but changes the original meaning. He said that YE is a black substance which can be transferred between different persons. What is the black substance, however, no one knows. Certain they have their best excuse—you are ordinary persons and too limited to understand such an advanced philosophy. Then how FLG practitioners understand it? In fact they can not explain it as well. They need not understand as ordinary person does. They 'WU’ or have aware of it. What do they have aware of then? No one knows. Li Hongzhi also said people get sick because of the 'Karma': 'Why do people get sick? The fundamental cause of one's being ill and all of one's misfortune is karma and the black substance's karmic field. It is something negative and bad. Those evil beings are also soothing negative, and they are all black. Thus, they can come because this environment suits them. This is the fundamental cause of one's being ill; it is the most principal source of illnesses. Of course, there are two other forms. One is a very microscopic being in high density that is like a cluster of karma. Another is as if delivered through a pipeline, but this is rarely seen; it is all accumulated from one's ancestors. There are also these cases.Somewhere in the body one may have a tumor, infection, osteophytosis, etc. It is because in another dimension there lies a being in that place. That being is in very deep dimension. An ordinary qigong master or an ordinary supernatural ability is unable to detect it; they can only see the black qi in one's body. It is correct to say that wherever there is black qi, there is an illness. Yet the black qi is not the fundamental cause of an illness. It is because there is a being in a deeper dimension who generates this filed.'"Since it is the power of ' YE' that make people get ill, the only way to treat it is destroying "YE" until the 'VF disappeared. Otherwise a person can never recover their health. That is to say, medicine is helpless. Going to hospital or seeing a doctor can not treat the disease –hospital and medicine is not able to destroy YE. On the contrary, they only make the situation even worse. In fact, seeing a doctor is not only helpless in curing the disease but also a way to do bad thing. 'Some people think that treating patients, curing their illness, and improving their health are good deeds. In my view, they have not really cured the illness. Instead of removing them, they have either postponed or transferred the illness.'5 In his opinion, going to hospital can not help people to have a healthy body, but delay or transfer the disease.It is clear that people get sick because of the power of' YE'. If the patients want to recover their health, they should destroy ' YE' instead of seeing doctor or taking pills. Seeing doctor can only postpone or transfer the disease. 'If you cure one's illness, it will be the same as violating that principle, as one would be able to do wring deeds without repaying them. '6 That is the logic of the 'YE' and the way to destroy 'YE'. Through this logic, FLG practitioners believe that the only way to treat the illness is destroying 'YE'. This make them reject to go to the hospital when they get ill in their life.Li Hongzhi argues that he never persuades FLG adherents to reject the hospital. 'It is reported that I asked people not to see the doctor. In fact, I have not said that. I just explained the relationship between practicing FLG and taking pills.' 7 Many FLG practitioners also agrees with their Leacher Li. When Li Hongzhi's absurd teaching being criticized, many practitioners refused to accept. They believe that their 'Teacher' (Li Hongzhi) did not ask them not to see the doctor. They think people do not understand FLG. The criticizers despise their 'Teacher'.In fact, it is through this specific language system of FLG that Li Hongzhi delivers exactly this idea to FLG's practitioners. In this specific language, Li Hongzhi hints the FLG adherents to do so and eventually get manipulated by their master unconsciously.Another example is about 'Yuan Man or attaining the complete cultivation'. 'Yuan Man 'is one of the most popular terms among FLGs. Attaining ' Yuan Man is the purpose of FLG practitioners. What is 'Yuan Man'? Is it an individual 'Yuan Man' or a totally 'Yuan Man'? How to attain 'Yuan Man'? Li Hongzhi has never explained clearly. In fact he has no ability to give an explicit explanation.Blurry concept can leave more space to add more meaning. Li Hongzhi knows that very well. And he never wants to definite the terms clearly. He asked his adherents to understand in their own ways and he won't be responsible for what his adherents really understands.When Tian Anmen Self-immolation happened, Li and other leaders of FLG denied that the victims were FLG members. Wang Jingding, a victim of Tian Anmen self-immolation(2001), was a driver. He loved his work before practiced FLG. In 1996, some one introduced his to read Zhuan Falun. He was told that if only he could obey the rule of FLG and practice what the book taught, he would get the finial goal. After that, Wang Jingding was infatuated with FLG. Wang said that they (he and his family member) practiced FLG at home at the very start. But the FLG asked them to practice outside. So they go out and contacted with other FLG friends when practicing FLG. They practiced FLG together and influenced each other. 'Since I devoted myself to practice FLG, I could discuss some senior members after practicing a short time. They influenced me a lot. The more I understand FLG, the deeper affection I have to with the Teacher Li Hongzhi.' When the FLG get banned, he could not understand. Incited by Li Hongzhi's words like "Going Out" and "giving up your life for Yuanman", Wang and his fellows decided to burn themselves.Wang Jingdong said he felt very sad though his face looked calm. 'At that moment, I recalled 'Teacher' (Li Hongzhi) saying that a person, who attains Yuan Man, will help other relative people getting to the heaven in the future. I prayed, my mother, my family members, just wait and see, the wonderful moment is drawing near.' In fact, at that moment, their minds were controlled unconsciously by the specific language system of FLG and past the point of no return.
PART III. The cult's manipulation of the peoples' mind through the specific language symbolism.How can the cult manipulate their adherents' mind in this way? What kind of affection can be happened on the adherents?
(1) Specific language system is a collective symbol for a specific community. As We all know language is a kind of symbols. As Sapir puts it, "Speech is a human activity that varies without assignable limits we pass from social group to social group because it is a purely historic heritage of the group, the product of long-continued social usage."8 The cult invent a kind of language symbols to identify its adherents and distinguish themselves from other ordinary persons (FLG calls them as' Chang Ren').One of FLG believers told that: 'when taking part in these FLG activities, we set up a subgroup which was separated from main society. We felt attractive in this group. All of us escaped the real world. We thought the society was full of conflictions and benefit-combats. We, FLG believers, did not care about these benefits. Our nobility of character distinguished FLG adherents and other people. Now I understand that this thinking is only a kind of escaping. It is the real world that garreteers our daily life. The real society provides the opportunities of our working and education. Without these guarantees, we can not practice our believer. There are many conflicts in the world, which we do not like or have not courage to face to. FLG provided a safe cage to us. Though it is a hallucination, it made us satisfaction for feeling our nobility of characters. This safe cage and satisfaction felling constitute a heavy anesthetic that made us practice FLG more then before. '
(2) By using this specific language system, a community can cut off the communications with the outside world effectively.Only if cutting off any information from outside, the cult can destroy the values, self-awareness and dignity of their adherents. In the end, the believers obey the logic which explained by the specific language system of the cult. As one of a FLG adherents said:' We have our own language symbols. Having learnt psychology, I know that language can affect people's thinking. Different language systems make different ways of thinking and expressing. We (FLG adherents) often discussed bout 'XIU LIAN (practice)', destroy 'YE', 'YUAN MAN' etc. Other people (who do not practice FLG) did not know what we were talking about, which made us feel satisfaction much. We thought we were more elegant than whose people (who do not practice FLG) so that we disdain to talk to them. This made us become a cohesive community and more exclusive. In this process, we worshipped Li Hongzhi more and more.'
(3) The enhancement of the awareness of founder-worshipWhen the adherents lost their self-awareness and dignity, it is easy for them to worship the founder of the cult. As mentioned above, the cult uses the specific language symbols not only cut off the communication from the outside world, but also strengthen their worship of the founder.'Though many practitioners have not saw Li Hongzhi, they worship him. It is an interactive process. People say that FLG is a minority group. Many of us are emotionally dependent on the people who we hope can dominate our heart. Through the actives of practicing 'GONG' and learning 'FA'', we think Li Hongzhi is extraordinary. We adore him. We depend on him. We think him as the master of our heart.'
(4) This specific language system strengthens the cohesion of the community and makes the adherents feel superiority, pride. They blindly think they have an important mission.These superiority feelings and pride are lunched by those who lost their own consciousness of selfness. At that time, the minds of adherents are controlled by the cult's founder or other leaders. However, they do not recognize or admit this kind of manipulation. This superiority and pride feelings have infiltrated into people's ideas, letting them feel distinguish from ordinary persons, and then giving them a blindly pride and a strong sense of mission. Many FLG practicers want to find psychological comfort from FLG. But FLG's theory negates the normal appetite and the real life, which lead practicers feel more inhibition.Under this condition, the blindly superiority feeling and the strong sense of mission makes the practicers consider themselves very elegant-practicing FLG is doing glorious things. According to the logic invented by Li Hongzhi, the real human society is thrown away by 'Outside space' and the adherents of FLG are 'Practicers' while other non-FLGs are 'Chang Ren (Ordinary persons)'. A person who does not practice FLG will be thrown away by practicers eventually. Only practicers are qualified to 'Du Ren or save people'. Practicers feel satisfaction from these blindly superiority feeling and sense of mission.
PART IV. The cult beats the specific language symbols into adherents' mind by all means.How the cult beat the specific language symbols into its adherents' mind? There are many ways to achieve the goal. The most key measure is establishing a relatively closed environment. In such an environment, the founder or other leaders can repeat their specific information again and again to their adherents and beat what they said into their mind. This huge information made their believers had to accept the meanings of the terms expressed by the specific language symbols. In the end, the believers' mind is manipulated unconsciously.For example, People's Temple let its believers live together and established a closed environment of life. In this condition, Jim Jones, the founder, manipulates his follower's minds in many ways.FLG adherents accept a kind of intensive training by the means of practicing the 'DaFA or the Great Method', which is different from other 'Qigong (or ch'i kung)' prevailing then in the society. FLG emphasizes the activities of practicing 'DAFA'. As Li Hongzhi said, practicers' hearts can not be improved without learning 'FA'. Since Li Hongzhi emphasizes learning 'FA' a lot, FLG practicers consider it as a big thing in their life. In average, FLG adherents have to learn 'FA' 2 hours per day besides practicing 'GONG'.As an ex-FLG adherent describes: "Many of us spend different periods of the day to practice FLG. Some old people use morning, younger people will use the late time. A person who has job spend flexible time on practicing. The more leisure time they have the more practices they do. in each process of practicing GONG, they firstly practice Quite Gong with the FLG's music. This may take about 45 minutes. And then we practice Move Gong. There are all 5 series Gong which are very easy to learn. At the early stage, we only do practice in the morning. And later, we also practice in the evening. If someone does not convenience in the morning, he/she can come to practice in the afternoon. About 20-30 practicers set up a sub group to learn 'FA'. Most of the places of learning 'FA' are the adherents' home. Sometimes are classrooms, community activity rooms, etc. The ways of learning 'FA' are variety-reading Li Hongzhi's books, listening the Li Hongzhi's speaking (tapes), watching Li Hongzhi's videos, etc. After that, practicers will exchange their ideas of FLG."Beside practice Gong, we also do learning FA. Each practice point (place) organizes a group to learning FA. Each group has about 20 persons. In the process of learning FA, we listened Li Hongzhi's tape or watched his video firstly. And then, we learned the book Zhuan Fa Lun. We learned one chapter each time. Some one or all of us read chapter firstly (sometimes we read by paragraph). After that, we exchanged what we have thought about the paragraph or what we understand. Every day we took more then 2 hours. Not every member came to the class each time. It was flexible, if you were busy with your work, you could spend less time on learning."Learning 'FA' is the process of learning the specific language symbolism of the cult. These language symbols take root in adherents' mind by repeating again and again when learning 'FA'. Other concepts other than this symbolism will be excluded. Whoever has not accepted this language symbolism and logic of thinking through learning 'FA' would be considered as 'Chang Ren (Ordinary Person)'. These people may lead to be criticized or be isolated by the fellow adherents. And this gives much press to these people's mind.‘Learning 'FA' gives us a good opportunity to exchange our ideas of FL G. All of us wanted to have more time to stay together. When we were learning together, we thought we were different from ordinary people. We were praticers. We spent more and more time on practicing and had less time to stay with family adherents. We became not interested in working. We talked about learning 'FA' as more as possible. At that time we closed ourselves and were not willing to contact other individuals of different though. We thought other people are ordinary one who had not have the same value with us. Many people did not like to go to work. They just wanted to talk with people who were similar with us.'Through these collective activities, many FLG adherents feared that they had not improved their mind or not refrained from ordinary person's mind, and they were afraid of being thrown away by their fellow practitioners. Thus, they immersed deeper and deeper in the cult and were completely manipulated by the cult in the end.It is through learning 'FA' that the cult not only beats the specific language symbolism into its adherents' mind, but also cut the link between outside world and the practitioner's group. Thus the cult establishes a closed environment to its adherents. And then it is easier for the cult to manipulate its adherents' mind.The cult has many ways to control its adherents' mind. On one hand, through the specific language symbolism, the cult affects the behaviors and mind of its adherents. On the other hand, the cults' adherents are very hard to extricate themselves from the cult once their mind is controlled.Many social workers say that it is very hard to communicate with FLG adherents. If only we can understand the messages passed by these specific language symbols, we could communicate with the cult's adherents as deep as possible and then help them to get rid of the manipulation of the cult. 1. Li Hongzhi, Zhuan Falun, p. 7, Fair Winds, Mass., 2001.2. Edward Sapir. Language, An introduction to the Study of Speech, p. 6, New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. Inc. I92l.3 Ibid., p. 147.4 Ibid., p. 291.5 Ibid., p. 3 6 Ibid., 297. 7 Li Hongzhi, My Comment. June 22, 1999. 8 Sapir, ibid., p. 5.
Ye Luhua |
