Busted Qigong Masters

GeneChing · March 6, 2019, 6:00pm

Jeffrey Primack

This one is different

Graphic by BIVN: image of Hakalau property by Hawaii County Planning Department (left) next to Decision and Order

Damages Awarded In Hakalau Gender Identity Discrimination Case
Big Island Video Newsby Big Island Video News
on Mar 4, 2019 at 4:47 pm

HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission awarded $95,000 in a housing discrimination case involving a Qigong retreat on the big Island.

file image of Jeffrey Primack from a 2018 planning commission hearing

(BIVN) – The landlord of a property in Hakalau was found to have discriminated against a caretaker based on her gender identity, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission decided.

The commission issued a news release on Monday, although the final decision and order was issued on November 30, 2018. Landlord Jeffrey Primack, the respondent in the case, did not appeal the decision.

The complainant, Kiona Boyd, was previously a caretaker for Primack’s Hakalau-area ag land off Kama’e’e Road, and was living in a yurt on the property.

Primack resides in Florida and occasionally visits the Hakalau property to host Qigong retreats, the state’s findings say.

On July 2, 2015, according to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission hearing examiner’s findings of facts, Primack told Boyd “to leave the property because he believed his guests for his Qigong retreat would react negatively toward her because of her gender transition.” Threatening text messages followed, the findings show.

In the commission’s decision and order, Boyd was awarded a total of $95,000 in damages, including $75,000 in emotional distress damages and $20,000 in punitive damages. Primack did not appeal the decision, the commission says.

According to the Hawaii County Planning Department, Primack was cited with a zoning code violation in Janaury 2017 for offering unpermitted retreat functions on the property. Primack appeared before the Windward Planning Commission on March 1, 2018, seeking a Special Permit to legitimize the operation that included overnight accommodations for up to twelve guests and the development of a certified kitchen on a 15-acre portion of the larger, 98-acre parcel.

As he appeared before the Planning Commission, Primack was already embroiled in motions and hearings regarding Boyd’s housing discrimination complaint, although the matter was not discussed during the planning meeting. The planning commissioners voted to grant Primack the Special Permit. Less than a year later, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission ruled on Boyd’s complaint.

“The decision from the Commission reaffirms its commitment to the elimination of discrimination in housing,” said Executive Director, William D. Hoshijo, in a media release. “The award of punitive damages in the Commission’s Final Decision and Order should signal to housing providers that harassment, intimidation, and discrimination against individuals for expressing their gender identity will not be tolerated.”

The news release provided by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission explains more about the case:

[QUOTE]Boyd’s fair housing complaint alleged that Primack harassed, threatened, and forced her off the subject property after he saw her expressing her gender identity for the first time in person. Boyd lived and worked as the property caretaker while Primack resided in Florida. Primack visited the Hawaii property to hold Qigong retreats for his mainland-based business and first met Boyd in 2012 when she was using a name traditionally associated with the male gender and presented as male.

At hearing, Boyd testified that she suffered emotional distress after Primack forced her off the property and harassed and threatened her both verbally and through text messages. Primack’s text messages included multiple threats to strangle, punch, and inflict pain on Boyd, belittled her gender identity and expression, and contained gender-based slurs. Primack gave Boyd one day’s notice to vacate the property, forcing her to become homeless and live out of her car.

In the Commission hearing, Dr. Rebecca Stotzer, an expert on bias crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, offered expert testimony and a report on the pervasive stigmatization of transgender individuals, and research indicating that transgender women are at greater risk of being subjected to violence. In light of this heightened risk of harm, transgender individuals have reason to take threats of violence seriously, stated Dr. Stotzer.

The Commission also ordered Jeffrey Primack to immediately cease and desist unlawful discriminatory practices, develop and implement a written anti-discrimination in real property transactions policy, and attend a fair housing training session. The Final Decision and Order in William D. Hoshijo, Executive Director, on behalf of Kiona E. Boyd v. Jeffrey David Primack, Dkt. No. 18-001-H-S, is posted on the HCRC webpage.

The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing state civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded services. If you feel you have been subjected to discrimination on any basis protected under state law, contact the HCRC at: telephone (808) 586-8636, or email DLIR.HCRC.INFOR@hawaii.gov.[/QUOTE]

GeneChing · March 22, 2019, 1:48am

More on Primack here and here.

Jeff Primack, Founder of Supreme Science Qigong Center, Just Released the 2020 Edition of the Critically Acclaimed Food Healing Book ‘Conquering Any Disease’

Date
12/17/2019 10:46:15 AM

(MENAFN - Newswire) CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., December 17, 2019(Newswire.com) - Qigong is the practice of increasing life force energy and improving quality of life. No one knows how to do this better than its founder and expert practitioner Jeff Primack. Primack not only founded the renowned Supreme Science Qigong Center in 1999 but has also spent years teaching and educating others on revolutionary ways to unlock their human potential.

‘Conquering Any Disease,’ one of Primack’s most insightful books, is packed with 300 pages of life-saving wisdom, was originally published in 2005. Now back by popular demand, the 2020 edition is giving some much-needed clarity on the latest diet trends such as keto, gluten-free, vegan and paleo to name a few, and whether these fads are harmful or beneficial.

Primack’s passion for natural, energy healing is evident as you read through his books which he uses as tools to pass his knowledge on to others. Through seminars and teachings, many people have come to learn about Primack’s belief and practice of natural healing through foods.

For the readers who enjoyed earlier editions of this book, the 2020 edition is the biggest update since the book was first published.

For new fans, this book promises to be both scientific and user-friendly. This food healing manual gives readers a lot to ponder about as they begin a journey toward optimal health with a little help learned through ancient truth.

‘Qigong connects people to the spirit and natural state of being. What you eat contributes to your overall health, and it is possible to reverse health issues through natural food remedies. My book shows you how,’ says Jeff Primack, author of Conquering Any Disease and founder of Supreme Science Qigong Center.

Supreme Science Qigong Center was founded by Jeff Primack in 1999. Since then, he has taught over 50,000 people in his Qi Revolution live seminars – dedicating his life to ‘teaching as many people as possible about natural healing through food, Qigong, meditation, and high-powered breathing.’ He has collected his food-healing knowledge from countless sources, including well-known Qigong Masters & Naturopathic Doctors. For more information about Supreme Science Qigong Center, visit www.qigong.com .
Nice website address.

GeneChing · July 13, 2020, 6:12pm

Liu Shanglin

27-Year-Old Chinese Man Dies From a 54-Day Water Fast as Prescribed by Qigong Master
Hannah C.Jun 26, 2020 03:36 AM EDT

A 27-year old Chinese man died at a rehabilitation health center after not eating for 54 days. The ‘health treatment’ of consuming only water for supposedly 70 days was prescribed by his Qigong master, Liu Shanglin.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese health method, more than 5,000 years old, combining rhythmic breathing and mental concentration with slow, graceful movements. As a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is often called Chinese yoga.

Dr. Roger Jahnke, author of ‘The Healing Promise of Qi,’ said, ‘Qigong is not exercise - it is a dynamic meditation. Doing repetitions is not the focus, it is the conscious application of three intentful corrections - lengthen the spine, deepen the breath, clear the mind, or visualize healing.’

The young Chinese man, known by his surname Li, left his home and moved to a private facility to follow the teachings of Liu Shanglin in 2017, shared his family. Li was told to go on a 70-day water fast for his health to improve as he struggled with mental problems.

//youtu.be/3FJy0EDoYK0

Water Fast
Water fasting has proved to have clinical effectiveness in rebooting the body. According to Dr. Alan Goldhamer, who supervises therapeutic fasting for his patients, led a study showing the benefits of water-only fasting.

He founded the TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, where their typical fasting regimen included diet, sleep, exercise, and fasting. His water fast study focused on patients with hypertension or high blood pressure.

174 participants had two to three days to pre-fast on fruits and vegetables before transitioning to a water-only fast for about 10 to 11 days. Then, they had a refeeding period of about one week to a low-fat, low-sodium, vegan diet.

Dr. Goldhamer said that water fasts may last from any time between five and 40 days. ‘The idea is to fast as briefly as possible, but as long as necessary, to accomplish your desired goals.’

One of his most recent studies this year shows how medically supervised water fasting can potentially stop tumor growth. The study focused on a woman with obesity, hypertension, and inflammation in her kidney and ureter. After a 13-day water fast 11 days of a plant-based diet after, the golf-ball tumor in her stomach shrunk by almost 50%.

Weight-Loss Treatment
One of the staff at the Chinese rehab center, who remains anonymous, shared that Li didn’t have any problems. He just talks to himself a little bit sometimes. He was quite heavy. He was about 180 kilos (397 pounds). The teacher then asked him not to eat and said it was good for his health.’

Mr. Liu told reporters that the water fast treatment usually lasts five to seven days and it was Mr. Li’s decision to extend his own diet. After almost two months, Li died of starvation.

Liu Shanglin was detained by local police in the Heilongjiang province, who owns the Riyuexia Elderly Forest Rehabilitation Center. A family member shared that Mr. Li paid over $700 for the recent treatment for wanting to lose some weight. The investigation is still ongoing, according to local authorities.

That’s way too long for a water fast. When I used to fast, I’d be lucky to go just a few days.

GeneChing · December 1, 2020, 4:29pm

a “vulgar magician”

Wang Lin deserves his own indie thread from Busted Qigong Masters now that he has two whole documentary dedicated to him.

Wang Li: Qigong “Master” a Conjurer of Cheap Tricks?
The famous Chinese qigong practitioner has been accused of being a charlatan.
By Jonathan DeHart
July 31, 2013
Two documentaries aired on China’s state-run CCTV on Sunday calling Wang Lin a “vulgar magician” who has done little more than sell bogus health techniques to the Chinese masses – not to mention some of its elite.

The qigong (Taoist breathing exercises meant to cultivate energy) spiritualist and advisor has fallen on hard times since the investigative reports played on television sets across the nation and has since come under investigation for fraud. The Jiangxi province-born “master” is reportedly attempting to evade scrutiny by disappearing from sight – some say by fleeing to Hong Kong.

Wang’s fall from grace has become a major topic of discussion in China, given his celebrity clientele, which included some of China’s most prominent entertainment, business luminaries – even heads of state – from Jackie Chan and Jet Li to Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Hong Kong’s former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, as well as relatives of former Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The prominence of 61-year-old Wang’s following was not in doubt, although some of his practices were strange by any standards. From “creating snakes” after placing scraps of paper under an upside-down basin which he jostles around until two snakes issue forth (see video here) to shredding steel with his bare hands, recovering paper from ashes, and even retrieving “an incinerated banknote intact from an orange” – some of his exploits are truly bizarre.

While actions such as these can be dismissed as magic tricks, things become morally hazy with some of his health suggestions. Wang has claimed to heal cancer and other serious illnesses, including removal of three “stones” from the body of former Indonesian president Suharto. All told, Wang estimates he has worked with some 50,000 patients.

Wang has dismissed claims that his practices are illegal, claiming that he has undergone rigorous investigation by a team of 17 Japanese scientist over a period of seven days, and has received numerous offers from U.S. intelligence agencies attempting to lure him to their shores with the promise of a green card.

He claims that he began to cultivate his supernatural powers from age seven under the tutelage of an Emei Taoist priest.

Despite accusations that he is a charlatan, Wang claims he donates up to 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) annually to charity – a claim that is backed by Pan Zhongwu, deputy director of social assistance at Pingxiang’s Civil Affairs Bureau.

Sima Nan, well known as a debunker of pseudoscience, invited Wang to Beijing to prove his claims, offering $1.6 million to anyone who can prove they have supernatural powers.

Wang has not taken criticism or questioning lightly, cursing at least one journalist. “I am telling you, you will die miserably, and your family will follow," Wang told a reporter with The Beijing News last week after she wrote a story that he thought damaged his name.

If convicted of illegal practice, he has a lot to lose. With the dubious earnings he has raked in, Wang has procured three Hummers and a Rolls-Royce that has been spotted parked in front of his five-story villa in his hometown of Pingxiang, Jiangxi province, nicknamed “the palace” due to the fact that his surname means “king” in Mandarin. He is also known to drive a Porsche and owns further properties in Shenzhen, Nanchang and Hong Kong.

GUEST AUTHOR
Jonathan DeHart
Jonathan DeHart is a Tokyo-based journalist and correspondent for The Diplomat.

GeneChing · December 17, 2020, 5:41pm

Zhonggong

Zhonggong: The “Cult” That Refused to Die
12/16/2020 MASSIMO INTROVIGNE
Hundreds of police hunt for a new incarnation of a group the CCP believed it had successfully eradicated in 2016.
by Massimo Introvigne

A devotional image of the current leader of Zhonggong’s largest branch, Zhang Xiao, with its deceased founder Zhang Hongbao sitting in the sky.
In the Northern province of Heilongjiang, hundreds of police officers surround and arrest in the early morning citizens gathering in public parks for Qigong exercises supposed to prevent the COVID-19 infection. This is happening in ten different provinces, although Heilongjiang appears to be specifically targeted, and involves hundreds of specialized agents. They are fighting a xie jiao, a banned religious movement, known as Zhonggong. The only problem is that, according to earlier CCP sources, Zhonggong should no longer exist. It has been liquidated several years ago, and totally eradicated by 2016, one of the few “success stories” the specialized agents tell about their long-lasting fight against the xie jiao.

However, it appears that even this “success” was not definitive. To understand what happened, a short history of Zhonggong is needed. Zhang Hongbao (1954–2006) was born in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, on January 5, 1954. While the organization he founded is labeled by the CCP as a xie jiao,and his theory “an anti-social, anti-scientific heretical system based on idealism and theism,” the part of the story the Party does not tell is that Zhang was himself a respected member of the CCP.

A high school teacher in Harbin, Zhang was sent by the Party in 1985 to Beijing to obtain a college degree. He did not complete his academic education, but attended the Chinese Qigong Further Education Academy and became an accomplished teacher of Qigong. This was before the Falun Gong incident of 1999, when Qigong was perceived with sympathy by the CCP. Since he was studying mechanical engineering, Zhang built a system of Qigong where an engineering jargon and theories of automation co-existed with ancient Chinese martial art, diet, and healing techniques. According to David Palmer, a scholar who had studied in depth the origins of the movement, he called it “Chinese Qigong for Nourishing Life and Increasing Intelligence” (Zhonghua yangsheng yizhi gong, ), or, in short, Zhonggong ().

Just as it happened with Falun Gong in its early years, Zhonggong was not received with hostility by the CCP. On the contrary, starting in 1987, Zhang offered seminars inter alia at Beijing University, the China Academy of Sciences, the Central Party School of the CCP, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, and the China Academy of Social Sciences. These events were favorably covered by the Party’s People’s Daily. According to Palmer, at least one minister and one deputy minister participated. A hagiographic biography of Zhang written by Ji Yi sold ten million copies. Zhang himself claimed that Zhonggong had 38 million followers.

Just as it happened to Falun Gong, Zhonggong was a victim of its own success, particularly of its success among high CCP cadres. The Party started perceiving Zhonggong as a potential rival. And when in 1999 Falun Gong organized a demonstration in the Zhongnanhai area in Beijing, where the CCP senior political leaders live, the incident not only sealed its fate but persuaded the Party that the time had come to liquidate all Qigong independent organizations. This, as scholar Ed Irons reported in an article in The Journal of CESNUR, also involved Zhonggong. While Zhang was well connected, and vowed to resist by hiring the best CCP lawyers, he understood that his days as a free man in China were numbered when he was told that some twenty women were ready to testify they had been raped or sexually molested by him (a frequent charge against xie jiao leaders in China). In December 1999, Zhonggong’s considerable assets were confiscated.

Zhang Xiao lectures in front of a portrait of Zhang Hongbao.
Zhang escaped via Guam in 2000 to the United States, where he failed to obtain full political asylum but was granted Protected Person Status in 2001. He became increasingly involved in militant anti-Communist activities, and even president of a Chinese government in exile, which led to quarrels and lawsuits with other Chinese dissidents living in the United States. Zhang died on July 31, 2006 at the age of 52, when his car collided with a large truck on the Arizona highway. His followers suspected foul play, and accusations of a Chinese conspiracy to kill Zhang were mostly relayed by the Falun Gong-connected Epoch Times.

After Zhang’s death, the authorities believed that the crackdown on Zhonggong initiated in 1999 had almost destroyed the movement, although some smaller branches remained. Great Buddha Qigong, founded by Zhang’s biographer Ji Yi in 1995 after he had left Zhonggong in 1994, was reduced to a small group. The authorities were more concerned with a branch called Maitreya Buddha Tao, founded in Shandong by Zhonggong leader Li Changlu, but by 2016 announced that it had been liquidated too, with its main leaders arrested and sentenced.

However, Zhang’s secretary, a woman called Zhang Xiao, born On October 4, 1966 in Longyan, in Fujian Province, kept Zhonggong alive overseas, and eventually moved the headquarters from the United States to Japan. Patiently, she reorganized a clandestine network in China, using several different names for the movement, including “Tianhua Culture,” “Oriental Health Cultivation Method,” and “Oriental Bigu Health Cultivation Method” (bigu is a Daoist diet and fasting technique, based on avoiding cereals).

With COVID-19, Zhang Xiao launched a set of anti-COVID Qigong exercises, which became quite successful. The CCP had discovered before that the network of her followers in China was far from being small. Originally believed to operate mostly through the Internet, in fact Zhang Xiao’s incarnation of Zhonggong has local centers in several provinces, the largest in Heilongjiang. According to the police, one was hidden in a massage parlor in Fuyuan, Heilongjiang. The city sits on the southern bank of the Amur river, and on the northern bank is Russia. Russian clients cross the border and liberally patronize the massage parlors in Fuyuan, but this one attracted the attention of the authorities because the masseuses were, unusually, old women. In fact, rather than massages, they were selling teachings on Zhonggong and artifacts blessed by Zhang Xiao.

Zhonggong material seized at the raided massage parlor in Fuyuan. Source: Xi’an Public Security Bureau.
Massages or not, the CCP had to admit that Zhonggong had not been eradicated, and Zhang Xiao’s organization is alive and well in China. This year, China issued an Interpol Red Notice to arrest Zhang Xiao in Japan, and extradite her to China. Normally, these requests fail, but one never knows what kind of political and other pressures China may now exert.

Interpol Red Notice against Zhang Xiao, issued upon China’s request. Source: Xi’an Public Security Bureau

Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press’ Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the “Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions” of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.

More on Zhang Hongbao here and here

GeneChing · February 4, 2021, 4:58pm

Wang Xingfu

CHINA / SOCIETY
Fake ‘Living Buddhas’ end up behind bars for using Tibetan Buddhism to amass wealth, rape disciple
By Gao Lei
Published: Feb 02, 2021 09:40 AM

Wang Xingfu disguises himself as a living buddha. Photo: file picture

Over the years, with the popularity of Tibetan Buddhism, many people including some television celebrities have been worshiping “Living Buddhas.” Seeing profits in this, some lawbreakers made use of people’s devotion to the religion to amass large amounts of money and even rape their disciples.

The Global Times dug out how two fake Living Buddhas used religion to harm their disciples.

Prison guard-turned ‘living buddha’

Wang Xingfu, who claimed himself a “Living Buddha” and used the name of Lhosang Tenzin, swindled hundreds of millions of dollars and even raped several women over the past decades.

Wang had 21 “Ashrams” and more than 3,000 “disciples” across China. Before proclaiming himself as a “Living Buddha,” Wang dubbed himself a “qigong master” in late 1980s when the country was caught up in a “qigong frenzy.”

Like many other fake qigong masters, Wang profited from the wave. He embezzled the Tibetan Buddhism and fabricated a so-called “secret school of mind recharge.”

Then he set up classes in cities including Ji’nan, Chengdu and Shenyang, earning more than 5,000 yuan ($773) or even as much as 7,000 yuan a month, a high income in the late 1980s and early 1990s in China.

Seeing the profits, Wang who was a prison guard at that time, had no interest in his work and kept asking for leave until he was fired. In the middle and late 1990s, as the government cracked down on the fraudulent “qigong masters,” Wang changed his “secret school of mind recharge” to “ancient yoga theory application research institute,” and developed a so-called “supreme secret yoga” to cheat money from disciples.

In 2006, Wang got to know the a Living Buddha named Gongzhi in Eruo Monastery, Ganzi Prefecture, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Gongzhi was well known there and at that time he was seriously ill.

Wang, who was desperate to “legitimize” his schemes by using Tibetan Buddhism, tried hard to curry favor with Gongzhi. He took his “disciples” to donate money and goods worth over 1 million yuan to Gongzhi’s temple. He then also claimed to have studied Buddhism in temples for many years and is the reincarnation of a “Living Buddha.”

As a result, Gongzhi took Wang as his only disciple outside the Tibetan regions and told his disciple, Lurong, who would take over as the abbot of Eruo Monastery, to be good to Wang.

Lurong at the beginning did not welcome Wang but his attitude changed when he saw Wang was able to support the temple.

In 2008, Lurong illegally held an “enthronement ceremony” for Wang and claimed Wang as a Living Buddha named Lhosang Tenzin and even gave him a fake ID card showing Wang as Tibetan. Wang even fabricated a “reincarnation system” for himself.

In 2016, Wang divorced with his wife. When the case was exposed, Lurong was asked by the police why he illegally hosted “enthronement” for Wang and forged him as a “Living Buddha.” Lurong said that Wang had many disciples and could donate money and goods to the temple.

After being arrested, Wang also attacked Lurong whom he used to call “vajra brother,” saying Lurong treated him as a money machine and he felt deep “regret.”

Wang Xingfu’s villa in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian Province. Photo: file picture

‘Religious teaching’ for money

After becoming the “Living Buddha Lhosang Tenzin” following his “enthronement” in 2008, Wang became even more unscrupulous and committed many heinous crimes on his followers, such as fraud, molestation and even rape.

Before his crimes were uncovered, many of his followers, who had been seriously harassed by him, did not consider themselves victims of Wang’s crimes, and some even chose to defend him.

One of his followers surnamed Wei said Wang controlled his disciples’ mind in a horrific manner - he made the disciples swear not to betray him, otherwise, they would suffer terrible retribution and even lose their lives.

Laxianjia, vice director of the religious institute of the China Tibetology Research Center, said Tibetan Buddhism has “Exotoric Buddhism” and “Esoteric Buddhism.” A disciple usually needs to spend more than 20 years in the period of “Exotoric Buddhism” with his or her master. During this period, the disciple can question and even change masters. But once the disciple passes “Exotoric Buddhism” stage to “Esoteric Buddhism,” the disciple must fully follow the teachings of the master whom he or she had identified during the “Exotoric Buddhism” stage.

Laxianjia believed Wang used the close relations between disciple and master in the “Esoteric Buddhism” stage to make his disciples willing to be controlled. Laxianjia said Wang actually knew nothing about Buddhism, after questing Wang when he was in detention.

One of his disciples said that most of Wang’s disciples were in urgent need of consolation of the faith due to their own or family troubles and Wang is good at using some concepts in Buddhism to appease these people.

Some had doubts about Wang, but their doubts were relieved when they saw how Lurong received Wang in the monastery.

According to the police investigation, the main way Wang cheated money was to charge people for his teachings. The money varied from 300 yuan to 8,000 yuan. He also sold “religious instruments” and carried out “religious activities” to make money. He made nearly 200 million yuan in more than 10 years.

Wang spent the money buying houses and properties across the country and gave his wife and son money. Wang said he gave Lurong more than 40 million yuan.

Besides fraud, Wang even used the concept of “Yuganaddha” to molest and rape female disciples.

Laxianjia said that the “Yuganaddha” in Tibetan Buddhism is about the combination of “wisdom” and “methods” rather than the nonsense that Wang talked about.

When he was arrested, police found condoms and “oil” that can boost sexual drive. He claimed the disciples he raped had consented.

Some of his disciples who had sex with him said Wang called them to the room for sex.

One of the women who was raped by him in 2013 said Wang came to the hotel in casual clothes after she checked in at his request. After she kowtowed to Wang and told him her family’s problems and asked for his blessings, Wang became impatient and said the disciple needs to offer the master the body and mind. Wang later peeled off her clothes.

“I knew what he wanted to do then. I was quite scared. But as I thought he was a Living Buddha, and I was afraid that if I rebelled against him, there would be retribution. I didn’t dare to resist. I just knelt down and cried and kowtowed to him,” she said.

So far, investigators have evidence that Wang has sexually assaulted at least 10 female “disciples” over the years, including eight who were raped and two who were indecently assaulted.

A police officer told the Global Times that due to the reluctance of most victims of sexual assault cases to come forward, and the long time span of Wang’s crimes, the number of women raped by Wang may be far higher.

Cash and foreign banknotes are found by the police from Wang’s residence. Photo: file picture

continued next post

GeneChing · February 4, 2021, 4:58pm

continued from previous post

Cash and foreign banknotes are found by the police from Wang’s residence. Photo: file picture

A key accomplice

Wang would not have had the opportunity to commit such heinous crimes if it weren’t for Lurong, the abbot at Eruo Monastery.

Lurong, through stealing and violating the traditional convention of Tibetan Buddhism, turned Wang, a liar from qigong, into a “living buddha” and helped Wang deceive a huge number of believers in the country.

Lurong has known of Wang’s crime as early as 2016, when a woman follower of Wang reported his sexually assaulting women and looting money. But Wang reminded Lurong about how the Eruo Monastery had been depending on Wang’s followers’ sponsorship.

To not lose Wang as a “money machine,” Lurong became Wang’s accomplice. He not only published an “investigation report” to prove Wang did not have any problem, but also hired people to remove online posts reporting Wang.

All the punishment Lurong gave Wang was letting him confess in front of the sacred tower and warning him to be a “qualified monk.”

“I felt he wanted to use my money to renovate the monastery in order to lift his prestige among locals,” Wang said.

From the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, Lurong’s behavior is also a serious violation of Buddhism, said Zhou Wei, an expert on Tibetology. “It completely violated the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism and the concept of “integrity” in religion. It is all crooked ways.”

This is also the reason why the two were prosecuted for “organizing and using a cult to undermine the implementation of the law.” Their behavior deviated from Tibetan Buddhism and has long become a “cult.”

Wang Xingfu during an illegal “enthronement” in 2008 which seriously violated Tibetan Buddhism rituals. Photo: file picture

Another monster

Apart from Wang’s case, police also cracked down a fake living buddha case as appalling as Wang’s in Shenzhen of South China’s Guangdong Province.

Yang Hongchen, the main suspect in the Shenzhen case, was born in Northeast China and became a monk in a small Hongye Temple in North China’s Hebei Province in the late 1990s.

Afterwards, he went to Labrong Monastery in Northwest China’s Gansu Province and fabricated a “living buddha” certificate and an ID as a Tibetan. With the new identity, he returned to Hongye Temple and began to deceive people there.

To bamboozle more people, he claimed himself to be the former head of the Chinese Buddhism Association and the reincarnation of respected patriotic monk Sherab Gyatso.

Many victims in Yang’s case said that believed Yang’s story. But monks in Labrang said Yang was never a monk in the monastery, let alone a living buddha. People from Yang’s hometown said Yang wasn’t even a monk.

Before 2017, Yang already had dozens of believers. He also raped many of his female followers and caused one to get pregnant.

Under the mind control of Yang, the violated women were either afraid of being cursed by the “living buddha” or believed it was for religious progress. None of the women chose to report Yang’s assaults.

Finally, Yang’s hedonistic life style drew suspicion from a follower, who reported to the religious administration department in Shenzhen.

The fair trial

In the past three years, the relevant persons involved in the Wang, Lurong and Yang cases have been convicted of serious crimes by the court in the first trial, and completed the second trial this year.

Wang was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined 20 million yuan for crimes of organizing and utilizing a cult to undermine laws, illegal operation, rape and compulsory indecency. Lurong was sentenced to six years imprisonment and fined 5 million yuan.

Yang was put in jail for 18 years and fined 150,000 yuan for using superstition to undermine law enforcement, fraud, rape and embezzlement. He pleaded not guilty in both court trials and blamed his followers.

Police believe that such scams are still hidden in society, and because some victims are mentally controlled, it greatly increases the difficulty of investigations.

To identify such criminals, Li Hanying, former senior official on religious affairs at the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, reminded that the public can check the identity of a “living buddha” at an online query system of the State Administration of Religious Affairs or check with local religious departments.

Li noted that Buddhism is a religion of rationality and wisdom and believers should not blindly obey someone because of admiration. Therefore, everyone must establish this concept of “right faith” and improve the quality of faith and the ability to differentiate between good and evil.

Once a suspicious “living buddha” is discovered, it is even more important to quickly report him to the religious affairs department and public security organs, Li said.

These cases also have triggered thinking of related departments on how to strengthen supervision, stop such frauds in the name of religions, and upgrade publicity on such crimes.

Laxianjia suggested that schools could open some courses on common sense about religions. “It is not to spread religions on campus, but to tell people the essence and knowledge of religions and lead people to have the correct values to avoid being deceived.”

Lurong and some Tibetan monks served as accomplices and violated the reputation of Tibetan Buddhism, which experts believe shows Buddhist monks should strictly maintain their reputation and rituals of Tibetan Buddhism and discipline themselves, and therefore safeguard and respect for the freedom of religions in China.

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Buddhists-behaving-badly
Busted-Qigong-Masters

GeneChing · March 17, 2021, 4:54pm

Wang Lin: Qigong “Master” a Conjurer of Cheap Tricks?

Tough when you make a spelling error in your title.

Wang Li: Qigong “Master” a Conjurer of Cheap Tricks?
The famous Chinese qigong practitioner has been accused of being a charlatan.

By Jonathan DeHart
July 31, 2013
Two documentaries aired on China’s state-run CCTV on Sunday calling Wang Lin a “vulgar magician” who has done little more than sell bogus health techniques to the Chinese masses – not to mention some of its elite.