Robyn Lebron God or Gods Master Li teaches, “The Buddhas, Taoist deities, and Gods we speak of exist in other dimensions that man cannot touch or see.” If the universe is ordered, it is not the product of happenstance in the Falun Gong view Rather, the existence of higher beneficent life forms is b asic to its teachings, and it is their presence and workings that are believed to inform and shape the world around us In Zhuan Falun, Li says that human life is not created in ordinary human society but in the space of the universe When a life is created, it is assimilated into the characteristic of the universe as encapsulated by the values of truth, compassion, and tolerance However, eventually a web of relations developed, and selfishness came about; gradually, the level of beings was lowered until, in the end, they reached this level of human beings Li says in his book that the purpose of being human is to practice cultivation and return to the “original, true self.” It has been interpreted as meaning that humans were originally gods of some sort who lost their status as life became complicated, and they engaged in immoral behavior Presumably, humans can redeem themselves through cultivation and regain their divine status Christ Falun Gong holds that Christ is a “mighty God in his realm,” who was crucified to pay for the sins of his followers He is believed to be one of several gods who have come to the world in various historical periods to impart upright teachings and offer salvation: Great enlightened beings have emerged in all periods of prehistory In the current civilization, beings such as Jesus, Shakyamuni, and Lao Zi came to tell things to people In the civilized areas of different periods, there were different enlightened beings who were responsible for teaching people how to return to one’s original, true self They enabled those who could obtain the to achieve Consummation; showed ordinary people how to cherish virtue; and required that mankind maintain its morality at a relatively level state, thus ensuring that the human mind would not degenerate so easily (Li Hongzhi, Zhuan Falun, vol 2, 1996) ~ 2 ~