Falun Gong (and Dafa) is a way to improve mind, body, and spirit through exercise, meditation, and teachings that are rooted in ancient Chinese tradition. The practice is best known for its five sets of slow motion meditative exercises similar to Tiji. Falun Dafa is not a martial art but is simpler and more relaxing. It is very effective and a powerful heath improver. However Falun Dafa goes beyond health and fitness to understanding life on a higher spiritual level. It is about cultivating the mind, as Mr. Li Hongzhi in Zhuan Falun (2003) explains, "To truly practice cultivation, you must cultivate your mind. This is called Xinxing cultivation… What is Xingxing? It includes de (a type of matter), tolerance, enlightenment, sacrifice, giving up ordinary people's different desires and attachments, being able to suffer hardship, and so on. It encompasses various things. Every aspect of Xinxing must be upgraded for you to make real progress."

Dafa is not considered to have inherited Tantric male and female cultivation methods as "yin and yang are inherently in the human body and many things can be developed in the body weather one is male or female and they are the same and thus we can achieve a balance," explains Mr. Li Hongzhi. He goes on, "One must consider oneself to be a Falun Dafa practitioner to fully benefit. Simply reading the book or attending the lectures does not mean one is a practitioner."

Falun Dafa practitioners learn to fundamentally abandon damaging behaviors such as selfishness, jealousy, greed, lust, anger, and the gambit of sentimentalities that may tend to limit understanding. This can be challenging and takes committed effort. In this process one becomes more connected with their original pure and altruistic nature. Thus Falun Dafa is not only a path to better health and well being, it is a path to one's true self.

Truthfulness (Sejati): Truthful living is one of the three main tenants of Falun Gong. Dayong Li, in his book Learning & Practicing, Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance: A Report On Falun Dafa (2001) says, "Falun Dafa practitioners have learned that in the cultivation of Truthfulness, one should tell the truth, do things truthfully, become a truthful person, and return to the original, true self."

Compassion (Baik): Also translated as Benevolence. Dayong Li states, "Benevolence (Shan) is the manifestation of the cosmos' quality at different levels and in different dimension. It is also the fundamental nature of the great enlightened beings. Therefore, a cultivator must cultivate benevolence and become assimilated to the cosmos' quality, Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance" (2001). Mr. Li Hongzhi explains how to incorporate compassion into one's life in Zhuan Falun (2003), "As practitioners, you will suddenly come across conflicts. What should you do? You should always maintain a heart of compassion and kindness. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you room to buffer the confrontation. You should always be benevolent and kind to others, and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation practice you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself."

Forbearance (Sabar): Also translated as Tolerance or Endurance. Mr. Li Hongzhi states, "Forbearance is the key to improving one's Xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is a cultivator's forbearance." In Zhuan Falun (2003) Mr. Li Hongzhi continues, "What is a ‘heart of great forbearance?' As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at-you must be tolerant. Otherwise, what kind of practitioner will you be? Someone says: ‘It's really hard to be tolerant, and I've got a bad temper.' If your temper is not good, you should change it, for a practitioner must be tolerant."

Falun Dafa has no membership. Practitioners are free to come and go as they please. The exercises are taught by volunteers. There in no charge and practice sites are open to everyone and the exercises are suitable for all ages. Since Falun Dafa was introduced to the public in 1992, millions of people in over 60 countries have taken up the practice.