The Religion of Falun Gong provides the first serious examination of Falun Gong teachings. Benjamin Penny argues that in order to understand Falun Gong, one must grasp the beliefs, practices, and texts of the movement and its founder, Li Hongzhi. Contextualizing Li's ideas in terms of the centuries-long Chinese tradition of self-cultivation and the cultural world of 1980s and '90s China-particularly the upwelling of biospiritual activity and the influx of translated works from the Western New Age movement-Penny shows how both have influenced Li's writings and his broader view of the cosmos.