Massimo , Editor of Bitter Winter, Publishes the First Article about Lifechan...

jiejing

Massimo Introvigne, Editor of Bitter Winter,

Publishes the First Article about Lifechanyuan and the Second Home

Jiejing Celestial

October 14, 2025

With the grace of the Greatest Creator and the arrangements of the Tao, I feel deeply grateful for the radiant spiritual qualities of all the members at Lifechanyuan Second Home Thailand branch, who bring warmth and light to the community.

I especially thank Massimo, editor of Bitter Winter, for his visit. He will be releasing a six-part series sharing authentic experiences of Lifechanyuan and the Second Home. The first article — “Inside Lifechanyuan: A Community of Light in the Shadows of Persecution” — has now been published, inviting readers to experience this luminous spiritual journey and the serenity of Lifechanyuan as seen through the eyes of a visiting scholar.

Inside Lifechanyuan. 1. A Community of Light in the Shadows of Persecution

I was the first scholar to visit the “Second Home” in Thailand of a unique spiritual family that combines Buddhism, esoteric traditions, and religion-based “communism.”

by Massimo Introvigne

Article 1 of 6.

Massimo Introvigne with members of Lifechanyuan at the Thai Second Home, September 2025.

In April 2021, one of the brave citizen journalists risking imprisonment for sending news from China to “Bitter Winter” alerted us to a little-known but dramatic event unfolding in China’s Guizhou province. He shared documents, photographs, and police reports about a group few outside China had heard of: Lifechanyuan, also known as the Life Zen Temple (生命禅院).

What we uncovered was chilling. On April 28, 2021, starting at 1 a.m., Public Security forces and agents from the anti–xie jiao unit—responsible for cracking down on so-called “heterodox teachings”—raided two remote communal settlements in Tongzi and Anlong counties. By dawn, they had taken control of the sites, where around one hundred people from thirteen provinces lived peacefully. Authorities called the operation a textbook “cult” crackdown. Members were detained, told their movement was banned, and taken away for “deprogramming.”

According to official reports, many resisted—not with violence, but with tears and cries of defiance. “We would rather die than leave,” some shouted. Yet within three months, most had been “reeducated” and placed under the supervision of relatives. Authorities claimed this was only the beginning: Lifechanyuan had over 2,000 members, many still in hiding, and their leader lived safely in Canada. The hunt continued.

Our article in “Bitter Winter” brought this story to light. It was later read and appreciated by Lifechanyuan members, who thanked us with gratitude and further testimony. Then, on July 3, 2025, a second wave of repression struck. Coordinated by China’s Ministry of Public Security, the crackdown detained eighty-two members across multiple provinces. Homes were raided, devices seized, and individuals coerced into signing ideological denunciations of their beliefs. A second article followed, along with encrypted correspondence with a member named Jiejing.

Through Jiejing, I was invited to visit the “Second Home” of Lifechanyuan—a community of exiled members who had relocated to the borderlands between Thailand and Myanmar. In September, I accepted.

After this recent visit to the community in Thailand, I feel compelled to set aside the scholar’s pen and speak from the heart. I had studied their community from afar—poring over websites, reading poignant testimonies of unjust persecution, and exchanging emails with Sister Jiejing. Yet no amount of reading or remote dialogue could prepare me for the quiet revelations that come only through immersion.

There is a principle in social scholarship called participant observation. It suggests that to truly understand a community, one must live its rhythms, even briefly. So, I did. During those few days, I did not just observe—I shared meals, laughter, silence, and the subtle grace of their daily lives. What I experienced was not only a worldview but a living testament to it: a community that embraces simplicity as liberation, faces challenges with joy, and finds fulfillment through connection.

The author at the Tai Second Home.

Every person I encountered had a story—some marked by hardship, others by quiet resilience—but all converged in a shared pursuit of happiness and spiritual clarity. Their peaceful community is a bright counterpoint in a world that often equates success with material wealth and status. Perhaps few will choose the path they walk, but even those of us who do not must look at them as a mirror and a reminder.

Lifechanyuan is hard to categorize. It is a spiritual movement, a communal experiment, and a metaphysical school. Founded by Guide Xuefeng, a charismatic thinker and mystic, it draws from Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, the Communist tradition, and science—but reinterprets them through a unique cosmology. Members call themselves “Celestials.” Their teachings focus on harmony with nature, simple living, and spiritual growth.

Their theology is expansive. It begins with Wuji—the primordial non-state of chaos and potential—and traces the emergence of Taiji, the birth of the Greatest Creator, and the formation of gods, angels, and humans. Their cosmology, which I will explore in a subsequent article, offers a sweeping narrative of the universe’s origin and humanity’s spiritual diversity.

But Lifechanyuan is not just a belief system. It is a way of life. Members live communally, share resources, and cultivate joy through service and community work. They reject materialism, hierarchy, and violence. Their homes—whether in China, where they have all been raided and closed by the police, or exile—are called “Second Homes,” reflecting their belief that true belonging lies in spiritual kinship, not geography.

Sharing mooncakes with Celestials.

In China, Lifechanyuan has been labeled a xie jiao—a “heterodox teaching—a designation that carries severe legal consequences. The term is often used to suppress spiritual movements outside state-sanctioned frameworks. Lifechanyuan’s communal lifestyle and metaphysical teaching have made it a target.

Yet unlike other groups branded as “cults,” Lifechanyuan has never been accused of violence, coercion, or criminal activity. Its members are peaceful, articulate, and deeply committed to ethical living. The persecution they face is not a response to danger but a reaction to difference.

This article is the first in a series exploring Lifechanyuan’s history, theology, cosmology, and communal life. In the coming pieces, I will delve into their metaphysical framework, their reinterpretation of religious texts, and their vision for humanity’s spiritual future.

Whether you are a scholar, a seeker, or simply curious, I invite you to explore the heart of this extraordinary community. In a world divided by ideology and fear, Lifechanyuan presents a quiet yet radical idea: that peace, purpose, and joy are, in fact, human rights.

Please see the link from: https://bitterwinter.org/inside- ... ows-of-persecution/