The Falun Emblem is the symbol of Falun Dafa. As described by Master Li Hongzhi in "Zhuan Falun", "The Law Wheel of the Buddha School, the Yin-Yang of the Tao School, and the ten-directional world are all reflected in the Falun -the Law-Wheel." "The configuration of Falun is a miniature of the universe and has its own form of existence and process of evolution in each of the other spaces. Therefore, I call it a world."

"Falun Dafa is practiced according to the evolution principle of the Universe. Therefore what we cultivate is Great Law and Great Tao. "

The  symbol represents the Buddha School and it has also been a symbol of good fortune in China and many other cultures. The Taiji (Yin-Yang) symbols  represent the Tao School.

Quoted from Lecture Five in Zhuan Falun

The symbol of our Falun Dafa is Falun. Those with supernormal capabilities can see that this Falun is rotating. The same is true for our small Falun badges, which are also rotating. Our cultivation practice is guided by Zhen-Shan-Ren, the characteristic of the universe, and by the principles of the cosmos’ evolution. Therefore, what we cultivate is quite immense. In a sense, this Falun emblem is a miniature of the universe. The Buddha School conceptualizes the universe as a world of ten directions with four faces and eight sides. Perhaps some people can see a vertical energy column above and below it. With its top and bottom, Falun exactly makes up the ten-directional world and constitutes this universe. It represents the Buddha School’s summary of the universe.

This universe, of course, consists of numerous galaxies including our Milky Way. The whole universe is in motion, and so are all galaxies within it. Therefore, the Taiji symbols and the small  symbols in the emblem are also rotating. The entire Falun is rotating, and the large  symbol in the center is rotating as well. In a sense, it symbolizes our Milky Way. Because we are of the Buddha School, the center retains the symbol of the Buddha School; this is how its surface looks. All different substances have their forms of existence in those other dimensions where they have very substantial and very complex processes of evolution and forms of existence. This Falun emblem is the miniature of the universe. It also has its own form of existence and process of evolution in all other dimensions, so I call it a world.

When Falun rotates clockwise, it can automatically absorb energy from the universe. Rotating counter-clockwise, it can give off energy. Inward (clockwise) rotation offers self-salvation while outward (counter-clockwise) rotation offers salvation to others--this is a feature of our practice. Some people have asked: "Since we're of the Buddha School, why is there also Taiji? Doesn't Taiji belong to the Tao School?" It is because what we cultivate is very immense, which is the same as cultivating the entire universe. Then think about it, everyone: This universe consists of two major schools, the Buddha School and the Tao School. With either of them excluded, it will not constitute a complete universe, nor can it be called a complete universe. Consequently, we have included things from the Tao School. Also, some people have said that in addition to only the Tao School, there are also Christianity, Confucianism, other religions, etc. Let me tell you that after its cultivation reaches a very high level, Confucianism belongs to the Tao School; when many Western religious cultivation practices reach higher levels, they are classified as belonging to the same system of the Buddha School. There are only two such major schools.

Then why do two of the Taiji patterns have red color at the top and blue color at the bottom, and the other two Taiji patterns have red color at the top and black color at the bottom? What we generally understand is that Taiji is made of the two substances of black and white, the qi of yin and yang. That notion comes from a very low level, as Taiji has different manifestations in different dimensions. At the highest level, its colors manifest in this way. The Tao that we commonly understand has this red color at the top and this black color at the bottom. For instance, some of our practitioners’ tianmu are open, and they have discovered that the red color they see with their flesh eyes is green in the adjacent dimension. The golden color is seen as purple in another dimension, as it has this inversion. In other words, colors change from dimension to dimension. The Taiji with the red color at the top and the blue color at the bottom belongs to the Great Pre-Taoism, which includes the cultivation practices from the Qimen School. The four smaller  symbols are from the Buddha School. They are the same as the one in the middle, which is also from the Buddha School. The Falun in these colors is relatively bright, and we use it as the symbol of Falun Dafa.

The Falun that we see through tianmu is not necessarily in these colors, because its background color can change, although its pattern does not change. When the Falun that I have installed in your lower abdominal area rotates, your tianmu may see it as red, purple, green, or perhaps colorless. Its background color keeps changing in the order of red, orange, yellow, green, sky-blue, blue, and purple. As a result, what you see may be different colors, but the svastikam¹ symbols or the Taiji's colors and pattern within it will remain the same. We find that this background color looks relatively good, so we have adopted it. Those with supernormal capabilities can see a lot of things beyond this dimension.

Some people say: "This symbol  looks like Hitler's stuff." Let me tell you that this symbol itself does not connote any concepts of class. Some people say: "If its corner tilts to this side, it'll be Hitler's stuff." It is not so, because it rotates both ways. Our human society began to know this symbol widely twenty-five hundred years ago in Sakyamuni's time. It has only been several decades since Hitler's time during World War II. He appropriated it, but the color he used was different from ours. It was black and pointing upwards, and was used in the upright position. I will only address so much regarding this Falun, though I have only mentioned its superficial form.

Then what does this svastikam  symbolize in our Buddha School? Some people say that it stands for good fortune, which is an interpretation of everyday people. Let me tell you that  signifies a Buddha's level. It only exists at the Buddha level. A Bodhisattva or an Arhat does not have it. But senior Bodhisattvas, the Four Senior Bodhisattvas, have it. We have found that these Senior Bodhisattvas have far surpassed the level of ordinary Buddhas, and they are even higher than a Tathagata. Beyond the level of Tathagata, there are numerous Buddhas. A Tathagata has only one  symbol. Those who have reached beyond the level of Tathagata will have more  symbols. A Buddha whose level is twice as high as a Tathagata has two  symbols. For those who are still higher, they have three, four, five svastikams, and so on. Some have so many svastikams that they are all over their bodies, including on their heads, shoulders, and knees. When there are too many of them, they will even appear on their palms, fingers, foot arches, toes, etc. As one's level continually increases, one will have more and more  symbols. Therefore, the  symbol represents a Buddha's status. The higher a Buddha's status, the more  symbols a Buddha has.

End of Quotes from Zhuan Falun

1 svastikam--"Wheel of light" from Sanskrit, the symbol dates back over 2,500 years and has been unearthed in cultural relics in Greece, Peru, India, and China. For centuries it has connoted good fortune, represented the sun, and been held in positive regard.

To give you an idea of how long the Swastika has been a symbol in China, look at an illustration of comets painted on silk about 2300 years ago:

The silk was discovered during the 1970s at Mawangdui, near Changsa, in Number Three Tomb. There were 29 comets illustrated on the silk, of which the last 4 are shown above. As you can see, the last comet, on the far left, is illustrated by a Swastika. Sagan and Druyan, in their book "Comet" (Random House 1985), p. 186, say "The twenty-ninth comet is called 'Di-Xing', 'the long-tailed pheasant star'." As a comet form, the Swastika looks like a spinning comet from which jets are erupting, like Comet Hale-Bopp.

The English and German word SWASTIKA is derived from the Sanskrit word: SVASTIKAH, which means 'being fortunate'. The first part of the word, SVASTI-, can be divided into two parts: SU- 'good; well', and -ASTI- 'is'. The -ASTIKAH part just means 'being'. The word is associated with auspicious things in India - - because it means 'auspicious'.

In India, both clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas were used, with different meanings. Since the swastika is a simple symbol, it has been used, perhaps independently, by many human societies. One of the oldest known swastikas was painted on a paleolithic cave at least 10,000 years ago.

About 2000 years ago, when Buddhism was brought to China from India, the Chinese also borrowed the swastika and its sense of auspiciousness. In China, the swastika is considered to be a Chinese character with the reading of WAN (in Mandarin). It is also thought to be equivalent to another Chinese character with the same pronunciation, which means 'ten thousand; a large number; all'.

The swastika symbol has been used for thousands of years among practically every group of humans on the planet. It was known to Germanic tribes as the "Cross of Thor", and it is interesting that the Nazis did not use that term, which is consistent with German history, but instead preferred to "steal" the Indian term "swastika". As the "Cross of Thor", the symbol was even brought to England by Scandinavian settlers in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, long before Hitler.

Even more interesting, the sign has been found on Jewish temples from 2000 years ago in Palestine, so Hitler was (inadvertently?) "stealing" a Jewish symbol as well as an Indian one. In the Americas, the swastika was used by Native Americans in North, Central, and South America.

According to Joe Hofler, who also refers to Dr. Kumbari of the museum of Urimqi in Xinjiang, China, the Indo-Aryans of the Germanic branch traveled into Europe around 2000 BC and brought with them the "swastika" symbol (sun disk) of their religious art at that time as shown by excavations of Kurgan graves on the steppes of Russia and Indo-Aryan graves in Xinjiang, China.

If you look at the outer circle of the Falun Dafa symbol, you will see that there are 4 swastikas (of Buddhas' School origin) and 4 Taiji, or Yin-Yang, symbols (of Taoist origin). The Taiji are not black and white, as those colors are a very low level manifestation. Of the 4 Taiji, 2 are red and black (from the Tao as generally regarded) and 2 are red and blue (from the School of the Primordial Great Tao, which includes the Rare Cultivation Way). If you look at all the swastikas of the Falun Dafa symbol, you will see that their arms all point counterclockwise. However, since the Falun Dafa can be seen from above and below, as well as the 8 directions indicated on its outer circle by the 4 Taiji and 4 swastikas, the Falun Dafa swastikas can be perceived to be rotating either clockwise or counterclockwise: "When Falun rotates clockwise, it can automatically absorb energy from the universe. While rotating counterclockwise, it can give off energy." (Read Zhuan Falun for details).

Here are some references with information about the swastika:

1. Thomas Wilson, Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum, Chapter "The Swastika, the earliest known symbol and its migrations; with observations on the migration of certain industries in prehistoric times." from "Report of  National Museum" (1894), pp. 757-1030.
2. Barbara G. Walker, "THE WOMAN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHS AND SECRETS" (1983), and "THE WOMAN'S DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS & SACRED OBJECTS" (1988), both published by Harper & Row;
3. James A. Michener, "THE SOURCE";
4. Ernest Klein, "KLEIN'S COMPREHENSIVE ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE" (Elsevier, 1971);
5. Robert H. Mathews, "MATHEWS' CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY" (Harvard, 1966);
6. The book "In Search of the Cradle of Civilization" by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, and David Frawley (Quest 1995) describes the history of India from a perspective different from that of English colonialists.