Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Reading
- On Our Mission of Assisting Teacher and the Effects of Practicing the Exercises
- When Compassion is Lacking, Complaints Often Fill the Gap
- My Understanding of Why Interference Occurs
- Beware of the Evil's Assault on Fa Study
- Purify Our Every Thought - How Much Are We Following Old Force Arrangements?
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the June 2007 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
In this issue, we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles culled from Clearwisdom and Pureinsight that always shine through because of their insights and fine quality of sharing. It is important to read the Clearwisdom, Pureinsight and other Dafa sites.
We make an effort to select Articles from the Archives which people don’t go back to and are relevant even today. Contributions are welcome from practitioners.
Heshi! Hope, you like the selection of Articles and gain some new insights!
Note: "All the contents in this newsletter - except for quotations and excerpts of writings of the founder Mr. Li Hongzhi - are only ideas and experiences of practitioners and do not represent Falun Dafa in itself."
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- 2. What’s Happening?
Practitioners from Pune had organized a small Art Exhibition in the Community Hall of the Housing colony where most of them live. The Art exhibition coincided with the World Falun Dafa day and some practitioners from Mumbai had gone to celebrate, share experiences and do the Fa study together.
Practitioners from Nagpur are planning to hold the Art Exhibition in Nagpur the second weekend in June.
Plans are on to have intensive activities in Hyderabad during the weekends in June-July. There will be Art Exhibitions, hongfa activities, workshops for children and truth clarifying efforts.
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- 3. Reading
A Western Practitioner
During the first year after I obtained the Fa, reading formed the foundation upon which my cultivation, and indeed, my life was based. The most precious time of my day, and the time of day I most looked forward to was the evening when I could sit down to read.
I would typically read through one lecture in Zhuan Falun, and then try to read something additional, such as a part of a lecture or learn some of Master's Fa in Chinese. I remember how incredible it was that such a simple act could completely change and uplift me in such a short time. As I would study the Fa, understandings and profound changes to my being would unfold. I could truly feel that Zhuan Falun was a ladder to heaven and I was climbing higher and higher the more I studied and assimilated its contents into my heart.
On some occasions, as I would put the book down and look out over the city lights from my apartment window, I felt I was not even part of this Earth. I could clearly see the realities of this dimension, the meaning of human life and the purpose of my being here at this time during the Fa-rectification.
Many months ago, however, things began to slowly change for me. More and more responsibilities for Dafa work arose, and the local practice environments began to fade as practitioners became busy with their work.
I still knew the importance of reading, and so remained diligent in studying the Fa everyday, but looking back now, I see that my concept of studying the Fa had, ever so slowly, become more mundane and shrouded with human concepts of "studying" and "reading enough." At times it would be better, at times it would be worse, but overall, my sense of reading shifted; whereas before, it had been the most important and sacred task I could do and in my heart it was a truly precious gift. More recently, however, studying the Fa has taken on a growing sense of human "responsibility," as if it were just something I had to do each day, like a household chore. Additionally, a notion of studying the Fa merely as a necessary support to my other Dafa work, rather than as a sacred and necessary endeavor in and of itself began to form in my mind. My conscious mind still saw studying the Fa as "necessary," but the sacredness and the sense of studying the Fa being a precious gift had faded, being replaced more and more with an obligation to a common task.
My cultivation and Dafa work progressed fairly well. As a cultivator, I would stumble at times, look within, enlighten to a problem and then move forward, having rid myself of another attachment. Still, I've had a sense for many months that there is a larger step I needed to take in order to keep pace with the Fa-rectification and to fully and completely play my role as a Dafa particle. But I just didn't seem to be able to take this step...or worse, see what step it is that I needed to take.
Additionally, I'd found that I'd been having trouble doing the basic things, such as getting up in the morning for practice, reading through at least a complete chapter of Zhuan Falun each night, rectifying the environments around me with a righteous mind/field, etc. In my mind, I tell myself "I need to read more," but time and time again, being eager to tackle Dafa work, and ensure it all progresses well and gets done, I've continued to study more as a chore than as precious time that I should treasure. Although, there are times when I study Fa well and break through barriers, more and more I get a sense that I am stumbling through my cultivation rather than progressing diligently in a righteous manner and in accordance with the requirements of Fa-rectification at this time.
Recently, we had an intensive reading session in our area. We read three chapters of Zhuan Falun on the first day. During the first chapter, I was very sleepy and had to struggle through the reading. During the second chapter I continued to be a little sleepy, but my mind became more and more clear. As we read the third chapter, my mind became very sharp. I could once again sense the preciousness of this opportunity to study Fa and the profound ways in which this simple act truly changes my being in profound ways. After that first day, my life completely changed. I felt my being was automatically in the Tao. My thinking was clear and I knew what I needed to be doing. My energy was strong and I did not waver. My mind was calm and clear enough to see each moment as it arose and approach it from the standpoint of a cultivator, rather than just stumbling through the moments of the day, sometimes cultivating, sometimes not, and not terribly clear. We finished reading Zhuan Falun by the early afternoon of the third day. This intensive reading reminded me of how sacred and precious the opportunity to study the Fa is. It is truly a ladder to heaven and the foundation upon which our cultivation and all Dafa work should be built. As Master said in the Washington DC Conference: "Under any circumstance, in any period, and no matter how busy you are with your work, you can't stray from your Fa-study, as this is what fundamentally ensures that you'll continue to improve and reach Consummation. You can't do Dafa work without studying the Fa, or it would be an everyday person doing Dafa work. It has to be Dafa disciples who do Dafa work--this is something required of all of you" (Lecture on the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Conference)
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 4. On Our Mission of Assisting Teacher and the Effects of Practicing the Exercises
By Zhuyun, a Practitioner from China
I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in January of 2000, and was sentenced to two years of forced labor. After walking out of a forced labor camp in February of 2002, I had the honor of getting acquainted with some Dafa practitioners. Among them were a lot of college students and new practitioners. They indeed have done a substantial amount of work to save sentient beings. However, because only a few of them had participated in group study and practice before July 20, 1999, they failed to calm their minds when studying the Fa. Also, while they have been busy doing Dafa work for the past three years, they have neglected practicing the exercises. Some of them even look for excuses not to practice. This may result in affecting their improvement and elevation together as Fa-rectification Dafa disciples. I'm worried for these practitioners; therefore I have written out in this article what I've enlightened to and have put into actual practice. I'm hoping that this will help all practitioners to make improvements.
1. Study the Fa and Cultivate the Mind; Do Not Fail to Complete Our Historic Mission
Study the Fa deeply. Make solid progress one step at a time. Solidly cultivate inwardly. In addition, remove the various attachments we have developed among ordinary people through arduous cultivation practice, so that we can meet the standard of different realms, and so that every single word, every single action, every single thought and even every single cell of ours will melt into the characteristic of the cosmos: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Meanwhile, follow the Fa-rectification's progress closely. Rectify yourself both physically and mentally while assimilating to the Fa, validating the Fa and safeguarding the Fa. Lay a solid foundation for assisting Teacher in rectifying the colossal firmament. Only by doing so can we succeed in our historic mission, and accomplish what Teacher has bestowed upon us when he said,
"...in history's future, everything of yours that is pure and righteous will be what ensures that the colossal firmament has formation and stasis, but not destruction" (from "Congratulatory Statement to the New York Fa Conference"),
"Dafa disciples' performance in the human world is to be left for history. In different historic times of the future, if in the cosmos damage to Dafa occurs or when beings perform differently, how Dafa will rectify the Fa and make everything perfect and indestructible is extremely important" (from "What Are Supernormal Abilities").
In regard to the aforementioned earnest expectations Teacher has for the Fa-rectification Dafa disciples, we must do even better.
2. Practice the Exercises Vigorously; Transform the Body
Teacher installs a Falun for every Dafa disciple, which enables us to cultivate, with emphasis on xinxing [mind nature; moral character] cultivation, following the principles of cosmic evolution, quickly correct any incorrect state in the human body and make it quickly return to its origin - the most primary state.
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference," Teacher clearly states,
"So why, when it comes to cultivators, can a person leave his body? And why can he levitate? It's exactly because your body's matter, which is related to the Earth and is composed of surface-matter particles, has undergone changes. It has severed its connection to the particles in this environment, so you're no longer subject to its cohesive force, and are no longer subject to its restraining and drawing power. That's when you can levitate. So whichever realm you have cultivated to, the composition of your being at the microcosmic level is connected to that realm. When you cultivate to higher levels you will be connected to higher levels and will sever the connections to all levels below."
Therefore, the standard of each realm every Dafa disciple is at has to be met truly and solidly. This is of ultimate importance. This is crucial.
3. Enlighten to the Dao and Practice the Exercises Diligently and the Effect of the Righteous Fa Will Display Its Mighty Power
"Dafa disciples are now sentient beings' only, sole hope for salvation" (from "Righteous Thoughts"). In order to fulfill this important, historic mission, we need to cultivate ourselves so that our bodies display great righteousness, as if our bodies are as strong and sturdy as steel or iron. Therefore, this requires every Dafa disciple, while solidly enlightening to the Dao and cultivating the mind, to also strictly follow the principles and practice methods addressed in The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa: namely, to study the Fa and practice the exercises diligently. With a foundation of an improved xinxing and an elevated level, supernormal abilities can be quickly formed and sustained by strong gong potency. This will enable a practitioner to display at will the divine power of the Buddha Fa, which is incomparably powerful and which is capable of restraining any dimension and eventually achieving the best effect in eradicating evil, repressing the evil and assisting Teacher in the Fa-rectification.
In terms of this, in "What Are Supernormal Abilities" Teacher teaches us,
"As for a cultivator, the higher the level he cultivates to, the greater his abilities. This is because the more levels of cosmos he breaks through, the less and lighter matter's weight on his being is, the stronger his innate abilities (supernormal abilities) are, and the greater the number and the more comprehensive are his abilities that are freed. I have taught in the Fa that in Dafa cultivation one's supernormal abilities are developed the most comprehensively because Dafa disciples are to cultivate to higher levels--the higher the level one breaks through, the more he is freed from matter, and he will thus fully demonstrate his innate abilities (supernormal abilities). Dafa disciples have already been bringing their supernormal abilities into full play in Fa-rectification. For instance, while doing Fa-rectification, when the righteous thoughts are very pure, their supernormal abilities are comprehensively utilized. Moreover, with righteous thoughts many disciples are able to use them at will--whatever they want to use, they almost always have it."
Fa-rectification cultivation is extremely precious, magnificent, incomparably spectacular and great. In addition, Dafa's solemn, serious and strict nature is displayed everywhere. Meanwhile, during my several years of cultivation, I have deeply enlightened to the following: Falun Dafa is fair to every genuine practitioner. Cultivation of Dafa doesn't favor one over another. How high one wants to cultivate to and how high a realm one wants to reach all depends on a cultivator's true thoughts. However great your enlightening, endurance and ability to suffer hardships are, that's how high you'll cultivate to.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 5. When Compassion is Lacking, Complaints Often Fill the Gap
By a Practitioner in Russia
From time to time we all had noticed that some practitioners tend to complain about things during our group discussions. I have also experienced such conditions myself. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to share my understanding of the attachment to "complaining."
Since I was an assistant at our practice site, I often spent a lot of time and effort working on Fa promotion and local organizational issues at the expense of my Fa study. Towards the end of my third year of practicing cultivation, I started to notice that I often got into arguments with my fellow practitioners on issues waiting to be resolved, and I often insisted that my point of view was correct. After a while, I also noticed that some other practitioners also had similar experiences. Whenever we had conflicting opinions at our practice site, some practitioners tended to hastily seek solutions to problems by looking externally. For example, they would call practitioners in another city and ask for help to resolve conflicts, complaining that others were failing to look within. They would wonder why no one wanted to discuss with them, or why others didn't understand their point of view. We must realize that other practitioners cannot serve as "conflict moderators" for us in helping to resolve the problems we come across during our cultivation. How could we ever enlighten to the Fa and raise our levels in cultivation if this was the case?
I realized that Teacher has already taught us in the Fa that we must enlighten to things ourselves in our cultivation and not look externally. We must devote large amounts of time to Fa study and treat Fa study seriously since all the answers to our questions are within the Fa. Cultivation means always raising one's own Xinxing (mind nature), conducting oneself with the high standard of a practitioner, and never deliberately seeking out the shortcomings of fellow practitioners.
The manifestation of the argumentative mind is largely caused by the attachment of fame and the attachment of wanting others to listen to and adopt our own ideas. We are Dafa practitioners and our energy field of compassion should radiate in all directions. People should be happy to be around us and Dafa under the influence of such a compassionate energy field. If our compassion is replaced with "complaining about others," then the opposite will occur and people will not enjoy being near us. Teacher said in the Fa Lecture at the Conference in Singapore: "I'll definitely point them out to you. All of your attachments will be exposed for you. Even if I myself don't point them out to you, I'll have others do so."
I realized that "complaining" is a deeply hidden attachment. Those evil forces that had escaped from the cosmic space cleansed by the Fa-rectification are using this attachment to interfere with Fa-rectification.
Once I noticed such a state of mind in myself, I felt I was no longer qualified to promote the Fa of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" because I was unable to demonstrate the compassion that all Dafa practitioners should possess. I felt my unfriendly attitude could only push people away from Dafa so I voluntarily resigned from the position of assistant so that I could devote more time to Fa study, raise my Xinxing and purify myself.
I feel that there are many different ways to get rid of our attachments through Fa study. We can study the Fa in a group at our practice sites, or can study the Fa by ourselves on a daily basis. What's most important to realize is that only by studying the Fa well can we get rid of our attachments. Back then it was not only I who had "complaints" about other practitioners; several other veteran practitioners at our practice site also had "complaints" as well. Thus it became impossible for us to work together to eradicate our attachments since we did not even have a common language. So I left the practice site temporarily and practiced by myself. This way I could only complain to myself. Since I could not complain to others, I had more time to study the Fa. This way the problem was gradually resolved after a while.
The only way to resolve the problem was to intensify Fa study. Regardless if I was at home or at work, I would study the Fa whenever I had time. Each day I would study 2 --3 chapters of Zhuan Falun, and some days I would study 4 chapters. After two months, I noticed that I had become more compassionate. I no longer had the urge to insist on my own opinions and it became much simpler when I tried to convey my own ideas with others. Half a year later, I noticed that whenever I tried to talk to my fellow practitioners, there was one thought that came first, "Do not force your ideas upon others; let them decide what to do based on their own understanding and enlightenment level." Thus after a whole year of intensified Fa study, compassion replaced enmity. Now I feel that I am again fit to promote the Fa to others.
I decided to share my own experience in this regard because I noticed that some of the practitioners who first demonstrated such attachments to "complaint" have still not made improvements and have not elevated their levels in this regard. Even though they work hard in clarifying the truth and promoting the Fa, they spend very little time studying the Fa. This has caused them to linger in the same cultivation level for a long time without being able to see this attachment, which can only cause damage to Dafa. I have realized that how much a practitioner does is not as important as having the heart of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" when he does it. Furthermore, whether we have learned how to look inwards throughout our cultivation, whether we rid ourselves of our attachments of "complaint" as well as our impatience with fellow practitioners and our arrogance, selfishness and tendency to argue as soon as possible is also very important.
I hope my own experience can be of help to those practitioners who have exhibited this similar attachment to complaining. On the other hand, I believe that we must never forget one important point: all practitioners have their own levels of enlightenment and Xinxing. We all hope other practitioners can enlighten as quickly as possible and improve, so sometimes we try to force them to understand and want them to understand what we have enlightened to. This is exactly the excuse used by the attachment to complaining. We often like to force other practitioners to enlighten to what we think is correct, but perhaps others would need some time to enlighten the way we did because of their karma and other attachments.
Personally, I believe that whenever we discover that we do not meet the requirement of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," we must be sure not to let our human sentimentality get in the way and not seek externally. The causes of conflicts (though the old forces also interfere with us) are right here within us. Teacher has constantly imparted to us that we must learn to look within. So whenever we encounter conflicts amongst ourselves, we must really settle down and study the Fa, and seriously strive to fill our hearts and surroundings with the radiance of compassion, even if we have to temporarily drop some of the tasks at hand.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 6. My Understanding of Why Interference Occurs
By a Dafa Practitioner in China
Why does interference occur? Because the old forces are using excuses generated from their corrupt notions. We have experienced brutal persecution again and again since July 20, 1999 and lived through lies and rumors being spread all over the world. While we deny the arrangements of the old forces, we should also actively deny the old forces themselves. My understanding of Buddhas safeguarding the cosmos is that they take an active role in doing it. The ever-rotating Falun is also actively rectifying anything unrighteous. Since Dafa disciples, Dafa particles, are the most righteous form of being and matter, we ought to actively eliminate the poison of evil. For example, the symptoms of illness are only surface manifestations. Evil beings existing in other dimensions are the fundamental cause. If we fail to recognize and eliminate them with righteous minds, they will produce more troubles and symptoms, thus poisoning sentient beings.
I think what has happened recently is due to the following factor: We Dafa disciples as a whole haven't really positioned ourselves correctly from the rational perspective. That is, we haven't recognized our greatness and responsibility, nor have we balanced relations with the old forces well, and broken away from the mentality that Dafa disciples are being tested. In fact, Dafa disciples are in charge, rather than subjects to be tested. Our cultivation is not to perform to the satisfaction of the old forces in the tests arranged by them rather it is a process of assimilating to Dafa. The tests imposed upon us by the old force should not have altered our cultivation. We are not to live up to their standards.
During the Fa-rectification period, looking within oneself is not a way to avoid persecution or to improve one's level. It itself is Fa-rectification. We all remember that a high-ranking government official in China was turned bad by the old forces. Had we improved ourselves and gotten rid of the attachment, the old forces probably wouldn't have had excuses to make him bad. If so, their arrangement of history with respect to this issue would have been denied. The related matters and factors that were arranged to have negative effects would have been rectified. Thus, while we were eliminating the evil, the related beings would have been brought to the right decision benevolently. Looking within oneself is very important. Each and every one of us Dafa disciples has various factors corresponding to ourselves in the Fa-rectification period. When we do well, we will be able to save and benevolently resolve the fates of the beings that are related to us. In this way we can consistently perfect ourselves and live up to the standards of a Dafa disciple. Then we will be able to save ourselves and other people, just like the characteristics of Falun when rotating inwards and outwards. Wherever we are, we will emit the purest light. "The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities." (Zhuan Falun) We are supposed to harmonize the environment. For example, Dafa disciples are the leading characters in a play, while other sentient beings have supporting roles. A disciple who's stuck on a specific problem or at a certain level will not be able to prevent the failure of the salvation of the beings, who the old forces arranged to have negative effects on him and test him. If they are not being saved, they will commit more crimes against Dafa, or they will just repeat the same acts. If the practitioner has a strong righteous mind and lives up to the requirements of Dafa for him at that level, he will break away from the arrangement of the old forces and display the power of Dafa. Thus the sentient beings involved in that matter would be saved and their situations benevolently resolved. I feel that looking within oneself has a profound meaning, including dissolving misunderstandings or insufficient understandings of the Fa and looking at things with a righteous mind. Looking within oneself is to examine oneself in accordance with Dafa and cultivate oneself up to the standards of the indestructible Fa of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
The above is my own enlightenment limited to my current level. Any correction is welcome.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 7. Beware of the Evil's Assault on Fa Study
A Western Practitioner in Canada
In my cultivation path I have witnessed the evil's attack. It is a systematic attack that can target the most veteran practitioners to the newest at any time. Recently, many practitioners have shared how they were attacked. Some had vicious attacks of sickness or crippling pain. Others battle laziness or bouts of anger and frustration. However, no matter how the evil tries to attack, I feel its mission is a focused and fundamental attack on the one thing it knows that can defeat it. Master has continued to tell us over and over again about the one and only way we can strengthen righteous thoughts and truly and fundamentally eliminate the evil. This is studying Zhuan Falun. I feel the systematic and fundamental mission of the evil is to keep us away from studying the Fa.
As new articles come out I sometimes feel ashamed when I see that Master has to tell us about our shortcomings several times in more that one article. It is because as one body we haven't learned the lesson that could be affecting the whole body and the Fa rectification. Still, Master continues to compassionately tell us what we have to do in order to improve.
In past articles Master usually didn't point out our mistakes more than twice, three times at most. However, since the beginning of my cultivation I have constantly read in almost every article Master telling us over and over again to study the Fa. "Study the Fa more." "You can't forget Fa study." "Don't neglect Fa study" "You must study the Fa a lot."
TAt this stage of Fa rectification our time is most precious, and in the blink of an eye the weeks continue to go by. I look around at my own environment and I see that I am so busy. I look back over the past year and ask myself, "Am I busier than I was last year? Do I have more Dafa work to do? Am I involved in more projects? Am I involved in more ideas? Do I have more fires to put out? Am I flooded with more emails to read and respond to?" The answer is "Yes."
I then ask myself, "Am I reading Zhuan Falun more than I was last year? Do I study the Fa more each day? Am I taking more time and more focus to study the Fa? Do I truly set aside more precious time to really study the Fa? The answer is definitely no.
I feel this is a blatant attack from the evil. It is similar to demonic interference in cultivation as stated in Zhuan Falun, where everything comes and tries to stop someone from practicing cultivation in order to keep his level down.
Some practitioners tell me how much they read Dafa websites. They read everyday for two hours. They then tell me they wish they had more time to read the book. Others say they try to find time to read but they are so busy with Dafa work. They tell me the reason they do so much Dafa work is because they can see immediate results from the things they create, which they can use to clarify the truth to people. They also wish they had more time to read the book. I feel it doesn't make a difference how much time we had. If we don't fundamentally change our thinking, we will never get around to reading more. There will always be more and more to do.
A practitioner shared her understanding with me. She feels that Zhuan Falun is the new cosmos. When we read Zhuan Falun we assimilate to the principles of the new cosmos, we become the new cosmos. The old forces have ruled the world for millions of years. We have all lived within the old forces for thousands of years and in this lifetime our consciousness has been dictated by the old forces ever since we were born. How can we possibly break through any of the old force arrangements if we ourselves don't fully assimilate to the new cosmos as much as we possibly can? When we read Zhuan Falun we are eliminating the attachments that keep us chained to the old forces.
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.", Master says, "Of course, each one of our Dafa disciples says that we don't recognize the old forces' arrangements, but that's not something you just say--you have to follow the requirements of Dafa and the Fa-rectification. "I absolutely will not acknowledge any of those things you arranged in the past, old forces. I don't even acknowledge you." When your righteous thoughts are very strong you can purge it and you can reject their arrangements."
I used to read the book, looking to enlighten to new principles and deeper meanings. This in itself was not only a pursuit but was fundamentally off. In my understanding the desire to enlighten to deeper principles of the Fa won't fundamentally change my being. I take the example of the old forces. It is comprised of many extremely high level beings that have enlightened to high principles themselves. However, they continue to persecute and go against the Fa. Why is this? It is because their attachments to this undertaking have warped their very nature. When I search for principles I keep my focus away from the more fundamental plan of eliminating my own attachments. It is when I can truly find my omissions by reading the Fa and eliminate them through cultivation that I truly feel my levels raise within the new cosmos.
Master says that we can't be everyday people doing Dafa work. We must be Dafa disciples who do Dafa work. In my understanding it is because when we don't study the Fa we are using all the old force arrangements to dictate our every thought and every action. Of course we can't sit back and do nothing until we all reach the ultimate enlightenment state. This is not possible. However, Master tells us if we do what we are supposed to do, everything will be covered. In my understanding a big part of this is studying Zhuan Falun.
One night I sat down to study Zhuan Falun. I felt I had lost a lot of time in my Fa study over the months and it would take a lot to catch up. I had a restless feeling because I still had so many things to do. Some things I was excited about, others I didn't want to do but had too. I actually stood by my chair and stared at Zhuan Falun on my coffee table. I didn't pick it up. I felt as if there was some force keeping me away from sitting and reading. The restlessness, the excitement, my emails, my projects! I stopped and looked inside my head. At that moment I saw it. I recognized it and said to it, "You are so eliminated! I finally see you and your power is gone!" I then sat and started to study Zhuan Falun. It was a great and powerful reading experience.
After I finished I went upstairs to continue my work. My mind was clear and I felt focused and alert. I started to chop away at all my responsibilities. I found that all the things I had to get done got done faster when I read. If I don't read the stress, frustration and procrastination set in, and I find my ideas are messy and usually not within the Fa.
We all know this principle. The fact is Master has given us so many chances to upgrade our levels before this time is over. I feel we must finally put our Fa study first and foremost. We must listen to our Teacher and truly put the effort into studying Zhuan Falun. Only then will we be able to fundamentally destroy the evil and fundamentally clarify the truth. Without this we may miss this precious chance. We may look for salvation in doing more and more things. Our attachments will forever remain buried and we may crawl within the boundaries delimited by levels of our own ignorance.
"Your righteous thoughts and everything you accomplish come from the Fa, so no matter how busy you are, don't neglect Fa-study." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
(Clearwisdom.net)
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- 8. Purify Our Every Thought - How Much Are We Following Old Force Arrangements?
By a practitioner in China
Recently when I shared with fellow Dafa practitioners how some practitioners suffered tremendous persecution after being arrested and broke out of the evil's den, I discovered that I had a lot of unrighteous thoughts during the conversations, and that I had been virtually following the old forces' arrangements.
For example, my first thought was that one has to endure once he enters the evil's place. I took the persecution for granted. I did not use righteous thoughts to evaluate the issue, and distinguish that this is an abnormal notion. Another example: I felt that if the practitioner can endure the persecution and is able to endure all kinds of persecution while in tribulation, he is really worth admiring. Indeed, those who can break the tribulation with their firm righteous thoughts are great. But have I accepted the evil persecution and its tests on Dafa practitioners in my thoughts?
Our cultivation is connected with Fa-rectification. Our mission is to assist Teacher in Fa-rectification and to save people. Enduring persecution does not manifest our greatness. Let's ask ourselves: when we have so many attachments, how can we do a good job for Dafa? When practitioners around us appear to have symptoms of severe "disease karma," we sometimes only discovered and the superficial reasons why, and did not find the root cause. Why is it necessary for me to see the problem? Isn't there some aspect included in this for me to improve? Isn't it true that the persecution against an individual is the persecution against the whole body, and against Dafa? Am I able to do my best to send forth pure, righteous thoughts to help fellow practitioners to break through the tribulation? Aren't such indifference and nonchalance the attachments that I have to get rid of? Where is my compassion? Am I not virtually accepting such persecution?
Sometimes these abnormal notions made me think that going out to validate Dafa is dangerous, and I thought about how to get rid of the danger by using human ideas and degenerate notions to judge how to deal with the tribulation, and how to hide from it. In fact, all of these are degenerate phenomenon, and arranged by the old forces. Our Teacher said,
"As soon as that kind of thought emerges, the evil might conjure a false image for you, and this will then cause interference." (Guiding the Voyage - Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference)
"As true practitioners, we should look at issues from a very high level instead of from the perspective of everyday people. Should you believe that you are ill, this may really cause you to become ill. This is because once you assume that you are ill, your xinxing level will be as high as that of everyday people. Qigong practice and true cultivation practice will not lead to illness, particularly under this condition. It is known that what actually causes people to become ill is seventy percent psychological and thirty percent physiological. Typically, if one experiences a mental breakdown, the mind cannot handle it, and one suffers a heavy mental burden before the illness' condition drastically worsens. It is usually like this."
[...]
"If you always believe that you are ill, you will probably make yourself sick as a result. Because your xinxing has dropped to the level of everyday people, an average person will, of course, have illnesses."
[...]
"As a practitioner, if you always think that it is an illness, you are actually asking for it. If you ask for an illness, it will come inside your body. As a practitioner, your xinxing level should be high. You should not always worry that it is an illness, for this fear of illness is an attachment and it can bring you trouble just the same."
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 6)
In fact, many tribulations come from our unrighteous thoughts. If you always think there are dangers, you may encounter danger. Teacher lectured on this issue, writing,
"It is precisely because of one's ill intentions that one brings to oneself bad things."
[...]
"One righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils."
(Zhuan Falun, Lecture 3)
Many tribulations come from our pursuit. Thus, eliminating abnormal notions and purifying each and every thought of ours is crucial.
I also often mention negating the old forces' arrangement, but if I don't correct my thoughts and distinguish which is part of the old forces, it would be very hard to negate the old forces' arrangement. Only with righteous thoughts and righteous actions, studying the Fa more, following Teacher's requirement and purifying every thought of ours at all times can we break the old forces' arrangement and save more people on a larger scale.
(Clearwisdom.net)
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