Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Dafa Practitioners Should Not Slack Off
- The Issue: Slacking Off
- Break through Divisions among Practitioners Caused by Evil Interference
- The Power of Kindness
- Another Level of the Meaning of "Righteousness"
- Get Rid of the Pursuit of Comfort and Overcome Sickness Karma
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the April 2011 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
In this issue, we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles gleaned 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."
Top
- 2. What’s Happening?
The Bangalore practitioners have been visiting different malls during the weekends to clarify the truth. They have been holding banners, distributing flyers and clarifying the truth to people visiting the malls. The mall managers have been extending their support and help.
A practitioner from Bangalore has been participating in several student forums in different parts of the country. He has been clarifying the truth and also getting the petitions signed.
Top
- 3. Dafa Practitioners Should Not Slack Off
A young Dafa practitioner
(PureInsight.org)
Recently, I often considered accomplishing Dafa projects as cultivation. Whenever finishing something that validates the Fa, I wanted to take a break and relax for a while by visiting everyday websites, shopping, playing games, or watching movies. After reading several experience sharing articles from practitioners recently, I regretted this situation, and decided to do better in Fa study and doing the three things. However, my progress was slow and the interference was severe. Every time I had to send forth righteous thoughts to clean up the degenerated substances that were interfering with me.
When sending forth righteous thoughts today, however, I found the root cause of why I could not resist the temptation from the everyday society’s entertainment. That is, I have had a human notion since a very young age—whenever finishing something important, I deserve a break. This notion made me stumble many times on my cultivation path, as cultivation is very serious. In “Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Master said, “When I teach the Fa infrequently though, what worries me most is not the hardships or ordeals you face, which you know to be plenty hard. They are not the hardest thing; after all, however trying hardship may be, it's over after you get through it, and at that point things are clear to you. Rather, to quietly cultivate in bleak loneliness, unable to see hope, is the hardest of all. Doing any form of cultivation entails undergoing a trial such as this and a path with such features. Only if one can persevere and continually forge ahead does it amount to true diligence. It's easy to talk about, but putting it into action is tremendously difficult. That is why it's said that always cultivating as if you were just starting will surely result in achieving your ultimate rank.” These words of Master opened my thinking, making me wonder why I had not been able to consistently focus on things that need to be done. That is, I have to remain diligent all the time and always follow Master's requirements; otherwise, the old forces may take advantage of my loopholes.
I remember there were some experience sharing articles that remind practitioners not to be interfered with by the relaxed atmosphere. Rather, we should let go of the attachment to comfort and take on more responsibilities to validate the Fa. Every day of a Dafa disciple is precious, since there are many things to do. Facing such great responsibilities, how can we pursue comfort like an everyday person? In fact, the most comfortable state for us is to completely assimilate ourselves to the Fa, do the three things well and use every minute to validate the wonderfulness of Dafa. Were we to indulge ourselves as everyday people, we are ruining ourselves and are destroying sentient beings. Therefore, we should view things as cultivators. Only by remaining diligent and fulfilling our responsibilities can we repay Master's compassionate salvation.
Top
- 4. The Issue: Slacking Off
Wuchen
(PureInsight.org)
During discussions, we often talk about the issue of diligence. Many practitioners, including myself, sometimes complain about why we are unable to remain diligent and then find several reasons. It seems that we know all this from the Fa, but are still unable to overcome it. Right after the discussions, the situation might be better for a few days, but then would go back to usual. To fundamentally solve this problem, I would like to discuss this in detail.
One reason is laziness. After waking up in the morning, we often want to sleep for a few more minutes instead of getting up immediately for exercises. As a result, we fall back to sleep again. Without sufficient exercises, we lack energy for the whole day, causing a vicious cycle. Laziness results from the attachment to comfort. Thus, a lot of time is wasted instead of being spent on doing the three things.
The second reason is lust. This issue is often seen because we are living in the everyday society. Regardless of being married or single, this imposes a major challenge, especially to young practitioners. Because the environment at large is degenerated, there is temptation everywhere. Whatever we see or hear might bring up an attachment that interferes with us doing the three things. After discussing this many times, I found that the fundamental issue is not being married vs. being single, but instead whether or not one can completely let go of the desire. Imagine ancient practitioners who went to mountain caves to cultivate, they may still face this issue of lust in their mind. Therefore, the critical thing here is whether we have strong will power, and whether we can completely let go of such thoughts.
The third reason is thought karma. It happens to some practitioners that, whenever we want to do the three things, there are many negative thoughts surfacing. As a result, we spend lots of effort resolving the conflicts in our mind. Let us take writing an article as an example. One may be afraid that he or she is not good at writing, that there are not enough things to write about, or it is hard to organize the materials. These struggles delay the article writing again and again. Writing articles, in fact, is also related to one’s cultivation. Only when doing it can one find ones shortcomings and rectify them with the Fa. It is also a process of becoming enlightened, that is, a process of improvement. The old forces pay close attention to every thought of ours, and they try to take advantage of every loophole that we have.
I think the best way of eliminating thought karma is to recite the Fa and write articles. In this way, we fill every cell with the Fa and eliminate any thought inconsistent with the Fa. Whether it is lust or any other type of attachment, we should pay attention to it and completely eliminate it. When our mind becomes pure, our wisdom will naturally emerge. We will then be able to handle things smoothly and remain diligent.
When digging further, we may find dozens or even hundreds of reasons that keep us from being diligent. However, the above-mentioned reasons may be the major ones that hinder us from making steady progress. In addition, the cultivation environment Master left to us is one for us to improve together. Therefore, when incorporating ourselves into one body, and consistently comparing ourselves to other practitioners and the Fa, we will be able to find our gaps and thus catch up quickly. Loneliness is an attachment that weakens our will and, when that happens, thought karma is more rampant in interfering with us. Therefore, only when forming one body and focusing on doing the three things can we rectify the environment and remain diligent.
Top
- 5. Break through Divisions among Practitioners Caused by Evil Interference
By a practitioner from Mainland China
(Clearwisdom.net)
There have been conflicts and division among fellow
practitioners in my area for the past several years. This has caused internal
friction, prevented us from forming an indestructible body and has stopped us
from doing the well. As a result, we are unable to keep
up with the progress of Fa-rectification.
The specific manifestations of the division among fellow practitioners were:
When some practitioners did not agree with the coordinators, they did not talk
about it with the coordinators directly, but instead they complained to other
practitioners and even coordinators of other areas. In the end the problems
became worse.
Such incidents have been occurring consistently for the past few years,
especially with coordinators. We got stuck in conflicts while trying to solve
conflicts. As a result, a lot of precious time that should have spent on saving
sentient beings was taken away by this interference of the old forces.
In my opinion, there were old-force factors and rotten demons behind all of
those things; their purpose is to get us stuck in conflicts to the point of
being unable to step back from them. The more practitioners get involved in the
conflict, the wider the scope and the happier the old forces are. This
effectively prevents us from being unable to focus on doing the three things
well. Most of the practitioners involved were coordinators and they usually were
responsible for multiple projects. As they spend a lot of time solving problems,
they do not set aside enough time for Fa study and lose the focus on saving
sentient beings. They are then being driven by the old forces.
Why did we have such interference? Of course they are ultimately our own
problems. Practitioners have attachments that they should get rid of. The old
force factors magnified these attachments, especially the most serious ones:
jealousy, the competitive mentality, the attachment to validating oneself and
blaming/judging others, etc. Some practitioners have an attachment to suspicion,
and the evil magnified it to cause the practitioners' imaginations to run wild,
suspect others, and be unable to honestly express themselves in group
discussions. The old forces take advantage of such attachments to create
conflicts and division. Other practitioners usually cannot see through the old
forces' tricks to the real factors behind them. It is then easy to think badly
of a given fellow practitioner, but in fact a human notion was being magnified
by the old forces and the fellow practitioner was driven by an attachment. We
should be clear that fellow practitioner's intentions are good and it is the
human notions that are bad and part of postnatal concepts. It is the old forces,
not the fellow practitioner, that is creating trouble.
So we should deny the old forces' arrangements. As the evil beings are most
scared of being exposed; let us then open our hearts and let fellow
practitioners know what's on our minds. We need to first look inside and see
what attachments the old forces have exploited in us. The old forces are not
scared of our conflicts; let us not be fooled again. When we run into problems,
we should find the attachment and get rid of it, and then we should focus on
sending forth strong righteous thoughts and eliminate the real culprits
altogether: The old forces' interfering factors, rotten demons, and Communist
specter. We should be of one mind in this regard, eliminate any interference,
make good use of our time, stick to the theme of saving sentient beings and do
well the three things to fulfill our prehistoric oaths.
As my level is limited, please point out anything inappropriate.
Top
- 6. The Power of Kindness
By Zhizhen
(Clearwisdom.net)
Virtue is the nature of conscience bestowed on humans by Heaven, and it is the most beautiful element in the essence of a human life. So, the most important thing for a man is to maintain kindness and keep improving his morality. A true gentleman likes to read good books and do good deeds. Not only that, he will also encourage and promote kind deeds in public and teach others to do the same so that people will become enlightened and live in peace and prosperity based on Heaven's principles and the righteous way. That is why an ancient saying stated, "The real gentleman is one who treats others with kindness." Examples of ancients offering advice on kind deeds are countless. The following are but a few.
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C-476 B.C), when Zi Lu of the state of Lu went to see Confucius for the first time, he was wearing a feather on his head to show his arrogance and belligerence. But after Confucius told him about the virtue of modesty, he was moved and willingly changed into students' clothes, and started to learn etiquette from Confucius. Teaching him how to be a gentleman and an official, Confucius said, "Loyalty is most important for a gentleman. For a gentleman, bravery with no loyalty is disorder; for a petty person, bravery with no loyalty is theft. A gentleman seeks the way not the food, and he worries about the way not the poverty. An official must be a good example for others; he must never be lax in working hard and caring for the people." Zi Lu followed Confucius on a tour of states, promoting ethics, and his own realm of mind kept transcending. He was faithful to his teacher and devoted to his state. "Zi Lu is always pleased to learn about his mistakes and never hesitates to redress them, and that's called 'progresses,'" Confucius praised him. Later Zi Lu became an important official in Puyi County. Three years after he started governing the county with etiquette and music, Puyi turned into a peaceful and prosperous land, and the people there were all respectful of one another. Confucius attributed it all to his student's kindness.
Wu Qianjin of Shanyou in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was a muscular and aggressive man. As a martial arts master, he tended to use his quick fists against anyone who happened to cross his path. He grabbed others' property or money at will, and everyone was afraid of him. One hot day, he went up to a terrace to cool off. People were all terrified when they saw him coming up, and disappeared. But one old man stayed, fearless. Wu Qianjin said domineeringly, "Everyone left but you, so you think I am not a good enough martial arts master, eh?" "You are completely mistaken," replied the old man. "Your parents raised you, hoping that you would be useful to your nation. You are an expert in martial arts, and yet you never think of how to contribute to your country; rather, you are satisfied to be scum. The country has one less talented person. What a pity! What a pity!" Upon hearing the old man's words, Wu Qianjin said in remorseful tears, "Everyone around me said I was a bad guy, so I regarded myself as a bad guy. Your words today were like the sounds of the morning bell and evening drum, waking me up from my sleep. But I've been a bad person for so long now, I wonder if I can ever become a real gentleman even if I wanted to. It's like an eclipsed moon--hard to become round again." The old man said, "If you were serious about amending your ways and started cultivating yourself and being a good person, I don't see why you couldn't." From then on Wu Qianjin changed and started working for his country. Later he became Deputy Marshal of the army and was well respected and praised for his professional command and love of the people.
An ancient saying stated, "It's human to err, but to correct that error is an act of great kindness." To teach with virtue and to change with kindness may inspire people to reflect on the real meaning of human life and other ethics-related issues such as how to show love to others and avoid being lost in the pursuit of self-interest and pleasures. The power of kindness is tremendous, because it is omnipresent and capable of changing one's heart from its very core. It guides people in their pursuit and practice of truth, leads them back to their conscience, encourages them to make good and right choices, and dissolves everything that's unrighteous.
Top
- 7. Another Level of the Meaning of "Righteousness"
By a Falun Dafa practitioner
(Clearwisdom.net)
Recently, I experienced interference while preparing materials to about the persecution in China. I think the gaps in my are one of the reasons, but it is also because the evil forces are struggling on their last legs as the truth of the persecution is exposed. During this period I constantly looked for ways to improve my xinxing and found a number of human notions that I didn't realize existed. They are more clear to me now, based on the principles. However, I found that the inference continued. Although sending forth righteous thoughts did effectively disintegrate the evil and eliminate the interference, as soon as I stopped sending forth righteous thought and started working on truth-clarification materials, the interference would come again. For instance, the power would go out while I was making copies.
Thus, I was trapped in a state of frustration and anxiety. I was very worried and wondered why I could not get out of this state. I also frequently asked Master to give me hints.
Several days ago, words from Master's article, "Expounding on the Fa," suddenly appeared in my mind,
"If it continues endlessly and if there do not exist other problems in your xinxing or conduct, it must be that the evil demons are capitalizing on the weak spots caused by your lack of control. After all, a cultivator is not an ordinary human. So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?"
These words really got my full attention and I began to study the article right away.
Through studying "Expounding on the Fa" again and again, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the Fa principles. I realized that I have always been in a passive state prior to tribulations, as if I don't have any divine capabilities and could only react to the evil. This notion is exactly the state of a human being. Can a great divine being be manipulated by the evil and yet feel helpless? Would a divine being feel he is impotent? Would a divine being be afraid of the evil? Would a divine being passively bear the tribulation and passively look for or depend on others' help? I do not think so. Only humans would get confused, feel helpless, and not know what to do; this is because humans are very weak and at the same time cannot see the truth. On the other hand, a great divine being always has a strong righteous mind, and with his boundless wisdom, he will be able to see through any tricks of the evil forces and thus completely disintegrate them. Divine beings will never hesitate. Divine beings' minds are firm and steady.
As soon as I realized this, I suddenly felt that the answers to many questions became clear. Thinking back on July 20, 1999 (when the persecution officially began), wasn't it because our righteous thoughts were not strong enough, and we hesitated and did not know what to do when facing the unexpected persecution, that the persecution could occur? Today there are still many practitioners who are in prison and are not able to get out; is it partly because of the existence of these passive factors? Can these passive factors and lack of confidence be considered a state of "righteousness?"
If these conditions are not right, but we are still quietly bearing them, aren't we acknowledging these wrong conditions in a different form? If we acknowledged these wrong conditions, how can we say that we are righteous?
Master said, "A Buddha is a defender of the universe." ("Teaching the Fa at the International Experience-Sharing Conference in Beijing") Looking at ourselves, aren't we trying to cultivate to Buddhahood? Then aren't we supposed to maintain and protect the truth of the universe and other positive factors? Are any of the tricks used by the evil, as well as the so-called "taking advantage of the gaps," positive things? Are so-called "tribulations or tests" by the evil acknowledged by Dafa? If not, can we tacitly approve them under any condition?
I feel that now I have a new understanding on "what is righteousness" as well as how to walk a righteous path. At the same time, I also have deeper thoughts and a better understanding of my mission.
I have written this article with the hope that it will encourage fellow practitioners who have been under tribulation for a long period of time. I hope that we can all share with each other, improve together, eliminate the interference by the evil, and hurry in saving sentient beings. These are just my personal understandings, and if there is anything not in accordance with the Fa, please kindly point them out.
Master also said in " Expounding on the Fa",
"As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and have prevented them from doing Fa-rectification."
I understood that all these are due to the lack of Fa-study and the lack of improvement in xinxing and understanding of Fa-principles. Thus, I am determined to study the Fa more. I would also like to remind fellow practitioners to place more importance on Fa-study.
Top
- 8. Get Rid of the Pursuit of Comfort and Overcome Sickness Karma
By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Zhaoyuan County, Shandong Province
(Clearwisdom.net)
Recently when I am passing a test, Master's words, "When great is the ordeal, keep steadfast The will to be diligent never bowed" ("Steadfast" in Volume II) greatly encourages me and lets me enlighten to principles and see my own attachments.
I'm 65 years old this year. I had an incurable disease and the hospital said I would only live for a few more days. Most fortunately, I joined the cultivation practice of Falun Dafa. Several days after I started practicing Falun Dafa, Master pulled me back from the edge of death. I thank Master and am determined to progress diligently and firmly cultivate myself.
As time has gone by, in recent years I started to pursue comfort. I went out shopping in the mornings, played a while with neighbors in the afternoon, and watched TV at night. I was not diligent about study, practicing the exercises, or doing the . My understanding of the Fa was not deep, and I didn't realize it when I drifted away from the Fa. Master gave me hints several times. In my dreams, I could not find my home. Several times the evil rushed at me. When I watched TV, it malfunctioned, but I still could not enlighten. A few days ago, I started to run a high fever right after I took a shower. In the evening, I had many symptoms. Something seemed to be pushing on my heart, liver, and intestinal tract. I could not bend my legs. The tribulation pierced deeply into my heart. I constantly cried, "Falun Dafa is great! Master save me!" At this time Master's Fa appeared in my brain: "Whatever you experience during your cultivation--whether good or bad--is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating." ("To the Chicago Fa Conference") and "Any time some kind of interference comes along in your practice, you have to look within for the cause and find what it is you still haven't let go of." ("The Sixth Talk" in )
One thing I enlightened to was that, in recent years, my pursuit of comfort has been very strong, and I have accumulated much karma. I have constantly apologized to Master and constantly firmed my own righteous thoughts. My body was purified by Master a long time ago. I knew it was not disease, it was tribulation. When it really hurt, I wanted to lie down to be a little bit more comfortable, but I immediately realized: lying down is for ordinary people, and I'll never be able to get up again. I meditated and sent forth righteous thoughts every hour. I started to be able to do the lotus position and then I was firmer and started to quietly recite Master's Fa: "When great is the ordeal, keep steadfast The will to be diligent never bowed" ("Steadfast" from Hong Yin Volume II) Bursts of pain tortured me until 9 o'clock at night, when another practitioner called and asked me to send forth righteous thoughts at a certain jail at 7:30 the next morning. I agreed at once. "Fine!" I said. Just a word--"fine"--and the pain and fever diminished a great deal after a short while.
The next day I talked about this with the other practitioner on the way to the jail. That practitioner said, "When you are tested, as long as you're firm, Master really takes care of us!" After I got back in the afternoon, the fever returned, and my internal organs started to hurt again. I felt as if my heart and lungs were being torn. I knew Master was continuing to eliminate karma for me. Without suffering greatly, how could I get rid of my pursuit of comfort and accumulated karma? I thought, "I can take this, I'm not going to care about the pain." I repeatedly recited Master's . I meditated and sent forth righteous thoughts. I planned to clarify the truth after dawn. After breakfast, I loaded some materials and went to my neighbor's home. I persuaded five people to quit the CCP right away. The tribulations came one after another in the next several days, and I treated all of them as good things. I insisted on studying the Fa and sending forth the righteous thoughts. I went back to my hometown to persuade people to quit the CCP and continued doing the three things. Gradually the tribulations went away. Master saved me once again.
I deeply felt that, because we are cultivating among ordinary people, we need to remember that we are Falun Dafa disciples all of the time. We need to get rid of the pursuit of comfort and the other ordinary people's thoughts and believe in Master and the Fa. And we need to do this well: "It's hard to endure, but you can endure it. It's hard to do, but you can do it." ("The Ninth Talk" in Zhuan Falun) This way you'll feel "the shade of willows, the blooms of flowers, a place to rest my head."
Top |