FALUN DAFA India Newsletter for May 2011

FALUN DAFA - INDIA
TRUTHFULNESS - COMPASSION - FORBEARANCE

Newsletter for May 2011

Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:

Welcome

What’s Happening?

Study the Fa Well and Look Inside

Learning from Traditional Roles How to Better Cooperate Within the One Body

Studying the Fa is the Requirement of a Practitioner's Heart

Always Maintain the Thought, “I Am a Dafa Disciple”

Understanding “Great Way Has No Form”

A Lesson Learned from the Attachment of Seeking Comfort

1. Welcome: Welcome to the May 2011 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.

We come to another milestone – Our Revered Master’s Birthday and the World Falun Dafa Day.

On this occasion it would be appropriate to recall Master’s message for the First India Fa Conference:

...I hope that India's Dafa disciples may be like those of other nationalities, study the Fa well and abundantly--and do so frequently--become true cultivators of Dafa, and shoulder the responsibility of helping Dafa to spread widely and save sentient beings.

How many of us can put our hands to our heart and honestly say that we have been studying the Fa well and doing it frequently? Shouldn’t we wake up and become more diligent and fulfill our vows to Master?

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."

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2. What’s Happening?: April 16 and 17 was an experience sharing and Fa study Conference at a school in Bangalore which was a great learning experience on how we could do better. The students were quite focused and shared their understanding of the Fa which was very impressive.

Practitioners from Hyderabad introduced Falun Dafa to 500 Central Reserve Polce Force (CRPF) in their Head quarters in Hyderabad.

Practitioners from Hyderabad also introduced Falun Dafa to businessmen from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at the Chamber of Commerce in Chennai.

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3. Study the Fa Well and Look Inside By a Dafa practitioner in Mainland China

(Clearwisdom.net) I would like to take the opportunity to report to our benevolent Master about my experiences of improving myself through studying the Fa well and looking inside for insufficiencies.

1. Study the Fa well

Every true practitioner knows well the importance of studying the Fa, no matter if it is during individual cultivation period or in the Fa-rectification period. One must study the Fa if one wants to persistently cultivate Dafa. Without studying the Fa, one can not breakthrough the evil and the lies, discard attachments nor can one persistently uphold righteous thoughts and righteous deeds. Master taught us time after time that we must study the Fa over and over, and that the Fa is all-powerful.

I started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. From Master's teachings, I learned that Dafa practitioners in Changchun City were memorizing the Fa. I came to understand that Master's wish is that we should memorize the Fa. I then started to do so. I experienced much interference from thought karma and from my ordinary viewpoints. I rejected the interference and kept on with the memorization. In half a year, I had recited Zhuan Falun for the first time. Afterwards, I started from the beginning again. I went through and recited the book eight or nine times, and Master's other teachings several times, before the persecution began in 1999. During that period, Master's teaching often appeared in my mind and even at times when I woke up from sleep, I found my brain was reciting the Fa. I felt that I was improving rapidly.

Because I paid great attention to study the Fa well, when I was illegally arrested by the CCP, I was still able to immerse myself in the Fa, and was able to distinguish between righteousness and evil; between truth and lies. I was able to walk my path with a clear mind. Certainly, when studying the Fa one must be with a focused mind and should not do it simply as a formality. Master said,

"Don't just go through the motions when you study the Fa. You should study with a concentrated mind, and you must really be studying." ("To the Australia Fa Conference", November 18, 2006)

When I was reciting the Fa with a peaceful mind, I felt that all the surroundings seemed not to exist anymore and I found that not only my physical body and the depths of my mind were memorizing the Fa but my bodies in all the different dimensions were also memorizing the Fa. Each and every word of the Fa appeared in front of my eyes and I could memorize a sentence of the Fa in a flash. While I was memorizing the Fa, I often suddenly burst into tears, moved by Master's boundless Buddha grace. Human language is not able to describe this kind of magnificence and wonder. For a Dafa practitioner whose mind is filled with the Fa, how could the evil move his will? How could the evil move Dafa? All the evil can do is to fear and they can obtain nothing but elimination. I found when I was memorizing the Fa with my whole heart, the police would not dare to even come near me.

Now because time is very limited for all that needs to be done, every day I have to try to make time to study the Fa and I have difficulty concentrating in short time spans. Sometime I'm in a situation where my mouth is reading the Fa but my mind is not. I then recite the Fa from memory, and I recite slowly to have each word appear in front of my eyes. In group Fa study, I also take this form to study the Fa.

2. Look Within for Reasons

From the principle of the Fa I knew that I must look within for reasons to discard my attachments,

"But as cultivation is lived out, when the suffering bears down on you and conflicts come up that hit upon the deepest part of you--and especially when it rattles the rigid notions you have--the test is really hard to pass. It can even be to the point that you know full well it's a test but still can't let go of your attachments." ("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be")

One time, when I was sharing with fellow practitioners, our discussion was about my sitting meditation. It was really painful. When fellow practitioners talked about the degree of the pain they had experienced, I felt that the pain I suffered was not worse than what they had experienced. But I still found excuses to defend myself, saying that I must be one of the two kinds of people that Master had mentioned about who either had too much karma in this aspect, or who had never sat in double lotus position before. I had been thinking this way for many years and I had been satisfied for doing the sitting meditation for only 30-40 minutes. I did not think about looking inside for the reason to break through this barrier. One fellow practitioner suggested, "Every time when you feel that you have reached your limit, try to see if you can resist the pain and sit for a few more minutes; add a little more time each time and give it a try." Another said, "When you cannot empty your mind, did you recite the Fa? When I cannot empty my mind, I recite the Fa." Their comments shocked me, "I was never able to empty my mind and I never tried to control my thoughts when it was drifting." I started realizing that I had problems. I realized that since so many fellow practitioners had made comments to me, it was not incidental. I must look inside, "Why was I not able to empty my mind?"

Master said in Zhuan Falun,

"The reason that you cannot achieve tranquility is that your mind is not empty and you have not reached that high a level, which can only be achieved step by step. It goes hand in hand with the level of your improvement. When you give up attachments, your level will be upgraded, and your ability to concentrate will also improve."

I realized that I had too many attachments. How could I empty my mind with such heavy desires and lust? I should really make effort to discard these attachments through cultivation. When I was doing the sitting meditation the following day, I started paying attention to my thoughts. As soon as the distracting thoughts appeared I would reject them; eliminate them immediately and concentrate my mind on listening to the exercise music. Persisting in this, gradually I was able to focus my thoughts on the music. Suddenly I found that the exercise music was wondrous, it seemed that I was in the pure land of a Buddha's paradise. It was so beautiful and magnificent. My thoughts seemed to separate from my body and the pain in my legs seemed to become indistinct and remote. After 40 minutes I found that I was able to sit for a longer time. This way I sat the whole one hour period and it felt easier than before when I put down my legs. I came to understand that when I changed my notions and looked inside for reasons, my mind nature was upgraded, "One's gong level is as high as one's xinxing level". (Zhuan Falun) Master saw that I had upgraded my xinxing in this aspect and helped me to remove those impure materials. " Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master."! At the same time I also came to understand,

"You cannot only pursue transformation of gong in the physical body without emphasizing improvement of your xinxing. It is waiting for you to upgrade your xinxing--only then will you make a holistic change." Zhuan Falun

From then on, whenever I want to sit in meditation for one hour, I can usually do it. A stubborn notion was disintegrated by looking within for the reason.

Another event also made me experience the power of looking inside.

One time, I made an appointment to deliver some cell phone cards to a fellow practitioner. I wrapped the phone cards with tissue and put them in my work bag. I had the thought that it would be safer to keep them in my trouser pocket. Then I thought that it would not look good with my pocket bulging ,so I left the cards in my work bag. I had planned to deliver them to a fellow practitioner after I finished teaching the class.

However, when I went to the fellow practitioner's home after class, I could not find the cards. I searched my work bag over and over again but I still could not find them. They were for validating Dafa and saving lives, how could I lose them? I realized that they must have fallen out of the bag when I had taken a book out so I headed back to the classroom. On the way there I thought, "Today is windy. For such a small pack of stuff even if it did fall out on the table, it would be blown away, not to mention that there were so many students. I would not be able to find them." I was so miserable that I completely lost my righteous thoughts. It happened that the students were between classes when I got there and most of the students went downstairs. I searched the classroom but found nothing. I asked my students and they said that they had not seen them.

I went back to the practitioner's home. The practitioner said, "It is interference. Let's send forth righteous thoughts. Other practitioners use supernormal power to retrieve lost computers, so we will get the phone cards back with righteous thoughts. At the same time, let us study the Fa well and search for our insufficiencies." By then I was able to uphold my righteous thoughts and I knew that the evil had taken the advantage of my attachments. However, no matter what kind of attachments I had, they are not for the evil to take advantage of to interfere with Fa-rectification. The cards must be returned to me. I will look inside for the attachment because I am a Dafa practitioner conducting myself according to the requirements of the Fa, not because of the sole purpose of being interfered with. I found that I had many attachments, including the attachment of pursuing fame and good looks.

After sending forth righteous thoughts, I went back to the classroom. A student came to me and gave me the cell phone cards, saying that he found them. I received them with pleasure, but there were only four of them and should of been six altogether but the student said he only found these four. At that moment, I had relaxed a lot in my mind but I knew that this was the result because I had not done well enough looking within and did not have strong righteous thoughts.

After I went back home, I started searching for my deep hidden attachments. First, I found that I had a very strong attachment to fame. Students often said that the classes that they enjoyed the most were the classes I taught. Hearing those compliments frequently, my attachment to fame inflated. The result was that I trapped myself in the enjoyment of my own "vivid" lecturing and I was pleased with myself. My mentality of showing off kept growing. As a result, I was totally unaware that the phone cards had fallen out, which was taken advantage of by the evil. My attachment to fame also manifested as I paid excessive attention to my clothes. When others said that I looked young and pretty, I enjoyed it very much and I did not treat this mentality as an attachment. I even used the excuse of "I am validating Dafa" to cover up my attachment. I had put these phone cards into my work bag instead of my pocket because I wanted to look good. This attachment to fame also interfered with my clarifying the truth face-to-face. When Master leads people to me, I did not think of talking to them about Falun Gong because I was paying attention to my impression on others. Sometimes I thought about talking to them about Falun Gong but still missed the opportunity because I worried too much. I did not have compassion for others and this resulted in my negligence in clarifying the truth. I was really ignorant. I was attached to self. The opportunity for me to help Fa-rectification is passing by so quickly but I am wasting precious time during this valuable period, disappointing Master and disappointing the living beings who are longing for me to tell them the truth for them to be saved!

This experience also let me see the distance that I had fallen behind other fellow practitioners. When the other practitioner heard about the lost phone cards, he did not blame me. Instead, he suggested that we send forth righteous thoughts and look inside for the reasons right away. However, I would accuse fellow practitioners when they had inconvenienced me, if they do not conform to my point of view or when they had done things not to my expectation. I did not have the tolerance and compassion that a cultivator should have and I did not think about why I would feel so upset and not remember to first look inside for attachments when encountering situations. When other practitioners asked me for help to send righteous thoughts or to deal with some situations, I was reluctant and did not take other's problems as my own, and I was not willing to help. All these reflected the insufficiencies in my cultivation and reflected that I was not willing to discard the selfish elements that lives of the old universe have. I then added a thought when sending forth righteous thoughts, "Eliminate all the evil lives and elements that interfere with Dafa practitioners' validating Dafa. Nobody is allowed to touch the tools that we use to save lives, and they must be returned unconditionally without any damage."

The following day, I planned that I would go to that classroom again to look for the phone cards after I finished teaching my morning class. I felt that all the interference had been eliminated. The same student said he had found another two phone cards. Master helped me again! When I looked inside and found the attachments, when I upheld my righteous thought and when all the fellow practitioners acted as one entity, Master helped me again. I had several similar experiences before, and this time I experienced Master's boundless mercy again!

In general, as a Dafa practitioner, as long as we study the Fa well with a peaceful mind, look inside and discard attachment, nothing can stop us from walking on the path to become divine beings.

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4. Learning from Traditional Roles How to Better Cooperate Within the One Body Wuchen

(Clearwisdom.net) In ancient China, the relationships among people were clear and strictly observed. It was emphasized that everyone should fulfill his or her own duties and roles. Specifically, in public, decision-makers and decision-executioners had clear divisions in their social functions. The upper class was benevolent and the lower class was trustworthy. In a family, a father was benevolent and a son had filial piety; a big brother was kindhearted and a little brother was respectful. This natural state of respectful heaven and humble earth was expanded to a form of systematic ethics, and is an important part of traditional Chinese culture.

However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has distorted the harmonic follower and leader relationships among people into class oppression and exploitation relationships. The CCP stirs up human desires for fame and gain, which leads to eventual social disorder and chaos.

I remember a foreigner once commented on Chinese people: A Chinese person working alone is a dragon, but the Chinese are a worm if they work together. I think this sentence profoundly revealed the state of mind of the people who have been constantly poisoned by the CCP culture. Not understanding cooperation, coordination or duty, it is very difficult for people to live together harmoniously, not to mention collaborating or working together on projects. As Dafa practitioners, we should not be like that. We should restore the natural living state for people.

At Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference, Master said:

"If people don't want to listen whenever you assign something and they just want to do whatever suits their fancy, and each does things his own way, could that ever work?

Some people might think, "Why should I listen to so-and-so? I think I've cultivated better than him." You mustn't say that. Only someone who has cultivated well will be content to follow whatever is assigned to him, and [thinking that way] only proves that you have not cultivated well.

After finishing studying Master's Fa teaching, I thought about what was happening around me. There were gaps among my fellow practitioners. The things we tried to do as a whole body of practitioners were not going smoothly. Many problems were caused by mutual disrespect among fellow practitioners. Everyone insisted that he or she was right, his or her idea was good, or he or she was not willing to put oneself behind others and to coordinate with fellow practitioners or coordinators. Practitioners would judge or discount other practitioners' opinions or the coordinator's arrangements. We were not actively coordinating and silently harmonizing with what coordinators were doing. The direct result was that we were a mess. For long periods of time, we could not even share our experiences, or everyone was focusing on cultivating themselves well or doing their own work. How could there be great power for destroying the evil?

We have many practical things to do in our efforts to clarify the truth. Though it is not easy to handle coordination problems when we do things together, we must have whole body awareness. Our personal cultivation is for cultivating ourselves. Within the whole body, there will be coordination issues at times, which will require us to put ourselves in the right positions. There are coordinators at each practice site. They are the leaders of our groups. If coordinators have already decided on a specific thing, as long as they are in accordance with the Fa, we should comply unconditionally. Even if there are shortcomings with regard to a decision, we should not treat it negatively. We should quietly harmonize our shortcomings in the process of doing things. Putting Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings as our highest priorities are the examples a Dafa practitioner should set.

The above is my personal understanding. I welcome any comments.

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5. Studying the Fa is the Requirement of a Practitioner's Heart

(Clearwisdom.net) The period of Fa rectification is of paramount importance and of a limited time period. We all know how Teacher has told us again and again about the importance of studying Fa well. However, some practitioners are still not diligent in Fa study and are merely busy doing Dafa work. Some feel that they are obligated to study and do so with a sense of burden. Still others insist on studying Fa but then encounter difficulty in concentrating. Yet there is another category of practitioners who truly can seriously study the Fa. However, this category is often stubborn in their personal views and using personal skills whenever facing problems. They often fail to "take the Fa as Teacher" and are reluctant to look inwardly during tribulations. In the worst case, some even succumb to attachments, giving in to the evil side and hence being taken advantage of by evil forces.

Some practitioners who encounter difficulties and questions regarding Fa study ponder, "Why is this?"

The answer is to study Fa with a peaceful mind. I understand that as Dafa practitioners, we yearn for studying Fa from the deepest part of our heart only when we have realized from the deepest part of our heart what the Fa is and how magnificent the Dafa is, as well as realize that studying Fa is the fundamental requirement of our cultivation in the Fa rectification period. If we could only look inside ourselves when Fa study does not achieve what we have expected and look for causes where we have failed to follow Teacher's guidance. Only then can we actively expel the disturbances when we study the Fa according to the requirements of Fa rectification and become firm in studying the Fa with a strong will and righteous thoughts. We should first think of what Teacher has told us and what the Fa in the books requires of us upon encountering any problems. ("Take the Fa as Teacher") Thus, we would be able to "take the Fa as the most important" when facing contradictions and truly understand the great duties of a Dafa practitioner in the period of Fa rectification. It would then be possible to take initiative to do what we should do well.

However, if we study the Fa with a mentality of an ordinary person, as if we are studying a theory, doing homework, gaining a superficial understanding, or even pursuing something, Fa study will become an external and extraneous thing and will not give us answers to the tribulations we encounter. As a result, studying the Fa to upgrade our Xinxing (moral character) and directing our Fa rectification work would become something within our sight but beyond our reach. Even worse, we would over the long run limit ourselves in personal cultivation and would not see what the requirements for progress for a Dafa disciple during Fa rectification. We would miss the million years of waiting for this cultivation.

While reading the "The North America Lecture Tour", for the first time I realized that for a Dafa practitioner in the Fa-rectification period, studying the Fa is not only the requirement for personal advancement. Fa study is a process of saving sentient beings. It is the requirement of rectifying the greater cosmic body and the requirement for offering salvation to innumerable beings. It is the requirement for the overall advancement of all Dafa practitioners and the requirement for following the progress of Fa rectification.

Regarding Fa study, we have no other choice but to do well and there are no short cuts. We should simply follow Teacher's words to study Fa with a peaceful heart and without any pursuits. "Compliance is cultivation" ("Solid Cultivation," Hong Yin)

The above is just some of my personal understanding. I have written it here only for reference and for discussion among fellow practitioners.

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6. Always Maintain the Thought, “I Am a Dafa Disciple” By a practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net) A local practitioner recently experienced interference from the old forces because he didn't maintain his properly. In the end he went to the hospital, which also caused some losses around our validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. When we communicated with him, we found that he had some interference. His first thought was that he had had a stroke. Because he thought that, the stroke-like symptoms became more and more severe. Finally, he even went to the hospital and relied on ordinary methods for a cure. During the entire process, he didn't think about his problem from the Fa's perspective and he didn't consider himself a Dafa disciple. In this article, I would like to share with fellow practitioners what happened when three practitioners in my family were interfered with. I hope our experiences can provide some enlightenment for practitioners who encounter such interference in the future.

In the place where I used to work, all my former colleagues knew I practice Falun Gong. One day at noon when I was riding home on my bicycle, all of a sudden I felt very dizzy and was about to fall. I got off the bicycle, held onto the handlebars, and tried to hold myself up. At the same time, I thought, “I am a Dafa disciple, and people all know I practice Falun Gong. If I fell down, then I would bring damage to Dafa.” After I had this thought, my head suddenly became very clear. I looked around, but no one was watching me. I felt relaxed, got back on my bicycle, and went home. It was indeed, “Good or evil comes from that instant thought.” (“Lecture Four” from Zhuan Falun)

One day after breakfast, I was at home with my wife. All of a sudden she felt very unwell. She turned very pale and fell from the sofa onto the floor. I immediately asked Master to save her, and I had her ask Master for help. I helped her sit up, and we sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil beings that were interfering with her. I told her to firmly believe that she was a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple and that the old forces weren't worthy of interfering with us.

We sat on the ground and sent forth righteous thoughts. Her situation didn't immediately improve. Her hands and feet got colder and colder. However, our strong belief in Master and Dafa didn't change at all. After an hour, she stabilized. We then continued sending forth righteous thoughts. Two hours later, her breath returned to normal, and her hands and feet began to warm up.

Before noon, I helped her get back into bed, and she took a little nap. By the afternoon, she had completely returned to normal. I asked her what had happened. She told me she suddenly felt a strong force pressing against her chest, and she couldn't breathe. Regardless of how ill she felt however, her belief in Master and Dafa never changed.

When my son was 10 years old, there was an epidemic of foot and mouth disease in our city. One day my son had some oral ulcers. It developed very fast in his throat, and he began to run a fever. I asked him if he was all right. He said he was fine; he was just eliminating karma. That night his entire mouth and throat had ulcers, such that he couldn't even drink water. And because of the fever, he slept all day. When he woke up, we sent forth righteous thoughts together to help him eliminate all the interference. On the fourth day, he could drink some water. After one or two days, he could drink some rice soup. One week later, everything had returned to normal. Even though he was a young Dafa disciple, and he didn't drink any water for three days or eat anything for a week, because of his strong belief in Master and Dafa, he passed this test.

Through these experiences, I have enlightened that as long as we maintain the thought that we are Dafa disciples, and when we encounter tests, we always think about the tests from the Fa's perspective, then there is no test that we cannot pass. I welcome fellow practitioners to point out anything improper.

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7. Understanding “Great Way Has No Form” By a practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) The principle of “Great Way has no form” governs how practitioners act and behave while cultivating. When a practitioner conforms to this principle, the cultivation path expands exponentially; otherwise, he is constrained by the old forces' factors, and his cultivation path narrows and becomes more difficult.

For a long time, I studied the Fa daily without obtaining its true meaning. Although I live in the human world, I felt resentment toward society and tended to stay aloof and away from social activities. It has been rather difficult to break away from this mentality. Sometimes I thought that I had understood the Fa, but then found that I was still entrapped by this mentality. Now, I have truly gained an understanding of the Fa: The Fa has revealed itself, and I feel as if every lecture is teaching me how to use my work and professional knowledge to tell people about Falun Gong in order to save people.

I'm employed in the arts and literature field. My work gives me plenty of free time to pursue other interests. As I did not have a good understanding of the Fa and the responsibilities that practitioners shoulder, I didn't meet the requirements set forth for practitioners and often did not go to work, thinking that nothing in the human world is as important as my cultivation. I remained in the state of personal cultivation and feared pollution by ordinary society. I didn't participate in symposiums offered by the art and literature circles. I was perfunctory in my work and reluctant in taking part in various art exhibitions by offering a few pieces of my artwork, thinking that I had completely let go of my attachments to fame and personal gain. I became estranged from family and friends, as I frequently turned down invitations from family, friends and co-workers; I saw those events as a waste of time. I used to be well known and respected professionally by many different people. Later, one of my peers asked me in a puzzled tone: “You don't pursue anything anymore and no longer desire professional advancement. What happened to you?” This remark didn't wake me up and I didn't realize that my cultivation state had a negative influence on how people would think of the Fa. I kept doing things based on my human notions and my incorrect understanding of cultivation, and thereby did not grasp the cultivation opportunities arranged for me by Teacher.

Teacher said:

"Many students understand only that doing the exercises and studying the Fa are cultivation. Yes, with those you directly engage the Fa. But as you go about truly cultivating yourself in your day-to-day life, the society that you come into contact with is your cultivation environment. The work and family environments that you spend time in are both settings in which you are to cultivate yourselves, are part of the path you must walk, are what you must handle, and handle correctly at that. None of these should be glossed over. When you have made it to the end, [a question would be]: How did you travel the path that Master arranged for you? When all is said and done, these things have to be taken into account. And in the course of your cultivation these things have to be looked at, too. So you shouldn't neglect anything. As far as convenience goes, [in Dafa] a person can cultivate without having to enter a monastery, go to a secluded mountain, or leave the secular world. But from another perspective, all of this adds a layer of difficulty: If you are to make it through, you have to do well with things such as all of the above, and do well in every aspect of your life." ("Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006")

I've finally understood the mission and responsibilities of practitioners whose profession centers around art and literature. Whether practitioners have practiced the Fa diligently and understand their mission is the key to whether they and the cosmic bodies they represent will be part of the future.

After I enlightened to these Fa truths, everything in my environment changed: My work place changed its name, new projects were added, and new computers and required equipment were purchased. My partner and I were equipped with a professional-grade camera. I began to edit a newspaper's supplemental pages, and my professional skills were mentioned favorably by my peers and supervisor. At my workplace's annual dinner party, my supervisor sat next to me, praising my work and character. He also showed respect for my belief in and the practice of Falun Gong. My work was published in newspapers and publicized by a well-recognized newspaper. My co-workers and old friends telephoned me and expressed their happiness, having noticed that my artistic skills had improved significantly.

The Fa requires that we let go of all human attachments, but not all superficial forms. Walking the path of “Great Way has no form” well is key to creating a way for humans to become divine beings. It will be used as a reference for people in the future. It is of great importance to the harmonizing of the entire future colossal firmament.

I'm improving in adhering to the principle of “Great Way has no form.” I have a greater understanding of Teacher's magnificent benevolence in saving beings from all walks of life. A president can cultivate, and so can an industrial worker or a farmer. The Fa does not discriminate against social groups, professions, education levels, and so on. Teacher only cares about people's hearts and minds. Each practitioner is a part of society. If each practitioner can perform well in each of our assumed roles, the Fa will spread and become rooted in people's hearts. This would establish a solid foundation for many more colossal firmaments to be saved and renewed in the future.

The Fa has no form, yet it is everywhere and is capable of everything: Its power knows no boundary.

Viewed from a certain perspective, we practitioners gave up many things after July 20, 1999, to tell the world's people about the Fa. Practitioners weather different kinds of hardships and tribulations while assisting Teacher in the Fa-rectification. Practitioners have come to the human world to perform different kinds of functions. However, we are no longer the human beings we were before obtaining the Fa. We are cultivators living in the human world, and our minds and goals are beyond this human world.

Above is my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa.

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8. A Lesson Learned from the Attachment of Seeking Comfort By Shanyuan

(Clearwisdom.net) In the past I always treated the attachment of the pursuit of comfort as an ordinary attachment in our cultivation. That was until recently, when something happened in our area that really shocked and awakened me.

Teacher urged us,

"I hope everyone will do better and better at the end. Be sure not to become lax. You must not slack off, and you must not become apathetic." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")

I searched my conscience and asked myself, "Have you kept in mind Teacher's words? Have you really enlightened to the inner meaning of the three things? Have you reached the requirement that 'The closer to the end, the more diligent you should be'? Have you reached the standard that 'Everyone will do better and better at the end'?" I have much room for improvement.

A few days ago I read an article by a fellow practitioner entitled "The Cancer that Can Ruin Practitioners' Will - the Attachment of the Pursuit of Comfort." After reading the article I had a better understanding of the attachment of seeking comfort. Actually Teacher told us this a long time ago,

"If you are still unclear about what a Fa-rectification disciple is, you won't be able to step forward in the current tribulation, and you will be led by the human world's pursuit of comfort to 'enlighten' along an evil path. Master's heart has always been pained by those who have fallen, and the majority were ruined by that pursuit."("Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples")

In the past when I studied this Fa I had already realized the seriousness of failing to let go of the pursuit of comfort. However, I did not take it as a poisonous cancer that could ruin the will of a practitioner, nor did I keep reminding myself to let go of this attachment. On the contrary, I treated it as an ordinary attachment and failed to be determined to eliminate it. I also used the excuse that we need to conform to the way of ordinary people as much as possible to conceal my attachment. I did not want to address it or bring it up with other practitioners. As a matter of fact, I protected this attachment, for which

I paid dearly. Here I want to share my experience with fellow practitioners so that they can draw a lesson from it.

This summer my wife, who had been persecuted for five years, returned to my side. It is not hard to imagine the hardships we suffered over those five years, so I surmised that during this last stage a peaceful life must be in store for us. Was this thought on the Fa? In my heart I really cherished this last leg of our journey.

However, what I cherished was the life in this human world instead of the extremely rare opportunity to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. This attachment of seeking comfort was really strong. My wife, who only studied the Fa for a month after her return, was eager to go out to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. I really admired her and was moved by her action, but in my heart I had a very strong mentality of fear. I worried that my wife might be persecuted again. I feared that I might lose her again. Therefore, instead of giving her my righteous support and encouragement to clarify the truth, I sought very hard to persuade her not to go. I even found a lot of excuses from the Fa to stop her. Sometimes to avoid my obstruction she would go out to clarify the truth about Falun Gong without my knowledge. I was in constant worry during the days she was away. I could not calm down to study the Fa and could not concentrate in sending forth righteous thoughts. I could not even do the five sets of exercises properly. Since I did not want to let go of my attachment of the pursuit of comfort and held so tightly to qing, it did not occur to me that I was creating obstacles for her in clarifying the truth to save sentient beings and also creating interference for myself. This attachment of seeking comfort left a loophole for the old forces to take advantage of by providing them with an excuse to persecute practitioners. Finally, my wife was seized by the police while clarifying the truth about Falun Gong.

Under the compassionate care of Teacher and the all-out rescue effort by practitioners both at home and abroad, my wife was able to leave the detention center with righteous thoughts. I drew a good lesson from the painful experience. The arrest of my wife was directly linked with my attachment of the pursuit of comfort. In other words, my attachment in seeking comfort and the attachment of qing provided the evil with excuses for persecuting her. Looking at it from this angle, hadn't I actually helped the evil forces? What a bitter lesson it was!

I also found that a lot of other practitioners, like myself, failed to be more diligent the closer to the end we have come. More or less they were all affected by the attachment of the pursuit of comfort. They want to live in comfort and peace during this final stage. Therefore they do not want to take any risk or shoulder any responsibility. Whenever there is a sign of trouble, they are at home hiding, with an excuse that they are not in a good state and need to study the Fa with a calm mind for a period of time. They would only step forward to clarify the truth about Falun Gong when the situation changed for the better. What an immense "selfishness" existed behind this pursuit of comfort. Doesn't this conform with the principles and the nature of the old forces? Some practitioners were brought along by the attachment of seeking comfort and could not free themselves from reputation, self-interest, and feelings among everyday people. They were preoccupied with everyday people's things and were indulging themselves in everyday people's life. They kept themselves busy for a moment of comfort or enjoyment. The great historical responsibility and mission of the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples had long since faded from their memories. Weren't they walking along the path arranged by the old forces?

Fellow practitioners, the Fa-rectification has reached this stage and Teacher has already said everything very clearly in the Fa. It's as if Heaven's secret has already been divulged. How come we still do not understand? What do you seek comfort for? Isn't it a little bit of filthy stuff of the human world? Nothing in this human world is worth anything to us. Only when we "Cultivate, my disciples, 'til no single omission is found" (Hong Yin) can we really reach consummation! I really hope my fellow practitioners can wake up from the lesson I experienced and be determined to let go of the attachment of the pursuit of comfort, which can ruin practitioners in an instant. Please bear in mind Teacher's warning,

"Be sure not to become lax. You must not slack off, and you must not become apathetic." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")

We must do the three things well and fulfill the grand historical mission bestowed on us, the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples.

This is my current understanding. For anything I did not understand correctly, please feel free to point out and correct.

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