Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- To Focus on Cultivation and Saving People is the Righteous Thought
- My Shallow Understanding of "Being Modest"
- Do Not Neglect The Exercises
- Concerning The Issue of a "Heart Unmoved"
- We Cannot Use Human Attachments to Save People
- My New Understanding on "Compare in Studying, Compare in Cultivating"
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the October 2011 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
This issue has a compilation of experience-sharing Articles gleaned from Clearwisdom 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 Bangalore held the Art Exhibition at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce which was attended by a large group of students. The truth clarification video
was shown which touched the hearts of many students. Many students showed keenness to learn the exercises.
The Bangalore practitioners were also given a stall for three days at the ‘Retirement Expo’ organized by Dignity Foundation. Many people who visited the stalls already had information about Dafa and expressed their desire to learn the exercises. Many senior citizens from the Dignity Foundation, Bangalore are doing the exercises and reading the books.
Practitioners from Hyderabad explained about the exercises and clarified the truth to the walkers in Guntur (about 300 km away from Hyderabad). Among the walkers in Guntur were some police who had attended the introductory session of our practice along with other police in Hyderabad. Practitioners also met the Superintendent of Police (Urban),Guntur, and he assured to call us to introduce our practice to the district police after the festive season.
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- 3. To Focus on Cultivation and Saving People is the Righteous Thought
By A Dafa Practitioner in China
(Clearwisdom.net)
Lately, local practitioners including me, have had some
opportunities to share experiences on doing the three things well.
The following are some of my understandings.
1. Because every individual attains a different level of enlightenment, even
with regards to the same issue, we should not over-emphasize on our own
opinions. There are bound to be differences within individual enlightenments,
but the key is that we must not try to validate ourselves or prove that we are
right. Validating self is like self-righteousness, and some practitioners have
been trying hard to change others. If one can really reach the point of not
believing in self, not arguing with others, and harmonizing and helping others
calmly, everything will be all right because Dafa has the power to eliminate
evil and strengthen righteousness.
The most important thing is our own hearts; how we let go of our attachments
and position our hearts. Teacher arranges trials for us to improve our xinxing
in any situation, even those of sacred Dafa work. Divine beings are watching!
Our hearts should not be moved by trials, such as practitioners' previous
articles on the Internet. I was impressed when Teacher said "I never argue
with people" in his brief biography when I read it before the persecution
started in 1999. Sometimes I feel that my enlightenment of the Fa can only be
understood without words, and practitioners at every level may feel that some
things cannot be expressed with human language. The same sentence said by
different people will carry different meanings, and people have various
understandings of the same thing, too. We can only know what's revealed to us
according to our level; moreover, the recipients are at different levels too, so
they will have different understandings as well.
It is all right to share experiences on how to do the three things well. The
Fa is tremendous and miraculous; sometimes I really can feel the thoughtfulness
of Teacher through arrangements he has made for me. We are only particles in
Dafa, but we all have improved after experiencing Teacher's personal
arrangements for us. We cannot improve by just saying "I will look
within". Personal improvement indeed happens when one feels upset or
uncomfortable. We need to upgrade our enlightenment quality.
I hope we can all argue less about our understandings of the Fa , and
instead, study the Fa more and discuss coordination of doing the three things
more frequently.
2. We should not point fingers at others. Sometimes some fellow practitioners
criticize others by saying "you must look within", which make others
speechless. The point of "looking within" is not wrong in itself, and
every practitioner says that. However, I just feel that some practitioners don't
say it out of compassion, but rather, it's more like criticizing and wanting to
change others. Thus, it doesn't sound quite sacred when they say it. I rarely
say this to fellow practitioners myself. Monks in temples who don't practice
cultivation also say "saving sentient beings" all the time, but that
doesn't feel sacred either. Would others look within when you say "look
within"? Or don't others look within when you don't say it? Our improvement
comes from the Fa and Teacher, not from individual practitioners. As individual
practitioners, we can only persuade others to follow the Fa, or sometimes
Teacher may use our mouths to pass on some message to fellow practitioners. We
should not think that we are somebody special; if we do, that is an attachment
that we need to get rid of.
3. As for some practical things, I think we should just try to solve them on
a small scale. There is no need to present these everyday issues to the majority
of practitioners for discussion and distribution. In my opinion, it may not be
good to cause anxiety among practitioners.
4. Practitioners who really have cultivated well are likely to be those who
don't like to show off, who don't want to validate themselves, but do the three
things well quietly. They must be very humble practitioners.
I would like to end with the Teacher's teaching in Zhuan Falun:
"This Fa can only be taught to this level. It is up to your own
cultivation to attain what is at high levels. The questions raised by some
people have become more specific. If I explain all the questions in your life,
what will be left for you to cultivate? You must practice cultivation and become
enlightened on your own. If I tell you everything, nothing will remain for you
to cultivate. Fortunately, Dafa has already been made public, and you can do
things according to Dafa."
The above is based on my own enlightenment.
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- 4. My Shallow Understanding of "Being Modest"
By Lotus Flowers
(PureInsight.org)
Whenever I have seen another practitioner acting self important, thinking highly of him or herself, or accusing others, I felt extremely uncomfortable, and thought that the practitioner was not modest enough.
Then I asked myself, "Am I truly being modest? Why was I not happy? Why was I angry at the behavior of other practitioners?"
Searching within, I found that it was because I liked the properness of "being modest," and I preferred a modest demeanor that was controlling and low-key. In fact, I was not modest myself.
For example, if someone complimented me, I would blurt out, "I am not good enough." As a matter of fact, my saying "I am not good enough" was just a formality. The real thought behind it was, "I am pretty good."
Another time when a fellow practitioner told me that articles needed to be written, and asked me to take on that responsibility, I immediately said, "I am not good enough." I didn't even think before I said it. I said it completely out of habit in order to appear to be modest. I thought, "For such an important task, how can I not behave a little modestly." In fact, the real thought behind my seeming hesitancy was, "I am pretty sure I can do it." I even felt complacent about being given such an important task.
At times I was being modest because I was not confident, and I was lowering myself. As a Dafa practitioner, it was lack of confidence in Teacher and in the" Fa."
In the past, I always said that So-and-So had attachments or So-and-So liked to cover things up. But I never thought that I also liked to cover things up and that my cover-ups were so "polished" they were not easily noticed.
It was only because I was not truly modest myself that I had such strong thoughts and emotions when I saw a fellow practitioner thinking highly of him or herself.
I realize that the characteristic of modesty embodies Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Only a merciful, peaceful, and forgiving practitioner can truly have modesty in his or her heart. No matter what the situation is--be it being praised or accused, be it doing a good job or a poor one--he or she can treat it with a peaceful and open attitude, without having his or her heart affected.
It is because you have attachments that you are not modest. When your mind is occupied with the mentality of showing-off, jealousy, and hostility, how can you be modest?
Hence a practitioner must be modest. An aspiring practitioner should become more and more modest.
Please kindly point out to me anything incorrect . Thank you.
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- 5. Do Not Neglect The Exercises
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China
(PureInsight.org)
In the past, I did not pay much attention to
performing the exercises. I felt that doing the exercises was not as important
as studying the Fa, so I frequently reduced my exercise time and replaced it
with Fa study. This was in fact, going to extremes. Although I felt that I was
being diligent in cultivation, my state was actually not very good. Among
practitioners, I often hear excuses such as: I am too busy and don't have time
to do the exercises; I have been doing the exercises for so many years, I only
do the fifth one when I get busy; or I am young and healthy, it is okay to
exercise less, etc.
When fellow practitioners started advocating for group practice, I began to
pay attention to doing the exercises myself. At first, my family was opposed to
having me get up early for the exercises. I looked inward for my own
shortcomings and tried to improve. I am now able to do the exercises
consistently and with little interference. After I get up to send forth
righteous thoughts at 6 a.m., I do the first and second exercises, then send
forth righteous thoughts at 7 a.m. Following this, I do 30 minutes of the fifth
exercise before going to work. I do the third, fourth and fifth exercises in the
evening during group practice. I feel that when we held group practice both in
the morning and evening in the years before the persecution began, it worked
really well, so I do an extra 30 minutes of the fifth exercise in the morning. I
study the Fa and make truth-clarifying materials on the computer
during work hours, then distribute them during my breaks.
After consistently performing the exercises on a daily basis, my cultivation
state underwent a major change: I didn't tire as easily; I didn't feel sleepy
and was able to remain in the state of calmness.
I have been illegally arrested three times, and subsequently
recognized several attachments, including concerns about my safety, worry about
how to keep up with the Fa-rectification process, jealousy, and competitiveness.
I would easily become angry and upset. On several occasions, I could not
maintain my "xinxing" even when I was aware that I needed to.
Since I began to pay attention to the exercises, there have been fewer random
thoughts when I study the Fa, and my righteous thoughts are getting stronger. It
has also become relatively easier to be rational and maintain my xinxing.
People close to me indicate that my behavior is more balanced. In the past, I
always felt that there was not enough time for all my tasks, so I didn't want to
spend any on the exercises. Now that I have allocated more time to the
exercises, I've discovered that I am actually more efficient and now have more
time for other activities.
In several lectures, Teacher responded to practitioners' questions about not
having time to do the exercises. My personal understanding of Teacher's response
is that if you have time, do more; if you don't have time, do less, but you
should make up for it later. Studying the Fa and doing the exercises are similar
to the foundation of a large building. One cannot neglect them, nor find any
excuses to deal with them casually.
This is my personal cultivation situation that I'd like to share with fellow
practitioners.
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- 6. Concerning The Issue of a "Heart Unmoved"
By practitioner from mainland China
(Clearwisdom.net)
The issue of keeping the heart unmoved is often
discussed among practitioners. For nine years now, Teacher has led His disciples
to go through many tests and tribulations in the face of evil persecution. In
addition to the compassionate protection we receive from Teacher, our unmoved
hearts and firm belief in Teacher and Dafa are responsible for where we are
today.
Recently some practitioners took a "heart unmoved" to mean that no
matter what others say, one needs to keep their heart unmoved. In other words,
when others point out that you have a problem, you should not be moved as that
would interfere with you, and that cultivation means only to cultivate oneself.
At first glance, this may sound reasonable, but it is not when you think more
deeply. Some practitioners don't even bother to look within when others point
out their shortcomings and problems, let alone conform to the Fa's standard and
dig out the roots of their attachments. They take this as the "heart
unmoved".
In addition, some people even deviated from their correct paths, yet still
keep their "hearts unmoved" and do not care. They refuse to calm down
and compare their behavior with the standard of Fa, and even say that their
hearts will not be moved no matter how bad the things others say about them are.
They think that their level is high when their heart is unmoved.
However as I understand it, what they call an "unmoved heart"
simply covers up their true heart. They are reluctant to touch their hidden
human hearts, and unwilling to look within. This manifests as doing whatever
they want, ignoring what others say, not even caring about it.
They claim a "heart unmoved" when others point out their problems,
a "heart unmoved" when fellow practitioners suffer from persecution
and need help, and a "heart still unmoved" when sentient beings face
elimination. Are these the manifestations of righteous thought?
We are Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period. Teacher gives us
more responsibilities, and a correspondingly higher level. We should be diligent
and strive for the higher level in fulfilling our mission and realizing our
promises, and should not stay in the same level and keep our "hearts
unmoved". Such a state is most probably caused by strong and hidden
attachments. I feel it is like the four or five enlightened beings that Teacher
mentioned in the book Zhuan Falun. Although they are calm, quiet and
as still as water, their silence might be caused by a lack of understanding of
Fa rectification at this critical moment when the universe is reforming and all
sentient beings must assimilate to the Fa in order to enter the future.
The true meaning of a "heart unmoved" is practitioners' firm belief
in Teacher and Dafa, conforming to the Fa at all times, controlling one's every
thought, and constantly looking within and cultivating oneself diligently. As a
practitioner, when we encounter problems and conflicts, we need to dig out our
attachments and the human heart with the firm belief in Teacher and Dafa with
righteous thought.
The above is my personal thought at my level. Please point out anything
inappropriate.
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- 7. We Cannot Use Human Attachments to Save People
By Xin Lian
(Clearwisdom.net)
In my cultivation, I have gone through some detours.
After talking with fellow practitioners, they encouraged me to write down my
experiences to share with others. I hope others can learn from my lessons to
avoid making the same mistakes and causing damage. This is being responsible to
the Fa, to fellow practitioners, and to sentient beings.
I began practicing Falun Gong in July 2005. Initially, there was some
interference, but I was very firm and knew that I must persevere in my
cultivation. Every day, I studied the Fa and did the exercises with veteran
practitioners. As I was approaching the age of marriage, in the winter of 2005,
someone introduced a man to me. At that time, since I was a new practitioner and
did not have a good understanding of the Fa, I wasn't sure what to do. I asked
veteran practitioners and they said that Master had asked us to conform to
ordinary human society. I also read in Zhuan Falun, "In our
cultivation way, the period of time when we cultivate among ordinary people
should not be used to live as monks or nuns. The young practitioners should
still establish families." (Lecture Six) Thus I became engaged.
The persecution was severe in our area. Due to my attachments to fear, I did
not want others to know I was a cultivator. My fiance's family only knew that I
studied Buddhism (before I studied Falun Gong I practiced Buddhism). I didn't
really tell his family. Sometimes I tried to clarify the facts to them, but only
indirectly, and I was not able to do it well. As a result, his family did not
know the truth at all. In our region, because of the practitioners' fear, the
evil was rampant, and many ordinary people did not know or accept the truth.
Two years passed, and his family wanted us to get married. At this point, I
had studied the Fa quite a bit, and understood Fa rectification, the three
things practitioners must do, and the salvation of sentient beings. I didn't
know what kind of predestined relationship I had with his family. I thought
since things had developed this way, I should marry the person in order to save
them. Actually the thought of saving them was also a pursuit. When I moved into
his family, I did the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. I thought I
must do the three things Master asked us to do. I also tried to persuade his
family members to quit the Communist Party.
A few days after we got married, one morning as I was sending forth righteous
thoughts, he woke up and stopped me angrily. It seemed as though the evil was
controlling him. (A few days before, he also tried to stop me, because he
couldn't accept my cultivation. But it wasn't as serious as this time.) I was
very calm and remembered that Master said we shouldn't fight back or treat
ourselves as ordinary people. However, it still moved me. Since I was a young
child, I had cared very much about what others thought of me. I felt that we
were still newly-weds, and he was not treating me well. I became upset and moved
back home with my parents. He visited my family several times to try to persuade
me to go home with him. I said, "If you let me practice cultivation, I will
go home with you. If not, I will not return." In my mind, cultivation was
the most important. In the end, we were divorced. My marriage lasted less than
one month.
Looking back, I could see a lot of attachments and selfishness on my part. I
was afraid of having children, since children could interfere with my
cultivation. My husband's family did not understand. Also, my cousin was a
cultivator, and she had been married for many years without children. My
husband's family was afraid that I would follow the same path. For ordinary
people, that's how the family carries on. That's why they were so against my
cultivation practice, to the point of willing to divorce me. It wasn't until
then that I realized that I should clarify the facts to his family, but it was
too late. I only thought about saving them when problems emerged. My heart was
not pure. I did not think about their future. The old forces took advantage of
this loophole and controlled them. His family basically said if I cultivate,
their son would divorce me. At that time, I thought the choice was easy: of
course I should choose cultivation. All kinds of attachments surfaced:
competitiveness, resentment, selfishness, and attachments to fame and gain. I
thought I was cultivating and was steadfast. I thought I had not been moved by
human emotions and chose cultivation. I thought I could give up everything.
Later, as I studied the Fa, I read Master's words, ""Cultivation is
about cultivating one's self. No matter what kind of state emerges, you need to
take a hard look at yourself." ("Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference
at the U.S. Capital") Looking back, wasn't I trying to solve the problem
from within the problem? Why didn't I have any compassion? I didn't realize that
while pursuing comfort for my cultivation, I pushed so many people to the
opposite site of Dafa. Because of my attachment to vanity and selfishness, I
prevented the salvation of so many beings. This was not consistent with the Fa
at all! The old universe is based on selfishness. I was cooperating with the old
forces, yet I thought I was doing the right thing. I had always considered
myself first and failed to think whether other sentient beings can be saved.
I am writing this in the hopes that other younger practitioners can be calm
and examine things from the perspective of saving sentient beings. We cannot be
selfish and harm Dafa. Also, I made a mistake in not telling my husband I was a
cultivator before we got engaged. My failure to clarify the facts had caused a
lot of damage to Dafa.
When I truly understood how to look inside, I saw so many of my shortcomings.
Time is running short. We cannot harbor any human attachments. We must pay
attention to every thought of ours and look inward, in order to cultivate well
and save more sentient beings.
These are my understandings at this current stage. I hope fellow
practitioners can learn from my mistakes and avoid such detours. Please kindly
point out anything inappropriate. Heshi.
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- 8. My New Understanding on "Compare in Studying, Compare in Cultivating"
By a Falun Dafa Practitioner outside China
(Clearwisdom.net)
There is a line in the poem "Solid Cultivation" from Master's Hong Yin,
"Study Fa, obtain Fa, Compare in studying, compare in cultivating"
I could always recite it, but in the past my understanding of this line has always been to compare myself with fellow practitioners on studying the Fa and cultivating and to look for gaps between myself and other practitioners. However, recently in cultivation I have had a different understanding.
I have encountered several things. I would often become upset with other practitioners and feel that they were wrong but they were actually merely against my notions. Once another practitioner and I were working together at a scenic spot to talk to Chinese tourists about the persecution. The other practitioner held a display board while I distributed newspapers. There was a little rest period between bursts of tour buses, and the other practitioner found a cool spot close by, opened up a big rubber mat and lied down (she does this a lot).
I smiled. Though I thought it not that great, it was not a big deal since most people who came here enjoyed a rest in the pleasant surroundings.
After a while, another group of tourists arrived. My fellow practitioner did not get up, so I held the board and still distributed newspapers at the same time. In the beginning I did not care too much, but after a little bit I felt it was too troublesome. If I paid more attention to holding the board well, then I could not distribute newspapers. On the other hand, if I tried to distribute newspapers, then I could not hold the board straight.
I got irritated and began to complain in my mind, "Can't she see how busy I am? How comfortable you are sleeping there! How can you not hurry up and get up to help me? How can you be like this as a cultivator?" I began to compare us and felt that I was the one who was suffering. I thought, "Both of us are practitioners and both are Master's disciples. How can you just not do anything?" I began to get angry and felt unfairly treated.
But once I felt angry, I remembered that I am a practitioner. Master has told us that practitioners should never get angry. Master told us to "look inward". I immediately looked inside and immediately found my attachment of comparing. In clarifying the truth I often look at others, and feel unsettled if others fail to follow my notions, or if I happen to put in a little more effort than others. There also seems to be the attachment of jealousy. I did not compare my own thoughts against the standard of the Fa. Once I thought about these things, I immediately realized that compared with the standard set by the Fa, I still have a long way to go and I am not above others enough to become upset. Other people do not equal the Fa. How does it benefit me to compare myself with others? Isn't this exposing my attachment to improvement?
I thought about some practitioners who do not like each other, and some even have big conflicts. Most of these come from comparing themselves with others. For example, someone might feel that although they were all Master's disciples and were doing a project together, that person has done more than others, he has suffered more than others, and he did not receive good comments while following the Fa, while others who did not follow the Fa received good comments. After comparing he would feel things were unfair, get upset, and even privately say bad things about other practitioners.
For "Compare in Studying, Compare in Cultivating" in "Solid Cultivation" in Hong Yin, my understanding now is that Master did not intend for us to compare ourselves with others and end up feeling things were unfair. Instead, Master wants us to compare ourselves with the Fa and this way we can assimilate and improve with the Fa faster and consummate earlier.
In fact immediately after I realized this, the other practitioner came over to hold the board. I smiled. After that group of tourists left, she suddenly realized that the mat that she slept on was gone. She looked around and could not find it. Someone must have taken it. I said, "Auntie, maybe you should try to enlighten to something. Why did the mat disappear?" Auntie thought about it for a little, and said, "Master gave me a hint. I'm too lazy and I must give up this attachment of laziness." We both laughed. With Master's arrangement and care, both she and I improved that evening.
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