Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Improving My Understanding of “Taking No Notice of What One Sees or Hears”
- Inspiration from the Story of Zhang Guolao Riding a Donkey Backwards
- AKeep Righteous Thoughts When Experiencing Sickness Karma
- Letting Go of Attachments Resolves Tribulations
- Looking Within Is Indeed a Magical Tool
- Deeply Touched - Thoughts After Studying “What Is a Dafa Disciple”
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the December 2012 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
We come to the end of the year and it is time for taking stock of how well we are doing in cultivation and catch up, improve and do better to keep pace with the Fa-rectification.
In this issue, we have 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 Delhi have been steadfast with their efforts to participate in Book Fairs all over India.
They took part in Raipur Book Fair, Bhatinda and is preparing to participate in the Calicut and Hyderabad Book Fairs.
Practioners from Pune took part in Pune Book Fair.
Practitioners from Hyderabad distributed fliers in ECO MELA, conducted by some schools to principals, teachers and students. We got a positive response later from the reputed Aurobindo International School.
Hyderabad practitioners also introduced Falun Dafa to girl students in Malla Reddy Engineering College.
Practitioners also introduced the practice to students in Gujarati primary school (Pragati educational group) for a week and presented Falun Gong book to the principal, who promised to continue the practice.
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- 3. Improving My Understanding of “Taking No Notice of What One Sees or Hears”
By a practitioner from Mainland China
(Minghui.org)
Last week at a Fa-study when I overheard a fellow practitioner criticizing other practitioners, my heart was affected. After coming home, I reflected upon it and asked myself why my heart was moved? I wondered why I could not follow the principle of “take no notice of what one sees or hears?”
In the past, I had a sensory response to “taking no notice of what one sees or hears.” I thought of how I could show no response to what I saw and heard but I couldn’t imagine that one day I could reach that realm of thought.
Today, when my mind again reflected on this sentence, I was being reminded that I should have a deeper understanding of it. At first, I felt it was pretty difficult. How could I act as if nothing had happened when it was happening right in front of me? In listening to language and music, how can I act as if I hear nothing? However, whenever I truly let go my own attachments and look at it from the perspective of cultivation, I found the situation is different: If my heart is moved when I see some scenery, what attachments do I still have? Why do I have this attachment? Isn’t my reaction caused by an attachment I still have?
When I see someone passing by who is dressed well and looks beautiful, my thoughts and heart are moved. When I see pedestrians walking against the red lights, my thoughts and heart are moved. When I see two people quarreling and using ugly words, my thoughts and heart are moved. When I see the world’s people refusing to listen to the truth about Falun Gong, and reply with vicious words, I think that it is too difficult to save them. Whatever I see, I have my own way of thinking. Sometimes, my thoughts go even further. With this kind of attachment, how can I remain calm and “not see” anything.
Now let us look at the “listening” part of the sentence. When I hear pleasant music, my thoughts and heart are moved. When I hear girls using bad language, my thoughts and heart are moved. When I hear people talking about the impending collapse of the Chinese economy, I think about what I should do about my job. When hearing that fellow practitioners are doing things that are not from the Fa perspective, I think: after cultivating for so many years, how can they still act like that? Whatever I hear, I think about it. Sometimes the thoughts even consume my mind. With this kind of attachment, how can I act as if I “didn’t hear” anything. It seems that every exterior message moves my heart, or even gives way to foolish fancies. This is not the state of a cultivator.
First of all, in order to achieve “taking no notice of what one sees or hears”, I have to get rid of my human heart that is easily moved. Only when we have gotten rid of this attachment, when we see and hear again, will our heart not be moved. When this scenery and sound passes by, without leaving any trace, naturally we will achieve “taking no notice of what one sees or hears.”
My wife, who is a fellow practitioner, reminded me that Master said:
“Actually, when we see the form that something exists in, or maybe of a person, or an object, it’s in the brain that the image really forms. What this means, then, is that we look through the human eyes, and what we see is transmitted through the optic nerves to the pineal gland, which is in the rear of the brain, and then the image appears in that area. So when we see things, it’s in our brain’s pineal gland area that the image really appears. And this is something modern medicine now understands. ” (Zhuan Falun)
When we do not have human thoughts, the image will remain only at the eyes. When the visual nerves do not pass it on, one truly does not see it. It is not that you see it and are not moved in your heart.
When I studied again, I realized that if we have attachments in our heart, no matter what we see or hear, we will have a multitude of thoughts, and it will be impossible to achieve “taking no notice of what one sees or hears.” If our hearts are not righteous, self-demonization might occur and that might eventually ruin us.
Finally let us study together Master’s article “Abiding in the Dao” in “Hong Yin”: Present, but the heart elsewhere—
Perfectly reconciled with the world.
Looking, but caring not to see—
Free of delusion and doubt.
Listening, but caring not to hear—
A mind so hard to disturb.
Eating, but caring not to taste—
The palate’s attachments severed.
Doing, but without pursuit—
So constant, abiding in the Dao.
Calm, but without strain of thought—
The truly wondrous can be seen
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- 4. Inspiration from the Story of Zhang Guolao Riding a Donkey Backwards
By Qin Mengsu
(Minghui.org)
Stories about Zhang Guolao were probably first documented in Ming-huang Za Lu. Both old and new versions of Tang Shu documented stories about Zhang Guolao. During the Qing Dynasty, Taoist Wugou wrote a book called Complete Biography of The Eight Deities, which comprehensively documented Zhang Guolao's life, including his steadfast faith in seeking a meaningful existence by cultivation and experiencing all kinds of hardships over a long period of time.
Zhang focused his attention on seeking the Dao, and did not pursue all the splendor in the world. Emperors of the T'ang dynasty (Tai Tsung and Kao Tsung) often invited Zhang Guolao to court, but he always declined these invitations. Once, when personally asked by Empress Wu Zhetian, he could not find an excuse to refuse. He just played dead in front of a temple. It was in summer. His body was seen decomposing, but he was later seen, alive and well, on the mountains of Heng. Emperor Xuan Tsung called him to his court several times, in an attempt to find the secret of immortality. When he saw Zhang Guolao's old appearance, he asked, "As a person that has attained the Dao, why do you look so old, with sparse teeth and hair?" Zhang said, "There is no Taoist magic arts that resist old age, that's why I look so old. I feel ashamed for this. However, if I pull out my remaining teeth and hair, will new teeth and hair grow?" So he pulled out his hair and teeth. Xuan Tsung was very worried by his act, so he asked him to go away for a rest. Shortly, Zhang came back to court, and looked like a completely new person, with black hair and white teeth. Therefore, all the high officials and noble lords visited him, seeking the secrets of renewing their youth. Zhang Guolao turned down all their requests. He proved that he was different from ordinary people. Seeking the Dao is not the same thing as seeking ordinary people's skills.
Once Xuan Tsung went hunting. He pursued a big deer, which was different from an ordinary deer. When he was about to kill the deer, Zhang Guolao stopped him and said, "This is a celestial deer, and it is over one thousand years old. Once Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty went hunting, and I followed him. He also caught the same deer, but he let it go." Xuan Tsung asked, "How big the world is. How can you be so sure that this is the same deer?" Zhang replied, "When Emperor Wu released it, he put a bronze plate under it's left horn." So Xuan Tsung asked people to check it, and sure enough, under it's left horn, there was a bronze plate. Zhang said, "The plate has a eight hundred and fifty two year' history." Xuan Tsung then asked people to check if what he said was true or not, and it turned out that it was true. It is seen from this story that Zhang Guolao had already attained the Dao. Enlightened people don't disclose heavenly secrets, so they usually teach people a lesson and inspire people from an distance. Maybe he wanted to employ the proof left from eight hundred years ago to tell Xuan Tsung that ordinary people can overcome the rule of birth, old age, illness and death instead of just idling their time away.
It is said that Zhang Guolao rode a white donkey backwards, and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles a day. His donkey neither ate grass nor drank water. When the sun set Zhang patted his donkey, and it turned into paper. Then Zhang put it away. The next morning, he took the paper donkey out of his pocket, blew on it, and it became a live donkey again.
There are always deep meanings and heavenly secrets in Chinese ancient cultivation stories. If ordinary people only focused on what happens before them, without seeking the deeper meanings of life, they will miss the great opportunities of knowing the truth. At the same time, they will lose the essence of the five thousands years' of Chinese divine Culture. With the story of Zhang Guolao riding a donkey backwards, which the author heard in childhood, people might ask themselves: " Why did Zhang Guolao do this? As an enlightened being, he must have had a reason. If so, what is it?"
In Analects of Confucius(Lun Yu), there was such a story. One day, Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius, asked Confucius: " Not flatter though being poor, not arrogant though being rich. What do you think of it?" Confucius said: "It is not bad. But it cannot be compared with 'Enjoy himself though poor, cherish good virtue though rich'."
Perhaps in Confucius' time, people did not cherish the nature of being simple, kindhearted and acting dutifully. He saw the downward trend of morality, so he advocated "contain oneself and revive good nature". At the same time, he told his disciples that in different social classes, there were different moralities. He saw the downturn of morality, but he tried to prevent it from deteriorating below a certain baseline. However, in modern China, good virtues no longer exist. People used to live a simple life, which is a good virtue, however, now people spend money without thinking. People used to think that corruption is evil, however, now people think that it is a skill. People used to do things based on moral standards, however, now people can do whatever it takes to make money. Cheating, lies, and violence is prevalent. TV programs are full of violence, sex and incest. Gangsters are collaborating with the Communist Party, inverting good and evil. Morality has decreased to such a degree that it cannot decline any further.
Think about it. Enlightened beings who attain the Tao are seeking virtue. If back then they predicted what would happen in modern society, it is not difficult to understand why Zhang Guolao rode the donkey backwards. It was a warning for both himself and people nowadays. In Zhuan Falun, there are two places that mention Zhang Guolao.
"He realized that going forward was actually going backward, that people are going further and further away from the nature of the universe." (Zhuan Falun Lecture 9)
"He had realized that going forward was actually going backward, so he rode the donkey turned around." ( Zhuan Falun Lecture 3)
It is true. The further people move away from the Tao and from "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance", the more evil people are and the worse society becomes. Formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction of the universe does exist and is now in it's final stage. "Thousands of years of reincarnation has a reason." It is sincerely hoped that more and more people can realize what enlightened beings predicted and understand the great meaning.
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- 5. Keep Righteous Thoughts When Experiencing Sickness Karma
(Minghui.org)
Master said,
"There is a transition at the lowest level of cultivation
practice, and this is to purify your body completely."
"You do not need to practice such low-level things, and we will
push you beyond it, making your body reach a state free of any
illness." ("Lecture One," )
I have always believed that Dafa cultivators have no illnesses
and held the mindset that my righteous thoughts were pretty strong
in this regard. However, during a recent period of sickness karma,
I had a hard time. I want to write down this experience in hopes
that it can be of reference to other practitioners who are
experiencing sickness karma.
It started in the first month of last year (based on the Chinese
lunar calendar). One day, I took a bath in a spa and prepared to
wash my hair. Just as I put shampoo on my hair, before I had time
to rinse it off, a relative called me to hurry and help her take a
bath. So, I went to help her. When I had time to wash my hair, I
found that the shampoo had already dried. The next day, red,
swollen spots appeared on my head and the skin started to peel off.
I did not pay much attention to it, but this situation has now
lasted for over one year.
Before the New Year, I went to a salon to have my hair done. The
hairstylist saw the swollen spots on my head and also noticed a
blister on the back of my head. She told me to go to see a doctor
as soon as possible. She said that she had a relative who also had
a blister in the same area, and spent a lot of money in medical
treatment and also stayed in the hospital for a long time before
recovering.
Four or five days later, I found that the blister had grown
rapidly, making it difficult to comb my hair. In the meantime, many
red spots appeared on my forehead, nose, limbs, and torso. Only my
face, hands, and feet did not have the spots. The spots grew very
rapidly. They looked like burns from hot water. At the same time,
the red, swollen areas on my head were heavily covered by something
like scalp and they all became connected. I was concerned. I
hurriedly went to wash my hair. When that stuff was washed away, it
formed again rapidly in no more than half a day. Furthermore, it
peeled off as quickly as it formed. In this way, several layers
would peel off every day. My family members became scared and tried
to persuade me to see a doctor. I refused, as I firmly believed
that these were manifestations due to persecution by evil forces.
Master would not arrange such a tribulation for me, because I
believed that it would greatly tarnish the image of Dafa disciples.
I then spent much time in sending righteous thoughts toward the
interfering evil factors.
Master said,
"Everything that ordinary people seek; everything that ordinary
people want to gain; everything that ordinary people act on, say,
and do--all of this is, for you, what needs to be cultivated away.
But, since you still need to remain among ordinary people until
your cultivation meets with Consummation, you have to reach a state
in which you have such things but have no heart for them, in which
you can do such things but without attachment." ("Fa Teaching Given
in Manhattan" March 26, 2006)
I had to admit that I had not achieved the state of "do such
things but without attachment." I did not have compassion either.
What I had was hatred of the evil factors. Compassion is the power
of righteous gods. If I had thought while sending righteous
thoughts that the old forces had been using this to ruin sentient
beings, rather than that they were persecuting me; if I had held
the mindset of offering the sentient beings salvation when
eliminating the evil forces, the outcome would have been perhaps
quite different.
Two months passed and still no improvement. People asked, "What
is wrong with your head? Have you seen a doctor? How could you get
better without seeing a doctor?" In this way, I had not cultivated
away the human mentality that Master wanted me to let go of, and
instead, I was trapped in these attachments. I suffered much from
this interference. I wiped the affected skin with alcohol or banana
peel as if it were the last straw. At that time, I did not have any
righteous thoughts, and my had already dropped
to the realm of ordinary people.
Master said,
"When your righteous thoughts are inadequate and not in line
with the Fa, you will be cut off from the Fa's power, and it will
seem like you are alone and getting no help. Even if the things you
are doing are Dafa things, you still have to conform to the Fa or
else the Fa's power will not be there." ("Fa Teaching Given in
Manhattan" March 26, 2006)
I felt worried and helpless, and I felt at a loss. In the end, I
cried and kneeled in front of Master's photo, saying, "Master, with
this thing I do not feel itchiness or pain. It has gone on for so
long. It would be better if it were itchy and painful, so it could
go away quickly." Ever since then, I felt restless and
agitated.
One week later, I told my situation to a fellow practitioner,
who said, "You asked for the itch. No matter what ordinary people
say, your mind should not be moved. Let them look. What are you
afraid of?" I felt that the fellow practitioner's words made sense.
I had not acted correctly; I had paid too much attention to my
image and to how ordinary people look at me. With these
attachments, I had been moved by ordinary people's mentalities,
which had made things worse.
I went onto the Minghui website to read fellow practitioners'
articles. I noticed that a practitioner cited a part of Master's
Fa,
"Once you upgrade your xinxing, your body will undergo a great
change. Upon xinxing improvement, the matter in your body is
guaranteed to transform." ("Lecture One," Zhuan Falun)
Reading this I realized that it was time for me to improve my
xinxing. I calmed down and studied the Fa intensively. I
realized that there is nothing accidental on a Dafa practitioner's
cultivation path and everything is related to cultivation.
Master told us that all the things that a cultivator encounters
are good things. Why had I taken it as something bad? I had been
using my human mentality to look at things. I also understood that
I had already dropped to the level of ordinary people in this very
aspect that I had been attached to. What had been stirred up were
my human attachments, which were to be eliminated during
cultivation. Master said,
"and it is precisely your managing to eliminate those
attachments rooted in your human thinking as you cultivate that
counts as important." ("Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan")
I came to understand that we should achieve the state, as Master
has told us, that we take all praise and all tribulations as tests.
We are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples and should always
keep a compassionate mind as compassion is the power of righteous
gods. When one always keeps a compassionate mind, one's righteous
thoughts will naturally be strong, so one will not stray from the
Fa, will be less likely to take detours in cultivation, and will be
able to break through any barriers. While studying the Fa, I forgot
the things that covered my body. Four or five days later, after
taking a bath, I was surprised to find that my skin was as smooth
and shiny as ever.
Master said,
"...since as cultivators you know that everything you do in
society right now, including in your own personal life, falls
within the realm of cultivation, then even more so should you take
seriously everything that unfolds around you, and take more
seriously this formless form of cultivation that you do."
"Then it becomes a matter of Dafa disciples figuring out how to
best utilize this form that we have, and that is what amounts to
walking this cultivation path well." ("Fa Teaching Given in
Manhattan")
Let's alert each other, keep strong righteous thoughts, and use
our righteous thoughts in everything that has happened around
us.
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- 6. Letting Go of Attachments Resolves Tribulations
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China
(Minghui.org)
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1995. I experienced a lot of tribulations, but did not view some of them as being part of my cultivation. I would like to share some of my experiences with fellow practitioners. Resolving Problems by Letting Go of Attachments In 2010, my second molar on the bottom left side hurt. I did not think much about, but it hurt on and off over the next seven months. At times the pain was excruciating and I could not eat well or sleep. I didn't tell my husband, who is not a practitioner, or he would have forced me to take medication. One time, during dinner. I couldn't take the pain and left the dinner table. I lay down and thought, “I am a practitioner and yet, I'm having a hard time. I need to look within based on the Fa.” I thought I did the well. I never missed the group exercise, studied the Fa diligently and told people about Falun Gong. I sent righteous thoughts as required and got up at 3 a.m. to do the exercises. I thought I was progressing well and didn't find any attachments when I looked within. I knew that tribulations happened for a reason. If it was not the old forces, then it was attachments. I sent righteous thoughts to negate the old forces' arrangement and looked within for any notions that didn't conform to the the Fa. I finally found a notion: "I didn't cultivate my speech!" Teacher said: “The cultivation of speech that we teach refers to: that which involves one’s reputation and personal gain that cannot be given up among everyday people, that which has nothing to do with the actual work of practitioners in society, the senseless gossiping among practitioners in the same school of practice, attachments that cause one to show off, hearsay or circulating rumors, or those discussions on some social issues that one is excited about. I hold that these are all attachments of everyday people. I think that in these areas we should watch what we say—that is the cultivation of speech we refer to.” () I could not believe that Teacher had said it so explicitly and I still did not enlighten to it for so long. Once I realized my attachment my tooth stopped hurting and I rejoined my family for dinner, thanks to Teacher's help. Looking Younger than My Age Because of the aforementioned experience, I truly felt that nothing was coincidental for a cultivator. Everything that happens is to help us remove attachments. It is just like Teacher said: “To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments ... Why do you encounter these problems? They are all caused by your own karma. We have already eliminated for you many, numerous pieces of it, leaving only that tiny bit which is divided into tribulations at different levels for upgrading your xinxing, tempering your mind, and removing your different attachments. These are all your own tribulations that we use to improve your xinxing, and you will be able to overcome them. As long as you upgrade your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them. Therefore, from now on when you come across a conflict you should not consider it a coincidence. This is because when a conflict occurs, it will take place unexpectedly. But that is not a coincidence—it is for improving your xinxing. As long as you treat yourself as a practitioner, you can handle it properly.” Before I practiced Dafa, I was tenacious. I never gave up on completing a task. Once I decided that Falun Dafa was what I wanted in life, I did not slack off. I was a diligent practitioner and did everything Master asked of his practitioners. However, although I have practiced for such a long time, my complexion looked worse than that of ordinary people. Therefore, when talking about the benefits of Falun Dafa, I felt that I wasn't persuasive. I made excuses and said that I was pale from lack of sufficient sleep. Because of the toothache incident, I finally understood that my physical appearance did not improve because I was not a truly diligent practitioner. For example, a coworker's relative who works in the department of labor could somehow, because of connections, save more money for her retirement than normal. My supervisor who wanted to achieve the same result by going through the coworker's connection suggested that I be part of this scheme. This was an opportunity to improve my xinxing, but emotionally I couldn't let go. I also had to consider that my supervisor would lose face if I refused, so I agreed to go along. There were many tests I did not pass. I couldn't let go of emotions and personal gains, so my physical appearance did not improve. I believe that only when we pass every test can we improve our and the Fa principles governing ordinary people's society will have no control over our physical body. After I retired, I gradually realized what true cultivation is. Before I only studied one chapter of Zhuan Falun daily and when I studied, my mind was often elsewhere. Now I read each word and phrase carefully. Everything I do, I let the Fa guide me. Now I am 60 years old, but I feel like a 30-year-old. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I was often ill and looked emaciated. My skin was loose and wrinkly. Now, I have gained weight. My skin is elastic and I have a nice complexion. My former coworkers were surprised when they saw me. They said, “Your complexion looks great! You look younger and prettier now!” After meeting with former classmates, my husband said, “You look much younger than they do.” I know the changes I'm experiencing come from true cultivation. It is just like Teacher said, “Once you upgrade your xinxing, your body will undergo a great change. Upon xinxing improvement, the matter in your body is guaranteed to transform." (Zhuan Falun) I want to encourage fellow practitioners with Teacher's article, “Study Fa, obtain Fa,
Compare in studying,
compare in cultivating,
Examine each and every deed,
Accomplishing is cultivating."
("Hong Yin", "Solid Cultivation")
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- 7. Looking Within Is Indeed a Magical Tool
By a practitioner from Mainland China
(Minghui.org)
I have been practicing Falun Dafa for over 10 years, and I have read over 100 times. I know that, as a practitioner, regardless of what I encounter, I should always look inside myself. However, when conflicts occurred, I always forgot to look inside. Later, when I did understand the more rationally and really looked inside myself, all the conflicts were gone, and my mind became broader. I deeply feel that searching inside is indeed a magical tool. Here I'd like to share two examples. A local experience sharing conference was held in May 2009. The coordinator, A, asked B to notify me about it, but B didn't. On the day of the conference, it was the birthday of a relative's grandson, and I was invited to the party. That night, my wife told me that she had heard about the conference. The next day, I asked B why she didn't notify me, and she said that she thought I wouldn't attend. I was very angry, “How do you know I wouldn't attend it? Didn't I attend it every other year?” And I irrationally complained a lot about it. B didn't say anything to defend herself. The attachment to complaining about the other person has been buried deeply in my mind for a long time and had become a barrier to improving myself. I calmed down to study the Fa and checked to see if I followed what Master said. Master said in Zhuan Falun, “In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate one’s own heart and inner self. One should search inside oneself rather than outside.” (“Lecture Nine”) I realized that I did have the thought of being unwilling to attend the experience sharing conference, which the evil took advantage of. I recalled that a few days before the conference, coordinator A told me about the conference. I suggested that we hold the conference at night so that we could have a longer conference. However, A preferred the daytime because under the special circumstances in Mainland China, it would be better not to have the conference go too long, and it would be safer during the daytime than at night. Because A didn't take my suggestion, deep in my mind, I didn't want to attend the conference. I felt it would be better to go to the relative's party because I could clarify the truth to relatives and persuade them to quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. In addition, I have the attachment to human emotions and was afraid that I would offend my relative if I didn't go to their party. I didn't put the conference as the first priority. When I realized this, the conflicts were gone, and I didn't complain about practitioner B anymore. Instead, I felt ashamed that I had treated B so badly. Now my mind is broader, and I deeply experienced that searching inside is indeed a magic tool. Only by Searching Within Can Practitioners Totally Destroy the Old Forces' Persecution In February 2012, I temporarily moved to my youngest son's home. At night, I got a very high fever. I took it as “eliminating karma” and thought it was a good thing. The second day, it was windy and I felt very cold. At night I kept coughing. The next few days and nights, I was very uncomfortable. I was in great pain, could not sleep, and could not eat anything; I could only drink water. I lost weight. My son, relatives, and friends all said that I had a serious illness and should go to the hospital. I told them that I hadn't taken a pill for 15 years—ever since I had begun to practice Falun Gong—and that I had no illness; I was just uncomfortable and would recover soon. For many days, I simply stayed at home studying the Fa and practicing the exercises without going out to clarify the truth. I thought the reason why I was unwell was because I had caught a cold. I only looked outside. It was Master who enlightened me. In the first lecture of Zhuan Falun, Master said, “The above are the two reasons for not being able to increase gong. Without knowing the Fa at high levels, one cannot practice cultivation. Without cultivating one’s inner self and one’s xinxing, one cannot increase gong. These are the two reasons.” I realized that I didn't understand the Fa on the basis of the Fa, and I took the false appearance created by the old forces as the reason. I took the old force's persecuting me as “eliminating karma,” and I acknowledged the persecution. When I searched inside, I found other attachments, like fighting, jealousy, showing off, etc. Then I started to send forth righteous thoughts: “I am a Dafa practitioner, I only follow what my Master arranged for me. I don't acknowledge any other arrangements and totally deny all arrangements made by the old forces.” At the same time, I repeated, “Falun Dafa is good; Zhan-Shan-Ren is good” in my mind. With Master's help, all the pain was gone. When I did the well, everything was back to normal, and I was full of energy.
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- 8. Deeply Touched - Thoughts After Studying “What Is a Dafa Disciple”
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China
(Minghui.org)
When I opened the Minghui website yesterday, I saw Master's new scripture “What Is a Dafa Disciple”. The topic touched my heart. After cultivating for over ten years, how am I doing? Do I meet the standard of a Dafa disciple? Before I read the new article, I could not help but ask myself this question. A number of questions touched my heart deeply. I quickly finished the whole lecture. I kept thinking about it that night, and when I got up in the morning, I read it again.
Master stated: “Whatever is loaded into a person’s mind will for sure affect his outer appearance. For example, if you put something square into a bag, by looking at the outer appearance you will be able to tell; if you put something round into it, you’ll also be able to tell that from the outer appearance. Meaning, whatever kind of thinking is loaded into a person will be visible from the outer appearance.” That made me think: when one is selfish, and does not get what he or she wants, one will develop a sense of unfairness, resentment or even anger, leading to jealousy and the mentality of fighting. This will show in one's words, actions and outward appearance. Before I obtained Dafa, I had poor health. I felt weak and vulnerable, and my spirits were low, as if no matter how hard I tried, I could not get anything done. People perceived me as if I was upset with someone all the time. The corner of my mouth drooped down most of the time, particularly if I felt unfairly treated, and my language was often sharp. I didn't even like to look at myself in the mirror because it just made me more upset. After I obtained Dafa, I conducted myself according to Dafa principles and cared less about fame, personal gain and emotional attachments. I understood the purpose of life: to return to one's original self. I felt so fortunate to obtain Dafa. Master said: “Upon xinxing improvement, the matter in your body is guaranteed to transform.”(Zhuan Falun). After the persecution began, my wife divorced me, and my home and life were a mess. Several friends came to visit me with tears in their eyes; they felt that I had lost everything. But I did not become hopeless or full of despair. I became more upbeat, and looked younger and more handsome. People commented that my temperament had really improved. My friends asked me: “How can you still be so upbeat?” How can ordinary people understand a Dafa disciple's mentality? With regard to saving sentient beings, I cannot compare with those who are able to persuade dozens of people to quit the CCP on a daily basis, but I thought I did well compared with those who do not step forward to clarify the truth or who seldom go out. I went through some severe tribulations when I was reported several times, and only under Master's protection and with righteous thoughts and actions was I able to finally dispel the persecution. I felt that I had made my effort and that it had not been easy for me. Only after reading Master's new scripture, did I realize that I still have a long way to go to reach Master's requirement. I realized that I still have the attachment of fear, and the heart to choose whom I saved. I did not completely follow Master's requirement, did not truly help Master in saving sentient beings, and did not truly believe in Master and the Fa. I read numerous Minghui articles about fellow practitioners who had no fear. They clarify the truth to anyone they meet. That is what Master wants! I believe I still have selfish thoughts and worry about personal benefits. When you carry a selfish thought to save people, it will be difficult to discuss things further. Every time I think of Master's heart, I want to cry. Why can't I live up to Master's expectations? In order to help us accomplish our mission of saving sentient beings, Master has worked so hard in every aspect for us, and now he is teaching us with such a heavy heart. It is up to us to do well!
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