Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Saving People and Completing the Sacred Missions That Teacher Bestowed Upon Us
- Eliminate the Thought of Showing Off
- Looking Inward Is the Key to Improvement
- Looking Inward Is the Panacea
- Some Thoughts about "Cultivation of Speech"
- Discovering My Reluctance to Change Myself
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the December 2010 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?
The Divine Land Marching Band performed at the concluding part of the Principal’s conference on the first day. It was a full house and everybody loved it.
There were performances at the Hiranandani Gardens and at two malls which drew huge crowds.
The Band also performed at a dinner hosted by a publisher.
Many schools heartily welcomed the Band where they also demonstrated the exercises.
Practitioners from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai participated in a Peace Walk organized by an NGO as a tribute to the martyrs and victims of 26/11.
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- 3. Saving People and Completing the Sacred Missions That Teacher Bestowed Upon Us
By Li Ziwei
(Clearwisdom.net)
Since Teacher's "Fa Teaching at the U.S.
Capital" was published, I have been thinking about the two grand words,
"saving people." I enlightened to how important "saving
people" is in Teacher's eyes. Harmonizing what Teacher wants is the duty of
practitioners--a deemed duty we must fulfill. What I understood Teacher to say
about "Gods among humans" was not correct in the past. I thought it
referred to practitioners walking their paths toward godhood. Now, I have begun
to relate it to high-level beings, who came down to this human world with
intentions of obtaining the Fa, assisting Teacher in rectifying the Fa and being
saved by the Fa. A powerful feeling came forth as I thought about this. I then
felt the profoundness of the inner meanings of "saving people."
Teacher said:
"Then which beings are to be cherished during the Fa-rectification
period, this critical point in history? Those with full confidence in Dafa and
with corresponding actions; these lives are precious. So I feel that whether
you look at this from my perspective or in the context of Dafa disciples'
responsibilities, we all have this duty and should take up this task."
("Fa Teaching at the U.S. Capital")
Teacher cherishes those high-level beings that came down to the human world
and got lost just like us. He doesn't want to leave anyone behind. Therefore,
why should we be hesitant and waiver? There is only one thing left in my heart
now. To save people, and who to save?
Teacher began arranging for people with predestined relationships to come to
me, after I set my heart right. The amazing thing is that when someone agrees to
do the "three withdrawals" (withdrawing from the Communist Party, the
Communist Youth League, and the Young Pioneers), their faces change completely
and appear to shine with Buddha's light. Seeing this for the first time, I was
shocked and became more motivated to help people with the three withdrawals. I
wasn't sure who to save before, but now I feel I should save anyone I run into.
For example, a couple of alumni came to my office to talk about a classmate of
ours who killed himself making money after he retired. The taller alumni
believed that how much you make in your lifetime is set. Hearing this, I began
to think that Teacher arranged for this person to come to see me. Our
conversation naturally moved to Falun Gong and we were talking about what we
have seen or experienced during the past decade. I mentioned the three
withdrawals, and they both gladly agreed to quit. They said that they were glad
they met with me again. What shocked me was that both of them completely
changed. They no longer appeared to be the ordinary people I just saw, but
rather appeared god-like and Buddha-like. Buddha's Fa is boundless. Teacher is
extremely compassionate.
Yesterday, I ran into a lady on the street who recently moved into our
residential area. We chatted as we walked together. I learned that prior to July
20, 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong began, she did business in Beijing.
Her husband was responsible for picking up Falun Gong practitioners. I mentioned
the three withdrawals to her and she told me that both she and her husband
believed in Buddha. A fortuneteller used to tell her that she had predestined
relationship with Buddha. I told her that Teacher asked us to save those who
came down from high-levels. We tried to think of an alias for her to use for the
three withdrawals. I said, "How about lotus? Are you okay with that?"
She smiled. Then I added, "How about if we pick 'righteous' for your
husband?" She laughed cheerfully and loudly. Then, she told me these two
words were the name she and her husband came up with for their future baby. She
also asked me for a copy of the book Zhuan Falun.
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- 4. Eliminate the Thought of Showing Off
By a practitioner from Hebei Province
(Clearwisdom.net)
Just now, right after I finished doing the fifth exercise and was trying to listen to Master's first lecture, suddenly my MP3 player stopped working. I couldn't find out why and just kept trying to fix it. After a while, it started working again and I was able to clearly hear Master's lecture--he was talking about showing off. As a practitioner, I know it all happened for a reason. It is time for me to get rid of the attachment to showing off. "We do our cultivation in the setting of ordinary people, and because of this a lot of our students can't seem to let go of many attachments they have, and a lot of their attachments have already become natural to them, they can't notice it." (Zhuan Falun) I am the kind of person who has a lot of attachments. Since starting my cultivation, under the help and protection of Master, I began to remove them, but there are still a lot of attachments I am not aware of. There are also some I knew I had but hadn't really made the conscious decision to eliminate. Under Master's compassion, I finally make up my mind to eliminate my attachment to showing off.
Showing off in the past
In my case, the showing off attachment has been in my heart for quite a while. I was considered very smart when I was young. I attended a country school which was not considered a very good one. Among my group of friends I was known as the "top student." I was used to showing off all the time and was not even aware of it. After I studied hard and moved away from the country, I became a city resident. I found a good job, got married, and had a very lovely son.
I used to think that all my showing off occurred in the past. Now when I look back, I really feel that those things were not worth showing off at all. They now seem really childish and ridiculous, not only for a cultivator, even an ordinary person would think this kind of showing off cheap and the person not well behaved. So from then on, I felt there was nothing worth showing off about from my past.
Showing off in my present daily life
How about now? Now everything is connected with cultivation, no matter if things are good or bad. The attachment of showing off is in my dimension, like Master said,
"Showing off can appear in all kinds of situations, and it can also show up when a person is doing something good. Maybe some people brag and show off in their day-to-day lives when they gain a little status or wealth" (Zhuan Falun)
My article was used by "Minghui Weekly." When I was writing the article I was in a pure state of mind as a practitioner, and I did not think about whether my article would be used or not. After my article was printed, the hidden attachment of showing off started to appear. Two articles I wrote in 2009 were used by the paper, and right after that, a short one was used by Clearwisdom. I started to wish more articles could be used, because my showing off attachment was growing. The result: Practitioner A was talking to me one day said she never wanted to write articles for Clearwisdom anymore, because none of her articles was printed. That made me realize: "My articles were used, but it did not encourage fellow practitioners around me so that she would write more articles for Clearwisdom and we all could build up our practitioners' website together. I only discouraged her. Isn't that something I caused, since I did not have a pure state of mind?" Because of my showing off, this whole thing did not have the noble and purity it should have, and my behavior didn't help to improve our cultivation as a group.
Another time when I was clearly aware, I used a supernormal ability to accomplish a certain thing. Deep down I knew it was not brought about by my own power, it was clearly Master's power, a much more noble thing. Even though I knew this, I still carried the essence of showing off and happiness when I was talking to a fellow practitioner. Although I claimed it was with the help of Master, I could still feel that I was not that pure when I explained it.
Truly eliminating showing off
"Cultivation is up to you, gong is up to the master." (Zhuan Falun). Because everything we accomplish is all related to Master's efforts, no matter what we achieve in this surface dimension, in whatever aspect, whether among ordinary people or among practitioners, big thing or small, we should never feel proud of ourselves. There is truly nothing to be proud of or that is worth showing off. It is the wisdom given to us by the Fa that enables us to achieve anything, and the pride belongs to Dafa and Master.
If a miracle occurs, we should be more appreciative of Master's compassion and understand more deeply how noble and great Dafa is instead of showing off to fellow practitioners. At this very urgent moment, we have to help Master to validate the Fa--how can we have time to show off?
Dig out the attachment of showing off, clear it layer by layer from the surface to deep inside, and be a true disciple of Master. Let's all use pure hearts to fulfill our responsibilities and not disappoint Master's great compassion.
My level of cultivation is limited, please feel free to give corrections.
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- 5. Looking Inward Is the Key to Improvement
By a practitioner in Hebei Province
(Clearwisdom.net)
I am 52 years old. I had many diseases before I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997: Mammary gland proliferation, aridity rhinitis, adnexitis, hypoglycemia, dizziness, osteoporosis and so on. Although not fatal diseases, they tormented my body and soul all the time, and made me look over 50 when I was only just over 40.
I returned to my hometown in July 1997. My elder brother and his wife had just learned Falun Dafa. My sister-in-law found the videotapes of Teacher's lecture in Dalian and we watched them together. When it showed Teacher removing illnesses for practitioners on the spot, I felt a formidable energy penetrating my head. In a moment, my entire body felt relaxed and I felt a joyous sensation that I had never felt before. I experienced the feeling of being free of illness for the first time in my life. I said to my elder brother and sister-in-law with excitement, "This is supernatural! I hadn't thought such a marvelous practice existed in the world. I must learn!" Since then I have been practicing Dafa. In these over ten years of practice, I realized how serious cultivation is, how it manifests in every moment, in every aspect, word and act in life. All things in life can manifest a practitioner's condition. Now I would like to give a brief report of my experiences in practicing to kind Teacher and fellow practitioners.
1. Looking Inwards is the Key to Improvement
There were huge changes to my body and mind after I began practicing Dafa. My relatives and friends were all amazed at the changes they saw. In order to let them know Dafa's wonderfulness and miracles, I often purposely showed them how strong my body had become. Recalling it now, my mindset was not pure and it had the mentality of showing off. After a long time, I saw attachments emerging. I was attached to my body looking good, young and beautiful, which were mixed into doing the three things without my noticing. I wanted to get things from Dafa, and was satisfied with all sorts of human desires.
In August 2005, I got a bad stomachache. I thought it might be the elimination of karma, so I paid no attention to it. But it dragged on. Eventually it turned into severe discharging of pus and blood. I became much skinnier and emaciated. I was moved and often begged Teacher to give me hints, and looked for practitioners to share with. One practitioner said to me, "The stomach is a human body's internal organ. If they have problems, it means you are not looking inwards sufficiently." I was shocked! Isn't Teacher giving me a hint? I went home and carefully looked within. After several years, how many of my fundamental attachments had been removed? What other attachments had I not found? I searched and searched. I found a big pile of attachments, but they were all superficial. When I was doing the three things, I always related how many things I had done, and if I got good results then my body would change, as if everything I did was for that. My starting point in cultivation was not right. In addition to the strong attachment of looking outwards, my body had not changed for the better. I was a bit confused.
At an experience sharing conference, a practitioner told me her husband suddenly had diarrhea one day and went to the toilet over 30 times that day. He could not get up the next day, so she and her husband (a fellow practitioner) sent forth righteous thoughts. But it had no effect. She asked her husband, "What can we do?" He replied, "I know, I'm regarding it too strongly. How can a practitioner have such a condition? Get me a drink of cold water! I do not believe this!" After taking a drink of cold water, the diarrhea stopped. She said, "You can try doing that." I said: "No need!" I understood. It was not that the cold water had the effect, but that the practitioner truly jumped out of human notions, so there was a complete turn around! That is to say, after his xinxing reached the standard, the "symptom" naturally disappeared.
I blushed with shame. I used to dare not eat anything raw or cold, afraid of catching a illness. I dared not do this and that, but were these the concerns of a practitioner? You say you are a Dafa practitioner, that you can't be interfered with, but one's words and acts are on the human level. Just like Teacher said:
"When problems occur, instead of searching for problems in their xinxing, fundamentally improving themselves, or truly letting go of the matter and coming through in an open and dignified manner by another route, they focus on the thing at hand--"Goodness? why is it that I still can't overcome this thing? I've done better today, so it should have improved a little. Tomorrow I'll do even better and it should improve some more." He can never let go of that thing. On the surface it appears that he's letting it go--"Look, I'm doing well now." You're doing well now but you are doing well now for its sake. You aren't doing that for the purpose of doing what a true Dafa disciple should do!" (Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference )
It seems that Teacher wrote this Fa for me. I had been like this for two years. Why could I be interfered with and why had it lasted so long? Because my heart was impure. I held onto being human with one hand, and Buddha with the other. When problems occurred, I often fell into human thinking, so the evil could interfere and persecute me endlessly. Why did sending forth righteous thoughts have no effect? Because righteous thoughts are a divine power, only possessed by genuine Dafa practitioners. How can a human being have a divine ability? Using human notions to search for attachments and shortcomings are actually the biggest attachment and the biggest shortcoming.
When I truly realized my problem, the stubborn illness that disturbed me for two years disappeared! Cultivation is very serious. When we can regard ourselves as genuine practitioners, give up all human notions, and jump out of the human shell, then we are able to walk on the path of cultivation in an open and honorable way. Then we can do even better assisting Teacher in Fa-rectification, and presenting the wonderfulness and sacredness of Dafa to sentient beings.
2. Genuinely Practice Dafa, Be Firm in Practice
In July 1999, Dafa practitioners in mainland China encountered unprecedented suppression and persecution. In 2001, my workplace fired me because I practice Dafa. They took away my salary and home, forcing me to move back to my ancestral home. So I returned to my hometown.
After the 16th Congress Meeting in 2002, 610 Office agents had full legal authority to abduct Dafa practitioners. They kept sending cars to the homes of my relatives to arrest me. This caused great harm and stress to my family and made them live in fear every day. Some relatives were afraid of being implicated, so they sent me messages telling me they were cutting off all contact with me. No matter where I went in my hometown, no one dared let me stay. When I arrived at my mother's home, I was greeted with accusations and attacks from my brothers and sisters. My elder brother was angry, "The head of your workplace led police to our home late at night twice. Mother was frightened and trembling. Her heart disease recurred and she nearly died from fear, do you know?" I was so sad and said to them with tears, "I know, all our relatives have encountered different threats and pressure. But think about it, what did I do? I just practice Falun Gong. Being a good person, living according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, what's wrong with that? Elder brother works in the judicial system and Falun Gong has not violated the Constitution or any laws. You do not need to be afraid of......" But my younger sister interrupted and said, "The CCP does not allow the practice! Can't you just stop? You lost your job, and were forced to move back home, why bother? If you still want to practice, you can't stay with us. This big family still wants to live!" Her words made me see through the old forces' vicious intention. In order to compel practitioners into giving up their belief, they will use any means to ensure that practitioners have no foothold in society.
My heart was breaking because I felt so sorry for them. I said to them, "Ok! I will go! But you must really ask yourselves: which is good, which is bad, which is righteous, and which is evil? Just because I practice Falun Gong, they unexpectedly rush into private residencies late at night. It is they who violated the law. You do not go to them to complain but hate me, is that right? Do not submit to evil because you are afraid. Humans should live in an upright and honorable way." In such a difficult position, I felt huge pressure. They did not listen no matter what I said. At that time, I often stood in the courtyard and looked up at the sky, quietly calling, "Teacher! Teacher!" Students want nothing of the human world. We only want our Dafa to be rectified in the human world. I felt a new found strength coming over me, which made me feel relaxed. Regardless of how crazy the evil was, how difficult the environment was, I knew there was nothing wrong with practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This was the most righteous path of human beings and a historical necessity. After all this, my dedication to practicing hadn't weakened. It had only grown stronger.
3. Melting Truth-Clarification Into Daily Life
In order to reduce my family members' pressure, I went to the county to work for a coating company. I was the first one there everyday. I cleaned the place and arranged stock. I changed the disorderly place into tidy and systematic one. My boss and colleagues all said I was a high quality employee. When I was tidying up a shelf one morning, I found a thick envelop with money, probably several thousand yuan. I quietly found the cashier, and asked if he deposited the money the day before. He was surprised. He said he forgot due to another urgent matter. When I took the money to him, he said, "Aunt, when you came, I knew you were a very good person! How can I thank you?"I replied: "Do you know why I am so good? I'll tell you my story at lunch." During our lunch break, he said to everyone, "Stop talking, let aunt tell her story." I said to them, "Everyone says I am good, but do you know why I am good? It is because Falun Dafa changed me." Then I told them why I learned Falun Gong, the benefits I obtained and why the Chinese Communist Party persecutes Falun Gong. I told them about April 25 and the staged "Tiananmen self-immolation incident" and so on. For over an hour, they quietly listened and often nodded. I finally told them, "Tell the truth to your relatives and friends. Whoever knows the truth is fortunate!"
The police looked for me for a period of time, but did not find me and after the 16th Congress Meeting had come and gone, my situation became relatively stable. I felt I should return to my hometown. There were no Dafa practitioners in the village and several thousand people were waiting for the truth! I quit my job and returned to my mother. Not only did I take care of her, but I also bore the family's living expense. Regardless of where I was, I held myself to the standards of a practitioner. I explained the truth to my family whenever I had the chance. Once I went shopping with my elder sister. When I paid for my items, I gave the shop assistant 10 yuan, but she gave me back over 40 yuan in change. I said to her, "I only gave you 10 yuan." My elder sister stepped on my foot. I smiled at her. The shop assistant said, "Thank you so much!" Before I spoke, elder sister dragged me out of the shop. We returned home where she said to the whole family, "The TV says Falun Gong this and that, but we should not believe it. Our sister showed me a lot recently. She does not mind what she's eating and wearing, looks after mother, and bears everything in the family. She saved us lots of energy." She then told what happened in the shop. Although she said I was silly, from then on, family members had a brand-new understanding of Dafa. Some asked me for a talisman. My elder brother also gave some to his two sons-in-law who were drivers, and said, "Dafa indeed works. After my younger sister gave me this, it has been with me. I had no alternative but to believe!"
In order to have more contact with people in the village, I opened a kindergarten with Teacher's hint. We primarily used traditional culture to teach, and worked some children's songs and small stories into the course. We also taught kids to perform small programs to welcome the Children's Day, and every program promoted Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and being good. It had a big impact in the village. There was high praise from parents and villagers, and it built a very good foundation for me to clarify the truth face-to-face.
I used all opportunities to explain the truth and to give out materials and discs in the village. Regardless of the location, whether I knew them or not, regardless of their gender or age, I took the initiative to greet them. Once I bumped into an old man grazing sheep. After I greeted him, I asked, "Do you know about Falun Gong?" He answered: "Yes, I've read all the little pamphlets you sent." "Do you understand?" "Understood! The TV shows are all fake." Listening to his words, I felt my heart moved. I felt happy and sad. I was happy that my fellow villagers could see the truth, but I was sad about how many still could not.
To save more people, my husband and I often delivered truth-clarification materials to every household of the villages in our area. One night, we biked to a small village 10kms away. It had just rained, so every street was muddy. It was impossible to ride through. Even pushing the bike through the muck was hard. I begged Teacher to strengthen us. After we finished, we rode back easily. It was only later that we saw that our two wheels were wrapped with thick mud. It should have been impossible to push it. We were grateful, and knew that it is Teacher doing everything. We simply run about.
In order to let the farmers know "Falun Dafa is good", we put posters and banners on every telephone pole on country roads. Sometimes three to four practitioners worked together. We rode an electric bike at night, put posters on telephone poles and billboards on both sides of the federal highway with fishing poles, so they were high up. The bright red characters on white paper were big and obvious, and drivers and passersby could easily see them. As long as it is seen, it will imprint in the brain, restrain bad thinking and eliminate evil elements. When we do Fa-rectification work, we always send forth righteous thoughts first, eliminate all evil and interference in other dimensions, and ask Teacher for strength. The police could not believe their eyes. They had no idea how we got them so high on those poles. How did we do it?
For several years, we have used all opportunities to tell people with predestined relationship the wonderfulness of Dafa, and passed on the message to quit the CCP. However, we always felt a gap in the standards of Dafa practitioners. This gap urges me to steadfastly learn Dafa, look inside, improve myself, and be a genuine Dafa practitioner.
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- 6. Looking Inward Is the Panacea
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Taiwan
(Clearwisdom.net)
I am a relatively new Falun Dafa practitioner. I became a practitioner in 2007. I first started to learn Dafa so I could accompany my daughter to get her illness cured. I thought that as long as she recovered, it didn't matter whether I practiced it or not. I didn't know how precious Dafa was. A fellow practitioner invited me to read Zhuan Falun. When I finished reading it for the first time, I felt uncomfortable. I didn't know that Master was cleansing my body, so I went to see a doctor. I took one pill that I used to take, but I felt sick for the whole afternoon. Later I understood what was going on, and threw away all the medicine. With regular Fa study and practicing the exercises, the many diseases that I had disappeared. I haven't taken any medicine since then.
After I studied the Fa more comprehensively and witnessed the changes in myself, I couldn't help but be amazed at how precious Falun Dafa is. After I truly understood it, I made a vow to Master: "From now on, my life belongs to Dafa. From now on, my life will exist for Dafa and for cultivation." Since then, I have squeezed in every minute possible to study the Fa. In six months, I was able to meditate for an hour in the full lotus position. I have never missed practicing the exercises for two hours every day. In another six months, I had memorized Zhuan Falun, and transcribed the book once. I used all my free time to listen to Master's lectures. I have improved very quickly, and my character (xinxing) has improved greatly. I immersed myself in the Fa every day, and truly experienced assimilating to the Fa. I would go to bed after midnight every night and send forth righteous thoughts every day at the global time to send forth righteous thoughts. I also took part in projects to clarify the truth and validate Dafa so as to catch up with Fa-rectification. I often knelt in front of Master's picture and couldn't help crying, though I didn't understand why I cried. There is just no way to pay Master back for his great benevolence.
When I didn't do well in my cultivation, Master gave me hints. When I looked inside myself, Master's benevolence moved me to tears. I would like to share a few instances of how Master gave me hints.
Six months after I obtained Dafa, the ill part of my body which had healed before again manifested symptoms. I had protrusion of the intervertebral discs, a numb left leg, and I couldn't stand up. At first I thought it was Master eliminating karma for me. After a week, I still felt uncomfortable and thought, "Was it because that I didn't do well somehow? I should look inside myself." I looked inside and couldn't find what I had done wrong. The next day, a fellow practitioner came to visit me, and she mentioned that all children have extraordinary backgrounds, especially the children in the family of a Falun Dafa practitioner. Many came from very high levels to obtain the Fa. After the practitioner left, I suddenly realized that Master was using a practitioner's mouth to give me a hint, as I had not enlightened to it before. My younger daughter was almost nine years old. I only cared about studying the Fa and practicing the exercises myself and never thought that she should also study Dafa. Whether I had interpreted Master's hint correctly or incorrectly, I again made a vow before Master: "Master, from now on, I will take the young practitioner to study the Fa and practice the exercises with me, and I will not slack off for a bit." That afternoon, my symptoms improved greatly, and I was completely recovered in two days.
During the Chinese New Year holiday this year, my teeth hurt again. I have very bad teeth. Almost all of them had been pulled out before I was 50. The eight teeth that were left ached frequently, and I had to see the dentist every few days. The dentist told me that he had never seen any patient with such bad teeth. After I cultivated Dafa, my teeth no longer ached, and I have not had to see the dentist again. When the teeth ached this time, I didn't pay much attention to it. The next day, the ache became worse, and I paid attention. With the experience [of looking inside] last time, I looked inside. I recalled what I had done for the previous few days. I happened to be indulging in a TV drama. In the last two days, I was anxious to watch it. However, I also tried to memorize the Fa, so I had the book in my hand when I watched TV. During the commercials, I rushed to read the book to memorize the Fa. I realized the toothache may have been due to this. I then said to Master immediately in my mind, "Master, I am wrong. Time is so tight, and I obtained the Fa so late. I [wasted time] watching the TV drama. I am not diligent enough. I am sorry to make you concerned. I will not do this again." With that thought, the toothache immediately disappeared. After I obtained Dafa, I would not watch TV except for the news. When I was not alert, I slacked off. I couldn't hold back my tears thinking of Master's strict requirements for me. I couldn't express how fortunate I felt.
Looking inside is the panacea. When I am not enlightened, Master gives me hints with benevolence. How can we not strive forward vigorously so as not to let our Master down?
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- 7. Some Thoughts about "Cultivation of Speech"
By a practitioner from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, China
(Clearwisdom.net)
Master talked specifically in Zhuan Falun
about the issue of "Cultivation of Speech." It is obvious that
this issue is very important. Master told us,
"We should all speak according to a practitioner's xinxing rather than
create conflicts or say something improper. As practitioners, we must measure
ourselves with the standard of the Fa to determine whether we should say
certain things. What should be said will not present a problem if one complies
with the xinxing standard for practitioners according to the Fa. In addition,
we must talk about and spread the Fa, so it is impossible not to talk."
("Lecture Eight" in Zhuan Falun)
I have read Zhuan Falun over one hundred times. However, I still
cannot meet the standard that Master has set for us. I did not do well in the
cultivation of speech and stumbled several times. I have not improved in this
aspect, and it is difficult for me to eliminate this attachment. Although Master
has arranged all kinds of opportunities to expose my attachment, I am still
having difficulty overcoming it.
Recently when I recited the Fa and came to this section, I deeply understood
that each word in this section was directed at me. Looking back in my
cultivation, due to not doing well in the cultivation of speech, I have many
times had a bad impact on my colleagues and therefore run into tribulations,
which has caused me not to do well saving sentient beings. I don't concentrate
on cultivating xinxing and don't conduct myself according to
the standards for a cultivator. I am always opinionated, look down on my
managers, and dislike their Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. I can't treat
them compassionately and miss opportunities to improve my xinxing again
and again. In addition, I often speak harshly out of anger. Recalling all of
this, I feel very remorseful. When I made up my mind to eliminate this
attachment, I was provided an opportunity.
One morning when I went to a practitioner's home, I ran into a colleague who
is not a practitioner. She began talking about the boss at our workplace. I
originally did not want to comment on others, but still said some bad words.
Although I said only a few words, my xinxing dropped down to the level of
an everyday person.
After I came back home, I realized that I had again made a mistake. My
cultivation of speech had improved, so why did I make this mistake again? What
kind of substances took advantage of my mouth? Why did she mention this matter
in front of me? I realized that it was an opportunity to improve my xinxing.
I looked within and found that when I said these words, I had a complaint. I
further checked myself and realized that after I retired, I no longer worried
about things in everyday society, and devoted myself to doing the three
things, and I felt that I was improving every day. It's not wrong to not
get caught up with the things of ordinary society, so what was wrong?
I recited the Fa, and my righteous thoughts became stronger. I remembered
Master's words:
"To Have Internal Cultivation and to Attain External Stability,"
(Essentials for Further Advancement)
"In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate one's own heart
and inner self. One should search inside oneself rather than outside."
(Lecture Nine of Zhuan Falun)
I realized that I had looked within, but I did not really work on my
attachments. I did not truly eliminate my attachments, so how could I attain
external stability?
It is our sacred responsibility as Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification
period to do the three things well, and saving sentient beings is our mission.
We should send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil and save more
sentient beings, so that they can be harmonized with the new cosmos. The reason
why I get tested is because my standpoint of doing the three things is impure. I
am doing the three things with complaints, and not looking within. Cultivation
of speech is a difficult issue for me, but the Fa is setting a higher standard
for us. If we can't do well, then we will be unable to meet the Fa's standard.
I am thankful that Master has given me another opportunity to improve and
made me realize my attachment. After I examined my attachment related to the
cultivation of speech, I found more attachments that were hidden in my
dimension, including jealousy, a fighting mindset, hatred, and showing off.
I came to understand that in ordinary society, we should pay more attention
to the cultivation of speech, because cultivators know about the matter of
improving xinxing. How will ordinary people feel about me and what
impression will they have of cultivators and Falun Gong? Isn't my attachment
damaging Dafa's image and the Fa? In the "Fa-Teaching Given to the
Australian Practitioners," Master reminded us to pay attention to our image
in ordinary society.
We came to save sentient beings. If we don't pay attention to the cultivation
of speech, once ordinary people have a bad impression of us, maybe they will
mention it to others. No matter what facts we tell them, will they be likely to
accept them? In addition, we believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so
we should be compassionate to and tolerant of others. However, my behavior shows
that I am not compassionate and tolerant of others. A few words of mine may be
quite damaging.
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything
improper.
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- 8. Discovering My Reluctance to Change Myself
(Clearwisdom.net)
This morning I meditated with a fellow practitioner, and I noticed that her head was nodding every now and then because she was sitting directly in front of me. She also allowed her body and her arms to slump for long periods of time before correcting her position. I coughed a little to remind her, and she improved her posture for a while but was soon slumped over again. I then sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the demon of sleepiness, which briefly alerted her but not for long.
I had noted the same thing when we stayed together in the past. At that time, I used to get aggravated because I felt that I had to remind her again and again: "Your hands have come down!" I also repeatedly emphasized the danger of relaxing one's posture while sending righteous thoughts. However, it had very little effect. Whenever I practiced with her, I felt uneasy and I had to open my eyes to see if she was keeping the right position for sending righteous thoughts. After taking a glance and finding that her posture was a little better, I felt more lighthearted. I increasingly believed that I was shouldering "great responsibility" for her, so I exaggerated my own importance and validated myself. The only way to change a person's heart is through the Fa, not through coercion.
I used to be quick to find fault with my fellow practitioners. I thought that I was merely helping her cultivate. I always pointed out to her how she was deviating from the Fa. She submissively accepted my opinions and often said that I was helping her a lot, although her eyes showed timidity and hidden bitterness. Later, I found that she had never solved any of the problems I had pointed out to her.
Today, when we did the exercises and sent righteous thoughts together, her posture was wrong again. She had not changed at all, and I watched her as I had done before. I concluded that neither one of us had changed at all. However, today my attitude was totally different. I was no longer disgusted with her failing to do the exercises and sending righteous thoughts well. I also gave up complaining about her. I realized that I was doing just as poorly, maybe even worse. As a result, I blamed myself and became tolerant of her. During the past few days, my posture had also been poor. While I was sitting in meditation, my head dropped to a 90º angle. While I was sending righteous thoughts, my hand dropped on my other arm so heavily that I was awakened. I was not able to finish because the demon of lust came to disturb my thoughts yet again.
At that moment, Teacher's lecture came to my mind:
"Going through hardship and suffering is an outstanding opportunity to remove karma, be cleansed of sin, purify the body, elevate your plane of thought, and rise in level--it's an extraordinarily good thing. This is a correct and upright Fa-truth."("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be")
Considering my past behavior, it bothered me a lot and I became so sad that tears were streaming down my face. I truly felt the seriousness of my situation and realized how deluded it was to think that a person filled with karma and filthy thoughts such as myself could become one of the great divine beings of the new universe.
Our compassionate Teacher has picked me up from hell and bestowed on me everything that is most wonderful and glorious so that I can cultivate into a divine being. But do I take my own cultivation seriously? I do not even treat my fellow practitioners compassionately and tolerantly. All I can see is that one or the other does not conform to the Fa, and that such and such a person does not behave like a cultivator. I am always busy pointing out everybody else's problems, jealously watching them and nitpicking about their shortcomings, while neglecting to look at myself. Is this genuine cultivation? I always want to change others, rather than changing myself. It now seems to me that I have been doing the three things for appearance's sake only. In reality, I did not try to change myself at the core. I had not previously realized this problem because I had been studying the Fa with fundamental attachments ever since the beginning of my cultivation, and therefore I could not understand the real meaning of the Fa.
Yesterday, I did something wrong, for which an elderly fellow practitioner openly mocked me in front of another fellow practitioner. I was completely taken aback as this had never happened before. It had always been that I was the one who pointed out others' shortcomings. I felt hurt. However, I took this event as a warning that I should genuinely cultivate. I started to think about the way I had been treating her and I realized that I had failed to treat her with compassion. Although on the surface it seemed that I was defending the Fa, I was actually only blaming and complaining about others. Now, the situation had been reversed as a result of karmic retribution. How did my fellow practitioners feel about my aggressive attitude? Did they really accept my criticism? I had never considered these questions. As soon as they put me in the same situation, I felt hurt. Hadn't I hurt them again and again with my own behavior in the past? Wasn't I simply creating tribulations for others to help them cultivate?
We are required to cultivate while conforming to society as much as possible and I suddenly gained a new understanding of this principle. I need to be strict with myself and treat others with more generosity.
Teacher taught the Fa to genuine cultivators. As an individual cultivator I should measure my every thought against the universal principle "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" and try to find the loopholes in my mind and adjust my behavior according to the Fa. I should always focus on my own cultivation and guard my every thought. Whenever I find a thought that does not comply with the Fa I should catch it and trace its roots so that I can remove my attachment to fame, personal interest, and sentiment. I should always consider other people before looking after my own interests. I must think about whether my actions might hurt someone or make them feel bad. I should always be compassionate and generous to other sentient beings. If I notice that other people do something wrong, I should explain it to them with pure compassion and take care not to cause them to lose virtue. Our cultivation is for ourselves, not for others.
To explain about my past, I started to practice Falun Gong at home and on my own. There were no fellow practitioners close to me and my cultivation environment consisted of my family. At the beginning of my cultivation, because I didn't have a good understanding of the Fa, I was resentful for having to take care of my daughter every day, because it took away time from my Fa study. I used to have a very good relationship with my husband, but after my cultivation I became cross with him. I pushed him to study Falun Gong, but he just refused. I blamed him for his low level of enlightenment. I was always thinking that I would not have married or had a baby if I had only obtained the Fa earlier. I felt regretful for having obtained the Fa so late.
Eventually, I realized that Teacher requires us to behave well in all situations, especially where family is concerned. I started to treat them better and worked hard at my household chores. Everything seemed to be perfect on the surface. However, then my husband started to cause me problems; he would stay up late at night watching TV without talking to me. I did not discuss my own feelings with him. One day, when we were arguing, I said to him, "Just tell me what you want me to do better and I will improve." He answered, "Looking in your eyes, I can tell that you think you are already a divine being while I am just a regular guy."
Later my husband and I divorced due to various reasons related to the persecution and I became homeless and started living with some fellow practitioners. Although I started living in a good cultivation environment, my mind underwent no improvement. At times, I seemed to be doing relatively well but I did not seem to raise much in level, even though I had abandoned everything about my former way of life. When I read Zhuan Falun, I often thought, "Does this paragraph not refer to such and such a person? It is obvious that this part of the Fa points out his attachment of jealousy and the other part speaks of that fellow practitioner's attachment of showing off, which clearly undermines the Fa. How can that fellow practitioner retain his selfishness and attachment of lust after cultivating for such a long time? He really shouldn't be like this. To show my responsibility for him, I should point out his problem." Whenever I saw my own problems I thought: "Oh well, I also have attachments," but I just had a passive attitude and did not try to really remove the attachment, in contrast to my way of treating the problems of other practitioners. Instead, I managed to appear to be diligent when I was with fellow practitioners. When I was alone, however, I imposed no restrictions on myself.
Thus, I understood the meaning of cultivation in a superficial way only. In addition, I have looked outside to pursue improvement, thereby deviating from the upright way of cultivation. I have now reversed my former ways of being strict with others while being indulgent with myself.
Hiding beneath my carefully maintained pretense of trying to help Teacher during the Fa rectification were my desperate efforts to keep my attachments as much as possible. Wasn't this arranged by the old forces? Fortunately, I finally caught on after compassionate hints from Teacher. I have written everything down to expose and disintegrate it.
These are my personal understandings, please kindly point out anything improper.
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