Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Remove Attachments in the Process of Saving Sentient Beings
- Getting Rid of Jealousy during the Process of Comparing Oneself with Others
- Breaking Through Tribulations
- Understanding the Meaning during Fa Study Is Most Important
- Do Not Hold Onto the Attachment of Fear to Eliminate Fear
- Experiences in Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts for Long Periods of Time
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the November 2013 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
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."
Top
- 2. What’s Happening?
Hyderabad practitioners during the opening of a new bicycle station, distributed fliers to AP Governor His Excellency Narasimhan, ministers, IAS and IPS officers, Mr Manfred, President European Cyclist
association and other public and many cyclists.
Practitioners from Hyderabad also met Asst. commandant, Border Security Officer and other officials in one of their camp office in Hyderabad and distributed fliers to the force and explained and clarified the truth.
During an interactive meeting with Mr P. Muralidhar Rao, National General Secretary, BJP
and Medium and Small scale industry owners, practitioners distributed fliers, explained to one and all. Mr Muralidhar Rao informed that he already knew about the practice and its persecution in China.
During pink ribbon walk to bring awareness of breast cancer at KBR Park, Hyderabad practitioners met a prominent doctor, Dr Somaraju (Heart specialist) and others and distributed the fliers and explained about the practice.
During an introduction of a Mini Yoga function, Practitioners met Mr Kishen Reddy, MLA and others,
distributed the fliers, explained about the practice and clarified the truth.Also took the signatures for the petition.
During a sports meet (Duathlon olympics) in Gachebowli stadium Practitioners met many sportsmen and
others, distributed fliers and explained about the practice.
Practitioners from Bangalore were at the Dignity Foundation Annual function and distributed lotus flowers and got the petitions signed by several people.
At the Pune Book Fair practitioners from Pune and Mumbai were at the stall. Many people visited the stall and wanted to learn the exercises and purchased the Books. Fliers were distributed to all visiting the stall.
Top
- 3. Remove Attachments in the Process of Saving Sentient Beings
By a practitioner from Taiwan
(Minghui.org)
Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Master said, “To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (). I knew this Fa principle from my early cultivation days. But I always held onto my attachments using the excuse of saving people. Because of that, I fell down constantly during eight years of cultivation. I understand deep in my heart that Master's tremendous efforts and boundless mercy are incorporated into every bit of progress I have made. I dedicate this article to Master and want to share my experience with other practitioners. Please point out anything inappropriate.
Remove the Mentality of Self-Importance
I have regularly to Chinese people face-to-face over the years. I accumulated many successful experiences. I started to consider those experiences “keys to success” and developed attachments without knowing it.
Several months ago, I asked our local coordinator to update the bulletin boards at our truth-clarification site at Chihkan Tower. In my mind, there was nothing wrong with the content of the old bulletin boards. All the materials were of interest to Chinese people and what they should know. It was just that the bulletin boards were somewhat old, dirty, and bent. The new bulletin boards arrived in a short time. However, I noticed that lots of important content was missing. I quickly discussed the issue with another practitioner while the last batch of the bulletin boards was still in production. The practitioner didn't agree with me.
During those days, I became very worried whenever I thought about sentient beings. I was thinking whether or not to consider all my past successful experiences. The fellow practitioner must have thought the new bulletin boards could save more sentient beings. I knew I should let go of my thoughts of self and cooperate with fellow practitioners. However, every time I tried to let go of self, a thought would emerge, “Given my years of experience, I know what is right. It isn't the personal cultivation period. It's more important to save sentient beings than to remove attachments!” I wasn't sure what to do. I was alternately calm and upset. Master saw that I wasn't enlightening to it and guided me to read several reports. In those reports, every truth-clarification site that didn't accord to my own opinion had proved to work great.
In fact, I understood from my early cultivation days that even though the bulletin boards and the banners were important and could help sentient beings understand the truth, I shouldn't be attached to these material things. The outcome of saving people would be different at the same truth-clarification site but with different Dafa disciples working there. The difference might be quite great because the key is Dafa disciples' compassion and righteous thoughts. I developed the mentality of self-importance through many years of successful experiences. Even though I always said that all things were done by Master, deep down, I still thought I was doing great. I realized that a person would be attached to his/her own experience and understanding if this person thinks he/she is doing well in this regard. My understanding is that Master arranged this incident in order to help me to remove the mentality of self-importance.
I also discovered that the more positive I was towards the new bulletin boards, the more receptive my fellow practitioners became. I finally understood that all things that happen during the process of saving sentient beings are for me to improve. Why can't I be humble? I always thought that I had saved those people, and I developed an attachment for those experiences. I was wrong. I cannot save anybody without Master's arrangement and support. In fact, the whole process of saving sentient beings is a process Master arranges for me to rectify and purify myself and head towards consummation.
Remove the Mentality of “Being Anxious for Quick Results”
We cannot pick and choose which sentient beings to save. This principle seems easy enough to understand, but I always failed to follow it in practice. I would be moved every time a tourist guide or a law enforcement official came to interfere with our truth clarification. My compassion disappeared in an instant. It always took me several seconds to shift back into the state of righteousness. Why did this happen? I found that I had the mentality of being anxious for quick results. Because of that, I regarded anything that stood in the way of my saving people as interference. My mentality of competition would emerge once I saw the tourist guide or law enforcement official as interference. At that instant, I didn't have any compassion towards the guide, the officer, or the Chinese people.
Thoughts of differentiating who should be saved and who shouldn't is not compassionate. You become an everyday person once you have thoughts of differentiating. Cultivation is serious. I thought I had conflicts with the guide or the officer because my intent was to save people. I thought I had compassion for sentient beings. I didn't know that I became an everyday person with the mentality of competition when I had conflicts with the guide or the officer. No wonder those Chinese people didn't want to get near me when there was a conflict.
It became clear that I needed to remove the mentality of “being anxious for quick results” after an experience in Hong Kong. There were many Chinese people and I was the only practitioner there. What should I do? I was worried. I started to urge them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations without going into matters deeply. It wasn't very successful. Then I decided to let go of my worries and not be concerned about whether or not they would quit the CCP. I needed to make sure the person truly understood the truth. Once my mentality changed and I started to do it that way, the sentient beings became more righteous. I spoke a lot at first. Later on it was so easy that they quit as soon as I mentioned it, and every one of them quit. I came to a better understanding of the following principle. Master said, “If you're asking how you could possibly talk to all those people that you want to save, then I'd say just do your best--do as much as you can. When Dafa disciples do well with what they are supposed to, things change.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)
This August, we got criticisms from the Culture and Tourism Bureau in Tainan regarding the bulletin boards at our truth-clarification site at Chihkan Tower. They asked us to reduce the display area, lower the boards, and take out the “bloody” pictures. I learned from the Hong Kong experience that we shouldn't worry and that only our compassion would solve the problem. We wrote letters to officers. We told them that many people learned the truth through those bulletin boards and we were willing to make some changes considering their feelings. We also included some truth-clarification materials about the organ harvesting in the letter.
“When you take a step back in a conflict, you will find the seas and the skies boundless.” (Zhuan Falun) There's always a reason if an everyday person reacts poorly. Maybe we have the mentality of competition, maybe his mind is controlled by the evil, maybe there's a problem with his notions. Therefore, we shouldn't keep pushing forward when there is a conflict. We should rectify ourselves first, send more righteous thoughts to disintegrate the evil, and tell him/her the truth. Things will change for the better if we truly want to save the person with compassion. In the end, the bulletin boards at our truth-clarification site at Chihkan Tower remained just as they were. They have helped many passersby to understand the truth and also helped the officers to position themselves well.
Remove the Mentality of Seeking Affirmation
I found that almost all my attachments were related to this mentality of seeking affirmation. Wasn't being anxious for quick results seeking affirmation? Wasn't “self-importance” a form of seeking affirmation? I found that my last attachment was seeking affirmation. It didn't matter where the affirmation came from, others or myself, I would be happy regardless.
Why did I have such a strong mentality of seeking affirmation? I figured that it was because I had felt inferior since childhood and had very little self-confidence. In fact, I had found the mentality of seeking affirmation in my early days of cultivation. I was always happy back then. Once a Chinese person was rude to me, but I was still happy. I was shocked when I realized that I should feel sad because that person was not saved. I looked within and realized that I was happy because I thought I was doing a meaningful thing and it proved the value of my existence.
The mentality of seeking affirmation would sometimes emerge when I was doing media work. Whenever fellow practitioners praised my writing skill, I felt pressure beside happiness. I worried about the quality of my work. I tried to protect my reputation, so I was fearful as I worked. It took me a long time to finish my work. Dafa work is so sacred. The Fa's enormous power will not manifest if my starting point is not righteous. I was an everyday person working hard at that time.
For a while, I was distressed that I couldn't remove the mentality of seeking affirmation. One day I realized that, while I was distressed about removing this mentality and my own troubled cultivation state, I wasn't distressed about sentient beings not being saved. Why not? It was as if I had only been trying to remove a single layer of a greater selfishness. This wouldn't effectively remove selfishness and would instead develop a new attachment – becoming attached to the attachment itself.
I still remember one thing very well. I was once jealous of a fellow practitioner. I knew it was wrong and I worked hard to get rid of it, but it was always there. Later, I learned that they needed help at the truth-clarification site in Hong Kong, so I went to Hong Kong. I only had sentient beings in my heart during those days. I came back to Taiwan ten days later and I was no longer jealous of that fellow practitioner.
To my understanding, we should deny all bad thoughts firmly and disintegrate attachments with righteous thoughts. Besides that, studying the Fa well and saving sentient beings is the key. The attachments will disappear naturally when we ourselves become less and less attached to self.
Thank you, Master! Thanks, fellow practitioners!
Top
- 4. Getting Rid of Jealousy during the Process of Comparing Oneself with Others
By Xiaoli (Pseudonym)
(Minghui.org)
I started my cultivation in Falun Dafa in
the fall of 1996, but it was not until 2002 that I came to realize
the meaning of the term “Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple.”
Recently, I have gained some understanding on the issue of
jealousy, which I would like to share with fellow practitioners.
Some practitioners have mentioned the issue of jealousy in the
past, but I did not carefully examine myself in this regard. I just
superficially checked myself and believed that I did not have the
jealousy that practitioners talked about. For various reasons, the
sofa in my house was not in good condition and I paid no attention
to it, and did not make the effort to fix it. One day, I went to
visit a colleague. She had just made a sofa case with an old bed
sheet. She asked me, “Does it look better than the one in your
home?” I responded, “It is indeed very good.” I should have let
this go, but after I returned home, her words came to my mind
several times. I thought that she had even wanted to get the upper
hand on the issue of the sofa case. I did not feel very good as
this was not a tiny issue and it had moved me. I knew that I was
jealous of her, so I should take a good look at my attachment of
jealousy.
At this time I downloaded “A Compilation of Articles Related to
Eliminating the Attachment of Jealousy,” (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/1/28/93737.html).
After I printed it out, I carefully read it. I had read it before,
and it had not moved me much. I did not measure myself against
others. When I looked back at this issue again, I realized that in
the past I thought that I had some advantages over others and did
better in some aspects, so I had unknowingly compared myself with
others. Because through this comparison, I felt that I had done
better than others, hence I didn't become jealous of others. This
manifestation in my mindset is arrogance. With arrogance, I tended
to look down upon others. Arrogance is also a reflection of my
jealousy. This time when I visited this colleague of mine, I felt
she had measured herself against me and I was at a disadvantage in
this comparison since she was better than me. My jealousy surfaced
when I saw someone who seemed better than me.
When I read the compilation again, I found that the various
types of jealousy mentioned in the compiled articles have all
existed in me. For example, I complained that my husband did not do
much housework. Now I know that was a reflection of my jealousy. I
measured myself against each individual around me so as to see
whether I felt jealous of them. I wanted to dig out the root causes
and eliminate the attachment of jealousy. My mother-in-law first
came into my mind. She is rational and reasonable and considers
others first. So those who know her have very good impressions of
her. I had never spoken anything bad about her in private, which,
in fact, was because I was afraid that others would think I was not
good if I had said anything bad about her. Now when I look at her
way of dealing with others, I have come to respect her. I am able
to understand the distinction between filial obedience and filial
piety. The latter has the content of respect. When some elderly do
not have their children’s respect for what they have done, what
they get is their children’s filial obedience, rather than filial
piety. When I have a mindset of obedience and respect toward my
mother-in-law, I no longer feel jealous of her.
With regard to the wife of my husband’s brother, I had obviously
felt jealous of her. She had not contributed as much as I did to
the family. I felt unbalanced in my heart for I was always the
person who had contributed more to the family. Now that I have
started to think about her, she is the only child in her family, so
she needs to mind all the things that her parents need to deal
with. Being an elder sister-in-law of hers, I should care more
about her. After I had gotten rid of my jealousy, I came to feel
that the substance which served as blockage in my chest was gone
and I felt very pleased. When we met again in my mother-in-law’s
house, she even apologized for not being able to help in cleaning
the dishes. She also showed her respect for me in her own
words.
Master said,
“A wicked person is born of jealousy.
Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards
himself.
A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.
With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.
An enlightened person has no attachments at all.
He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions.”
(“Realms” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
I now understand that one is a wicked person when one holds
grudges, feels unbalanced, does not let go of things in one's mind
feeling unfair and angry. When I think this way, I feel frightened,
as I still behave like a wicked person after having cultivated for
over ten years. But fortunately, I have recognized these bad things
and I can get rid of them.
In sharing, a practitioner said, “I cannot take hardship as
joy.” His words remind me. Master has told us, “Eating bitterness
treated as joy”. ("Tempering the Will" in Hong Yin) Although
I have remembered this poem, I have not acted accordingly. I have
not taken it to the depths of my heart. From now on, I need to live
up to “Eating bitterness treated as joy.” When I can live up to
this requirement, I will have no grudges, hatred, anger or
unfairness in my heart. Only by being able to act that way can one
act and become a benevolent person.
I am really grateful to my colleague in my heart as her words
have prompted me to find and eliminate the deeply hidden attachment
of jealousy. In the meantime, I also feel how happy I am to be a
Dafa cultivator, who has the protection of Master, the guidance of
Master’s , as well as the assistance and reminders from
fellow practitioners.
Attachments, including jealousy, reveal themselves in layers.
They are still hidden within deeply. In our present realms, we have
measured ourselves with Master’s Fa to eliminate our attachments.
When we have improved in our realms, our attachments may show other
manifestations. So there are still things that we need to get rid
of.
This is my current understanding. Please point out anything
incorrect.
Top
- 5. Breaking Through Tribulations
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Liaoning Province, China
(Minghui.org)
Acquiring Dafa During a Tribulation
In late September 1996, I lost my job. I was anxious and angry, and complained to my superiors and others every day and wept. My family environment was also not harmonious. My husband was having an affair, was fighting daily with me, and asked for a divorce. My son was in high school at the time. I felt chagrined and battered, and was exhausted during that period
I was disheartened and depressed. This ordeal had lasted for over a month when I was transferred to a workplace where there were Falun Dafa practitioners. The person that I shared an office with, a practitioner, gave me , and said, "Why don't you take a look?" I accepted the book and started reading. The more I read, the more I enjoyed reading the book and just couldn't stop reading. This book was so good! This is how I obtained Falun Dafa.
Passing the Test of
I was filled with happiness because of the changes I experienced once I practiced Falun Dafa. I told everyone that Falun Dafa was good, because it helped me change my outlook. However, the postnatal notions were like mountains, blocking my cultivation path, and were impossible to overcome without a strong will and diligent practice. A practitioner's sorrow and bitterness can only be tasted when one is solid in one's practice. The most difficult test to overcome is that of qing.
I was very emotional, and thought if I was good to others, they should treat me the same way. However, my husband started an extramarital affair, which hurt me deeply.
After I became a practitioner, although I was clear on the principles, my emotions overpowered me, and when he behaved badly, my heart felt like it was painful and bleeding. Whenever I saw him, I was upset and ignored him; I also didn't speak to him politely. Once, he came home at 2:00 a.m. I was very angry and chastised him. He ignored me and went to sleep. I then had a dream. I was lying on the bed at my mother's place, looking out the window. Then, a cloud moved towards me and stopped outside the window. This white cloud suddenly hurled a black cloud towards me, which covered my face. I screamed and wanted to pull it off, but couldn't. I was in deep discomfort and then my screaming woke me up. It was 4:00 a.m. I quickly got up and went to the practice site. I thought about this dream. Wasn't it telling me that I hadn't improved my and the karma was returned to me? My face was bathed in tears when I was walking home. I hated myself for not improving my xinxing.
The practice helped me let go of my emotional attachments. I understood that the karma from misdeeds in my past lives needed to be removed through tribulations in this life. By practicing Falun Dafa in this life, I had to repay those I had harmed, so my tribulations were not accidental. I had to cultivate my mind, sever all desires and cast off attachments, and walk out of humanness. I worked on one attachment at a time. Once my husband tried to pick a fight over a small matter. I remained calm and simply said, "Quickly go to work, or you will be late." He looked at me, speechless. After many tribulations, tests, and deep pain in the heart, I could let go of more and more. When additional tests occurred later, I could immediately recall Teacher's words:
“Can you bring to heaven the things deep down inside that you cannot let go of?” (“True Cultivation” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Practitioners, we are all immersed in sentiment. If every thought is on the Fa, we take things lightly at all times, we can let go of it and replace it with compassion. Being diligent in Fa study and practicing the exercises, one's improves. The main consciousness strengthens, and one's energy and righteous field become ever stronger. This will affect one's family members, and the home environment will improve.
Overcoming Sickness Karma
Before July 20, 1999, I passed my tests of sickness karma, as I knew Teacher was eliminating my karma and purifying my body. Teacher had given me so much, including a healthy body. I have been physically well during 14 years of practicing Falun Dafa. I am 62 years old, have no health problems and can work, walk, ride a bike, and so on.
I purchased a house in 2004, and developed an attachment to it. I planned renovations all day long, and neglected Dafa work. This was taken advantage of by the old forces. One evening in October 2004, I suddenly felt dizzy. Then I vomited and had diarrhea, and couldn't move my body. My family immediately took me to the hospital. After a CT scan, I was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage. I was rushed to the provincial hospital, where I was further diagnosed with a brain tumor, which required immediate surgery. My mind was very clear, but my body could not move. My immediate family, and brothers and sisters were very scared, and wanted me to agree to the surgery. I have a rare blood type, for which there was no supply available at that location. When my son asked me what to do, I said that I wanted to go home. I only had one thought, "I need to quickly go home and listen to Teacher's lectures.”
The old forces had arranged sickness karma for me, which I had to overcome. At home, I held one thought, "I only listen to Teacher, no matter how you attack me. I'm not afraid this time." Since I couldn't open my eyes, I listened to the recording of Teacher's lectures in Jinan. After I could open my eyes, I recited and practiced the exercises once I could stand up. My mind was filled with Teacher's Fa, and nothing else. Under Teacher's merciful protection, I recovered very quickly. I could walk within a week, went outdoors within two weeks, and completely recovered within a month. People were most surprised, because a cerebral hemorrhage can cause death in an ordinary person. People thus witnessed Falun Dafa's supernatural power from this incident.
Cultivation practice is very serious, and Teacher looks after us and protects us all the time. However, the evil is watching us closely for any loophole. If we are on the Fa at all times, Teacher will strengthen us. If we are not diligent and separated from the Fa, the evil will create a deathtrap. This persecution in the form of sickness karma made me truly understand what cultivation means..
Righteous Fa, Righteous Enlightenment; Righteous Thoughts, Righteous Actions
I have produced materials about Falun Dafa since 2004. I was inexperienced and security was a foreign concept for me. Additionally, the printer was noisy, which I used for over six months. I was discovered and monitored from that time onwards. I hadn't experienced such a situation and didn't know how to handle it. Fellow practitioners were unwilling to listen to me. I was very worried, but later realized that I was simply being weighed down by my fear.
I finally calmed down, studied the Fa more, and looked within to discover my shortcomings. I realized that I did not focus during Fa-study. I had a strong attachment to doing things, wanted to make up for the losses I had suffered, and wasn't paying attention to security. I neglected to send righteous thoughts and held onto a number of other shortcomings. I realized I was not on the Fa, and corrected myself.
Practitioners doing the and saving sentient beings is the most righteous thing. No matter what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its followers concoct, they actually fear us and we have nothing to be afraid of. The next time I had a problem, I remained unmoved, eliminated the evil with righteous thoughts and continued to do the things that I should do. I went out to tell people about Falun Dafa by myself. I was more diligent and held the Fa in my heart. My righteous thoughts were sufficient to eliminate all evil that tried to attack me and this led to good results. Although I had little contact with other practitioners, I am interlinked with practitioners around the globe through the Minghui website. I do not feel lonely, as Dafa practitioners are one body.
Teacher is merciful to all lives, and wants us to help him save more people. We will do whatever Teacher requires of us. Whenever the opportunity arises, I talk about Falun Gong and about quitting the CCP to everyone, including schoolmates, colleagues, relatives, and neighbors.
Once I was crossing the street during a strong rain. While I was crossing the road, an elderly man came under my umbrella. I thought, he is here to hear the facts about Falun Gong. He listened intently and believed what I was saying. He hadn't joined any of the communist party's organizations, so I told him to often recite "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good." He happily agreed. We must be sure not to hold on to fear when clarifying the facts. Another time, I met an elderly professor who had been a long-time CCP member. He didn't want to withdraw from the party no matter what I said. So I sent righteous thoughts to clear out the evil spirits behind him, and he changed. He gave me an alias to be used for the withdrawal. At that time a police car slowly passed me, made a turn and drove away. I was not scared. Then, I ran into a couple. The wife agreed to quit the CCP but her husband would not. When I clarified the truth to people, some quickly agreed, and some would not quit. There were many different situations.
Teacher has left us the form, "a Great Way has no form", (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”) and told us of the importance of group Fa study. I wanted to join a Fa study group, but did not know where there was one. One day in the market, I ran into a fellow practitioner. She asked me, “Do you still practice?” I replied, “Sure I do, why would I stop doing such a good thing?” It felt like we had a connection, and she found a Fa study group for me. I did not know anyone at the Fa-study site, but practitioners are one body. We got to know each other through studying the Fa and exchanging views. We have encouraged each other and strove forward. I have learned much from fellow practitioners.
I really miss Teacher. It is Dafa that separated my true self from attachments, human emotions, and human desires. I have become a person that strives forward to higher levels. It is Teacher's merciful salvation that has purified our souls and helped us eliminate our karma, which we have accumulated over many lifetimes. This is something that has never happened. I must grasp this opportunity, go forward diligently and go home with Teacher.
Top
- 6. Understanding the Meaning during Fa Study Is Most Important
By a practitioner from China
(Minghui.org)
During sharing between fellow practitioners we often hear the following questions and replies: “Did you study the today?” Reply: “I did.” “How many lectures did you cover?” Reply: “ One (or two or three).” When I first heard this, it seemed quite normal. Reflecting upon it further, it appears that the number of lectures covered has been equated to diligence and advancement in cultivation. Over the last ten years I thought this was the correct interpretation. Indeed, this kind of view, once accepted, becomes important. Practitioners reading less than one lecture a day are afraid to say so, while those who read two or more lectures are looked upon with admiration. Over time, practitioners decide each day how many lectures they want to read. The focus is on completing or exceeding the desired number of lectures, i.e., quantity instead of quality. I did try to change the lack of emphasis on quality but was not very successful. In September of 2012 I read the article, Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa, 2011 and the following statements, “Do you know what has become of Fa-study in many places? In some areas it has lapsed into a formality. When some people read they are not concentrating, but rather, thinking about other things, and not able to focus their attention on cultivation. It thus amounts to wasting time. And not just wasting time—instead of it being the time when they are to be elevating, they are using their minds to think over issues and things that they shouldn’t concern themselves with, and thus, not only aren’t they elevating, but on the contrary, they are often dropping in level. If you don’t study the Fa well, there are many things you will not be able to do well.” Actually, I read these statements before but didn't see their importance. This time I realize that the purpose of Fa-study is to understand its meaning and put the ideas into practice. With this realization, I no longer rush to cover more pages. Instead, I read slowly to understand the material. The time I spend each day is still the same, and I feel a lot better with this approach. Understanding what I am reading is now the focus. I do not care how many lectures I cover. If a fellow practitioner asks, “How many lectures have you read today?” I just say, “I have spent several hours studying.” Not getting the meaning of the Fa can be caused by one's own distraction. For example, while reading the Fa, a practitioner might think that drying the clothes outside might not work to-day because it might rain, or she needs to finish reading earlier because she has an appointment with a friend, etc. Allowing these random thoughts to flow interferes with the Fa-study and prevents the mind from being quiet. As Dafa disciples, we must be prepared to give up distractions before and during Fa-study. If something has to be done, get it done before Fa-study. A quiet mind is needed during Fa-study. Otherwise, the real meaning behind the words cannot be ascertained. In my view, there are two requirements to acquire the meaning of the Fa: one, we must focus on the meaning of the Fa, not the number of pages read, and two, we must let go of distracting thoughts. These problems are self-created and we should plan ahead before studying the Fa. I recommend reading slowly to make sure we know the meaning of what we are reading. Reading quickly may force us to focus on reading itself instead of the meaning of the words. If we are reading by ourselves and did not get the meaning of a paragraph, I recommend reading the paragraph again to get the meaning. This is important. Do not be afraid to read slowly. Pronouncing every word clearly is also important, especially during group study, because both you and your fellow practitioners are studying the Fa. A clear pronunciation also helps to get the meaning of the words. However, you must not be thinking about how well you do or how fellow practitioners view your reading. These thoughts are distractions. Just focus on reading and getting the meaning of what you read and you will be surprised at what you have learned. This is just my personal view about Fa-study. Please point out anything that is not proper.
Top
- 7. Do Not Hold Onto the Attachment of Fear to Eliminate Fear
By a practitioner in China
(Minghui.org)
I read the article "The Persecution Is Not an Excuse for Holding onto the Attachment of Fear" (see http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/10/1/120361.html) and a particular paragraph in the article touched me deeply and made me really think.
"Whether or not we have fear also reflects the basis of our cultivation. When our basis is an attachment to self, we may consider it a slow, gradual process to let go of such an attachment. Doing that is actually acknowledging it, as well as the accompanying persecution. This gives such an attachment room to exist. If our basis is selflessness, we will think such an attachment should not exist at all. Then, with such strong righteous thoughts, the evil will be scared and the attachment will have no basis to exist. A truly enlightened being is a safeguard for the cosmos, one who would sacrifice everything for sentient beings. Will such an enlightened being hold onto such fears?"
The paragraph generally describes the process of eliminating the attachment of fear that commonly exists amongst practitioners. Many practitioners, including myself, hold onto the attachment of fear to get rid of fear. We intentionally or unintentionally think that it is reasonable to be afraid, thus, giving "fear" room to exist. In fact, we are asking for "fear." So as soon as some of it is removed, more will come out. We feel that "fear" is constantly following us, wherever we go. But that is because we are holding onto it tightly and not letting it go.
When we do not recognize the attachment of fear based on the Fa principles and thoroughly negate it, then we are allowing "fear" to exist and grow. Consequently, we are giving the old forces an excuse to persecute us: "You need to remove your attachment to fear. So how are you going to do it? We will create dangerous environments, make you write , and send you to brainwashing centers and forced labor camps, etc." Aren't we then asking for all of the above? Only when we look at "fear" from the point of Fa-rectification can we thoroughly remove our attachment to fear.
So when we think that "Dafa practitioners are human and not divine beings cultivating ourselves, it is normal to have fear and it can be removed slowly," we are, in fact, acknowledging "fear." Fear is a human notion. For more than ten years, the old forces have been instilling in us the notion of "self protection." But these are notions that practitioners should not harbor, because we are on the path of becoming divine beings. So how can human notions become part of a divine being? When we acknowledge and ask for them, they will restrain and control us.
The reason why our cultivation is difficult and we keep eliminating the same attachments is because deep down, we give human notions and attachments room to exist. We should do as Teacher says, "...humankind must fundamentally change its conventional thinking..." ( in ) otherwise we can only be human and not divine beings.
The above are my current understandings. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Top
- 8. Experiences in Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts for Long Periods of Time
By Meiduo, a practitioner from China
(Minghui.org)
I experienced many tribulations for a period of time in early 2011, because I was not diligent in studying the , doing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts, and saving sentient beings. I read Teacher's article “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa – Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference” a few times, and have come to understand that when one studies the Fa, one needs to put one's heart into it, as opposed to just going through the motions. However, I was still experiencing a lot of interference from thought karma, and I couldn't study the Fa with a calm mind. I became very worried and wondered how I could possibly assist Teacher in rectifying the Fa.
When I talked with a fellow practitioner about my situation, I found out that she had similar feelings, and said that we were shouldering great responsibilities, and that if we didn't do well we would be letting down Teacher. We shared on our understandings from the Fa and tried to find our attachments. We also talked about the situation in our local area. A few practitioners were soon persecuted, and some veteran practitioners manifested symptoms of sickness karma to varying degrees. Some of them had been in this situation for a long time.
It appeared that practitioners were not cooperating well with one another, and some even refused to work together. Many attachments surfaced, including not being able to let go of attachments to ego, jealousy, lust, etc., which had created gaps among us and affected our overall cooperation and the saving of sentient beings. The practitioner I initially talked to has her celestial eye open, and she had seen some things that made her very worried. At the final leg of the Fa-rectification, how could we still be progressing so slowly?
When I talked to this practitioner, I said that I would study the Fa diligently and pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts. I agreed to do that for at least 30 minutes at the four set times for globally sending forth righteous thoughts. I later realized that we also needed to eliminate the old forces in our area, so we decided that on every Sunday at 2:00-4:00 p.m., we would send forth righteous thoughts to completely eliminate the old force factors behind the , police stations, , and juridicial departments in every village and township in our local area. We would eliminate all the dark minions, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) evil specters, and meddling deities interfering with the Fa-rectification.
I'd like to share what fellow practitioners saw through their celestial eyes, and what they felt while sending forth righteous thoughts for two hours. I hope practitioners can take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously and truly believe in the power of righteous thoughts.
August 7, 2011
Practitioners with their celestial eye open saw our images in other dimensions. It was very dark and we couldn't see the end. With Teacher's law body with us, we used our Fa net to set up a cover and spent the first thirty minutes cleaning up our own dimensional fields. At first, the old forces didn't pay much attention to us. However, when we began sending forth righteous thoughts, they began to interfere with us in this dimension. This included making the phone ring, knocks at the door, a practitioner's child coming home, and after a short while, a practitioner's mother coming home. We had been sending forth righteous thoughts for nearly two hours when we heard thunder in other dimensions. Then we heard thunder in this dimension as well. After a loud clap of thunder, we eliminated the old forces. It had been a cloudy day, and after the thunder, it started to drizzle, which we understood to be cleaning up everything in the human world.
August 14, 2011
After cleaning up our own dimensional fields for forty minutes, the same things happened as the previous time – a phone started to ring, etc. After I held my palm erect, the image of other dimensions from my celestial eye became fuzzy. All I could see was a person giving a practitioner a string of white substance. This practitioner waved it in front me and said, “Someone gave this to us.” I then replied, “This is a crystal necklace,” and knew that it was our Fa weapon.
This practitioner saw that after my energy was sent out, it appeared to cover the top of the building to the police bureau. There was a tube leading down from the cover, and on the other end was a dark dragon spitting out layers of black smoke onto the cover. This black smoke was full of old force elements. The practitioner used her erect palm to send out energy towards the dragon. As soon as her energy reached one old force element or a cluster of old force elements, it was eliminated. But there were still many old force elements left.
At this time, the practitioner's child came knocking at the door. After she let her child in, she continued to send forth righteous thoughts. She asked me if I could see it, but I couldn’t. Then she said, “Their headquarters is on top of the police bureau.” So I sent forth very powerful energy to that area. I then had a thought and wanted to check with this practitioner to see if Teacher had really given us a crystal necklace as a Fa weapon. I couldn't believe what I had seen was true. She replied, “Yes.”
The practitioner noticed cinnabar colored prayer beads around her left wrist. She wasn't sure how to use them, and so just threw them out. It turned out that the prayer beads captured all of the old forces on top of the police bureau, so that none of them could escape. The prayer beads could separate into different pieces and magnify or shrink itself, and every piece could go inside the cover to destroy the old force elements, or group together to surround them and then eliminate them. Perhaps Teacher had seen that there was no way for the two of us to eliminate the large amount of old forces without help, and so we were handed the Fa weapon. We also sent out a big Falun to eliminate the old forces.
After I asked the other practitioner about the necklace, I suddenly had an unrighteous thought. Why did Teacher only give it to her and not to me? I thought that this was unfair, and couldn't calm myself down. Even though I was trying to eliminate this thought, I couldn't completely let it go. I realized that it was interference from the old forces, and I wondered why I was still being interfered with by it. I looked inward and realized that I had the attachments of pursuing supernatural capabilities, the mentality of showing off, and competitiveness.
Teacher said:
“The paths of cultivation are varied
But none is outside the Great Law
When one is attached to nothing
The path underfoot is naturally smooth”
(“Unimpeded” from Volume II)
I should not allow the old forces to interfere with me, and must eliminate my attachments by strengthening my main consciousness. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts with a calm mind.
August 21, 2011
Two more practitioners joined us this time in sending righteous thoughts. After we cleaned up our own dimensional fields for half an hour, I held my palm erect and then felt that my leg was hurting. I tried to use my supernatural capability to transfer the pain over to the old forces, but it didn't work. My wrist also began to hurt, and I couldn't sit still. One time I was leaning forward, another time I was learning backward, and after an hour and 45 minutes I had to stop.
Another practitioner put her legs down from the full lotus position and said that she couldn't keep them up any longer. This time, the old forces' interference had been tremendous. At the beginning, we couldn't see how many old force elements there were, as our view was blocked. We could only see that the police bureau was a cemetery and that there was a white flag floating on top of it. There was a big battle going on in other dimensions, and one couldn't tell who was fighting whom. All I could see was warriors in white wearing silver armor rushing to the front, one row after another. Teacher's law body was up in the air watching, not doing anything, as Teacher wanted to leave the mighty virtue to us.
During the battle the practitioners present had a hard time displaying their supernatural capabilities. They felt that they were suppressed, not being able to move, and couldn't hold their palms erect or open up their palms fully in the lotus flower position. Their hands were being suppressed by some kind of force. Some practitioners' views were blocked and some were having their attachments seized upon. At one point, I felt cold and then hot, then I felt numb. I felt terrible and wanted to throw up. I couldn't keep it up any longer and begged in my heart for help from Teacher and the righteous gods. Then another practitioner stopped sending righteous thoughts. We were all being interfered with to varying degrees by the old forces. I almost collapsed and didn't recover for a few days.
August 28, 2011
Before I began sending forth righteous thoughts, I asked another practitioner if we should find a few more practitioners to join us. She agreed and we got in touch with a few of them. When we began to send forth righteous thoughts, five more practitioners' images appeared in other dimensions. The cover was getting bigger and bigger. It was transparent and kept the old forces inside, as practitioners were surrounding them. Teacher's law body was also under the cover, and there was a plate spinning and sucking in the old forces. We were in control of this field, and were using god-like thunder and Fa-rectification missiles to track down the meddling deities. We used all kinds of Fa instruments to track down the old forces and eliminate them. The entire field was sparkling because of the energy we had sent out. This time, we didn't have to go inside the cover, and could eliminate the old forces from the outside. We were working well with each other, and the entire field was covered with righteous thoughts. These words kept showing up in the dimensional field: “True thoughts dissolve all,
The whole sky is clear.”
(“Stirred by Reflection”) “One sail is hoisted,
one hundred million follow”
(“Self-Evident is the Heart” from Hong Yin Volume II)
September 4, 2011
A veteran practitioner started sending righteous thoughts first, sending out very powerful energy in other dimensions. When another practitioner and I joined her, we kept strengthening the power of the cover mechanisms and eliminating the old forces. Teacher was watching and made sure that nothing interfered with us. It was compassionate, magnificent, and harmonized. We cleaned up the field and eliminated all of the old forces. We felt as if we had just finished the battle.
After sending forth righteous thoughts like this a few more times, we were able to see our shortcomings. We realized that we had not been diligent enough in Fa-study and doing the exercises. Some practitioners did not have a good understanding of sending forth righteous thoughts and didn’t pay enough attention to it, and they had just been going through the motions. They couldn't keep up with sending forth righteous thoughts. Some had complaints towards other practitioners. They didn't send their energy towards the old forces, but rather kept adding a black substance onto other practitioners. Some couldn't stay focused, and some were not very conscious.
As soon as one has a thought, it's clearly seen in other dimensions. The old forces are focused on us and use all means to try to interfere with us. If our thoughts are not righteous, they will take advantage of us. One veteran practitioner's body was being interfered with, and in other dimensions, her body appeared to be covered with black substances, and she kept coughing. Even though this practitioner could not keep up to the very end, the thoughts she sent out were righteous and pure.
No matter what, we need to eliminate the old force interference. As Teacher said: “If thoughts are righteous,
evil will collapse”
(“What's to Fear?” from Hong Yin Volume II) “Do you realize something? My Dafa disciples, your righteous thoughts do have an effect. And the combined effect of each of you together is powerful beyond compare. The reason you can’t achieve such an effect is that your faith is lacking, and your righteous thoughts aren’t strong enough.” “Under the illusion here, you cannot perceive your own power, but that’s not of great consequence. When you are not cooperating well together, and your righteous thoughts aren’t strong enough, this will cause your mind to, while sending righteous thoughts, dwell on attachments that lead you to look outward, rather than inward, in cultivation. It can even lead you to feel indignant, and get mad whenever you think about someone. Then tell me, what’s the point of your sending righteous thoughts? They are not going to achieve a positive effect, and you will be revealing all of your thoughts, opinions, and attachments to the gods of the entire cosmos. When that thought goes out, all of that gets put on display for the entire cosmos to see—for all to see how you are.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple”)
The above is an account of our experiences while sending forth righteous thoughts, seen from my own level. I'd like to remind practitioners who do not pay enough attention to sending forth righteous thoughts, or who are in doubt about one's supernatural abilities, that we must believe in Teacher and Dafa, and follow Teacher's requirements to do the well. What Teacher has given us is the best. We should not give up our mission, and should shoulder our historic responsibilities. Let's learn from each other, cultivate diligently, be true Dafa practitioners, and harmonize with Teacher's requirements.
Top
|