(Clearwisdom.net) Those who cultivate in Dafa all know the importance of studying the Fa. Most practitioners manage to read the Dafa books everyday. However, some of them haven't really melted into the Fa.
There are monks or lay Buddhists who can recite fluently the Buddhist scriptures, yet "If the master does not truly practice cultivation, it is useless. Without cultivating the heart, no one can make it." (Zhuan Falun) Can we say we study the Fa well if we are merely able to recite what Master teaches us? Why are we studying the Fa? My understanding is that it is for us to assimilate to the Fa so that each cell in our body and every thought we have will comply with the standard of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." Shouldn't we check our thoughts and actions at all times to see if they comply with "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance?" If we cannot do it and only check other people's behavior against the Fa, what kind of cultivation is that?
The Fa that Master teaches us has unprecedented strict requirements. Right now the workload in the Fa-rectification is heavy and difficult. We should be more careful in the cultivation of the heart when doing anything. Whether we can cultivate ourselves well is directly related to the success of Fa-rectification activities.
Let's think about why we are studying the Fa. Are we studying the Fa for the sake of Fa-study (like putting on clothes)? Or are we trying to assimilate to Dafa (to melt into the Fa with every fiber of our being) through studying? My understanding is that to be able to recite Master's words or to repeat what Master has taught in a certain place does not necessarily mean that one has studied the Fa well. Nor does how much work one has accomplished. Instead, studying the Fa well is reflected in our awareness of whether our thoughts and actions are in compliance with the Fa that we have enlightened to. We are doing cultivation and Fa-rectification work in the society of everyday people. What moves them is not the theories we are trying to tell them but our actions. I hope that all the cultivators can be the embodiment of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." How much Fa we can enlighten to depends on our in-born qualities and enlightenment qualities, but to carry out what we have enlightened to in our thoughts and actions is something we should put the utmost effort into and accomplish.
In the end, I would like to share with you, "Solid Cultivation" from Hong Yin:
Study the Fa and obtain the Fa,
Share in learning and share in cultivating,
Following [the Fa] in everything,
Compliance is cultivation.
