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Improve Ourselves in Fa Study and Search Within

March 14, 2008 |   By a Fa-study group in Jilin City of Jilin Province

(Clearwisdom.net)

Group Fa-study is a form of cultivation that Master asks us to partake in. It is important for practitioners to exchange insights and experiences, and to rectify our conduct when problems or conflicts arise. We must work together to form an indestructible single body during the Fa-rectification. The hardest thing to do is to let go of our attachments. We are Dafa disciples, molded by Dafa and predestined to assist Master in rectifying the Fa. Only with Master and Dafa in mind, can we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the three things that Master asks us to do.

I have watched Master's Fa-Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners many times and I'm very much impressed by Master's compassionate eyes, facial expressions, and tone of speech. They encourage us to cooperate and coordinate well with one another and eliminate gaps among ourselves. When a problem surfaces, we are supposed to search inside, look at ourselves, coordinate well with one another, and save more sentient beings.

Conflicts have surfaced in our Fa-study group, and to some extent prevent us from doing the "three things" well, saving sentient beings and persuading people to quit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). This happened because we as practitioners did not coordinate well with one another. It is really distressing that the old forces take advantage of our loopholes because we cannot realize our shortcomings and improve ourselves while facing conflict.

How should we deal with the problem then? We should study Dafa and exchange our insights and experiences among fellow practitioners. We are becoming ever more mature. We know well that everything can be rectified by Dafa. Some practitioners realized that we should raise our level in understanding the Fa because if we have a good understanding of the Fa, it is easier for us to conduct ourselves accordingly, immerse ourselves in Dafa, and it will enable us hold steadfast and righteous thoughts. In this way, we can enlighten to the principles of the Fa and assimilate to the whole body of Dafa disciples. Also, we can understand, rectify ourselves, and harmonize with one another and do well all the things that we are supposed to.

In exchanging insights and experiences, we have all realized that it is dangerous to grow up in this society infused with the twisted CCP party culture. We have been exposed to the big dye vat of this society for decades. Thus, we have been influenced by the CCP's line of thinking and selfish standpoints, all of which have been deeply rooted in our minds such that even we could not detect them. Such thinking is so pervasive that we even take it as part of ourselves. Thus, the CCP baffles and entangles us, pushing us to walk unwittingly on the path that the old forces arrange. It is really hazardous for a practitioner to be lost and act unconsciously. So what should we do then? If one wants to be a sincere Dafa disciple, one must evaluate one's conduct based on the standpoints of Dafa and also rectify oneself unconditionally with Dafa to search within.

Some practitioners have said, "There's no self in the cultivation form of validating the Fa. There is only what Master wants to achieve. We must reform our each and every thought and conduct ourselves, by Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." Master asks us to put others first and to give up our attachments and harmful notions. We need to pass all trials and tribulations with righteous thoughts because that shows we are responsible to ourselves. Through this, we can abandon the attachment of pursuit and rid ourselves of selfishness. We are confronted with all sorts trials and tribulations, and to dispel these things, we must use the Fa. It enables us to completely negate old force arrangements so we can strengthen our Buddha-nature. At the same time, we assimilate to the criteria of the new universe. The ability to search within is a sign of one's maturity and mindset in cultivation. Only when one cultivates immense compassion, great forbearance, magnanimity and is always understanding of others, can we reach the mindset of no pursuit or no intention. We feel that this is something that Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples must achieve to gradually progress towards ultimate unselfishness.

In our discussions, we realized that in order to search within, we must get rid of sentimentality and start by abandoning "self." We have to let go of all our attachments. If one cannot see the attachment, the old forces will take advantage of our loopholes and disturb us.

If one is unable to have peace of mind while studying Fa or if the mind goes astray while reading the Fa, one can experience physical discomfort and sickness karma. Also, if one seeks outward and looks at others more than himself and only wants to change others but not himself, one will struggle unceasingly in trials and tribulations. This is a battle between good and evil reflected within the scope of our own dimensional field. One must improve one's Xinxing to pass such trials and tribulations. We must study the Fa well, assimilate to the Fa and melt into the Fa. Some practitioners say that memorizing the Fa is the best way to assimilate and melt into the Fa, and acts to change ourselves from deep within. Trust in Master and belief in the Fa originate in the very microcosm of our lives. We need to change our notions in the microcosm and change the very nature of our lives because Dafa has perfect harmony to create and renew everything. It has indestructible power and is the capstone of all life and wisdom. Fellow practitioners have realized that to study the Fa really well, to search within and to trust Master and the Fa, all are based on rational thinking. Only if one studies Fa well, will he be able to search within as he wishes.

One practitioner said, "In the past, I tended towards looking at others and seldom searched within. In clarifying the truth, if fellow practitioners didn't follow my advice and did not cooperate well, I used to complain about them. I was indignant and didn't treat myself as a practitioner. Now I think that no matter with whom I have a conflict, if I search within, then it's for sure that I can see my own attachments no matter if the conflict surfaces at home or among fellow practitioners. Only by getting rid of our attachments unconditionally will we achieve consummation." Especially among fellow practitioners, we must let go of our attachments. We must not let the old forces take advantage of our loopholes and reduce our power in validating the Fa as one body.

Another practitioner said that the reason why conflicts have intensified is that we don't let go of our attachments and sometimes, they are amplified unknowingly. How dangerous this is! If we cannot improve ourselves in the Fa and cannot validate the Fa to save sentient beings well, then we are doing an unforgivable deed towards Master and the sentient beings that we are supposed to save. Isn't it showing off if I calculate the number of people I have persuaded to denounce the CCP? Practitioners realize that there are tests throughout the entire process of our cultivation to see if we can trust Master and the Fa. We are tested on whether we are determined to cultivate and can persist. Therefore, we felt the need to increase and intensify Fa-study. Practitioners in our Fa-study group are now memorizing the Fa to reach better cultivation states, and to have Master worry less about us.

By searching within, one is guaranteed to purify and improve oneself. We must cultivate ourselves to be very compassionate and have a benevolent mindset. This is the path that Dafa disciples have to follow in the Fa-rectification period. We must walk on this path as we fulfill our prehistoric vows to save sentient beings. In brief, we must learn to search within ourselves all the time. We cannot indulge ourselves in selfishness or compete with one another. We must let go of all attachments and improve ourselves. Only by constantly searching within, rectifying ourselves and harmonizing with each other, can we form an indestructible whole.

Our Fa study group has restored its former balance because we have exchanged insights, shared experiences, and have searched within. We understand each other, and together we cultivate more diligently. When we look inside ourselves in the face of conflicts and can enlighten in the Fa, we will no longer stick to our own attachments. We are able to move forward. As we let go of our own attachments and notions, we harmonize with each other. After Fa study, we do our Dafa work separately. In persuading people to quit CCP, we remind each other of these things and our family cultivation environments then become better. We must take quick steps in validating the Fa and in saving sentient beings. Step out of the worrisome aspects of being narrow-minded and selfish. Do not miss the lucky chance that we have waited for thousands of years and be responsible to our own lives. We must walk the final path well and just, to seize the final time to do the three things well.