(Clearwisdom.net) I grew up in the countryside, and started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. In the dozen or so years I've been practicing, I've always felt that group Fa study is most effective for the improvement of the whole body and in upgrading xinxing. That's why fellow practitioners all treasure such an environment. I will share a few stories below.
(1) A fellow practitioner and I used to do business together and ran into conflict before I started practicing Dafa. The unpleasant feeling between us went so deep that we became total strangers. And then I met her in the cultivation group. We were all right on the surface, but I was aware I was not comfortable and felt that something was not right in my heart. I reminded myself that, regardless of what she was thinking, I have to start by changing myself, because looking outside or seeking solutions from others is the biggest obstacle in cultivation. Examining oneself and trying to find the cause from within when encountering conflicts is how a practitioner is different from an everyday person. By attending group Fa study we both realized from the Fa principles that everything in the world has its cause and effect, and whatever we come across in our cultivation it is related to ourselves. So we should really strive forward along with our precious fellow practitioners on the cultivation path. Looking inside and cultivating ourselves is the key in removing all attachments and ensuring continuous improvement in our practice. As a result, that fellow practitioner and I quickly entered into a normal cultivation state, and we were able to cooperate well in our efforts to validate the Fa. Other practitioners witnessed how the resentments that had built up over years vanished into thin air not long after we started practicing Dafa, and they all acclaimed, "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is really good! Falun Dafa is truly wonderful!" I know that this is possible only because of the mercy and compassion from Dafa's mighty virtue.
Through this experience I felt that, with anything, big or small, we should always judge and handle them with the Fa. As long as we do it well in the Fa and follow the Fa, the world's people will naturally see our ultimate truthfulness and kindness, and they will be able to feel the pure righteousness and wonderfulness of Dafa.
(2) I felt I learned a great deal in another experience. For a while I was suffering from serious illness karma. I had to rest at home and didn't go to group Fa study because of a back pain. Seeing that my illness was getting worse, my family members who are not practitioners kept trying to persuade me to go to a hospital. I refused to go even though they begged and urged me to go. I knew that it was hard for them to understand. They finally decided to manhandle me to the hospital, and forced me to receive medical treatment such taking shots and medicine.
It was then that one of the fellow practitioners in my group who saw I had not come to the group Fa study for some time came to see me. I told the practitioner who had happened to me, and the practitioner said to me nicely, "You've stayed home and haven't been at the group for so long, so you've been separated by the old forces. What you need is to share more with fellow practitioners. I think that is a reason for your illness karma that can't be overlooked. Why don't you come to the group and share with other fellow practitioners? " I was awakened by the fellow practitioner's words. The place for group Fa study was close to my home and we immediately went there together. In the group, other fellow practitioners helped me strengthen my righteous faith in Master and the Fa by sharing from the Fa what they thought was the right approach to my illness karma. We studied together Master's lecture "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York". Master said,
"Cultivation is a serious matter. That test of one's mind is a black or white issue. The more attached you are, the worse you will feel. When you go to the hospital for an examination you will be made to see that your illness has gotten worse."
Master also said in "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles":
"So you should handle it with righteous thoughts. You are a cultivator, so it is definitely not in fact sickness. But it won't come across that simple."
...
"If your mind is unsteady, that means you are not meeting the standard to begin with, and prolonging the process won't lead to any changes. And if someone holds out for the purpose of saving face, that is adding attachments on top of attachments. In such cases there are only two choices: You either go to the hospital and thus give up on trying to overcome the test, or you completely let go of everything, behave like an upstanding and noble Dafa disciple who has no resentment or attachments, and leave it to Master to arrange whether you stay or go. When you are able to do that, you are a god."
When we read esteemed Master's lectures over and over, I felt the righteous thoughts became stronger and my mind purer and cleaner. Afterwards fellow practitioners sat beside me, and we sent out strong righteous thoughts together. The pain in my back was lessened and I felt so much better. With the help of fellow practitioners' righteous thoughts, the illness was miraculously gone, and again I threw myself into the group efforts to validate the Fa.
Through my experiences I not only experienced Dafa's divine power, but also felt the pure righteousness and wonderfulness of the group Fa study. Based on my own cultivation experience, I want to offer my fellow practitioners a word of advice: To practice cultivation, don't miss out on group Fa study.
