(Clearwisdom.net) Yesterday I was discussing the question of not being able to study the Fa, and only going through the motions. Fellow practitioners spoke very well, and their words inspired me deeply. Lately my cultivation state hasn't been the best, and I was continually mired in everyday business while unable to participate in group Fa study. I looked at why I couldn't concentrate when studying the Fa and why I was only going through the motions, and discussed the following factors with fellow practitioners.
First, I had not rationally grasped Dafa's effectiveness, solemnity, sacredness, and greatness. What Teacher has passed to us is the universe's most fundamental Fa, the greatness of which cannot be described using human language. What Teacher has told us is only a small portion of this universe's Dafa, and what we can come to recognize is also only a tiny part.
Then why does this phenomenon appear where we go through the motions of studying the Fa but do not understand its meaning? Because one's own understanding of the Fa still remains at the perceptual level, at the level of ordinary people - where we feel that Dafa is good, we are cultivating healthy bodies, changing our thinking, changing our families, and comparing ourselves with our own past. We feel that, compared to everyday people, we are very lucky. But thinking about it rationally, what is Dafa after all? Why can it be widely spread in this historical period? What relationship does it have with the past, present, and future? What relationship does it have with ourselves and all the lives in the cosmos? Why can we ourselves enter into cultivation and cultivate Dafa? What is the significance now that we have entered? Why has Teacher given us the title of "Fa Rectification Period Dafa Disciples," and what relationship does that have with "Dafa Disciples during the period of the Fa rectifying the human world" and other forms of cultivation? There are many more questions like these. I discovered that I was not very clear about these matters.
From this I enlightened that perceptual understanding means being held back by a surface understanding of things. It is not being able to recognize the true substance of things. Rationally understanding is the only way to understand the true substance of things, and only in this way can we truly improve and assimilate. If our understanding of Dafa cannot become rational, and we remain at a perceptual, surface understanding, we will forever be unable to grasp Dafa's effectiveness, solemnity, sacredness, and greatness. We will not be able to treasure it and will take Dafa as a common cultivation method. We will sooner or later slip into the state of simply going through the motions while studying the Fa.
Second I wasn't truly respecting Teacher or respecting the Fa. Just now I talked about Dafa's greatness. Teacher has told us that behind every character is the image of His Fashen. Behind each is layer after layer of Buddhas, Daos, and gods. When we recite the Fa, Falun and lotus flowers come from our mouths. But when we study the Fa, do we think of these things? If we were aware of this, if we thought that Teacher's Fashen was by our side while studying the Fa, would we drink tea, recline with our legs crossed and elevated, talk about meaningless things, or not sit upright? Would these manifestations of not respecting Teacher and the Fa occur? Would we still experience the state of going through the motions while studying? We definitely would not.
Our great, compassionate Teacher and Dafa has scooped us up from a prison cell in Hell that we could not escape from for eons. He gave us the predestined relationship to obtain the Fa and entrusted us with the grand historic mission of validating the Great Law and saving sentient beings. If we did not have the compassionate salvation of Teacher and Dafa, we would not be where we are today! The wondrous things Teacher and Dafa have given could never be repaid, yet we still are unable to respect Teacher and Dafa. Having these thoughts and actions while studying the Fa, could we possibly understand it deeply? Would we do anything but go through the motions? Would we be allowed to witness Dafa's true inner meaning?
Third, I had not recognized the solemnity of cultivating Dafa. I remember when I had just started cultivating, there were no big obstacles and there was no pressure, no discrimination or persecution. What I heard and witnessed was all Dafa's greatness, sacredness, and beauty. My heart was overflowing with admiration for Dafa and longing for Consummation. Teacher sternly warned us a number of times:
"Cultivation practice is not child's play. It is more serious than anything of everyday people--it isn't something to take for granted. Once you miss the opportunity, when will you be able to get a human body again in the sixfold path of reincarnation?" ("Practicing Cultivation After Retirement," Essentials for Further Advancement).
But I still didn't see its seriousness, and felt relaxed and at ease.
After the persecution started, and facing the test of life and death, only then did I come to realize that this was not just a matter of solemnity. It's just like in the past when reading Journey to the West, I always saw it as a myth that had been created by later generations, and only now do I know that it is a true, factual, and rich cultivation story. On my own path I went through trial after agonizing trial and learned painful lessons, and finally realized this was happening because I wasn't solidly studying the Fa, I didn't have a solid foundation of Dafa to guide my cultivation, which caused these arduous tribulations and painful lessons to occur.
Teacher said in "To the Australia Fa Conference:"
"That is because the Fa is the foundation; it is what's fundamental for Dafa disciples; it is what ensures everything; and it is the avenue by which a human being journeys toward godhood. Thus I would like to take the opportunity of this Fa conference in Australia to tell all Dafa disciples around the world: Whether you are a new or veteran student, all the same you must not neglect Fa-study on account of being busy. Don't just go through the motions when you study the Fa. You should study with a concentrated mind, and you must really be studying."
In "Shed the Human Mindset," Teacher says:
"The most prominent manifestation of this is the severe persecution many students face as a result of their strong human mindset and lack of righteous thoughts. The solution is to without exception make studying the Fa a priority and to study the Fa diligently."
Seeing the booklet published by Minghui, "Concentrate While Studying the Fa," I looked back on my own cultivation and saw that I wasn't concentrating while studying the Fa and was going through the motions, and was unable to persist with group study. These problems were still prominent. After recognizing this, if I am unable to place importance on this and overcome it, am unable to steel my will to resolve this problem, then it will be very hard for me to walk an upright path in the time ahead.
