(Clearwisdom.net) Master has repeatedly stressed the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts. I have only recently started to send forth righteous thoughts for long periods of time this year. I started doing because I was inspired by what I read on Minghui.net (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom) that some practitioners continued sending forth righteous thoughts for practitioners who had been severely persecuted.
Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts for Long Periods of Time
In the past I did not pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts and was only superficially doing it. So when we started to send forth righteous thoughts for long periods of time for practitioners who have been persecuted, I could not persist after the initial fifteen minutes. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind and I could not concentrate at all. I started to resend my righteous thoughts and thought that it would be good if I would be able to hold on for twenty minutes. Although I was reluctant to send forth righteous thoughts, I reasoned that it is to disintegrate the evil and reduce the pressure on fellow practitioners who were being persecuted. So I persevered using righteous thoughts and have gradually extended the time, from 15 and 20 minutes in the beginning to 30 and 40 minutes later. Although my mind was still not very tranquil, I no longer resisted sending forth righteous thoughts. Now, whenever I think about sending forth righteous thoughts for fellow practitioners I have a sense of mission and am eager to do it. This has laid a foundation for me to participate in group relays of sending forth righteous thoughts and that of sending righteous thoughts in close proximity to the evil.
Not long ago practitioners in my area organized a group relay of sending forth righteous thoughts. Every person sends forth righteous thoughts for an hour each week. I also participated and have carefully adhered to the schedule. In the beginning, I became very tired after sitting for half an hour. My right arm become very sore and my legs were in pain (I never feel pain when I do the sitting meditation). It was like I had worked very hard physically and I felt very weak. Sometimes I had to rest against the bed and couldn't continue sitting in the lotus position for the second half-hour. But when I persevered in sending forth righteous thoughts the second time, things improved. I did not feel as tired and my right arm was not as sore. I did not need a rest half-way and was able to continuously sit for forty minutes. The third time, things changed dramatically, I was able to sit in the lotus position and hold my palm upright for the entire hour without feeling tired and my legs did not feel painful either. Fellow practitioners also experienced such a feeling. After feeling the changes from these three incidents of sending forth righteous thoughts, I realized that whether we can see with our Celestial Eye or not, with a pure state of mind, our righteous thoughts are powerful!
Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts In Close Proximity to the Evil
Recently, I read on Minghui.net about the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity to the evil, in order to disintegrate the evil. One fellow practitioner said that she sent forth righteous thoughts once a week in close proximity to where persecution takes place. This has touched me greatly. After local practitioners organized a session to do this in close proximity to a place where practitioners were being detained, I decided to overcome my attachments to laziness and fear and do this.
The first time we went to send forth righteous thoughts near an area where practitioners were being persecuted, it was raining heavily, but we did not flinch. We rode the bus for nearly 2 hours to get to the location despite the heavy rain. Normally, my mind is not very tranquil when I send forth righteous thoughts and I don't experience many sensations. In the beginning, I was worried about the effect of our sending forth righteous thoughts in this noisy environment because it was difficult to become tranquil. When we came close to our target location I felt the difference from sending forth righteous thoughts at home. Although it was noisy, when we concentrated, the bad thoughts in our minds were eliminated. Even when my mind still wandered, my head was clear. I don't think we would have such an effect when sending forth righteous thoughts at home with the same state of mind. I knew that Master was strengthening us. We circled around the place of persecution that day and sent forth righteous thoughts for more than two hours, we were not tired nor sleepy. After returning home, we again sent forth righteous thoughts for local practitioners who had been illegally arrested. I felt intense heat all over my body and a very strong energy, which I have not felt for a long time.
Recently, practitioners in our Fa-study group also realized the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts in close range to the evil. After a vicious round of persecution occurred in our area, we organized a close-range sending forth righteous thoughts session. After this, fellow practitioners also spontaneously went to the local police department and police station to send forth righteous thoughts according to their own situations. We realized that “The next person's things are your things.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference”) We are one body, we have to continue sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity to the evil until we end the persecution!
Here are some of my experiences participating in sending forth righteous thoughts in close range to sites of persecution:(1) We must rationally understand the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts. We must not approach it as a routine chore or superficially participate. Whether it's sending forth righteous thoughts for long periods of time or in close range to the evil, we must understand that this is to disintegrate the evil, stop the persecution and save sentient beings. Let's put down self and step out of our mundane things. Treat the next person's things as our own things and truly safeguard the Fa as a Dafa particle!
Master said:
“As you know, the persecution that Dafa disciples in Mainland China suffer is quite severe, so each student has to truly, clearly realize what his responsibility is, and when he sends forth righteous thoughts he has to be able to truly calm his mind and truly produce the effect of righteous thoughts. So this is something extremely critical, extremely important.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)(2) We have to persevere and sustain our righteous thoughts. Don't give up because of temporary difficulties or not feeling the effect and sacredness of sending forth righteous thoughts. We should trust that our righteous thoughts are powerful. This can be seen through the changes from my three occasions of sending forth righteous thoughts.
Master has long seen our problem and has pointed this out:
“So you must take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously. No matter whether you think you have the ability or not, you should do it.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)(3) Persisting in sending forth righteous thoughts for long periods of time and in close proximity to the evil is an example of us putting down self, harmonizing with the whole body and disintegrating the evil while at the same time cultivating ourselves. During this process we can eliminate our attachments of selfishness, numbness, fear, dependence, laziness, fear of hardship, fear of suffering, fear of trouble and attachments to comfort. It is truly integrating our personal cultivation with Fa-rectification cultivation. For example: after participating in sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity to a place where practitioners were being persecuted, I realized in the beginning that I had worried about noise from the outside which would affect us. This was not a righteous thought. It is fear of difficulty and attachment to comfort. We should not pick the environment, but instead we should meet the challenges. After looking inward, I realized that my mind was not tranquil and I should work hard to improve my xinxing. I should seek out all my attachments, including attachments to fame, personal gain and lust that I still have not eliminated. I should rectify myself while looking inward!
The above are my recent cultivation experiences. Please point out anything inappropriate.
