(Minghui.org) I had not being able to study the Fa mindfully for some time. I would look at the words and read them, but my mind was often elsewhere. Even when I tried to be mindful, I would feel I hadn't read anything afterward. I didn't know what to do, and reciting the Fa didn't improve the situation that much.
I read an article about “reading” in the computer age. The author said that people nowadays are accustomed to “skimming” and “extensive reading,” instead of the traditional way of “thinking while reading.” We are inundated with information and prefer “skip reading” instead. Consequently, we are unable to think in-depth or to comprehend complex sentences. The way we read these days is changing the way we think, thus, bringing about a “new brain” that is more capable of browsing, skimming, and skipping words as we read.
I thought the reason I could not study the Fa mindfully might have something to do with what the article talked about.
People have been reading books in the traditional manner for thousands of years and were able to absorb what they read. I remember before the Internet came along, it took me two minutes to read a page of Zhuan Falun . I gained new understandings each time I read a page. But as I spent more time reading on the Internet, it took me less than a minute to read one page in Zhuan Falun .
I encountered a more serious problem when I studied the Fa online. Although I read the words, something in my brain seemed to be keeping them at bay. As a result, I felt that I had not taken anything in after Fa study. This was more obvious when I read Master's latest lectures. Even though they were new lectures, I was not able to take them to heart.
Master said,
“As I mentioned, in the body of today’s human beings almost everyone has a layer of the body that was created by aliens. Why do I say that? It’s because all of the science that they instilled in you has created a warped human mindset in your mind. There have never been humans like this in any of mankind’s previous civilizations. When the mind is like that, so is the body.” ("Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference")
Master also said,
“Thus, a layer of particles was formed in both the human body and mind. The science that was brought to human beings by extraterrestrials has formed a layer of particles belonging to their science. This is exactly the systematic arrangement made by the extraterrestrials in order to acquire the bodies of human beings.” ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada")
My understanding is that the “new brain” was brought to human beings by the extraterrestrials.
Modern day people use computers to process all kinds of information, and online texts are arranged so that they can be read, processed, and calculated by computer algorithms. In essence, computers have rebuilt a thinking model for human beings, enabling us to think and to make decisions like a computer.
Master said in Lunyu ,
“To put it frankly, no matter how advanced a computer is, it is still no match for the human brain, which to this day remains an unfathomable enigma.” (Zhuan Falun)
Master also said, “As I see it, in the form of this physical dimension, the human brain is only a processing factory.” (Zhuan Falun) Thus, computers cannot even be compared to the depths of human's thoughts.
My understanding is that, since we spend so much time reading online news and articles, we are unconsciously forming and absorbing habits and substances brought forth by the extraterrestrials' science and technology. Hence, when we study the Fa, our understanding of the Fa remains trapped in the degenerated substance and influenced by it.
Once I determined the root cause of my problem, I tried to remove the substances and its effects on my Fa study. Except in special circumstances, I avoid reading Dafa books on any electronic device. I read printed versions whenever possible, and I have sensed significant improvements.
Many overseas practitioners work on projects that require them to do a lot of online reading. I wrote this article as a point of reference for them. This is my current understanding. Please kindly point out anything that is incorrect.
Category: Improving Oneself
