(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Dafa disciple from the education system in Changchun.
Master said in one of the earlier lectures,
“Now there’s a 'Fa-study upsurge' in Changchun.” [...]
“In Changchun there are now more than ten thousand people memorizing the book. What’s the situation of their Fa-study now? They sit down and start to study, and they don’t need the book—one person recites the book by memory from the beginning, then he stops and another person continues to recite, without making a mistake, and not one single word is recited wrong as they continue to recite. Then it continues, you recite a paragraph, he recites a paragraph, and people go on reciting like this.”(“Suggestions Given at the Beijing Falun Dafa Assistants Meeting” in Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)
I was one of the practitioners that Master was talking about, and I am a witness.
Master started spreading Falun Dafa in Changchun in 1992. In the two years after that, practitioners would often seek help from the assistants about questions they encountered in personal cultivation or Fa-study. Sometimes, the assistants would not have enough personal experience or be at the same level to answer those questions, so they would say, “Let's read the Fa, and see what Master says in the book!” And as soon as they read the book, they realized all the answers were in the book! Later on we all said, “Let's memorize the book. We would not need to ask others if we have memorized the Fa.” When our understandings of the Fa improved, tests became much easier to pass, and we followed Dafa's guidance more clearly when things arose.
In this manner, under Master's care, Changchun practitioners improved their xinxing very fast, and the upsurge of Fa-study and Fa-memorization began. To date, Changchun practitioners have kept Master's earnest teachings in their hearts and minds and persist in individual and group Fa-study, hand-copying and memorizing the Fa, and reminding and encouraging each other to do these things.
My home was a group study site. Practitioners in the group had different schedules; some had to work; some were retired; some worked part-time and some worked in shifts. Therefore, we had two Fa-study sessions every day - one during the daytime and one at night. I gave my house key to practitioners when I left for work. In the beginning, we would first read Zhuan Falun together in consideration of the elderly practitioners, then start reciting the Fa one by one, going clock-wise. The environment was covered with a strong energy field of righteousness and compassion, touching everyone in it. While studying the Fa with the group, everyone felt sincerely peaceful and unified by the Fa. We all had the happy feeling of Master being right next to us.
In the beginning, we gathered together to recite the Fa if our schedules allowed, but many practitioners felt they could not join us due to being busy. Soon, they realized that those who attended group study also had busy work schedules. They were touched and decided to join in our study. Gradually, a majority of practitioners could recite the book. While quietly listening to others reciting, a sense of sacredness and dignity would arise in our hearts.
When a practitioner was reciting the Fa, others, including myself, would recite along in our heart. When a mistake was spotted, we would not interrupt, but instead wait until the practitioner had finished to tell him or her. Some would immediately ask to recite again. During our daily cultivation, we have also come to understand that, no matter which lecture we were reciting, there was bound to be attachments mentioned in that lecture for us to remove!
For example, I had an attachment to zealotry and thought, “I've obtained the Fa, and the Fa is so wonderful!” This lasted a long time. In order to show me the attachment I must remove, Master arranged for me to recite one more paragraph in the section of “Attachment of Zealotry” in Zhuan Falun. I realized the attachment that had hindered my improvement in cultivation practice, and took great efforts to remove it, and this was very tiring. However, as soon as I started reciting the Fa, my will of advancing diligently would increase and I could pass my xinxing tests.
Thank you Master for your merciful salvation! I'm grateful to Dafa who has brought my body and soul to a higher place!
Many practitioners understood that attachments were discovered and removed during the process of both Fa memorization and diligent cultivation.
While memorizing the Fa, one can truly “wander to that magical place” (“The Tang Way” in Hong Yin Vol. II) and “Transcend the Five Elements and the Three Realms” (Lecture Two in Zhuan Falun). The feeling is too wonderful to describe with words.
The more Fa one can memorize, the more one's enlightenment quality will improve. When encountering conflicts, tests, and tribulations in cultivation practice, one can immediately understand Master's guidance and Dafa's requirements at different levels. Tribulations will become as small as a pebble so you can easily overcome them with a stride. When you are big, it becomes small. Memorizing the Fa is very effective and brings many benefits.
The Victory Park group study site was relatively large, and many practitioners joined it because practitioners there had better understandings of the Fa and could recite the Fa better. Although some practitioners joined that site with attachments, most went there holding the thought of
“Study Fa, obtain Fa,Compare in studying, compare in cultivating,Examine each and every deed,Accomplishing is cultivating.”(“Solid Cultivation” in Hong Yin-Translation version B)
However, in our Fa-study group, not many practitioners joined the Victory Park group. Some practitioners were self-conscious about reciting the Fa in front of so many practitioners, and felt that if they performed poorly, it would be a waste of time for the others.
I joined the Victory Park group study once a week. In the beginning, I mustered my courage and was able to recite the Fa in front of many people. It was so strange that I had been very fluent at home, but as soon as my human thoughts interfered during group study, my mouth started to fail me. It took me a very long time to remove the attachments to curiosity, competitiveness, showing off and vanity that had caused this. Later on, after attending the group study for a long time and having developed familiarity with these practitioners, my attachments to vying and competitiveness emerged again. It was a painful process to remove them one by one. Fortunately, with my determination in cultivation practice, I was able to pass tests one after another.
Master said,“To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (Lecture One in Zhuan Falun)
My personal cultivation practice experience has proved that this is true, regardless of whether I was involved in a group that was large or small.
Our Fa-study and Fa-memorization were very rewarding: our realms were gradually increased; the atmosphere of helping each other and looking inward was very good; helping others memorize the Fa sentence by sentence has greatly improved our patience. Our heart of compassion reflected the mighty power of Dafa at every moment. We seized every day, hour, and minute to memorize the Fa, and it has become an important part of our lives. At that time, life was indeed as Master said,
“Study Fa, obtain Fa,Compare in studying, compare in cultivating,Examine each and every deed,Accomplishing is cultivating.”(“Solid Cultivation” in Hong Yin)
Changchun Dafa disciples will forever remember the three poems Master wrote to us, “Solid Cultivation”, “Cultivating Amidst the Delusion” and “Cause and Effect.”
Even today I am still using the study method of hand-copying the Fa. I still remember the unforgettable time when the Falun Gong Exhibition of Paintings and Calligraphy was held in the Nanling Stadium in Changchun. Whenever I slack off, this memory comes to mind to encourage and urge me to become more diligent.
In the exhibition, hand-copied versions of Zhuan Falun were on display. They were very thick and the handwriting extremely neat. The book covers were exquisite and the book cases looked as if they were from professional publishing houses. The linings inside were golden velvet, extremely solemn, and sacred.
As soon as I saw them, warm currents surged from the bottom of my heart through my entire body, and shocked my heart and soul. I felt the mighty power of Dafa shooting upward to the cosmos. At the time, I was also hand-copying the Fa, but my diligence was incomparable to the practitioners whose books were on display. Their diligence greatly inspired me.
When I hand-copy the Fa, I read a sentence, memorize it, hand-copy it, and learn it by heart. Now in many group study sites in Changchun, more and more fellow practitioners are hand-copying the Fa.
Today, after many years of persecution, disciples have made it through by studying, reading and memorizing Zhuan Falun under Master's guidance and protection.