Memorizing the Fa Helped Me Cultivate Away My Attachments

(Minghui.org) I am from the countryside, and have been practicing Falun Dafa for 26 years. Throughout my cultivation, I did not have a good enlightenment quality, and I improved slowly. Even though I understood some Fa principles when I read or listened to the Fa, I would often forget them afterward when I encountered problems. I also had strong human attachments and sentiment. Therefore, I was worried about my cultivation.

Recently, a fellow practitioner suggested that I memorize Zhuan Falun. Although memorizing the book was much slower than reading it, I found I understood a layer of Fa principles after memorizing each paragraph. Master’s boundless Fa is constantly awakening me and improving my enlightenment quality. I began to truly know how to cultivate.

Suffering Is a Good Thing

For many years, I did not treat suffering as a good thing. If I experienced physical discomfort, I would often wish it could pass soon. So I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. I did not realize that I did not understand the Fa principles about it.

Each time I experienced serious illness karma, merciful Master would show me in my dreams what terrible things I did in my previous lifetimes. I killed many people and accumulated a lot of debts. The creditors wanted to harm me. Master bore many sins for me and I only needed to bear a very small portion. Yet I did not even want to pay for this small portion! Instead, I asked Master to help reduce my suffering, and I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the creditors. How could I do this? Didn’t I add more debts by doing so? The bottom line is that I treated suffering as a bad thing.

Master said:

“There is this saying: The great Fa is boundless—cultivation depends entirely on your heart; as for how high your cultivation level can reach, it all depends on your endurance and your ability to bear hardship. If you use up the white substance that you have, your own black substance can be transformed into the white substance through suffering.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)

When I was memorizing this part, I felt that Master was talking to me directly. Master was telling me that I should have the ability to bear hardship. And my black substance can be transformed into the white substance through suffering. As a cultivator, I know the black substance is karma, which was created by my doing bad deeds in the past. They are debts I owed. The principles of the universe won’t allow not repaying the debt after being in debt. While cultivating Dafa, suffering is repaying the debts and transforming the black substance (karma) into the white substance (virtue). Then Master transforms the white substance into Gong (cultivation energy). How wonderful this is! That’s why Master tells us, “Let joy be found in hardship” (“Tempering the Will”, Hong Yin)

Master has been teaching us Heaven’s way, and telling us Heavenly secrets in order for us to return to our Heavenly home! My heart opened up, and I felt clear and bright inside! I finally understood the Fa principle that hardship is a good thing.

I No Longer Pursue Treating Illness

When I first began to practice Falun Dafa, I did so to treat my illnesses. During cultivation, Master kept purifying my body, and I obtained better health and a new life. I am so grateful to Master and Dafa! Gradually, I moved on from an emotional perception of Dafa, and gained a deeper, more rational understanding of the Fa. I came to understand that Master is genuinely guiding people toward high levels, and Dafa is cultivation of the Buddha Fa, and we are cultivating Buddhahood.

However, over the past 20 years, I often suffered illness karma. As a result, a lingering sadness often weighed on me: I must have a lot of karma, and Master must have done a lot of extra things to cleanse me. Fellow practitioners reminded me to look inward, and I continued to do so. I knew it must be connected to my xinxing. But, after looking inward for so many years, my illness karma was still here. I have been doing the three things all along, without any delay. I held on, gritted my teeth, and pushed through. Most of the time when I went out to help Master save people, my physical condition was not good, and I had to ask Master to strengthen and help me.

Through memorizing the Fa, I realized that I had always been wishing for Master to heal all my illnesses. Wasn’t that an attachment? I did not truly understand that I practice the Fa of the universe! I had been learning the Fa with the attachment of pursuit. When I studied the Fa, I would often think: “My health will improve soon. Master will take care of me.” When I did the exercises, I would often think, “My practice will not be in vain. Master will help me to cleanse my body.” But I did not see my body changing. How could my gong increase when I had that mentality? Then I started to look outward: “I must have a lot of karma.” I sealed myself with my wrong mentality of “a lot of karma.” I saw that I did not know how to cultivate, and I was not truly cultivating.

After I found my long-time attachment of wanting to treat my illness, I suddenly saw the light, and felt relieved. Then my body changed. When I was doing the exercise movements, my cold left leg became warm. When I was doing the sitting meditation, I felt cold air coming out of my entire left leg, including my foot. The tightness in the left side of my chest was lifted, and I felt much more comfortable.

Since I began memorizing the Fa, my physical condition kept improving. My body felt light. I was no longer afraid to work, and I was not out of breath when walking. When memorizing the Fa, I felt that every character in the book penetrated into my mind, into my microcosm, into my heart, and into every cell in my body. Master’s every sentence is the Fa, which teaches me how to cultivate.

My experience of memorizing the Fa, as compared to reading the Fa—although memorizing the Fa is slower—is that it helped me to better understand the Fa and to truly assimilate to the Fa. In other words, it helped me understand how to cultivate and how to enlighten. I decided to continue to memorize the Fa and make myself closer to the Fa’s standard.

One night, I went to bed after memorizing one page of the book. Before I fell asleep, a voice said: “You came to this word to obtain the Dafa of the universe, and to help Master save sentient beings.” It was Master’s encouragement. I will continue to memorize the Fa, cultivate well, save more people, fulfill my vow, and complete my mission.

Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation!