(Clearwisdom.net) Usually most of our fellow practitioners take 5 to 10 minutes to clear their own minds before the four designated times (on top of set hours to send forth righteous thoughts). Recently, I noticed that I had a hard time clearing my mind, all kinds of thoughts and notions were interfering with me, often reducing the effect of my own sending forth righteous thoughts. Sometimes, when I was busy with a project, I would wait until the last second (right before the 5 to 10 minutes mark) to enter the state for sending righteous thoughts. Even then I was still thinking about my project. During the sending righteous thoughts session, my mind would wander about, and sometimes I would doze off. My hand gesture was out of shape. I felt quite frustrated. Wasn't this just a show? It was a waste of time.
There had to be a solution to this issue. I recalled Master's words,
"A person is like a container, and he is what he contains. If he contains the Fa, he's assimilated to the Fa; if he's filled with dirt, he is dirt." (Falun Buddha Fa Lecture at the Conference in Singapore, draft translation)
I realized that the more Fa I remembered, the more clean and serene I would become. I decided to stop my project half an hour before each designated time and concentrate on reading Dafa books, then I would start to clear my mind for 5 to 10 minutes before the top of the hours. This started to have a good effect immediately. Now I am able to enter tranquility more easily. Even if other thoughts come up, I can easily dispel them. My righteous thoughts have become much more powerful. The sending forth righteous thoughts no longer feels like a routine obligation. Even half an hour doesn't feel that long. I believe that I should share this experience with other practitioners to serve as a reference. Fellow practitioners can adjust and improve their practice according to their own conditions.
Of course, if a practitioner can get in and out of tranquility more easily, then the five minutes of sending righteous thoughts is sufficient and powerful.
September 25, 2003
