(Clearwisdom.net)
After reflecting on my experience during the past year, I want to talk about my understandings regarding Fa study and looking inward as a reference for fellow practitioners.
A. Why do we need to study the Fa
Master said,
"So during the two years of persecution that you've been through, you have been able to persevere in your cultivation, make yourselves more and more clearheaded, and recognize ever more clearly the evilness of this persecution. So in other words, Fa-study truly is extremely important for a Dafa disciple, for a cultivator. No matter how difficult your environment is, no matter how busy you get, you cannot forget to study the Fa. You must study the Fa, because it is the absolute, most fundamental guarantee of your improvement"
("Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.").
"When you do well in the Fa-rectification, I can see that it's always because you are able to understand the Fa from the Fa; and when you do somewhat poorly, I can see that it's because you aren't making a priority of Fa-study and you aren't able to understand the Fa from the Fa. As a Dafa disciple, no matter what the situation or what the circumstances, you have to study the Fa, and you can't neglect your own assimilation and improvement; you can't forget to study the Fa" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston").
After coming through these past four years, we see that the old forces interfere with our Fa study in different ways, so as to further persecute us. We now better realize the nature of some of this interference. For instance, we tend to become sleepy whenever we began to study the Fa. So this way, we lose an opportunity for Fa study. Sometimes we aren't even aware of our unstable minds while studying the Fa. The old forces make us lose time; they render us unable to take Fa study as our first and the most important priority. They make us become bothered and busy with our daily work and even our family problems. Our time is taken away by traffic jams, communication problems etc. We even lose time in finding each other at appointed locations. As a result, we have less time to study the Fa. Some practitioners don't realize this even though they are interfered with. For example, some take three hour's time to finish an hour's work. But they still take it for granted and consider it as natural and common.
We are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples,
"What's a Dafa disciple? He's a being created by the most magnificent Fa." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference")
When we look back on the tribulations we went through during the past four years, what did we depend on to persist up till now? Didn't we depend on Master and the Fa? Master put everything he can help us with into the Fa. Master said
"I've also told you that this Fa is so powerful, and that I have melded my immense abilities into this Fa, so this Fa can do anything for you."
("Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
Although we know this from Fa-principles, when we look at the state in which we study the Fa, do we really take Fa-study that seriously? Why don't we strengthen and increase our Fa-study? Who is blocking us? It has to be the substances of the old cosmos that are to be eliminated and rectified. By studying the Fa we can eliminate them. Dafa just has this great power and can correct and rectify everything that is unrighteous within us.
"Matter and mind are one and the same." (Zhuan Falun)
"When you understand Fa-principles on this side, then changes in other dimensions are quite big, and the part of the body that's made up of microscopic particles undergoes intense changes."
(Unofficial translation, Lecture in Australia)
No matter at what level we are, we can break through the old forces' arrangements at that level, and our validation of the Fa and saving people will go more smoothly, and we will have fewer troubles. If we don't break through a certain level, no matter how hard we toil on the surface, we are still circling around on that same level, just like ordinary people doing their things. When we do Fa-study, as we constantly understand the Fa-principles, we are also constantly breaking and eliminating our old notions, cleansing the elements of the old cosmos, and our mechanism of looking inward is also getting stronger. We compare ourselves with the requirements of the Fa-principles and constantly purify ourselves. Therefore, Fa study is included in solid cultivation, and it includes looking inward, cultivating and rectifying ourselves and saving sentient beings.
B. How to study the Fa well
If we understand the reason why we study the Fa, we can make diligent progress in Fa-study, and we can also break through the evil beings' interference with our Fa-study,
"Any time some kind of interference comes along in your practice, you have to look within for the cause and find what it is you still haven't let go of." (Zhuan Falun)
As we constantly eliminate our notions and attachments, our heart becomes calmer and calmer when we study the Fa. For example, if we get rid of the mentality of work we won't always think about doing Fa-rectification work while studying the Fa. We shouldn't pursue while studying the Fa, because we gain without pursuit. We should just study with a calm mind.
"A person who truly cultivates will gain things naturally without pursuing them. All of the gong and Fa lie in the book, and one will naturally obtain them by reading Dafa" ("Seeking Discipleship with Teacher", Essentials for Further Advancement).
As I become more and more clear on why I study the Fa, I'm constantly breaking through the maze on every level that prevents me from studying the Fa. I can see different Fa-principles on different levels, and therefore the Fa can instruct me to do well the Fa-rectification and coordination work in my area, and my personal improvement is included.
In order to study the Fa well and understand the Fa in depth, besides reading Zhuan Falun everyday, I worked hard on reciting the Fa as well. I recited Zhuan Falun once and now I'm reciting it for the second time. I recited Master's recent lectures "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.", "Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference", "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference", all the way up until "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference."
I recited all of them. After I finished reciting, I began reciting them for a second and then again for a third time. Reciting the Fa is not the purpose; the most important thing is that I am able to assimilate to the Fa with my heart. During this process, I use my heart to remember, recite and assimilate to every word, every sentence and every paragraph Master says. Every time after I finish reciting a scripture, I feel a great change inside, and it has a great effect on my negating the old forces' arrangements and validating the Fa. For example, I recited "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A." twice and broke through the old forces' evil arrangement of killing my flesh body by poisoning it with carbon monoxide. I did pass out but I just had one thought, "I simply won't acknowledge everything arranged by you, the old forces." When I felt the most pain and when I was the weakest, I kept this thought, and I almost returned to normal on that same day. I recited "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference" three times. Besides understanding the whole Fa-rectification process in other dimensions and the whole magnificent process, I also realized that I did not do well in respecting Master and the Fa. I felt that I was one of the people who "are already half way out into thin air" (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference"). After I recited it for the first time, tears gushed out and every one of my bodily cells was shaken. I felt closer to the Fa and I felt Master's infinite compassion toward disciples, and I realized my problem of "expanding self" when I deviated from the Fa during Fa-rectification. When I read the scripture several times before I recited it, from the surface I didn't see much for myself, and I thought Master was talking about others who don't respect Master and it doesn't seem to have much to do with me. Then I recited it twice and during that process I constantly gave up myself and cleansed the "expanding self" in the old cosmos and the degenerate element that was meant to be eliminated. I deeply felt the damage that can be done by the strong "self", especially fellow practitioners who have achievements and influence in a certain area more or less have this problem. If we aren't able to understand this deeply, that will cause a huge tribulation. It's very dangerous if we aren't able to understand the relationship between us and Master and the Fa correctly. Fortunately, through reciting the Fa and assimilating to the Fa, I eliminated this strong "self" and walked through.
Moreover, I used short spare time to study the Fa. For instance, I recite the Fa if I am not sending forth righteous thoughts on my way to work, on the bus and while cooking. At times when I wait for the bus, I can recite Lunyu and "Expounding on the Fa" ten, twenty times. Because I am blended into the Fa at all times, my head is clear and I am not affected by things that happen on the surface. My righteous thoughts are therefore strong and Master has resolved many dangerous situations for me.
To be continued...
Please see Parts 1, 2, and 3 on
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/3/39858.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/12/40162.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/14/40250.html
