(Clearwisdom.net) In order to keep our movements standard and free from variation when practicing the 5 sets of exercises it is important for Dafa disciples to do the three things well, and harmonize with the Fa.
Teacher said in The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa:
"Falun Buddha Fa also includes cultivation of the body, which is accomplished by performing the exercise movements of the Great Consummation Way--a great high-level practice of the Buddha School. One purpose of the exercises is to strengthen a practitioner's supernormal abilities and energy mechanisms using his or her powerful gong potency (gongli), thus achieving "the Fa refines the practitioner." Another purpose is to evolve many living beings in a practitioner's body. In high-level cultivation practice, the Immortal Infant or Buddha-Body will be born, and many abilities will be developed. The exercise movements are necessary for transforming and cultivating these things. The exercises are part of the harmonization and perfection in our Dafa.[7] So Dafa is a comprehensive mind-body cultivation system. It is also called "The Great Consummation Way." This Dafa thus requires both cultivation and exercises, with cultivation taking priority over the exercises. A person's gong will not increase if he merely does the exercises and fails to cultivate his xinxing. A person who only cultivates his xinxing and does not perform the exercises of the Great Consummation Way will find the growth of his gong potency impeded and his original-body (benti) unchanged."
Before July 20, 1999, there were assistants who taught the exercises at all the practice sites. When the number of newcomers grew large, assistants would lead them to learn the movements from the beginning to the end. In the daily practice, assistants and the people in charge always corrected practitioners' movements in a timely manner, and periodically played Teacher's exercise instruction video. All the group members studied The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa and discussed with each other. In this way we could see that practitioners' movements were not perfectly in sync, but they were relatively uniform.
After the persecution began, mainland practitioners lost their environment to study the Fa and do the exercises together. No assistants were there to correct practitioners' movements and there was very little chance for practitioners to discuss together. Very few practitioners watched Teacher's exercise instruction video and studied The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa. Therefore, our movements might have become incorrect. After a long time, our movements could vary so much they may not be easily corrected. If we get accustomed to doing the movements wrong and feel it is natural to do it that way, we might then think our movements are fine.
I learned a serious lesson regarding the variation of the exercises. To save effort when I practiced at home, I let my hands touch my abdomen while doing the second movement of holding the Law Wheel before the abdomen in the "Falun Standing Stance." The correct way is for the hands to be away from the abdomen about ten centimeters. After a long time I became accustomed to my incorrect way of doing this exercise. I thought it was okay to let the hands touch the abdomen. A year ago, a practitioner came to visit me and stayed overnight at my home. We practiced the movements of holding the Law Wheel before the abdomen. The fellow practitioner saw my hands touching my abdomen, and corrected me. I felt it was good to have a fellow practitioner's guidance.
A short time ago, after being in the wrong position for a long time my hands again touched my abdomen, but I still thought my movements were right. I then watched Teacher's exercise instruction video one day and found that I was wrong. I was very surprised.
To change the Dafa exercises or introduce variations will disorder the Qi-mechanism implanted in our body by Teacher. With a disordered Qi-mechanism, how could we develop the things that we should? How could we harmonize Dafa? At the same time, Dafa is very solemn. The movements of Falun Dafa cannot be changed. To change the movements of Dafa, even a little, is tantamount to undermining Dafa.
Dafa practitioners should keep their five sets of exercises standard and free from deviation. Not only should we study the Fa often, but also practice the five sets of exercises. There are now in mainland China many Fa-studying-groups consisting of two or three practitioners. They should not only study the Fa, but also practice the exercises and share in order to help each other in the practice. We should study The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa, as it is also a scripture written by Teacher. We should listen to the formulas of the exercises every day, and watch Teacher's exercise instruction video from time to time.
