(Clearwisdom.net) When the suppression of Falun Gong was launched on July 20, 1999, many practitioners in China lost their cultivation environment. Nonetheless many practitioners in China persevered in studying the Fa and practicing the exercises alone at home while stepping forward to explain to people what Falun Gong was really about. As we continue to study the Fa, and hence, elevate our understanding of the Fa, we have come to realize that practitioners in the Fa-rectification period should elevate their cultivation levels together as one-body in the process of doing the three things well. Studying the Fa is the prerequisite of doing the three things well. Teacher said,
"That is because the Fa is the foundation; it is what's fundamental for Dafa disciples; it is what ensures everything" ("To the Australia Fa Conference")
We, too, feel studying the Fa alone at home is limiting the progress of our cultivation practice. In the days when we studied the Fa in a group environment before the suppression began, we progressed a lot more rapidly. Hence, we all wish to restore our cultivation environment and re-adopt the forms of cultivation Teacher has designed for us --- studying the Fa and practicing Falun Gong exercises together in a group environment.
Although we have established a local Fa study group in our area, how do we turn it into a genuine cultivation environment? After some discussions, we have agreed on the following guidelines:
1. Sit up straight while studying the Fa. We should respect Teacher and the Fa in all that we say and do, including seemingly trivial details.
2. In order to study the Fa in tranquility and keep from falling asleep, we decided to have each practitioner take turns reading one or two paragraphs instead of having everyone reading together. This way everyone tends to become more focused. One time a practitioner fell asleep and dropped his book when it was his turn to read a paragraph. He was very embarrassed and has never fallen asleep again during the group Fa study.
A Fa study group indeed provides great opportunities to prompt each other to improve. A practitioner who rarely attends our local Fa study group was troubled with blisters developing on her body, which didn't improve after eight days. One day she joined the Fa study group and asked fellow practitioners, "I have been studying the Fa and practicing the exercises every day. Why am I susceptible to such physical interference?" After studying the Fa in the group and exchanging understandings, she realized that she had neglected the importance of group Fa study on account of being busy with housework. Because she had prioritized housework over the Fa, the old forces used it as an excuse to cause blisters on her body. Once she came to the understanding, she immediately felt better. The itch and pain quickly disappeared. Before she left, she commented, "I came to the Fa study group with a heavy body and left with a featherlight body. Group Fa study is wonderful."
One day, a company distributed free gift certificates on its opening day. People flocked to fight for the freebies. A practitioner also fought to get the free gift certificates and ended up being pushed into some shelves, resulting in two broken ribs. Afterwards, he realized that the root cause of the injury was greed. He continued to study the Fa and practice the exercises. His family told him to go to the hospital, but he refused. He told his family, "I will be fine in a few days." Surprisingly, he made a full recovery in a week. He didn't spend any money on medical treatment. He knew that he was injured because his xinxing level had descended to that of a non-cultivator. When he shared his story with us at the group Fa study, we had a discussion and came to the following understandings:
1. If he had strong righteous thoughts at the time and knew he would be fine at the time of the accident, he might not even have had two broken ribs, let alone needing a week for them to heal.
2. The old forces were able to persecute his body because he was greedy, even though it seemed like a common injury.
The aforementioned stories illustrate that our Fa study group is a genuine cultivation environment that facilitates practitioners' cultivation practice. When practitioners who join the Fa study group encounter tribulations, they are able to elevate their understandings of the Fa quickly.
Because this is a genuine cultivation environment, more and more people are joining the Fa study group. Some practitioners in our area who had not stepped forward since the persecution began are now attending our local Fa study group.
As a result, our facility could no longer accommodate the increasing number of practitioners. After some discussions, we decided to split into smaller groups. In a local farming village, three to five practitioners study the Fa and exchange cultivation experiences together for about six hours once a week, subject to any contingencies.
There are businessmen, white-collar workers, and farmers among us. Evenings are the only time we can meet to study the Fa together. Nowadays we study the Fa from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. every day. We will send forth righteous thoughts before we study the Fa. We focus mainly on Zhuan Falun and articles published after the persecution began. As for other articles, it is up to each practitioner to determine his/her reading schedule. Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., we mainly focus on sending forth righteous thoughts to rescue fellow practitioners incarcerated in brainwashing centers.
Generally speaking, everyone attending our group Fa study has been diligent in his or her cultivation practice. We tolerate and open up to each other in terms of our problems and things we fail to understand in the process of doing the three things. The issues that individual practitioners fail to solve independently tend to be solved during the group Fa study and group discussion.
Of course, there is still room for improvement. We are far from reaching Teacher's requirements for us, but we are trying our best to catch up. We shall follow Teacher's Fa-rectification closely, do well the three things, and eliminate our attachments and notions in order to elevate our levels as quickly as possible.
