(Clearwisdom.net) Walking on the path of cultivation, I have clearly understood that it indeed is as Master said in Zhuan Falun: “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” I would like to share my experiences of cultivation through forming a group cultivation environment.
Creating an Environment for Group Study
In 2002, I was forced to leave home to avoid persecution. I sometimes encountered practitioners in other areas and studied the Fa with them. However, it was only temporary. Later on I thought, “If I had my own place, then everyone could come together and study the Fa.” Not long after that, Master arranged for me to have a new house. The day I moved in, a fellow practitioner suggested coming to my place to study the Fa. Thus we started a Fa study group at my place. At first we had only three practitioners. Gradually, more people joined in and there were a dozen of us studying the Fa together. Sometimes, there were as many as 20 people in our group study.
Initially, when there was about seven of us, certain practitioners were afraid that there were too many people and wondered if it was safe for us to get together. My husband, also a practitioner, was moved in this way too. He wanted to stop the group study at our place. Under the righteous thoughts of a practitioner in our group, we changed our notions. We came to the understanding that this house was given by Dafa, and we have the right to use it correctly. Before changing my notions, I did not have a clear understanding of the Fa principles; I only felt that being able to use my house to start a group study environment is honorable. I was proud of it and had a feeling of sacredness. However at the same time, I was worried about doing something wrong and bringing loss to the group. Just as I was feeling lost, Minghui Weekly published several articles by practitioners regarding group Fa study. I was very inspired by these articles and strengthened my righteous thoughts. When we studied the Fa together, we kept enlightening to new Fa principles. We understood that doing the exercises, studying, and sharing together in a group are the only cultivation form Master has left for us. After the persecution, our cultivation environment was destroyed by the Communist Regime. By forming a group study, we are acting in accordance with Master's wishes and resisting the persecution. This is also denying the arrangement of the old forces. Furthermore, everyone experiences tremendous improvement in cultivation in a group environment.
Despite encountering difficulties, today, the first group of practitioners in our study group have gone home to set up their own study groups and truth clarifying materials production sites. These practitioners are doing what they can to assist Master in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings. Indeed, we ran into tribulations caused by human attachments and conflicts. However, as long as we have faith in Master and look within ourselves, things will only get better and better.
Cooperating With One Another in Saving Sentient Beings
Most of the practitioners in our study group are young couples with young children. Everyone's cultivation state is different. A young female practitioner often came to ask a few of us to give out Dafa brochures together with her in the daytime, bringing along her child. We looked after one another while giving out brochures or placing truth clarifying materials in public places. At night we sometimes went out as a group, leaving one person behind to take care of the children. One time many fellow practitioners in the neighboring area were illegally arrested. We realized that it was a good opportunity to expose the evil to local residents. Hence practitioners who could ride a motorcycle took those who could not, we formed four groups of two and gave out brochures in places near the police station that arrested the fellow practitioners. The practitioner who stayed at home to take care of the children sent righteous thoughts. When we finished, we gathered together and discovered that one group of practitioners had not returned. (My husband was in that group.) Looking within ourselves, we discovered our attachment to sentimentality, and not long after, the practitioners came back.
Working together, our group of practitioners often used different methods to save sentient beings. We once split up in groups to hang banners. On our way back we ran into another group of practitioners and learned that they did not finish hanging up their banners. Yet they insisted on doing it themselves. After a brief sharing, we thought that since we bumped into them, it must be Master's arrangement. We are responsible for finishing this task together. Thus we helped them to hang the banners and went home happily.
Recently, I felt that I was not doing well in clarifying the truth to strangers. My greatest attachment was my fear of speaking up. When other elderly practitioners learned of my problem, they brought me along with them when they went to clarify the truth. They stopped strangers and got me to clarify the truth to them. Within two hours, I persuaded more than 20 people to renounce their Communist Party membership in this manner. I even met someone who was not a member of the regime. He raised both hands and shouted, “Falun Dafa is good” several times.
In the process of clarifying the truth, if we cooperate well with one another, the effect will be powerful. I understood what Master said:
“Each person's cultivation path is different, the way in which each validates the Fa is different, their social statuses are different, their occupations are different, and their -surroundings are different, but they can all cultivate nevertheless. This is the path Dafa presents to its cultivators. Dafa disciples are one body, and I affirm everything they have been doing during Fa-rectification-they are all doing what Dafa disciples should do. Different approaches are in fact the all-encompassing way in which roles are dynamically distributed in the operations of the Fa, and the Fa-power is a reflection of the one body.” (Master's Comment on a Student's Article, February 16, 2003) (quote verified)
Improving Through Sending Righteous Thoughts Together As a Group
In August this year we started a small group to send righteous thoughts together twice a week for two hours each time. Persisting till today, everyone has experienced benefits. A practitioner said, “I felt the power of one body.” Another practitioner said, “I had an attachment that I could not let go. Through sending righteous thoughts, I overcame this problem and had a breakthrough in saving sentient beings. An elderly practitioner shared that previously he could not maintain a calm mind when sending righteous thoughts, but now he could persist for an hour easily with a quiet mind.
I also found it very effective to send righteous thoughts frequently in a group. I felt a strong energy field, and my mind felt much clearer than before. Previously, I sent righteous thoughts routinely primarily because I didn't have a clear understanding of the Fa principles. Therefore I did not take it seriously. After reading articles written by practitioners who describe what they saw through their celestial eye, my understanding of the Fa principles improved. I realized that sending righteous thoughts is our responsibility and necessary in Fa-rectification. Hence, we should do it well.
Furthermore, once a week, we do the exercises together in a group. The energy field is very strong and a feeling of sacredness and holiness came to me naturally. We can improve our cultivation in the process of organizing group exercises and sending righteous thoughts. Indeed, cultivation depends on one's own efforts while the transformation of gong is done by one's Master.
Fellow practitioners also helped me a lot through the years of cultivation. Sometimes when I encountered conflicts, I thought of the path we had walked together, and I could forbear better. I would like to take this opportunity to thank fellow practitioners who accompanied me through tribulations. Through everyone's wisdom, I made improvements in cultivation.
