(Minghui.org) I noticed long ago that the exercise movements of many practitioners, including those who started cultivation practice in Falun Dafa before 1999, are not only inaccurate but sometimes completely wrong. After coming across a Minghui article talking about exercise movements, I’d also like to share my thoughts.
I recall when we first started our group exercise site in 1996, we were all very strict about following Master’s instructions to do the exercises. After all, we also had the responsibility of teaching newcomers the movements. Back then, we often practiced in front of mirrors and/or together, so it was easier for us to see where we were off track. We then figured out how to correct our mistakes, reminding each other to make sure our exercise movements were accurate. Because of our high standards, most newcomers had no trouble doing the exercises correctly.
All this changed after the persecution began in 1999. Since everyone was forced to practice the exercises on their own, no one else was present to point out any deviations in our movements. Little by little, our exercise movements became inaccurate and were no longer relaxed, slow, and smooth. Without encouragement and supervision from fellow practitioners, many of us slacked off and even did the exercises incorrectly all the time. When some practitioner occasionally pointed out our inaccuracies, not only were we not grateful, but we complained that this practitioner was just going down a dead end. After all, who could do the exercises exactly the same way as Master? The veteran practitioners’ attitude certainly influenced newcomers, and nobody seemed to be happy to be corrected.
At that time, Master just published His article “Immutable” (Essentials For Further Advancement). Master pointed out:
“As a cultivator, you should practice cultivation in an open and dignified manner and look at the larger picture. How could it possibly be that everyone’s movements are exactly the same, without any slight differences? Don’t focus your mind on such trivialities. The exercise movements are a way to help reach Consummation, and they are certainly important. But instead of going down a dead end, you should devote more effort to improving your xinxing.”
After studying the article, we enlightened to the fact that we should not pay too much attention to each and every aspect of our exercise movements; we should be focusing on improving our xinxing instead. We felt it was a waste of time to organize practitioners to practice just a few movements just to make sure they were accurate.
Looking back now, I realize that “not going down a dead end” does not mean we should neglect paying attention to the accuracy of our exercise movements.
I suggest that we distinguish among different levels of our exercise movements: “Exactly the same,” “inaccurate,”“wrong,” and “gravely wrong.” It is certainly a grave concern if someone altered Master’s movements and then taught them to newcomers.
“Exactly the same” means every posture and movement is exactly the same as Master does it. “Inaccurate” means slight differences when it comes to how one’s movements are relaxed, slow and smooth versus how fast one does the exercise. “Wrong” means failure to follow Master’s instructions and the movements are totally off.
Below I briefly summarize the incorrect movements I’ve noticed among our local practitioners. All the instructions are cited from “The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa.”
The First Exercise: Buddha Showing a Thousand Hands
“The first exercise is called Buddha Showing a Thousand Hands. You have to stretch and relax the body when doing this exercise. When you stretch, the whole body is stretched gradually to its limit—even to the extent that you feel as though you are splitting into two people. The body stretches as if it becomes very tall and large. No thought is used. After stretching out to the limit, the body is to relax abruptly—you should relax right away once you stretch to the limit.”
Many people however just hold out their hands without stretching at all.
When some practitioners do stretch their hands, they do it very fast when, in fact, they should stretch gradually. We have two veteran practitioners, who started the practice before 1999, but they still do it incorrectly and refuse to listen to us when we point out their mistakes.
When it is time to relax the body, some practitioners tend to move so abruptly that their bodies shake. Some new practitioners also have this problem. Apparently they were never taught the proper way to stretch in the first place.
Some people have trouble with one of movements called “Hands Pointing to Heaven and Earth” (Zhangzhi Qiankun). While turning their hands in opposite directions as required, somehow they don’t know how to do it correctly. To help everyone, I cite the instructions here:
“Starting from Heshi, separate the hands about 2 to 3 cm (1 inch) (Figure 1-6) and turn them in opposite directions. Males, turn the left hand (females, turn the right hand) towards the chest and turn the right hand forward, so that the left hand is on top and the right hand is on the bottom. Both hands should make a straight line with the forearms. Then, extend the top forearm diagonally upward (Figure 1-7). Have its palm facing down and as high as the head. Keep the other hand in front of the chest with the palm facing up. After the top arm reaches the proper position, push the head upward, press the feet downward, and stretch the entire body to its limits. Stretch for about 2 to 3 seconds, then relax the entire body abruptly. Return the top hand to the front of the chest and form Heshi (Figure 1-5). Next, turn the hands in the opposite directions from the first time, so that the opposite hand is on top and the hand that was on top before is underneath (Figure 1-8). Extend the top hand and repeat the previous movements of the bottom hand (Figure 1-9). After stretching, relax the whole body. Move the hands in front of the chest to Heshi.”
The Second Exercise: Falun Standing Stance
Regarding how to hold the Law Wheel, the instruction reads, “Have the fingers of the hands pointing towards one another, with a distance of 15 cm (6 inches) between them. Form a circle with the arms. Relax the whole body.”
Some people, however, fail to have their fingers point towards each another. They have their fingers point downward or outward instead.
The instruction also reads, “Holding the Wheel in Front of the Head” (Touqian Baolun) – Start from Jieyin (the conjoined hand position). Slowly raise both hands from the abdomen, separating them in the process. When the hands are in front of the head, the palms should point towards the face at eyebrow level (Figure 2-2).”
I have found that many practitioners raise their hands to the wrong height, either too low or too high. In addition, Master taught us to “Form a circle with the arms,” but many practitioners fail to form a circle at all.
The Third Exercise: Penetrating the Cosmic Extremes
One movement in the exercise is called, “Turning the Law Wheel With Both Hands (Shuangshou Tuidong Falun) – After the ninth two-handed gliding up and down movement, move both hands downward past the head and over the chest until they reach the lower abdominal area (Figure 3-7). Turn the Law Wheel with both hands (Figure 3-8, Figure 3-9). The left hand goes inside for males, and the right hand goes inside for females. Keep a distance of about 2-3 cm (1 inch) between the hands and also between the inner hand and the lower abdomen. Turn the Law Wheel clockwise 4 times to spin the energy from the outside to the inside of the body. While turning the Law Wheel, keep the hands within the area of the lower abdomen.”
Some people are not turning the Law Wheel with both hands. Instead, it appears they have one hand revolve around their other hand. It’s hard to describe the deviation, but you would know they’re not doing it right when you see it.
The Fourth Exercise: Falun Heavenly Circulation
The instruction reads,
“Separate the hands from Heshi. Move them downward to the lower abdomen while turning both palms to face the body. Keep a distance of no more than 10 cm (4 inches) between the hands and the body. After passing the lower abdomen, extend the hands downward between the legs. Move the hands downward with palms facing the inner sides of the legs and, at the same time, bend at the waist and squat down (Figure 4-3). When the fingertips get close to the ground, move the hands in a circle from the front of the feet, along the outside of the feet to the heels (Figure 4-4). Bend both wrists slightly and raise the hands along the backs of the legs (Figure 4-5). Straighten the waist while lifting the hands up along the back (Figure 4-6).”
Many practitioners have difficulty moving their hands in a consistent manner around their body.
The Fifth Exercise: The Way of Strengthening Supernormal Powers
Some practitioners fall asleep during their meditation; many also doze off during sending forth righteous thoughts as well.
Final Observation
Many practitioners casually move their hands around or look up at the clock even before the conclusion of a set of exercises. As I see it, they are adding extra stuff into Master’s exercise movements. If it is absolutely necessary to finish the exercises early, I suggest that they can do them at a faster pace, of course, without compromising the accuracy of the movements.
There are other manifestations of incorrect exercise movements. I suggest that we watch each other practice the exercises and point out inaccuracies whenever we notice them. We should not misconstrue Master’s words about not going to extremes, in an attempt to cover up our mistakes.
Category: Improving Oneself
