The Importance of Attending Local Group Fa Study

(Minghui.org) My first reaction to the editorial “Be Responsible,” which was published on July 3, 2023, on the Minghui website, was that it didn’t have much to do with me. I felt it targeted the Falun Dafa Association members who should think about it seriously, but I didn’t need to be concerned.

I read the article several times and thought about the following paragraphs.

“For example, before Fa-rectification cultivation, most practitioners participated in group Fa study with the mentality of studying and obtaining the Fa, as well as improving their xinxing. When they encountered conflicts in daily life or at work, they looked for areas where they were lacking in their xinxing. They also looked to the Fa for answers. By cultivating themselves internally, they were able to resolve their external conflicts.

“But after Fa-rectification cultivation began, when practitioners in many regions ran into conflicts or tribulations, their human notions, attachments to their own ideas, and even worse actions and speech emerged and garnered support from more local practitioners. Many of those in conflicts or tribulations tried to blame others for their problems and sought external solutions instead of looking at the issue from the perspective of cultivation. As a result, many new practitioners who took up Dafa after 2000 no longer experienced the serenity and purity that Fa-study groups and practice sites originally had.”

I realized that I had been numb for years and had forgotten what our group Fa study environment was like before the persecution. I was focused on how unpleasant the situation became.

At our local group Fa study last week, I said that, for the first 10 years I had never thought about skipping the group study, because this was the cultivation format Master left us. Later, an increasing number of practitioners I was not familiar with came and dominated the meetings. Instead of discussing our cultivation experiences and talking about how we looked inward and improved, practitioners commented on the articles published on Minghui. They didn’t look within. There was no sharing—they just analyzed cultivation theoretically. There was no longer any real cultivation sharing that touched my heart. I started to wonder how much I was gaining from attending the group Fa study and if it was a waste of time. I found an excuse to stop attending.

I also said that night that, going forward, I would attend the group study unconditionally and not think about if I was gaining anything or not.

The next morning I realized that what I’d said the night before was not true. The fact was that I had a mental gap with the group and I had already begun to skip group study from time to time. That was before the unfamiliar practitioners began dominating the meetings. I did not realize I had a cultivation issue. Instead, I made up an excuse to not attend the meetings.

Small Things Turn into Big Issues

When did my mental gap start? I was so attached to myself that I had a bitter test. The local coordinator and the project manager rang me several times to suggest I attend a project meeting. However, I was determined not to. I knew that Master might give a lecture, but I did not want to see those practitioners. That was in 2009, and I avoided facing my issue for 14 years.

That test was intense. I didn’t cultivate myself well so I had difficulty passing tests. As my attachments accumulated and grew, so did the tests. When the tribulations came, I looked outward and blamed “the ugliness of human nature.” Because my human notions and attachments were provoked, I belittled others.

I complained, “What’s wrong with those practitioners? They are even worse than everyday people.” If I had realized I was at fault and stopped blaming others, there would have been no test. When I complained, it meant that I looked at issues with a human mindset.

The gap caused by my notion was vast, and I was not willing to resolve it. I gradually ignored it.

Years passed and I barely managed to pass this test. I eventually saw that I didn’t look within. If a practitioner’s conduct bothers me, I shouldn’t judge her. Instead it’s an opportunity to look inward for my attachments.

But the mental gap had become so deep that I got used to it, and I even became unaware of it. My opinion of practitioners and my notions prevented me from cooperating with other practitioners. I started to hide from them.

After I found the real reason I didn’t attend the big group Fa study, I had a further understanding of the importance of the group Fa study.

I was happy with the cultivation within my project and didn’t address my mental gap with the big group. Because it seemed I had insights into the Fa principles at different levels and my cultivation still improved, I had more reasons to feel that I had nothing to do with the big group.

After repeatedly reading the Minghui editorials published recently, I realized that I deviated from the basic cultivation requirements and completely forgot that the big group Fa study was the format Master arranged for us.

I used to feel that Dafa and I were first and foremost and everything else was secondary and insignificant. However, without Dafa, there wouldn’t be a “me.” Cultivation means being responsible to myself as well as to Master. The project I’m involved in is a small group and also my platform for saving sentient beings. It provided a cultivation environment for me. I felt the big group environment was complicated and a waste of time. I felt it was of secondary importance and I would not spend my time on it.

Now I realize this is not the case. I should merge with the other universes represented by other practitioners.

The Falun Dafa cultivation format and the new universe show that I cannot exist outside the big group. Each of us is a particle of Falun Dafa.

This is my understanding at my current cultivation level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)