Changing My Mindset and Diligently Practicing the Exercises

(Minghui.org) I’ve been able to persist in waking up early and join other practitioners to do the global morning exercises. When I sometimes overslept and didn’t get up until 5:30 a.m., I felt bad. I tried to correct myself and be more disciplined. I sometimes skipped a meal to make up for the delay. I not only made up the lost time, but also let go of the attachment to comfort, which helped me become diligent.

I once took a day off, and that morning I thought: I’ll just do the four standing exercises today. This will save me an hour that I can use for Fa study or other tasks. For the next few days, I found myself struggling to get up. Even though I set the alarm, I slept through it and did not wake up until five or six o’clock. Looking inward, I realized the problem was a thought I had: Doing all the exercises takes too long—it wastes time.

I was shocked. That was a completely wrong notion! Wasn’t this an attachment to comfort, and an attachment to “doing things” instead of truly cultivating? Wasn’t it an ordinary human thought? It was in line with the old forces. Wasn’t I creating an opportunity for the old forces to interfere with me? I quickly told Master: I was wrong. That thought came from seeking comfort, and was not righteous. I will eliminate it. Master said, “...cultivation is the best form of rest...” (“Teachings at the First Conference in North America”)

With that in mind, the very next day I was able to wake early again and resume my morning practice.

I also dozed off while I read the Fa—I knew I was dragged down by thought karma and the demon of drowsiness. I thought: Maybe my xinxing isn’t high enough, and three or four hours of sleep isn’t enough. I’ll sleep for four or five hours. If I still doze off, I’ll treat it as an attachment to comfort and use my willpower to overcome it. After that, I fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up after five again—I once again missed the time for practice. I regretted it deeply. I hadn’t even set the alarm! But wasn’t this a result of my wrong mindset the night before—admitting that my xinxing was not good enough, so I needed more sleep? Wasn’t this an ordinary thought that gave interference an opening? My unrighteous thinking brought about this outcome.

That morning, the shower head suddenly began to leak heavily. I felt unsettled. I knew Master was giving me a hint. I immediately said: Master, I understand. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have sought comfort and woke up late. My thought was wrong, and I will correct it. The leak immediately stopped. I realized I needed to change my mindset, eliminate the attachment to comfort, and remain steady in practicing the exercises, while doing the three things well.

I reminded myself with this righteous thought: I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. Every cell of my body is filled with high-energy matter. Why should I fear being tired? Three or four hours of sleep is enough.

I recall that when I woke up in the middle of the night after two hours of sleep, I felt refreshed and energetic. But when I gave in to comfort and slept five or six hours, I woke up groggy. My arms and legs were heavy, and I had the urge to lay back down. Didn’t this interference happen because I indulged a thought of comfort? I realized that the bodies of genuine practitioners are extraordinary, and the amount of sleep we get isn’t an issue.

Cultivation should be guided by righteous, divine thoughts, not by human thoughts. When we hold firm to righteous thoughts, the outcome is good, and only then can we succeed in our cultivation.

One night, after I sent forth righteous thoughts at midnight, I told myself firmly before going bed: “Tomorrow I will get up early to practice. I will be diligent.” I didn’t even set an alarm, but I knew I would wake up. Sure enough, the next morning I opened my eyes at exactly 3:10 a.m. I did all five sets of exercises. My mind was clear and there were few distractions. At one point I even heard the sound of golden bells from another dimension in the exercise music. I felt it was a sign that my righteous thoughts carried power, and I sensed Master’s encouragement.

Whether or not we practice the exercises is a true reflection of whether we are diligent. Cultivation requires enduring hardship. I know one elderly practitioner who studied the Fa every day but avoided doing the exercises. He did the sitting meditation only briefly and preferred a life of comfort, spending hours watching everyday people’s videos on his phone. A cloudy film developed over his eyes, and he often complained that he couldn’t see clearly when he read the Fa. In recent years he’s become passive, and seldom does things to clarify the truth about the persecution to people. He’s been in several car accidents—though under Master’s protection none were serious. He has difficulty walking now.

Another practitioner participates in many Dafa projects but does not practice the exercises. An elderly practitioner told me, “I get up early every day to do the exercises. Especially when I go out to clarify the truth at dawn, I start the exercises at 3:20 a.m. I complete the exercises, then send righteous thoughts at 6:00 before heading out. That way, my righteous thoughts are stronger and I’m able to talk to more people.” I admired this from the bottom of my heart.

I’ve found that when I get up early and practice the exercises, my field of compassion is strong. People are more willing to listen to the truth about the persecution, and they quickly agree to quit the Chinese Communist Party. Some smile with joy, others are moved to tears by just a few words that happened to touch their hearts. But on the days that I skip practicing the exercises and rush straight to go out and clarify the truth about the persecution, I face interference and can’t get things done. I know it's because of my attachment to comfort and impatience, which gives the old forces an opportunity to interfere. Another time, after waking up late, at 5:00 a.m., I skipped breakfast to make up the time, and did the fifth exercise—the meditation—for an hour. Birds sang outside, and that day’s truth-clarification went especially smoothly.

I want to remind other practitioners: We are Falun Dafa practitioners so we should do the exercises.

Master said:

“As you read the book you are understanding more and improving. Add to that the supplementary means to Consummation—the exercises—and you’ll continually raise your level.” (“Fa Teaching Given in San Francisco” in Teachings at Conferences in the United States)

I recall a story about a non-practitioner: The man did not want to be attached to comfort, so he forced himself to carry one hundred bricks out of his house every morning and bring them back every evening. He kept this up for years and eventually achieved great success in life. There’s also the famous story of Goujian, King of Yue, who endured years of hardship before rising to power. If ordinary people can discipline themselves so strictly, how much more should we Dafa practitioners be able to discipline ourselves? We shoulder the sacred mission of assisting Master in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings. Shouldn’t we be even more diligent and unafraid of hardship? Let’s encourage each other and move forward together.

These are just a few of my personal understandings. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.