Inspired by A Fellow Practitioner's Dedication to Fa-Study By Practitioner in Mainland China
(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1995. In the course of my cultivation, I have met a lot of
fellow practitioners. The special strengths of each one of them have illuminated my way and helped
me to improve in my cultivation. Today, I would like to write about a fellow practitioner who has
walked through rain and storms together with me. What is her special strength? Actually, it is studying the Fa. It may not seem so special when I
mention this, because after all, Teacher has emphasized studying the Fa in every lecture and we all
know about this point. We study the Fa every day. Many other practitioners have also written
articles on this subject. But I have come across so many practitioners, including myself, who from
time to time become too lax and are no longer strict with themselves in Fa study. For those of us doing Dafa work, the problem is more prominent. Even now, some practitioners
still do not pay enough attention to Fa study. When they become too busy, they study the Fa very
little, and when they do study the Fa, they cannot come to a state of tranquility. As a result, "...it not only prevents you from improving, but also causes Dafa some losses," (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston). This situation has been prevalent recently among many practitioners in my district. The strength of this certain fellow practitioner I am writing about, however, is exactly this:
she pays great attention to Fa study. Since 1994 when she first started to practice, she has never
relaxed her standards for herself in studying the Fa and she has kept doing it every day. No matter
how busy she is, she always puts Fa study as her top priority. Nothing can deter her from studying
the Fa. She makes sure that she reads through Zhuan Falun every three to four days, reading a
minimum of two or three lectures each day. She is the same way when it comes to practicing the
exercises. She insists on doing all five sets of exercises every day. If she misses one set of
exercises during the day, she will make it up before going to sleep that night. It is hard to do
this if one does not have enough solid determination and willpower . This woman is also the contact person for her area, so she has many things to do every day. She
has little time for herself during the day. In order to finish the many tasks she is responsible
for, her Fa study has to be done during times normally reserved for sleeping and eating. She has to
utilize her time strictly. For example, when she walks, cooks or goes shopping, she keeps reciting
the Fa. She goes to bed at 11 p.m. and gets up at 3 a.m. each day. She has said that once in a while
she may have a thought of relaxing a little and taking a rest, but as soon as this idea appears she
banishes it right away. "No! I should absolutely not relax! I must listen to Teacher, in order
to strive forward diligently; I need to be worthy of the compassionate salvation of Teacher."
Thus she continues studying the Fa, copying the book by handwriting and reciting the Fa every day
under such an intense and busy situation. It seems that this practitioner has never been affected by any interference from the old forces.
Since she has been studying the Fa so well for so long, her understanding of the Fa has become more
and more profound. At the same time, it has established a strong foundation for her cultivation. No
matter what problem she comes across, she can understand it rationally from the basis of the Fa. She
can see clearly whether her own thoughts and behaviors, even a single idea, as well as the thoughts
and behaviors of fellow practitioners, are in accordance with the Fa. She can remember immediately
what Teacher says about a specific issue, and understands how we can correct ourselves in time. She
also points out such issues to her fellow practitioners, with a compassionate heart. This practitioner had said that through studying the Fa she has really experienced the importance
of Fa-study. It is exactly as Teacher says, "Fa-study truly is extremely important for a Dafa disciple, for a cultivator. No matter how
difficult your environment is, no matter how busy you get, you cannot forget to study the Fa. You
must study the Fa, because it is the absolute, most fundamental guarantee of your improvement" (Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.). She truly studies the Fa according to Teacher's requirement. Whenever she comes across any
problems in cultivation, especially when she comes across any trouble in Dafa work or is moved by an
everyday person's heart, she will stop immediately, no matter how urgent the work is. Then she calms
herself down and studies the Fa -- no matter which Dafa book she is reading, she always makes
certain that she is calm when she reads it. In this way, it is as if each word of Teacher's is
directed at her current problem. Suddenly she understands everything and becomes enlightened. One
minute ago the problem seemed hard to understand, now it looks so simple. One minute ago the
tribulation looked so big, and no matter how hard you try you cannot pass it and it bothers you, but
now you don't have any of that kind of feeling. You look back and find that it is nothing. The
problems needing to be solved are all solved. The Fa has indicated the solution to you. It is too
wonderful to describe it in words! This is the power of Dafa. This is the breakthrough to higher
levels and to higher realms. This is the display of a layer of the Fa principle! Teacher said, "As long as you study, any problem can be solved. As long as you cultivate and as long as
you're able to understand the Fa from the Fa, there's nothing you can't achieve" (Fa-Lecture
at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.). Since Fa-study has been made such a solid foundation for this practitioner's cultivation, when
faced with a big test, she continues to firmly believe in Dafa and she does not waver. When the evil
pressed down on July 20, 1999, many practitioners were confused and did not know what to do. But she
enlightened very soon to the understanding that Dafa disciples should step forward to validate the
Fa, that Dafa disciples should safeguard the Fa. Through communication with each other,
practitioners elevated their understanding of the Fa, and in October of 1999, several of us went to
Beijing together. But we were not clear about what to do, and therefore, although many of us stepped
forward, we did not all achieve the purpose of validating Dafa. But this practitioner did. She and
another practitioner sat down to do the meditation on Tiananmen Square and called out loudly, "Falun
Dafa is good!" At that moment all people present on the scene were shocked and were respectful
towards them. She was calm and believed that she was doing the most righteous thing, that there was
nothing to fear. Had she not studied the Fa well before the tribulation, it would have been hard for
her to enlighten to this principle and to be able to accomplish what she did. She went back to
Beijing to validate the Fa on several other occasions, and she was arrested and released several
times, and suffered various tribulations. Under the guidance of the Fa and under the protection of
Teacher she went through each hardship one by one. It is important to mention her experience of walking out of the brainwashing class. In 2001 she
was arrested and thrown into a brainwashing class. There she met fellow practitioners who had once
stepped forward together with her to validate Dafa, and who had been arrested and tortured together
with her. However, some of them, due to their shallow level of Fa-study, due to not being able to
drop human attachments, under extreme coercion, enticement and deception, compromised and went over
to the opposite side. Many of them assisted the "610 Office" in persecuting Dafa
disciples, and even accepted a salary of more than 1,000 Yuan per month for what they were doing [notes:
the "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute
power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems;
500 Yuan is the average monthly salary of an urban worker]. This is extremely sad. Some of these
former practitioners became totally different people and even displayed a large aspect of demon
nature, beating the steadfast Dafa disciples even more fiercely than did the police. Seeing these
actions, our practitioner was shocked and felt sad for them. She shed tears and talked to them,
recited Teacher's Fa and articles to them. She believed that it was her responsibility to help these
fallen practitioners become clear-headed again. But they had become numb and did not receive her
words at all. Their only purpose was to "transform" her. They all knew that she studied the Fa very well so they made her the subject of intensified
assault. Dozens of former practitioners played different roles, some playing the "nice
guy," some playing the "bad guy," constantly pressuring her and claiming that they
had enlightened to so-called "high level Fa principles" (which were actually just
ridiculous and laughable nonsense). But to practitioners whose Fa study is shallow, that nonsense
had certain fraudulent effects. She used Teacher's Fa to break through their evil enlightenment
theories. Every one of her words was based squarely on Teacher's Fa; she recited the Fa paragraph by
paragraph to them, she used the Fa to break through the lies one by one, and she used the Fa to
debunk their arsenal of tricks and lies. In less than a few minutes these former practitioners
failed. They faced the truth and had nothing to answer. By this time the leaders of the brainwashing
class became flustered because they had already promised to the higher authorities that "the
rate of transformation will reach 100%". They could not accept failure and still thought that
there was a thread of hope. They grabbed the "expert" from our practitioner's local area,
but this person was not able to say much before retreating in failure and shame. Finally nobody
dared to try to transform her. In a few days our practitioner's body presented signs of disease and
she was sent back home. When her husband came to pick her up, the police said to her husband,
"In the future we will never say anything about transformation to her anymore. If she does not
go to Beijing and get us in trouble, she can do anything she wants. She can go back home to
practice, we will not bother her." Thus this practitioner quickly left behind the test of the
brainwashing class. Later she said, "At the critical moments the power of the Fa manifests
itself. It is as Teacher said, "The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies,
and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts" (Drive Out Interference). Fellow practitioners, if every one of us can do this, the old forces will not be able to exploit
our loopholes, and even the most meticulous arrangement cannot be actualized nor exert any effect.
They will not have any tricks. At present, along with the fast progress of the Fa rectification, the
Fa has a higher requirement for us and requires us to assimilate to the Fa and elevate as quickly as
possible and do the "three things" that Teacher asks us to do. Otherwise, not studying the
Fa "... not only prevents you from improving, but also causes Dafa some
losses" (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference
in Boston). Let us take a look at how this fellow practitioner is doing at the present time. With respect to
Fa-study, she keeps doing the same thing; besides reading Teacher's various lectures, she completely
reads through Zhuan Falun every three to four days. She is still very busy every day and
still has a great deal of Dafa work to do. She also sends righteous thoughts at least nine times
every day, and she insists on completing the five sets of exercises every day. Teacher writes, "Study the Fa and obtain the Fa, ("Solid Cultivation" from Hong Yin) If we compare ourselves with this practitioner, do we see where we fall short? Teacher has also
said, "There are a lot of things you still aren't able to do well as Dafa disciples, though, and I
can tell you that this is in fact because you've neglected Fa-study" (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston). Fellow practitioners, time is pressing! We cannot relax ourselves any more. We must advance
diligently! Especially as the Fa rectification has entered the final moment, studying the Fa well
becomes even more important. This is the fundamental guarantee of our elevation in cultivation and
it will help us walk our path righteously! Only in this way can we do our present tasks well, can we
completely and totally deny the arrangement of the old forces, and can we consummate our prehistoric
vows! Finally, let us use Teacher's poem, "Righteous Thoughts and Righteous
Actions" to encourage ourselves! "A Great Enlightened Being does not fear hardship Posting date: 6/3/2003 |