The Importance of Cultivating Well

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners’ mission is to help Master rectify the Fa and save sentient beings. To do a good job, we must cultivate ourselves well. Only when we solidly cultivate can we be in a better position to fulfill this mission.

However, for a long time, I only studied the Fa perfunctorily. As a result, my cultivation level went up and down. Due to my shortcomings in this area, I’ve been repeatedly persecuted. This isn’t the correct situation for a practitioner and is not what Master wants.

Compassionate Master never gave up on me. He has constantly encouraged me, taught me, and helped me understand why I kept falling down in my cultivation. I decided I would eliminate all distractions and concentrate on studying the Fa well. I particularly focused on increasing my study time and improving the quality of my cultivation.

Increasing the Length of Time I Read the Fa

Master published many Fa lectures over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, I didn’t study them diligently, so my cultivation fell way behind. To make up for this, I planned to make good use of my available time and increase the number of hours I read the teachings.

I went to bed late and got up early. I copied Master articles that I needed for the day onto my cell phone so I could read them when I had time. I studied the Fa in my free time after I finished work. I recited the Fa while walking or waiting for someone.

I read one lecture of Zhuan Falun every evening, followed by memorizing a few sentences until it was time to send forth righteous thoughts. I also studied other lectures and read Minghui articles. I wanted to fully understand the meaning of the Fa I read, without focusing on quantity or the speed.

Improving the Quality of My Cultivation

To avoid making Fa study a formality, I adopted a study strategy. I read lectures in Zhuan Falun out loud. In the past, I read silently and often fall asleep. Every day, I read a lecture in Zhuan Falun, and memorize it afterward. So far I’ve read Essentials for Further Advancement, The Essentials of Diligent Progress II, The Essentials of Diligent Progress III, and all the books of Hong Yin at least ten times.

One day, a person tried to mislead me and challenged me to read his stuff. At that moment, I remembered what Master said.

Master said,

“And stop reading and passing around those fake scriptures made by rotten demons who disrupt the Fa and that are spread by evil taking advantage of students who have studied the Fa poorly and harbor strong human attachments. Keep up your righteous thoughts and righteous actions, keep a clear head, and rationally and comprehensively save the world’s people.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)

Fortunately, I had already learned this well, otherwise, I would have easily fallen into the trap. What a close call!

I would like to tell you how I memorized the Fa. I repeatedly read one of Master’s articles that I wanted to memorize, until it appeared in my brain as soon as I closed my eyes. I copied it into my cell phone so that I could refer to it if I got stuck while reciting it on the way to work.

Master pointed out the causes and solutions to the persecution 20 years ago, but I didn’t pay enough attention. The persecution that practitioners faced was a result of their strong human notions and lack of righteous thoughts. We need to get rid of these human notions so we can cultivate while saving sentient beings.

Master said,

“Some students really haven’t regarded studying the Fa as something important, and often look at situations that arise among Dafa students with an ordinary human mindset; and it’s not limited to blindly admiring certain people. The display of this human mindset truly, in fact, bespeaks of the [difference between] a cultivator and an ordinary person. This brings upon oneself many problems in cultivation, and interferes with efforts to validate the Fa and the coordination and cooperation that takes place among students and that is based on the Fa. The most prominent manifestation of this is the severe persecution many students face as a result of their strong human mindset and lack of righteous thoughts. The solution is to without exception make studying the Fa a priority and to study the Fa diligently. This Great Law is able to rectify the colossal firmament and allows people to cultivate to Consummation—shouldn’t you treasure an opportunity as rare and precious as this? And this is an opportunity that will be gone in an instant!” (“Shed the Human Mindset,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)

The Importance of the Minghui Website

One of the reasons I stumbled and fell behind in Fa-rectification was that I seldom read articles on the Minghui website. These articles summarize the cultivation experiences of other practitioners, which can help us grow and increase our wisdom and righteous thoughts. They can also help us find and correct our shortcomings, and they inspire us to do better. This can help practitioners move up in cultivation levels more effectively. It is an indispensable tool for our cultivation. I sincerely hope that practitioners go online every day to share cultivation experiences or read articles. Although some practitioners complain about the difficulties of getting onto the Minghui website, it can be easily opened if you take the website seriously and use it every day.

Master said, “It is Dafa disciples, not ordinary people, that Master is protecting amidst the persecution.” (Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco). He has sacrificed so much for practitioners to mature and cultivate steadily. We should cultivate ourselves well, help Master save sentient beings, and return home with him!

Thank you, Master, for your boundless compassion!