Memorizing Master’s Teachings Improves My Cultivation State

(Minghui.org) As I reflect upon my Falun Dafa cultivation practice over the past 30 years, my compassionate teacher, Master Li Hongzhi, protected me every step of the way. I would like to share some experiences I encountered while memorizing Master’s teachings.

I first began to memorize Zhuan Falun when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began their brutal persecution of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) in July 1999. Through studying the Fa, I understood that cultivation is precious and that Dafa is here to save us. After memorizing Zhuan Falun for the first time, I went to Beijing to seek justice for Dafa. Because I had the Fa in my heart, even though I was detained and later sent to a labor camp, I was still able to hold firm to my faith.

I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996 and often memorized Master’s new articles. This deepened my understanding when I read Master’s teaching:

“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,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)

Persisting In Memorizing the Fa

When I was held in the labor camp, the institution used collaborators who previously practiced Falun Dafa (but had renounced their faith) to brainwash me. Sometimes the sessions went from 5 a.m. until midnight. I was inundated with the CCP’s lies for over 50 days and forced to write reports on my thoughts. One day, I wrote that watching videos and brainwashing would never change my righteous thoughts on practicing Falun Dafa. The daily brainwashing then abruptly stopped.

Frankly speaking, I was scared and nervous in such an evil environment. At night, I did not go to sleep right away after returning to the cell; I recited the Fa first. I had a clear understanding of this persecution. Under the guidance of Dafa, I was able to stay on my path of cultivation.

A young woman in her 20s became mentally unstable after going through relentless brainwashing. She swallowed her food without chewing and frequently choked. The labor camp asked inmates to donate money to her. I refused and said, “In her condition, she should be released and returned to her home.” The labor camp would not release her.

This young woman walked around at night, sometimes standing next to someone’s bed and startling the sleeping inmates. Seeing her like this, my thoughts were conflicted: she was forced to renounce her faith, so should I say a few words on her behalf? While reciting the Fa, it came to me that what she had done was not her own wish. Furthermore, the majority of the practitioners who renounced their faith had done so because they were forced to. I should do something.

I said to the guard: “This young woman is quite mentally unstable. She shouldn’t be here according to the Law on Re-education Through Labor. She should be released.”

The guard made some excuses, such as, “She was like this before coming here; she has no family.”

I responded, “It was wrong to bring her here in the first place.”

The young woman was released a couple of days later. I understood that as Dafa practitioners, we should make every effort to stop the persecution.

A Dafa practitioner was force-fed in our cell. There were two dozen inmates crowded into a 270-square-foot cell (30 square meters). We slept, ate and worked in the same room. The practitioner’s painful groans echoed in the room. I wrote a letter to the head of the guards, pointing out that forced-feeding is barbaric and cruel.

After reading my letter, the head guard shouted at me in front of the other inmates. She accused me of meddling in other people’s business and challenging the CCP’s authority. I joined other practitioners who were on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

At the legal system education class, a head guard talked about the responsibilities of those undergoing re-education. At the end of the class, I asked, “You only talked about the responsibilities and duty of those who are being re-educated. You did not say anything about our rights.”

This remark enraged him, and he responded, “What do you want to do? This is a labor camp, not a place for you to do whatever you want.”

I replied calmly, “We have rights too, working 12 hours a day is against the Law on Re-education Through Labor.”

He had no logical response, only threats. The act of arresting people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and sending them to labor camps is already illegal. That evening, I was surprised to discover that we were no longer required to work overtime.

Master watched over us every moment. As long as we had righteous thoughts, Master would show us his extraordinary powers.

Protected By Master While Studying the Fa

The second time I was sent to the labor camp, another practitioner gave me a mini-sized copy of Zhuan Falun. I was so happy that I was able to study the Fa! The biggest fears of labor camp officials was that imprisoned practitioners would get access to Dafa books. The reason was, as long as we are following Master’s teachings, the evil could not manipulate us.

I kept the book on me, reading it every night. The most amazing thing was that one day I was body searched three times and they did not find the book. That day, as soon as I saw what the guards were planning on doing, I sent righteous thought to dissolve any evil forces that were controlling these people. They searched me in the morning, after lunch and once more when we were cleaning up after a day of work. They did not find my copy of Zhuan Falun. I read this copy for eight months and gave it to another practitioner that was being held in there when I was released.

I received a copy of Master’s Teachings at the First Conference in North America and a few other articles, and I memorized them all.

The head guard of our team had graduated from the police academy. She often violently hit Dafa practitioners. I disliked police officers who did such a thing. However, Master said to us:

“... a Dafa disciple, or a cultivator, has no enemies. The only thing you have a role in is saving people, and you have no role in using human means and human principles to punish or pronounce judgment on people. This is a fundamental issue!” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)

I wrote a letter to this guard, saying, “I am being persecuted in this labor camp. You look familiar as if we have known each other before; let’s call it fate. Perhaps we were sisters, relatives or friends in a past lifetime. One day I noticed that you took your daughter to work with you. She appears to be an innocent and friendly child. Being a mother is a difficult job. We have to be responsible to our children. When Judgment Day comes, everyone will know the truth about Falun Dafa. How, then, will you face your daughter when she asks you what part you played during the persecution?”

In the letter, I also told her about the greatness of Dafa, the staged Tiananmen self-immolation and suggested that she do good deeds. Before she was transferred to another facility, seeing me planting trees alone, she said to me, “Don’t work too hard or hurt yourself.” I never imagined that a vicious person like her would ever say something like that. She had changed, however. I looked at her without saying a word. At that time, I did not have enough compassion in me. I should have thanked this guard for the kind words and asked her to treat all Falun Dafa practitioners more kindly in the future.

We worked like slaves, making army jackets and suits, mostly with cotton materials. About two dozen of us worked in a bare room, making cotton battings for army coats using machines from the 1960’s. One day, I smelled something burning. We were not allowed to speak during work, but for the sake of everyone’s safety, I asked the watch person (also an inmate) to shut off the breaker. Smoke was coming out of an old machine and soon filled the entire room. The only exit from the room was locked from outside. If we had waited any longer for the electricity to be shut down, we would have all been burned alive in a room filled with cotton. I am grateful for Master Li prompting me to sense the danger and speak up. He watches over me no matter where I am.

Improving My Cultivation State As I Memorized the Fa

In recent years, I had attempted to memorize the Fa a few times, but did not persist. As a result, I felt that my cultivation was superficial. What should I do about this? In 2021, I began to memorize the Fa, one paragraph at a time. In 2023, another practitioner joined me. Since both of us had memorized the Fa before, at the beginning we were able to memorize 20 pages a week. We realized, however, that we needed to correct each other quite often. On our second memorization try, we worked on 10 new pages each week and reviewed the 10 pages we memorized the previous week. We memorized Zhuan Falun four times in two years.

I wrote the sections that I had a hard time remembering on a white board so I could look at them more easily. It seemed like the Fa that I had difficulty remembering was the Fa Master was specifically pointing out to me. I also hand-copied Zhuan Falun two times in those two years.

Memorizing the Fa helped me to cultivate myself better. In the past, I tended to look outward when there were problems, blaming others for not treating me nicely.

A practitioner asked me to relay a message to another practitioner, Jing. I delivered the message to Jing, but she did not comply with what was asked of her. The practitioner kept on complaining to me about the situation until I could no longer hold my temper and blurted out, “Jing did not show up, so what is the use of you continuing to discuss this with me?”

This practitioner was scolding me right outside my home. Not knowing what to do with her, I began to worry what would happen if she got too loud. She continued to complain on and on. My neighbor knew that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner. What would they think of Dafa practitioners if they heard me arguing with another person? My attachment to fear, worry, competitiveness and vanity all surfaced.

While memorizing Lecture Four in Zhuan Falun, I realized that I was still angry and harboring ill will toward another, which does not align with Master’s teachings. As I reflected upon our conflict, I realized that this practitioner was helping me to improve. She spoke to me that way because of my attachments. Not only had I not looked for my own mistakes, I ended up disliking her, missing my chance to elevate my xinxing. Furthermore, if I were more patient and forgiving, this practitioner would have used kinder words. How can I dislike her for that? At this thought, my heart opened up and my ill feelings dissolved.

Occasionally, my son asks me to help him with the housework. He lives with his wife’s mother, who had a habit of saying whatever she had on her mind without considering other people’s feelings. Her words often bothered me and I did not want to go to my son’s house. However, since my son needed my help, I went.

The root problem for my son’s mother-in-law was that she had been taught too much CCP doctrine. I tried to tell her about the goodness of Falun Dafa, but she refused to listen. I knew that I must have something in my own cultivation that is not up to par, as my words were not powerful enough to touch her heart.

Recently, my son injured his arm. I went to visit him and his mother-in-law asked me to make lunch. Because of memorizing the Fa, Dafa allowed me to develop a more generous heart. I was not affected no matter what the old woman said. She was helping me and waiting to be saved. My behavior showed her the goodness of Dafa. When I was doing chores, I respected her preferences. There was no hatred or unhappiness inside of me. I had a smile on my face all the time.

Through memorizing the Fa, I have learned a lot. Whenever I encounter problems, I look at them from the perspective of the Fa to avoid being led astray by surface appearances.

In the future, I will keep on strictly following the Fa and always be grateful for Master’s compassionate salvation.