(Minghui.org)
Feeling sleepy seems perfectly normal, for an average person. And sleeping when tired appears to be only natural; after all, one needs proper rest to have the energy to get things done. However, for a Dafa practitioner, drowsiness can be a formidable hurdle; it weakens one’s willpower and often traps the individual in a passive, vicious cycle.
I knew that I ought to rise early for exercises, yet even with an alarm, I would fail to get up, and sometimes not even hear the alarm ring, or silence it and then drift back to sleep. Even after waking, I would remain groggy. Worse still, a wave of regret would often wash over me: “How did I miss the alarm again?” Day after day, this cycle of remorse and self-disappointment repeated itself, yet when drowsiness struck, the thought would remain: “Let me just doze for a little while; otherwise, I’ll be sleepy when I study the Fa.”
Having been trapped in this tribulation for so long, I resolved to overcome it. But it wasn’t easy! Drowsiness doesn’t simply vanish just because you’ve made up your mind; it keeps coming back. It didn’t just interfere during evening Fa study or morning exercises, it plagued me throughout the day as well. Sometimes I would feel inexplicably sleepy even after a short nap. I felt drowsy whether I was sleep-deprived or had slept too much. Many practitioners have written about the process of eliminating the “demon of drowsiness,” so, completely out of options, I decided to follow their examples.
I began sending righteous thoughts specifically targeting this demon. Beyond the intensified efforts at the designated times for sending righteous thoughts, I would also send righteous thoughts before meditating or whenever drowsiness struck. It was truly effective at first. However, I knew that this entity was stubborn. Having persisted for so long without any breakthroughs on my part, it had likely, without exaggeration, formed an almost humanlike shape.
I was determined to eliminate it completely, bit by bit. My reasoning was as follows: if I simply didn’t give in and sleep, it would die; by persisting every day, I could destroy a little more of it each time. Wouldn’t it eventually be wiped out? This thought gave me a huge boost in confidence.
Yet, the very next day, I felt groggy while doing the standing exercises. Before meditating, I intended to send righteous thoughts, but a thought suddenly popped into my mind, “If I just slept for ten minutes, I’d probably wake up clear-headed.” But reason told me otherwise; whenever I told myself I’d lie down for just ten minutes, I would usually open my eyes to find an hour had passed, leaving me mired in self-reproach. I didn’t want to feel that guilt anymore, so with gritted teeth, I began sending righteous thoughts. The drowsiness persisted, so I intensified my efforts. Perhaps I was straining too hard. I was suddenly overcome by a sense of physical collapse and mental fogginess, making me desperate to lie down and rest. Just as I gritted my teeth to hold on, Master’s Fa came to mind:
“Great enlightened beings fear no hardshipTheir will is cast of diamondLife or death, they have no attachmentForthright and broad-minded on the road of Fa-rectification”(“Righteous Thought, Righteous Action” inHong Yin II)
I immediately grasped Master’s guidance, and I felt a surge of strength!
I managed to resist lying down, but the sensation of keeping my eyes wide open while battling that demon was truly agonizing. I recited Master’s teachings, gritting my teeth and repeating the words over and over. Suddenly, I felt an indescribable sensation, and, for no apparent reason, tears began to stream down my face. I had heard of people crying from pain, but never from sleepiness. Yet, the drowsiness vanished instantly! I continued meditating, though I didn’t dare close my eyes. I was afraid that if I did, the sleepiness might return just as I had finally shaken it off. The whole process lasted only ten minutes, but it was a mix of pain, struggle, and astonishment—truly remarkable.
The cultivation process is often full of ups and downs and repeated struggles. Sometimes, when the demon of drowsiness struck, I would feel a strong urge to simply have a good sleep. Two voices often contended within me: one asked, “I’ve been getting drowsy during practice lately, wouldn’t a bit more sleep help?” The other countered, “No, that would mean all my previous efforts would go to waste. I can’t sleep; I mustn’t give in to the demon of drowsiness.” This cycle has repeated itself several times, yet I consistently failed to maintain sustained alertness.
I searched hard, examining my xinxing, which seemed fine. Have I simply become lazy? Although I struggled, I hadn’t actually succumbed to the urge to sleep, so what exactly was the problem? In cultivation, no detail is trivial; issues often hide in places easily overlooked, specifically, in those fragmented moments of spare time. That is when I frequently began scrolling through videos on my phone.
The time I spend on my phone has decreased significantly compared to the past. Aside from long videos required for work or study, I rarely watch videos anymore. The problem lies with short videos. Because they are brief, watching one or two seems harmless, yet I often snapped out of it only to realize I had watched several in a row. This realization alarmed me, but awareness alone wasn’t enough, as these videos insidiously drained my righteous thoughts and energy.
The only solution is self-discipline, keeping the phone out of sight when it isn’t needed, checking only essential information, and keeping my main consciousness alert so I am not drawn in by the dazzling, distracting world of short videos. After all, we need to interact with society, and there are times when I must check notifications in cultivation-related groups. Thus, I haven’t completely deleted social media. I understand that cultivation is about looking directly at one’s own heart. Therefore, I need to consciously eliminate this curiosity about the flashy, distracting world, and truly grasp the reason for imposing such discipline upon myself.
By holding myself to strict standards, even though I occasionally slacked off, I could quickly correct myself. I gained a clearer realization that a significant reason for my drowsiness was indeed the habit of endlessly scrolling through videos. Once I clearly identified the root cause of this drowsiness, whenever I encountered interference from the demon of sleepiness, I could do more than just send righteous thoughts to dispel it; I could also examine myself to see if I had been slacking off due to excessive phone use. This established a positive cycle, eliminating the feelings of helplessness and confusion that previously accompanied such interference.
In this process, I was surprised to discover just how cunning the mobile phone is. It permeates every aspect of life. Whenever I had a moment of downtime, especially after doing the exercises or studying the Fa, I would feel an urge to rest and instinctively reach for my phone to watch content from “Shen Yun Creations.” Its cunning lies right there; it makes me feel that because I am watching something truly righteous, there is no harm in it. Yet I become glued to the screen, unable to put ithe phone down as I watch one video after another.
In reality, without self-restraint, it becomes no different from scrolling through ordinary videos. It is equally addictive and feeds the attachment to comfort. Even worse, it numbs my main consciousness, creating the illusion that I am doing something righteous. Recognizing this loophole, I began to schedule appropriate breaks while striving to keep my main consciousness alert at all times. I remained aware of what I was doing, making every effort, in every thought and every passing moment, to measure myself against the standards of the Fa.
Beyond breaking my addiction to my mobile phone and sending righteous thoughts to clear away interference from the demon of drowsiness, I also clearly recognized that cultivating xinxing was the key to eliminating this interference. Just when I thought that overcoming my phone addiction would put an end to the drowsiness-demon’s interference, tests of my xinxing came one after another.
At first, I didn’t take the situation lightly and immediately looked inward. However, I failed to look within completely and unconditionally. Deep down, I kept attributing the conflicts I was encountering to misunderstandings between the parties involved. I was in the habit of looking outward, and while I didn’t fixate on the other practitioner’s shortcomings, I still believed I was in the right and viewed the conflict as unavoidable. Consequently, I unconsciously analyzed the issue superficially. I harbored human thoughts, failed to guard my speech, and analyzed the other person’s mindset, weighing what was my fault versus what was theirs.
The consequences were immediate: because I hadn’t looked inward or cultivated my heart properly during the day, I would be overcome by drowsiness at night. It felt as though my body were hollow, as if my soul had already gone to sleep, leaving only my physical body barely propped up. When I finally made it to bedtime, when I lay down I felt like I was glued to the mattress; I felt an exhausting sensation of sinking, as if my body were merging with the bed.
There was no improvement the next day; I was incredibly drowsy while doing the exercises. Although I constantly sent righteous thoughts to clear away the drowsiness demon, it had little effect, and I barely managed to make it through the Holding the Wheel posture.
Master said,
“With the exception of the special property, Zhen Shan Ren, any form of derivative matter faces grave danger upon becoming fatigued—i.e., the weathering and decomposing of a material thing. In other words, objects disintegrate. Broadly speaking, when objects disintegrate, it means that the lower levels of the universe deteriorate, that the Fa ceases to function. When the law in people’s hearts stops functioning, human beings turn vile, being no longer bound by moral values.” ( “Teaching the Fa at Lantau Island” in Zhuan Falun Volume II)
My understanding is this: We are beings who must meet the standards of the new cosmos. If we fail to act according to the Fa’s requirements, do not assimilate to the characteristics of the cosmos, and do not become selfless beings who act for the sake of others, we remain bound by the principles of the old cosmos and face the cycle of formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction, as well as birth, aging, illness, and death.
This time, I learned my lesson; I calmed my mind and looked inward, letting go of all feelings of helplessness and doubt, and completely relinquishing my attachments. I recalled Master’s teaching,
““He is right,And I am wrong”What’s to dispute?”(“Who Is Right, Who Is Wrong” Hong Yin III)
At the same time, I have come to a profound realization: “...one’s gong level is as high as one’s xinxing level.” (Zhuan Falun) Without genuine cultivation, spending a lot of time sending righteous thoughts won’t be very effective; if one does not regard oneself as a cultivator, it is merely a human being sending out thoughts—not righteous thoughts—and thus devoid of supernatural power. Without genuine cultivation, even if one were to discard one’s mobile phone, one would never resolve the root cause of the interference as long as one looks outward instead of cultivating inwardly.
If xinxing does not improve, there is no cultivation, and consequently, no energy; without the reinforcement of energy power, righteous thoughts cannot function effectively, and no matter which seemingly-correct methods are employed, they will fail to achieve any fundamental result. Cultivation is truly a process where every link is interconnected!
By contending with the interference of the demon of drowsiness, I broke through a degree of complacency and strengthened my confidence in sending righteous thoughts. I have come to a deeper understanding that studying the Fa and cultivating the mind are fundamental. Without genuinely cultivating according to the standards of the Fa, one cannot break through the shell of stubborn human notions, and the Fa’s mighty power and profound inner meaning will never be revealed. Cultivation is like sailing against the current: if one does not advance, one falls back.
I hope we can all seize this final, precious time to be diligent and unwavering, make a clean break from human notions, and move toward the divine.
Thank you, everyone.
Heshi!
(Presented at the 2026 Florida Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference in the United States)