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The Importance of Each and Every Thought
By a practitioner from China
(Clearwisdom.net) As the Fa-rectification progresses, I have realized more and more deeply
that, at this critical juncture, every thought that our minds create is based
upon our daily accumulation of the bits and pieces of righteous thoughts and
beliefs, and that to watch for each and every thought in our minds is a crucial
step in the process of gradually assimilating with and eventually completely
merging into the Fa. I am 39 this year. Before I practiced Falun Gong, I had heart disease, kidney
problems, mental problems, a spinal fracture, cerebral vasospasm, and a cerebral
circulatory deficiency. Because of the vasospasms, I would be extremely weak,
with no energy to even talk, and any minor noise or activity would upset me so
that I would be in a state of agony. Because of my blood deficiency problem,
each day when I got up I would find that parts of my arms and my palms had
become so swollen that they were almost useless. The heart disease caused me to
be restless, even hysterical at times, and given to feeling I would be better
off dead. On April 9, 1999, just by chance I noticed some people practicing
qigong in my neighborhood. It was then that I was introduced to Falun Gong, and
I have been practicing ever since. I got up early in the morning to practice the
exercises and went to group Fa study, never missing, no matter how busy my
schedule. After one month, my health had greatly improved, and I felt great,
like I never had before. I had to say, "Falun Gong is wonderful!" After July 20 of 1999, all kinds of rumours and fabrications about Falun Gong
were thrown up in my face. I was so confused that I stopped practicing. As a
result, all my illnesses returned. In agony from my wretched health, I pondered
my situation. In the 3 months I had practiced Falun Gong not only was my body
cleaned up, but, more importantly, my perspective on life had totally changed. A
book that can make people nobler and healthier is absolutely not wrong. After
this thought, while I was reading Zhuan Falun, I suddenly realized that
what was happening was to test Dafa disciples. As the Fa-rectification continues, I have recognized that the Old Forces are
controlling degenerated beings and evil elements in the Universe to torture and
undermine cultivators and to lay roadblocks in our cultivation paths, all under
the guise of testing practitioners. The righteous Fa that Teacher taught us is
the very shortcut to break through layers upon layers of obstacles in our path.
By sharing the facts we need to awaken people to return to their true selves
while at the same time we need to see to our own worlds. Although I understand
the Fa, it is still very hard to actually do it. Teacher said: "Compliance is
cultivation." ("Solid Cultivation" from "Hong Yin", a provisional
translation subject to further improvement). Each of us is a product of
continuously accumulated karma, ideas, and human thoughts and of influences and
interferences from extraneous elements in the course of our numerous previous
lives. Sometimes we don't realize this. Due to shallow Fa study or a weak main
consciousness, it is sometimes hard to judge if something is done correctly or
not. Sometimes, even when we do realize it, we do not completely understand its
importance. This may be due to a lack of seriousness or self-control or to the
enjoyment of comfort. Consequently, we do not continuously maintain righteous
thoughts and beliefs, with the result that we encounter many problems and
roadblocks. Whenever we study the Fa diligently and show a clear and strong main
consciousness, we will find that the Old Forces' so-called test is really
nothing. My experiences of being arrested and released again and again clearly
indicate that it is extremely important to pay attention to each and every
thought our mind generates. When I was released after being illegally detained in 2002, I thought
carefully about the mistakes I had made and decided that, no matter what I
heard, the first thing to do was to look inside, examine myself, and then get
rid of any attachments through righteous thoughts. During my daily life, I would
pay attention to each and every thought. I would also diligently encourage
myself to clarify the truth and distribute more flyers, never slacking off even
a little bit. With all my experiences as proof, I knew that if I had righteous
thoughts, I would be able to peacefully overcome even seemingly risky
situations, perhaps frightening but with no real risk. (Note: When frightened, I
would examine myself, or I would overcome the fear peacefully.) At this moment,
I suddenly understand our right mental state when sending righteous thoughts:
whether we are walking, eating, or working, we all can quietly recite the Fa-rectification
verses. I realize that we should strengthen or accumulate our righteous thoughts
and beliefs little by little through correcting each and every bad thought to
fulfill our goal of gradual assimilation with and complete immersion into the Fa.
Please, my fellow practitioners, kindly point out any inappropriate points in
my article. |