By Hui Zhen, a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) In an article published in the section "Practitioners Exchange Experiences and Insights" on the Clearwisdom website, a practitioner spoke about some negative phenomena in his/her local area. Based on the contents of the article, I believe that the practitioners in that area have problems with Fa-study. For example, if there isn't a group Fa-study environment in that area, there must be a lack of experience-sharing among practitioners. Thus, poor states of cultivation will gradually develop for those practitioners

I do not want to focus too much about my own understandings because Teacher has taught a lot and very clearly in this regard. I hope everybody can sit down and put their minds to studying the Fa more. Then our cultivation states will become better.

I think this is an issue for the coordinators; that is, to make group Fa-study possible. In order for everyone to save sentient beings and walk his or he path well, I think the coordinators should indeed put more effort into creating good conditions for Fa-study. Of course, this is just my understanding. In any event, it is very necessary for all of us to study Teacher's Fa regarding group Fa-study.

I've searched the following Fa lectures to share with everyone. They are presented in the order they were taught.

From "Teaching the Fa at the Assistants' Fa Conference in Changchun" (July 26, 1998):

"Question: Some people think that during group study, reading through the book means reading the book over and over again, that discussion is unnecessary, that one should understand the Fa on one's own, and that we should read one chapter a day. Is this helpful for Fa-study?

"Teacher: Reading through the book simply means reading through cover to cover--there's nothing unclear about that. It means reading it over and over again--reading the book through. We study the Fa together after all, so we can share our understandings and have a discussion with each other: 'I suddenly realized this meaning in these words of Teacher,' or 'I'm still not doing well enough in this regard.' You might miss that when you read at home. Correct this shortcoming from now on. In other words, it's necessary to share understandings and to discuss among yourselves. Yet reading the book through should be your focus. We shouldn't study a passage, stop, start a discussion, and then study another passage, and discuss more--that's no good. You need to read it cover to cover a lot. The time spent on talking about yourselves or your understandings shouldn't be more than the time spent on reading the Fa. Studying the Fa is the most crucial thing.

"Question: Sometimes I do well at group study, sometimes I don't. How should I understand this kind of unstable state of mind?

"Teacher: Those are your own states in cultivation. No one can persistently do that well in all kinds of environments and always absorb what he's reading without interference from various thoughts. But I also want to tell you that with every one of your tests, your passing them well, not passing them well, being able to pass them, or not being able to pass them--that's cultivation. If you could pass every test you'd be a God! And you wouldn't need to cultivate anymore, right? But you shouldn't let yourself slack off. You should be diligent in cultivation."

From "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" (February 21 and 22, 1999, Los Angeles):

"Question: Some people think that spreading the Fa means doing the exercises and making Dafa books available, and that there's no need for large-scale group practices or showing videos of Fa lectures.

"Teacher: It is up to you how you handle the specifics of these things, the same as carrying out your cultivation. I can tell you that watching the videos, group study, group practice, and conferences like the one we're holding today are the only forms of Dafa cultivation that I have left you. Everything else is loosely organized, including whether you come here or not. Nobody does roll call and asks you to come. Everyone comes voluntarily. Cultivation depends on your own heart. If you don't want to come and you don't want to cultivate, you may do as you like."

From "Teaching the Fa at the Eastern U.S. Fa Conference" (New York, March 27-28, 1999):

"Question: The group study and individual study at home of the book Zhuan Falun proceed at a different pace. Will this hinder cultivation?

"Teacher: If you study attentively it won't affect you. I'll tell you, when you read Zhuan Falun, read from the beginning to the end. If you can't finish today, pick up where you left off tomorrow; if again you don't finish it, next time continue to read from the point where you stopped previously. Read in this way, and don't be selective in your reading. What's worst is when people read Zhuan Falun for the first time and evaluate the Fa with their human notions: 'Oh, it makes good sense here. I have doubts about the things mentioned there.' Then he'll have read the entire book for nothing--he'll gain nothing, what a pity! It's because this Fa is a solemn Law of Heaven. A human being has no idea how much karma he has, or where his thoughts come from. Because he evaluates a Fa like this with a human mind, he won't be able to see anything. Read the book without any preconceptions. You can judge the book after you've finished reading it. Don't evaluate it during the process of your reading."

From "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia" (Sydney, May 2-3, 1999):

"Student: The pace of my individual Fa study is different than the pace of group Fa study. Does that matter?

"Teacher: Studying the Fa by yourself, if you can continue to steadfastly cultivate solidly, is also remarkable. But as you all know, it's impossible for you to study the Fa very diligently alone at home, and it's impossible not to come into contact with ordinary society. In today's ordinary society, people just do as they please. It's a society where people are capable of doing all kinds of bad things without any moral standard or moral constraint. Today's humankind is just like this. Those people that you come into contact with in society are all from everyday people's society. What they talk about, say, think, and do are all part of what today's humankind does. Then, when you cultivate by yourself without a very good environment, the only environment you come into contact with is that type of environment. Then in reality you are being influenced by it, and so it's very hard for you to improve. I've said that many students felt that they were pretty good before cultivation, that they were good people. After genuinely doing cultivation, they find out that that wasn't the case in the least. The reason they believed they were good is that they were comparing themselves with the today's mankind, which is no longer good, and not comparing themselves to the era of mankind's highest morality or with the nature of the universe.

"Also, as you practice in a group and while you are together, what you say, think, and do are all out of benevolent thoughts, and you're able to consider others as much as you can in whatever you do. That is a very pure and clean environment, a piece of peaceful, harmonious, and pure land. Then as cultivators in those surroundings, you will be nurtured by this compassionate force within that environment. That's for sure. So there's a reason I tell you to practice together. The people you come into contact with in that environment are all good people. Their words, actions, and deeds just aren't the same as those of people in ordinary society, so this environment can't be lost. But there are a few areas where there are not so many people studying Dafa, just one or two people, and they don't have such a good environment. In that case, then, one has to rely on oneself. There really are students like that--truly studying quietly, cultivating quietly, and progressing diligently. Truly remarkable! I'm saying here, though, that a group cultivation environment is essential and very good. You shouldn't lose that environment. That environment tempers people."

"Student: I've been cultivating Dafa for several years. In the last few months, while sharing experiences with everyone, I have seen that certain disciples talk on endlessly, and it has made me have less and less of a desire to speak. Master, please tell me if my state is correct.

"Teacher: If they kept on talking endlessly, and the more they talked, the less you wanted to listen and the more restless you felt, then it means you have an attachment! And the more he kept talking, the more it seemed that no end was in sight. That was actually aimed at you, even though he wasn't talking to you directly. (Applause) It was to expose your attachments. In fact, your attachments have been exposed. It's just that you were trying to cover it up by saying that the other person went on endlessly. Haven't I told you that you should look at yourself no matter what you encounter? Wasn't it a certain attachment of yours surfacing? Since you are cultivators and extraordinary people, why do you still see the bad things in ordinary people and compare yourselves with them? Even though he is a cultivator, he's still cultivating among everyday people, and he still has attachments that he hasn't eliminated and still displays behavior of everyday people. If he didn't have those things, wouldn't he be a Buddha? Wouldn't he be a god? Isn't that true? So once this or that problem occurs among our students, you just think about why the other person has cultivated so poorly, and you don't want to look at yourself. I have told everyone in my Fa lectures that when a conflict arises between two people and it's seen by a third person, even the third person should think to himself, 'Oh, a confrontation is happening between them, so why is it that I was there to see it? Is it because I have certain attachments? Is it because I have that kind of problem as well?' Since you are cultivating, you need to be truly responsible to yourself and need to look at yourself. Another thing is, I want to mention that at group Fa study sessions some students go on and on about things that aren't related to Dafa or cultivation, and this is interfering with our students and their cultivation. You need to pay special attention to this, and should point it out clearly to those who are doing that."

From "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada" (Toronto, May 23, 1999):

"Question: During group study, it seemed like I was onto something at a certain point in our reading. When I fully understood it, a couple of paragraphs had been read.

"Master: That doesn't matter. The purpose of studying the Fa is to have you understand. Understanding the Fa is the most important. When reading the Fa, you should know the meaning of the words you are reading. At the very least, you should understand the surface meaning. If you say, 'I forget what I just read,' don't feel troubled. It's not a problem. Just go ahead and read. But if you say, 'I don't even know the words I'm reading, and I just keep reading and reading, with my mouth murmuring and eyes looking, but my mind is elsewhere,' then that doesn't work, and you won't achieve the goal of cultivation."

From "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference" (February 15, 2003):

"Question: There's this phenomenon: At some places when they study the Fa as a group, they tend to read the new articles Master has published a lot, and don't repeatedly read Zhuan Falun as much. And when they study the Fa in a large group, a few persons in charge often talk about the Fa Master has taught to small groups.

"Teacher: There are two issues here. The first one is that what I've said recently in different periods is supplementary to Zhuan Falun. Just remember their relationship, and that what you should study frequently is Zhuan Falun. The second issue is, after some of our students heard what I said on unique occasions, they went and spread it through the grapevine. I've already talked about this many times. What I say on unique occasions doesn't have universal application, and perhaps it was aimed specifically at those people who were present. If you go back and tell others, when you say it to them it won't have the inner meaning that was included in my words, and, those others aren't the intended audience. So it will lose its effect, and when others hear it they'll feel uncomfortable. At the same time, when you say it you're also putting your attachments into it. Most of the time there's some kind of showing off at work, it's subtle, subconscious. I think in the time ahead you should stop spreading those things. After you hear things I say, just let it be. You know, those thousand-year cultivators, after they learned a little bit of truth they'd hold it in inside. They'd hold it in for hundreds of years, or even a thousand years, and not tell it to others (audience laughs)--'If someone wants to know about this little bit of stuff I have, they'll have to trade something for it!' But you folks, 'Yap yap yap...' You go and tell it all! (Teacher laughs) You don't hold things inside. (Audience laughs)

"Question: When we study the Fa as a group and share understandings, I don't have anything to say, and don't have any opinions. Is that okay?

"Teacher: Maybe it's caused by your cultivation state. If you don't want to speak, then don't speak. If when other people talk you're embarrassed that you don't have anything to say, then don't speak if you can't, that's okay. If you want to speak, it'll come naturally, and you'll speak. But don't let your habit of not speaking impede you.

From "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference" (February 28, 2004):

"Question: Lately fellow practitioners have often been using electronic software to share understandings and study the Fa, and are even strongly encouraging its usage. As a result, people have less opportunities to share their thoughts and study the Fa in person.

"Teacher: Indeed that's not right. Except for little disciples, you shouldn't do that. But that's not to rule out using it occasionally when you're very busy, just don't make a habit of it. That isn't something I want to pass down. There's no problem with you studying the Fa in person as a group, and studying the Fa and exchanging thoughts in person. You can take advantage of [such software] when you're busy, but you can't all do that, and you can't do it frequently."

From "Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students" (April 12, 2004):

"Question: Some students think that if they just stay home and send righteous thoughts, and use phone calls to clarify the truth, they count as Fa-rectification disciples and don't need to come out. Is that okay?

"Teacher: If they're not all that busy with Dafa things, then it's not quite right if they don't come out for group activities to validate the Fa and clarify the truth, or for other activities like group Fa-study. Group Fa-study is an environment I created for you and a form that I've left for you. I think you should still participate. That's because it has stood the test of experience, and cultivating that way allows our students to improve the fastest. When you cultivate on your own, you miss out on factors that help you improve. And haven't you, as Dafa disciples, said that you would do as your Master says? Haven't you said that you should walk straight on the path that a Dafa disciple should take?

I can see your challenges, so I don't want to say that you 'must do' such and such. I rarely say that, because I know it's tough for you. Besides, in cultivation you've got to come to understand things on your own. I spell out the Fa's principles, but you need to walk the path yourself. If I told you that you 'must do' such and such, but you had an omission with something, then the omission would in fact be Master's fault; Master wouldn't have let you come to your own understanding of that thing or let you handle it yourself, so that part of you wouldn't be cultivated. That's why I rarely put things that way. A Dafa disciple should recognize his responsibilities and what he should do as a Dafa disciple.

From "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York:"

"Disciple: Some students don't participate in group study or exercises. Are those students at risk? How can we help them get rid of their fear?

"Teacher: I think that with newer students, you shouldn't be too hasty. It's all right for them to take their time. But you should try your best to advise them to take part in group study sessions, because the group study environment is indispensable for your helping each other improve, it is essential. Why, back early on, did I ask people to hold them? Because the form of cultivation that this Fa takes dictates that it be done this way. Why did the people in the past have to leave the secular world to cultivate? They knew there was a problem: when they were back in the secular world and interacted with ordinary people, they became like ordinary people and couldn't stay diligent. Moreover, they cultivated their subordinate souls. That is why they left the secular world and grouped themselves together. The cultivators could help each other improve and see how they compared with others, they always had things to share that were specific to cultivators, and they formed a cultivators' environment.

"Without that environment, then... think about it, it's the same with today's Dafa disciples: when you go back out there into ordinary society, you are in the environment of ordinary society. If you don't seize the day [to cultivate], then today you might feel like reading and so you read a little, but tomorrow you might get lazy and read less... so without that environment it's hard to stay diligent. After all, it's human beings who are cultivating. So with human laziness and all kinds of disturbances affecting people in this world, it's very hard for you to see on your own where you fall short. And in particular, if on top of that you aren't diligent, you don't read the book a lot, or you don't comprehend the Fa very well, you won't be able to see your attachments at all. That's why you have to participate in group study and exercises.

"Right now we are at a time when the persecution is taking place, so there are all kinds of reasons why students can't, or can't frequently, do the exercises as a group. In the future you will definitely have group exercises. Outside Mainland China many veteran students are busy doing a lot of things to validate the Fa. But, for the sake of newer students, veteran students should create an environment for them so that they can study the Fa and do the exercises together."

Dec. 15, 2006

Posting date: 1/4/2007
Original article date: 1/4/2007
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/12/16/144774.html

 Yearly Archive  Printer Version