(Clearwisdom.net)
Finding My Attachments by Recitiing the Fa
I have read Zhuan Falun consistently since becoming a practitioner in1995 and have performed the Falun Gong exercises and spread the Fa every day. The trouble was that I had the urge to talk about others' problems, regardless of whether or not they wanted to hear about them. If the person did not accept my comments, I would make an accusation or get unhappy about it, especially with fellow practitioners. I thought that I was always right and that the other person, as a practitioner, should listen to me. When the other person didn't buy it, I'd feel that I was wronged. This bothered me for a long time, rendering me unable to raise my level, so I began to recite Zhuan Falun.
Teacher said, "The Fa can break all attachments." (from "Drive Out Interference," July 5, 2000) The Fa really did break down the interference in my mind. It was my own pride that enveloped me, stopping me from looking inward.
Teacher said,
"What's required of you, then? You must cultivate your inner self and not pursue things externally." (from Zhuan Falun, Lecture One, Third Translation Edition, Updated March, 2000, USA)
I came to understand what cultivation really is--to look within myself, find myself, and cultivate my inner self.
Teacher also said,
"Those of you who have fallen behind, who have become passive, who are full of complaints, who hold strong grievances against others, or who focus your attention on those in the Falun Dafa Association, none of you are willing to cultivate yourselves, and are instead looking outward. ("Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference," May 24, 2008, Manhattan)
After reviewing what Teacher has said, I understood that I didn't cultivate myself, but instead was verifying myself. Cultivation is to eliminate selfishness in order to reach the realm of "selflessness and priority of others!"
Reciting the Fa enables me to find my own attachments. Whenever something happens, I must think "Does this have anything to do with me?" Then I make the correction based on the Fa.
Studying the Fa isn't only reading and reciting the Fa; the main point is to do things based on the Fa, eliminate bad habits, eliminate selfishness, and cultivate away all attachments--this is real cultivation.
Being Diligent about Group Fa Study
Our Fa study group has met consistently for the past five years. Group Fa study is what Teacher gave us as a form of cultivation, so we cannot quit having it just because of interference from the evil party. Stopping group Fa study is what the old forces want--their goal is to stop us from completing cultivation. We do not allow it. We must abide by what Teacher wants, protecting the atmosphere for group Fa study, and walk righteously on the cultivation path arranged by Teacher.
Therefore, we established our Fa study group. At first, there were only three fellow practitioners in the group. Six months later, the group grew to nine. We scheduled time for studying, reciting the Fa and Hong Yin. We also reviewed, (and repeated three times) Teacher's Fa lectures of past years since 1995. We gained new experience every time we read them, each of us feeling that our levels rose quickly. All of us agreed: "We've come back to the group Fa study as before--we must cherish this kind of atmosphere."
To increase our levels more quickly, we also viewed the videos of Teacher's Fa lectures and cultivation conferences for experience sharing. We were able to see ourselves based on the Fa, looking within ourselves, digging out every thought, every word, and every action to be compared against the Fa.
However, some fellow practitioners, even though they're good to others, are unable to handle family friction, whereas family members that are also practitioners each hold onto their own opinions, arguing all the time. This kind of situation commonly exists among many practitioner couples. In order to handle these tricky situations, we studied Teacher's "Fa Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners," to see if we looked like the kind of people that Teacher talked about: When confronting a problem, did we start a dispute based on different personal ideas instead of abiding by the principles of the Fa? Did we look at others instead of looking at ourselves to solve a problem? Did we try to verify ourselves instead of verifying the Fa? The problem will be eliminated if we find the underlying cause. When a problem arises between husband and wife, it should be dealt with using the principles of the Fa, just like with normal fellow practitioners. Currently, practicing couples are all at peace with each other based on the Fa.
Group Fa study will not only elevate each individual's Xinxing, but also does the same for the whole group. Whenever a fellow practitioner was arrested, our group would schedule a time for sending forth righteous thoughts and would go, in different groups, to an area near the forced labor camp to send forth righteous thoughts, disintegrate the evil elements, strengthen the jailed fellow practitioners' righteous thoughts against persecution, and help them to get out quickly.
In order to help practitioners that have stayed home to come forward and join our Fa study group, we went in pairs to their homes to share experiences and study the Fa, enabling them to catch up quickly.
September 14, 2009
