(Clearwisdom.net ) Group Fa study sessions are sacred and solemn events. However, many of us have turned them into social gatherings. This situation has persisted for quite a long time and we have failed to address it, so I would like to bring this to everyone's attention.
I would first like to discuss the practitioners who provide the venue for Fa study. Before Fa study, some hosts busy themselves with buying lots of beverages, fruit and snacks. Some even take a bus to distant markets to buy something special to share with everyone. Northern Chinese people are naturally hospitable and practical, and when hosting guests, it's natural to offer refreshments. However, our purpose is to study the Fa, not to have an ordinary social gathering, much less to eat special food. If we exert too much effort in this area it will undoubtedly distract from the purpose of the meeting.
I would next like to talk about the practitioners who come to my house to study the Fa. Because of the hospitable treatment, they feel embarrassed if they come empty handed, so they bring fruit and snacks. The other practitioners saw people bringing things and feel that they themselves should follow suit. In this way, everyone started to bring things. Due to buying gifts prior to the Fa study, some even arrived late.
When Fa study concluded, everyone would gather together and chat while eating. They talked about ordinary affairs, and Fa study became less important. Some even looked forward to finishing Fa study early so that everyone could start chatting. Everyone looked forward to Fa study, not because they wanted to improve their mind nature, but for the sake of socializing together to fulfill their loneliness. They weren't improving with group Fa study, but instead becoming more like everyday people. We didn't look within, always thinking that we were better than others, and we were trapped by our human notions. We did the three things for the sake of doing them. Some in the group were interfered with by false symptoms of illness karma. Some secretly took medicine. Some had tensions with their family members amidst much interference. They weren't even anxious when they saw that fellow practitioners around them set up many materials production sites while they did nothing. They were waiting for practitioners from other groups to send them the materials, and if they didn't receive the materials they became upset. Some practitioners realized that something was amiss, but due to sentimentality, they were too polite to point it out. As time went on, we seemed to simply accept the situation as unchangeable.
Cultivation is in fact, to eliminate human notions. Isn't the purpose of Fa study to return to our origin, and eliminate this mentality? Dafa has offered us the opportunity to evolve from ordinary people to enlightened beings. This is the first time since the creation of the cosmos that this has happened. What a solemn and sacred opportunity! We must treat this matter as such!
Master said, "Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation" ("Towards Consummation" from Essentials for Further Advancement II). By bringing strong human attachments and human sentimentality into group Fa study, not only did we not achieve the effect of experience-sharing and mutual encouragement, we were polluting the sacredness of Dafa.
In Changchun City, there is a good foundation and tradition for group Fa study. According to veteran practitioners, before July 20, 1999 when the persecution started, after everyone finished work and dinner, they came to study the Fa in small groups. Some Fa study groups met at practitioners' homes, some in rented offices and others in rented rooms. Everyone made use of their situations and hosted others voluntarily to provide a place for Fa study. Everyone set a time to meet and no one was late. Everyone arrived on time and took turns reading the book Zhuan Falun. After Fa study, they shared cultivation experiences. They mainly talked about how to improve their xinxing. Some people shared longer experiences, while others shared shorter ones. Some people shared experiences amongst themselves in a small group. During Fa study, there was no eating or drinking. No one thought of it, regardless of how long the Fa study continued, no one felt thirsty. The entire atmosphere was very solemn, sacred, pure and peaceful.
July 19, 2010
