An Understanding of "Obtaining the Fa"

"Obtaining the Fa" has been one of the most frequently used phrases in discussions among Dafa disciples. However, on being asked what the exact meaning of "obtaining the Fa" is, practitioners are usually only able to give a general description of it. "When you obtain the Fa, Master will then take care of you; Master provides you with many Ji [mechanisms or machines] and you will increase your Gong by practicing, ..."

However, I felt this explanation was still very vague. It was just like the junior monk's explanation of consecration, "The Buddha statue will work after consecration." (From "Consecration" in Lecture 5 of Zhuan Falun) But it was not clear why the Buddha statue would work. The explanation is only superficial. I often thought about some questions that I was unable to answer. For example, for some phrases containing "Fa," such as obtaining the Fa, studying the Fa, rectifying the Fa, assimilating into the Fa and Fa particles, how do they relate to each other?

Of course, I could come up with many superficial relations among them. But I always thought there should be a simple, essential relation. "A great way is extremely simple and easy." (from Chapter One, "5. Five Exercises that are Easy and Simple to Learn," of The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa) and should be interpreted in a few words.

One day when I shared an experience with a fellow practitioner, a sentence she said raised my understanding at once. At least I obtained some enlightenment at my current level.

She said, "The reason why I am able to persist in practicing Falun Dafa during this difficult period is that I saw the 'Fa' when I practiced for the first time." Of course, I understood what she said was that she saw certain manifestations of the Fa. But when I heard her say of "seeing the Fa," I immediately understood many Fa principles.

In fact, the reason that I did not understand "obtaining the Fa" very deeply before is that I thought "obtaining the Fa" was obtaining the high level "instruction" and Master's protection, things like that. What I thought was not real and what I saw was not clear. My level limited my understanding.

Now I understand that the "obtaining" is neither getting something in everyday language, nor gaining or accepting something like a gift. In fact, it is the Fa's thorough transformation of a life, a whole preparation process through which the life can enter into a new universe, and formation of a whole set of mechanisms from the most microscopic to the most macroscopic.

After enduring tens of thousands of hardships and difficulties, a practitioner is finally able to obtain the Dafa of the cosmos at the time when the entire cosmos is being renewed. What is that? It is Master giving you a complete set of essentials of Dafa used to build the new cosmos of your life. In other words, it is your cosmic system obtaining a set of mechanisms of the new cosmic Fa.

It is a real, concrete system. Obtaining the Fa is just like having a set of purification equipment installed in your body according to the standard of the new cosmos (the analogy here is imprecise). It is like a portable purification factory. That is why Gods do not regard a person who has obtained the Fa as a human being anymore.

When a practitioner studies the Fa with a peaceful mind, he will enhance the mechanisms of Fa on his body. At the same time, he would make clear the cultivation principles of Fa in the human world and regulate his own behavior.

So our every single thought, idea or action that is based on the Fa would become an energy source for the purification factory. That is how our lives are cultivated by the Fa. Layer after layer of our bodies are purified from the microscopic to the macroscopic, which is the process of assimilating to the Fa (along the way, all beings in the cosmic system in our microscopic bodies would also be saved by assimilating to the Fa). Finally we will meet the requirements of lives in the new cosmos.

However, since our lives were created in the old cosmos and we had warped notions, we originally carried a set of degenerated Fa-principles from the old cosmos. The old forces tried to improve such a system and tried to purify the old cosmos by having Dafa disciples follow their arrangements. But did they realize parts of their equipment were already contaminated? How could it produce [something like] "pure water?"

The systems from both the Fa of the new cosmos and the Fa of the old cosmos simultaneously exist in Dafa disciples' bodies. Therefore, whether Dafa disciples carry themselves in a righteous manner or not is of critical importance. If we can persist with righteous thoughts and righteous actions according to Master's teaching, we will be cultivated in the mechanism of the new cosmic Fa that Master has installed in us. On the contrary, if our thoughts are not righteous, we will be interfered with and exploited by the mechanisms of the old forces.

The new cosmos will be in perfect harmony after Fa-rectification. That is because it experienced a lengthy development process as the colossal firmament was turned from new to old as it aged, and now a reverse transformation process from old to new is taking place by cultivating the old lives. The colossal firmament will finally complete a process from being born, death and followed by rebirth. After Fa-rectification, the new cosmos has a self-repairing mechanism. After that, the colossal firmament will not degenerate. "Heaven and earth will be stable, and the Fa will exist forever." ("When the Fa is Right" in Essentials for Further Advancement)

Disciples in the Fa-rectification period are lives closely associated with the Fa, lives closely associated with the cosmos going through the process of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction and finally becoming indestructible. Wherever such a life is, he will reflect the brilliance of the Fa of the new cosmos.
With this understanding, I recalled that in his lectures Master Li often reminded Dafa disciples to treasure this cultivation opportunity in the Fa-rectification. My mind is filled with all sorts of feelings.

Beings who have obtained the Fa should understand that all transformations are due to obtaining the Fa and originate from obtaining the Fa. The meaning of "obtaining the Fa" is so solemn and splendid that it is really hard to describe it in human language.

Translated from http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/11/21/19317.html