PureInsight | August 23, 2004
[PureInsight.org] As a non-Chinese Dafa practitioner, I have often longed to study the Fa in Chinese, learn Chinese and understand more about Chinese culture. I think all Western practitioners share a similar desire.
Master said in "Falun Buddha Fa - Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe",
"It's true, Chinese can represent my original words, without deviation. That's for sure, since it is in Chinese that I teach the Fa." "The language of the people in that region has greater inner meaning. Its entire development in history was arranged for the future dissemination of Dafa. Many arrangements were made for this." "So that nation has a rather ancient history. Its language is the richest in the world, has the greatest inner meaning, and is relatively more capable of expressing a concept of the universe so immense." "I know that many students want to read Chinese and understand my original words and their original meanings, which is of course the best—that's even better."
Over the last five to six months, I have been learning Chinese, mostly by myself and also with support from the veteran Chinese practitioners in nearby cities. I would like to share my experiences in learning Chinese.
1. I started learning basic Chinese through an audio CD course called the Pimsleur Language program. This comes in different varieties. The most economic one is a basic 8-lesson "Quick and Simple" version, which teaches enough Chinese for a person to be able to say hello, ask for directions, purchasing, places, etc. The other courses are supposed to more comprehensive, but are much more expensive.
Overall, I found the Pimsleur audio course to be very easy and helpful as my first step to learn Chinese.
2. I found out about a software program called Clavis Sinica, which functions as an electronic dictionary for Chinese texts, from another practitioner who was using it. I purchased the software for $40 (college students can get it for less), and found it really helpful and easy.
I first started copying Chinese text from Minghui.Net to the program to try to learn Chinese, because I was afraid that it might be disrespectful to study Master's Fa directly using an electronic dictionary. However, one of the first Chinese Minghui.Net articles that I read was about how a mother wanted to teach her 3 year old Chinese, and she was unsure about whether to teach him Chinese through reading Zhuan Falun. Eventually, she did so, and she was surprised to see how quickly the child read Chinese.
I took this as a hint from benevolent Master, and started studying the Fa in Chinese using this software. Now, I believe that I am capable of reading and understanding most of the characters that Master uses to teach the Fa.
One thing that I have noticed is that Master uses very simple words to teach the Fa. He also uses the most basic and common characters to teach the Fa, so I found it very easy to pick up and understand the characters through repeated study.
3. Once I finished the audio CD course and started reading the Fa through the software, it became easy for me to learn Chinese. There are several excellent books that enable one to learn Chinese by oneself. One of the best books that was recommended to me by the Chinese specialist at a library was a book called Beginning Chinese Reader by John DeFrancis. The book enables one to easily learn enough Chinese to have a meaningful conversation.
These are some of my experiences in learning Chinese. Over the last six months of learning Chinese, I believe that I am now able to understand quite a bit of spoken Chinese, am able to speak a little Chinese, and most importantly, am able to read and understand most of the words Master uses to teach the Fa. I hope that my experiences learning Chinese are helpful to other Western practitioners who would also like to learn Chinese.
Another practitioner asked me about what changes in my understanding had occurred after I began to study the Fa in Chinese. Here are some of my personal observations.
I have seen that the English translations have been very, very accurate. I don't find a difference in the surface meaning when I read them in Chinese using the electronic dictionary. What I find breathtaking is the amazingly simple and straightforward way in which Master teaches the Fa in Chinese. He uses the simplest and most basic characters (which is why I am now familiar with a lot of the characters Master uses to teach the Fa), and I now understand why Chinese practitioners say the Fa in Chinese is so simple that even kids and elderly grandmothers can read it and understand it.
Also, there is a difference in what I feel I enlighten to - but maybe that is because I pay much more attention to the meaning of the words when I read and learn Chinese at the same time (I have had real problems with concentration while reading the English book). After all, it is hard to study the Fa in Chinese if I am not paying attention to the surface meaning of the words that the electronic dictionary shows me!
I also noticed that the surface effect of studying the Fa in Chinese on my body is powerful. I was trying to follow along when they read the Fa in Chinese as a group, and I felt I was more quickly assimilated to the Fa. Or maybe it was because it was the first group study I could go to in a long time - I don't know.
Looking back at the reasons why I started to study the Fa in Chinese ... well, I went through a "sloppy" phase in my personal cultivation, and I started trying to study the Fa in Chinese to see if that would help strengthen my righteous thoughts. Actually, it was because I was spending too much time with my friends and being influenced by sentimentality and unrighteous elements, rather than taking time to study the Fa every day that I was making those mistakes. But, anyway, it has pushed me very hard to try to study the Fa in Chinese.
