PureInsight | May 20, 2012
[PureInsight.org] In “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Master said, “When some people read Zhuan Falun they are not concentrating, but rather, thinking about other things, and not able to focus their attention on cultivation. It thus amounts to wasting time. And not just wasting time—instead of it being the time when they are to be elevating, they are using their minds to think over issues and things that they shouldn’t concern themselves with, and thus, not only aren’t they elevating, but on the contrary, they are often dropping in level. If you don’t study the Fa well, there are many things you will not be able to do well.” Here I would like to share some experiences of mine.
I was unable to concentrate when studying the Fa and there were always other things on my mind. I knew the situation was not right but felt powerless to change it. Because of poor Fa-study, I did not do the three things well. One day I had a dream where a train came and fellow practitioners showed me the train. I felt relieved and even told another practitioner that I climbed onto the train myself. However, recently I fell and dislocated my arm. This event forced me to wake up, and I discovered the following human notions when looking within.
1. Selfishness and the Attachment of Fear
Based on the Fa, we know that we should become more and more diligent as our cultivation continues. For me, however, it seems now I have more and more fears. Sometimes I thought, although I have cultivated for more than 10 years, if the evil arrested me, I may not be able to continue cultivating and may even die of torture. In addition, I was afraid of being misunderstood by others since that would hurt my self-esteem and make me lose face. As a result, I missed many truth-clarification opportunities. In addition, I lacked patience and sincerity when telling people the facts about Falun Dafa.
2. The Attachment of Struggling
I clarified the truth to a construction crew the other day. People understood it and all agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Then I distributed truth-clarification materials to them, including truth-clarification cards. Then another person came, saying I was getting involved in politics and was against the CCP. I became upset because he almost ruined my efforts. Out of anger, I defeated him with harsh words. However, when seeing other people accept The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, he also took a copy. Later, I realized that I was wrong to argue with others with the attachment of struggling. As practitioners, we should be compassionate and considerate towards others.
In the poem “Don’t Argue” from Hong Yin III, Master said,
“Don't argue when people argue with you
Cultivation is looking within for the cause
Wanting to explain just feeds the attachment
Breadth of mind, unattached, brings true insight”
3. The Attachments of Showing Off and Zealotry
These attachments would surface often when I clarified the truth well and many people agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
4. Seeking Comfort
Due to the attachment of comfort, I did not put in enough effort and missed many opportunities to clarify the truth.
5. Validating Myself
Once when clarifying the facts about Falun Dafa to a police station chief, everything I said demonstrated that I was a good person but failed to validate the Fa.
6. Looking Within Restored My Dislocated Arm
There are only two practitioners in this area including me. The other practitioner was illiterate and could not read. When we began to the study the Fa, I showed her how to read, sentence by sentence. She can read now, but very slowly. For this reason I prefer to study the Fa on my own, without this practitioner. With such thoughts, I have already deviated from being a genuine practitioner.
After the accident I had, due to the pain of my dislocated arm, I could only sit in the bed and was even unable to dress myself. I was able to cover myself with a quilt, but could not sleep so I watched Master's video lectures during the day and listened to the audio lectures in the evening. This continued for four days. I realized something was not right and decided to apologize to the fellow practitioner in my area. In addition, a worker at the construction site was still waiting to receive my book. While enduring the pain, I asked Master for help. I slowly put on my clothes and walked to the construction site. I couldn’t find the worker I was looking for. Then I went to the practitioner's place and studied the Fa with her.
At 5pm, the practitioner said she would cook something so we could have dinner together. Seeing her holding some green vegetables in her hand, I began to recall an incident. On my way to her place several days ago, I went to a farm I knew well and picked some green vegetables without telling the farmer, who I knew well. In the scripture “Sage” from Essentials for Further Advancement, Master says, “...he is full of great aspirations while minding minor details...” When looking back, I realized that was stealing, and doing something a practitioner should not do. Although this may seem trivial, I needed to be strict with myself and apologize to the farmer. As I was thinking about this, my dislocated arm bone rolled like a ball and was restored. In less than one second, my arm could move freely. I was shocked by this and could not speak for a while. Then with excitement, I told my fellow practitioner about this. I also waved my arm to show her. She was also very happy. We both realized that, as practitioners, we have to look within.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2012/3/9/81060.html
