PureInsight | August 10, 2021
[PureInsight.org] When communicating with fellow practitioners, I am always moved by their diligence. For instance, it is most difficult for me to do exercises in very early morning. Therefore, I admire practitioners who can persist with this task. Once, I asked an old fellow practitioner, "Can you get up in the early morning?" She said, "I get up at about 3am and do exercises for two and a half hours, then send forth righteous thoughts at 6 o'clock, and after that, I will study Fa for an hour. Upon finishing Fa study, I will cook my breakfast." I felt proud of her and said, "You’re doing a very good job." She said, "The beginning stage was challenging. But later I feel uncomfortable if I don’t get up punctually. Doing morning exercises is the beginning of diligence."
"Diligence starts with morning exercises," I found this reasonable. "Morning Exercise" is the first and compulsory class. Because I couldn't get up in the morning, Master often gave me kind reminders: Sometimes I slept with a cat in my dream (lazy cat); I often sleep near the water (snooze) in my dream. It is common for me to fall asleep, and I also know that it is to enrich the "lazy" demon. Sometimes I felt angry with myself. Why I cannot make progress? Will I die if I sleep less? Let the laziness go and I get up! But after doing this for a few days, I still cannot do the exercises regularly. In fact, studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and saving people requires perseverance. The motivation of a cultivator comes from the Fa, and only when he is mentally firm can he put into action.
When listening to "Recalling Master’s Grace with a Thankful Heart", a fellow practitioner recalled, "When the scene ended that day, I saw two bodhisattvas in the sky. One said that these people are really amazing and they have gone through many hardships. The other bodhisattva said that you can choose only one in ten thousand." I felt a bit sad when I heard this. What does "enduring hardship" mean? What does "choose one in ten thousand" mean? When we followed Master and descended to the Earth, did we have any laziness? Have we ever slacked off our cultivation? We might die on the Earth if we could not fulfill our mission.
It has been arduous to keep cultivating ourselves since the persecution in 1999. Morning exercises is not a great deal for cultivators who have excellent inborn quality and enlightenment quality. An average person may do the exercises on and off. Some people do the exercises only once every few days. Even some people say, “Though I don’t do the exercises often, I work hard on my heart.” In the past few years, some fellow practitioners passed away, while some people gave up cultivation. That is to say, it is too easy to be eliminated from cultivation. You will lose your confidence if you cannot go on with cultivation. Nobody will force you to do morning exercises, send forth righteous thoughts, study Fa and save people, which poses the hardship in cultivation practice. We’re aware of the requirements of Dafa and have tried to raise our level of cultivation. When we made less efforts, we felt sorry indeed. If we really didn’t carry out a task properly, we might feel regressive.
Our daily work looks ordinary, though everything has been arranged. Demerit point deduction will be incurred if we do not handle something well. There is morning work in the morning, daytime work during the day, and evening work at night. There seems to be a main thread in daily life, and that is the path of our own cultivation. It involves factors in social life to facilitate cultivation.
An article even said that a guardian god will grade Dafa disciples every day. Ten points are deducted for running red lights, and 10 points are deducted for watching pretty girls. How much should that be if we didn’t do the exercises well? I guess at least 30 points or more? A diligent person will not relax in the morning exercises. Only when you learn the Fa well can you be motivated. We often think about Master’s expectations and the devotion for his disciples and think about the heavenly sentient beings looking forward to the return of their kings. Then we would be passionate about cultivation. We nearly went through all kinds of hardships and could not find any excuse for not doing well in morning exercises.
We should remind us constantly: Don’t slack off. Just strive forward vigorously. We can try to send forth righteous thoughts more frequently. This is to dispel the haze in the universe and take every opportunity to convey the truth of Dafa to the people. The sentient beings are the wealth of the universe. More importantly, we should cultivate ourselves well.
Master said in Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference, “Without your improvement, nothing can be achieved, and that includes saving sentient beings. If you fail to improve and achieve Consummation, where will the sentient beings that you save go? Who will take them?”
Cultivation is to endure hardships. Let joy be found in difficult circumstances. If you can achieve this state, can anything stop you cultivating Dafa?
How time flies! If I cannot do exercises in day time, can I do this in the evening? However I feel sleepy in the evening and want to put off the task till the following day. In such a case, I should not hesitate but to take a step forward. One day, I decided to do Falun Standing Stance, the second exercise, at night. However I was busy doing something else till 11pm. I really wanted to lie down on the bed. At such a critical moment, I was determined to do the second exercise for an hour. I could feel Master’s blessing, with my energy field getting strong. I didn’t feel tired at all. On finishing the exercise, I spent twenty minutes sending forth righteous thoughts. I simply made it.
A fellow practitioner said that we should review the areas that need to improve in our practice. Did we have any fault and can we rectify ourselves with the guidance of Dafa? I totally agree with this. Meanwhile, I send forth righteous thoughts to purge the habit of competing with other people, the ego and human lust. I will remove the things that had made me feel seriously attached. Then I recite, “The Fa rectifies the Cosmos; all evils are eliminated.” Finally I was asleep.
I feel pleasant when I purify and upgrade myself from morning exercises till the day ends.
Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/266742
