(Clearwisdom.net)

Looking inside should be just as natural as eating, sleeping, and breathing.

I didn't start to practice Falun Dafa early enough. Right after I started, the persecution began. Therefore, I didn't go through the stage of individual cultivation. I know what Dafa means to me, and felt sorry for myself that I didn't get to practice Dafa earlier. I was worried that I was behind the other practitioners, so I used all my spare time to study the Fa and actively participated in group exercises.

I know this is a large topic. Actually it's beyond my ability and level to discuss. However, there are two reasons why I want to say something on this topic.

Firstly, one day during our group study, when we shared understandings on looking inside, Practitioner C said, "Practitioner X started to practice Dafa in 1996. He's having tribulations since he doesn't know how to look inside, and therefore he's been stuck at the same level for too long. He doesn't like to be criticized. He'd jump if you pointed out his shortcomings. That's why he can't brave the tribulations."

Secondly, we have a fellow practitioner that started to practice Dafa in 1995. We don't know each other very well, yet he said to me, "I heard your name before. You are way ahead of us even though you started to practice late." This practitioner has also been trapped by an attachment. I didn't know what to say since all I wanted was for each one of us to catch up with Teacher's Fa-rectification progress, leaving nobody behind. In this way, we'd be able to form a whole body that's harmonious and unbreakable. Then we won't let Teacher down and Teacher won't have to worry about us that much.

Now let me talk about how our Fa-study group came to understand the Fa principle of looking inside.

There are four practitioners in our group. The oldest is seventy-five, and the youngest is in her forties. We went through the following phases before we developed deeper understandings of this Fa principle. First, we unconditionally looked inside. Then we couldn't find anything. Finally, we realized we didn't know how to look inside.

I was in the first stage. I started to practice Dafa pretty late, so I knew I was behind. My motto is to be humble and be more humble. On my cultivation path, I was never careless. Whatever Teacher asked us to do, I did it without any deviation. Every time I felt hurt, I recited the Fa. I told myself to firmly believe in Teacher and the Fa. Even when it appears to be the others' fault, still we definitely need to look inside. Indeed, I initially endured with tears. Eventually, Teacher helped me remove many black substances. I knew this since Teacher let me see it when Teacher did this for me.

Practitioner C was in the second stage. Her husband also practices Dafa, but he wasn't diligent. When their child started to have trouble with schoolwork, she was very worried and complained to me several times. Each time, I simply said, "Look inside. Look inside. Unconditionally look inside." I also said, "A Dafa practitioner's family shouldn't have this problem. You must have some issues that you need to work on now that you are experiencing this problem. Study the Fa. Study the Fa. Unconditionally look inside." After several times, C sighed, "I looked inside, but I didn't find anything."

Practitioner D was in the third stage. She is really a perfect wife and a very kind mother. She helped out with her husband and her son, even her grandkids. She did very well with the three things that Teacher asked us to do. Her family life had been very harmonious and she didn't experience many tribulations. She took on many responsibilities at home and at work. But then she started to have family issues. Her son's mother-in-law even came to criticize her. She cried about these things every time she explained her situation to me. I also simply said, "Look inside. Look inside. Unconditionally look inside." I emphasized, "As Falun Dafa practitioners, we must unconditionally look inside."

Once, her son and daughter-in-law criticized her again. She came to complain to me. I said, "We must listen to Teacher. Look inside." She couldn't take it anymore and said in tears, "I've already done so much. You still say I should look inside. I did. But I didn't find anything. I don't know how to look inside! I'm not satisfied with your answer. Anyways, I didn't do anything wrong!"

Suddenly I came to realize, "Teacher, I should look inside. Nothing happens as an accident around us. There must be something for me to improve on! I should unconditionally look inside! Why did I always emphasize to others that they should look inside instead of looking inside myself? This same situation has come up several times. How come I didn't get enlightened! Shame on me!"

When I had this thought, a voice came to me, "Looking inside doesn't necessarily mean you will find the exact issue. Instead, we are supposed to follow the Fa principles that Teacher taught us. We need to obey those thousands of mechanisms that Teacher installed in our bodies. We shouldn't twist against the Fa principles and those mechanisms! This is how we practice. Therefore, we must look inside, as naturally as we eat when we are hungry, drink water when we are thirsty, sleep when we are sleepy and breathe to live."

I shared this with the other three practitioners. They were all excited, "It is a hint from the Teacher." Each of us pushed through the stage where we were stuck. We improved on the Fa. We felt so happy and light. There were no words to describe our feelings. "...'the shade of willows, the blooms of flowers, a place to rest my head'!"(Zhuan Falun) We all smiled in tears. We didn't talk for a while. We were all so thankful to Teacher.

"Study the Fa and gain the Fa,
Focus on how you study and cultivate,
Let each and every thing
be measured against the Fa.
Only then, with that,
is it actually cultivation."

(Solid Cultivation from "Hongyin")

We know that there is a difference between knowing a Fa principle and truly following a Fa principle. Even though we wrote down what we enlightened to, we haven't really achieved the state of being able to look inside as naturally as we breathe. However, we will try our best.

The above is our personal understandings. Please correct me if I said anything inappropriate