Why Do I Practice The Cultivation Of "Zhen-Shan-Ren?"

[Minghui Net] Editor's note: Dr. Lu, the author of this article is a college professor in China. His wife and six other practitioners from the same university were illegally sentenced to 1 year in labor camp for going to beijing and validating Dafa at Tiananmen Square. I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, and I am also an academic. As an academic, I would like to talk about why I practice the cultivation of "Zhen-Shan-Ren [Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance]" of Falun Dafa. Teacher Li Hongzhi pointed out in Zhuan Falun [the essential book for Falun Dafa cultivation], "To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up the human attachments." In Zhuan Falun (Volume~{"r~}) [no English version of this book is available] he said, "It is very difficult to eradicate the acquired consciousness and conception because this is just the cultivation practice." The human attachments, according to my personal understanding, are something stored in the human brain in the form of notions. Now I would tentatively take the issue of human notions as the point of discussion and talk about my basic understanding of this issue. 1. The Formation of Notions There exist a variety of notions in everyone's mind, which, right or wrong, are all acquired postnatally in one's social life and practice. It is impossible for the formation of human notions to transcend the restriction of the social environment. This is also the fundamental reason why Marx claimed that in a class society, the ideology of the ruled class is in fact just a reflection of that of the ruling class; in order to maintain its fundamental interests, the ruling class has to infiltrate its own ideology into every aspect of the social domain so that in such a social environment, all the thoughts of the ruled class are stamped with the deep brand of the ruling class. In fact, there is nothing wrong in this because, in some sense, this is one of the important conditions for the stable development of a society. Nowadays, we may consider some ancient notions very ridiculous. In fact, if we had lived during that time, we would have conducted ourselves according to the same set of notions. We may regard the feverish faiths of the Red Guards in the Great Cultural Revolution as very ridiculous. But please recall, most of us at that time felt it very normal to have those feverish faiths, and, on the contrary, one without such fanaticism would looked upon as being abnormal. Why do so many good and kind-hearted Westerners believe in Christianity? It is because they live in such a social environment where Christianity is believed. Why do so many good and kind-hearted Tibetans believe in Buddhism? It is because they live in such a social environment where Buddhism is believed. Those of us who do not believe in Christianity or Buddhism should not take the Christians and the Buddhists as inconceivable or even foolish. Suppose we lived in their social environments, we would very likely be the same. Many of us often consider this thought or that view as correct. But if we jump out of the social environment and look back, we will probably realize that all those acquired notions are wrong regardless of what thoughts or views they are! What is the existing form of the acquired notions in one's brain? Currently, we cannot give a clear answer to this question yet. However, we believe that any notion in one's brain is bound to have its specified material base of existence. Otherwise, such an existence, which is completely empty without a material base in one's brain, will become inconceivable and unbelievable to us. For example, there is such a concept in my brain, "One plus one makes two." If the concept has no material base of existence in my brain when I don't say or don't think about it, why can I make the statement "One plus one makes two" when I want to express it? In addition, if I could really make the statement without any material base of existence, why did I try hard to remember the elementary knowledge "One plus one makes two" when I was young? Socrates claimed that one's memory is like the mimeograph stencil, which gives a brand to the brain, and the memory will not disappear if the brand is not lost. Freud held that one's memory is a variety of traces, which are kept in the brain, and there would be no memory without the traces. Bartlett mentioned that one's memory is a reconstruction of the past. J. Z. Young said that one's memory is something stored in his brain in a certain form of a secret code. Although these theories have differences, in my opinion, they all have directly or indirectly implicated that the existence of notions in one's brain is not emptiness or nothing, but should have their specified material base.   2. The Function of Notions There are different thoughts and actions between one person and another because there are different notions in their brains. The different thoughts and actions will bring about different feelings to them. For example, as a mathematician, why can he think about mathematical questions? It is because there is a set of systematic mathematical notions in his brain. During the course of getting on with mathematical analyses, he will sometimes become upset and sometimes become excited; he will fully experience a variety of complicated feelings when he thinks about mathematical questions. Some people like to play weiqi [a game played with black and white pieces on a board of 361 crosses---translator], because in the course of playing they will attain various indescribable feelings such as happiness and pain in this black and white world. Many people are fond of staying in Internet cafes to play. For some of them, they will be able to forget the worries and sadness in the real life when they concentrate on surfing the Internet world... What on earth, then, is the human mind or human thinking? I hold that thinking is in fact just a manifestation of the matter movement of one's brain, the purpose of which is to actively mirror and understand the objective world. It is known that the electric waves of one's brain will display obvious differences at different states of thinking. Wouldn't this indicate that the process of one's thinking is one of the motion of matter in his brain, and one's thinking could not occur without the matter moving in his brain. What, then, are human feelings about? In my opinion, the motion of matter inside the body stimulates the internal sensory organs; the organs then convert them into specific energy signals, which stimulate the brain and form a specific form of sensory reaction. This is like one's skin (a kind of external sensory organ) that is stimulated with boiling water, which will leave a kind of specific sensory reaction or "scalding" to the brain in the end. Although there are different forms of the motion of matter, they are all sensory reactions in response to the motion of matter, bearing the same principles. Of course, the relationships among the human notions, human thoughts and actions, as well as human feelings are very complicated and not as simple as explained above. However, it is an obvious fact that human notions play an important role on human thoughts and actions as well as upon human feelings. Such being the case, a person's various thoughts and actions, as well as feelings, are closely related to various acquired notions in one's brain. Such notions affect not only the existing forms of the motion of matter in one's brain, but also the existing states of the motion of matter inside his body. Nowadays, many people don't know this principle, so they commit a lot of wrong deeds under the domination of a variety of desires such as for fame and interest. One is very clear about what is on his mind during the course of doing so, but he doesn't really know that what he feels has in fact indicates that his body is in a very disordered state of the motion of matter, which is ruining his health intrinsically. To speak more seriously, it is as bad as committing suicide slowly. As the average people, of course, our situations are not so severe yet [as committing suicide ]. But the same is true with our various bad notions formed in the human society, which have also been controlling our thoughts, actions and feelings, as well as harming our health as a result. Therefore, in order to keep ourselves equipped with good thoughts and actions as well as to maintain good mental states, we must pay attention to our own moral characters and get rid of a variety of acquired bad notions in our brains. Only in this way, can we genuinely make our minds and bodies reach the best state of the motion of matter and change ourselves fundamentally.   3. The Eradication of Notions The developmental history of the human ideology has indicated that human notions have been changing constantly. As a matter of fact, if we can think about our own experience of thoughts, haven't our notions been changing in certain ways? Therefore, it is completely possible to eradicate the acquired bad notions in our brains. As Falun Dafa practitioners, what criterion shall we follow to eradicate those bad notions in our brains? The criterion is the characteristics of the universe "Zhen-Shan-Ren", which Teacher Li has been teaching us again and again. "Zhen-Shan-Ren" is the Fa [law and principles of the universe] with incomparably great and profound connotations, which cannot be realized by a non-practitioner. Here, I would briefly share my personal understanding only from the perspective of eradicating notions. During the development of human ideology, especially the development of scientific ideology, we can see clearly that human beings constantly get rid of the old notions and accept new notions. What factors, then, restrict humans in this process? If we think conscientiously, it is not difficult to find out that an important factor is "truthfulness." Why has the human race discarded the geocentric theory [the Earth is the center of the cosmos] and accepted the modern cosmism [the Earth is only one of the planets in the cosmos]? It is because people realize that the geocentric theory is false and the modern cosmism is true. Of course, what humans consider as true is not absolute, as it is restricted by various factors such as the social developmental level in science and technology and the human practical ability, etc. The reason why people in those years accepted the geocentric theory is because they believed it was true and that theory had indeed explained a lot of astronomical phenomena. It is just during the course of constantly seeking after truthfulness that the human race makes progress step by step on scientific notions and scientific ideology. In order to tally our understanding with the objective laws so as not to be restricted by them, we must believe in "Zhen." [truth, truthfulness] By observing all kinds of people around us, we can see the huge differences between the mental state of a benevolent person and that of a vicious person. It is impossible for a vicious person to experience the glorious feelings that a benevolent person has in being compassionate and helping others. Nowadays, many people cannot understand those engaged in charitable works, "How foolish these people are! They spend so much time, energy, and money without gaining anything. What for?!" In fact, those who are engaged in charitable works attain many great glorious feelings in the process, which those who consider them as "foolish" cannot genuinely comprehend and understand. If we acknowledge that all human feelings are in fact sensory reactions to the motion of matter inside the body, the above phenomena exactly illustrate that benevolence plays a great role in the course of remaking the existing state of the motion of matter inside one's body. In other words, benevolence enables a person to reach the best state of the motion of matter insider his body and to attain the best feeling of mind. Isn't this Nature's best reward to the benevolent people for their kind deeds? Can a vicious person attain such a reward? No. What he gains is only a completely opposite retribution. Therefore, if we can constantly use compassionate thoughts to get rid of our evil mentality, we are bound to constantly have the experience of the great strength of benevolence that essentially improves ourselves. Certainly, it is also self-evident that benevolence plays a great role in stabilizing the society as well as the mutual relationships among people. If a family doesn't believe in benevolence, the family will disintegrate; if a social group doesn't believe in benevolence, the social group will collapse; if the human race doesn't believe in benevolence, it will be faced with wars and catastrophes. No matter from which angle, we should all indeed believe in "Shan." [benevolence, kindness, compassion] The process of removing a variety of acquired bad notions in one's brain is in fact a rather painful one. This is because anything in one's brain all has its specified material base of existence, and thus, removing notions in one's brain will, in essence, just mean changing the notions' material base of existence. At the same time of changing one's own notions, one will often experience some relevant sensory reactions, even extremely painful sensory reactions. This is also a very significant reason why many people are unwilling to change their conventional notions. In the eradication of various bad notions, we quickly discover that the more the notions are concerned with one's personal interest, the more difficult to give up, and the more pained we will feel while getting rid of it. Please look at those persons with strong desires for fame and interest. If such a person gains a little bit of interest, he will be filled with joy; instead, if he loses a little bit of interest, he will become extremely agonized. It is by no means an easy thing to ask him to give up the mentality of seeking after fame and interest! Therefore, in order to get rid of the acquired bad notions, one has to endure suffering. While enduring the sufferings, he will gradually discard a lot of bad stuff in his body and constantly make the existing state of the motion of matter inside his body change from bad to good as well as from slightly better to even better. For instance, a gambler cannot give up the gambling habit without the endurance of suffering. A drug addict cannot remove the drug habit without the endurance of suffering. Now let me take something common like "smoking" as an example. When a smoker's craving for cigarette begins to show its effects, this means that, in my opinion, inside his body there is some harmful motion of matter, which is stimulating his brain so as to bring about such a specific sensory reaction in his brain. In order to stop smoking, he will have to endure suffering. At the beginning he will experience extreme pain, which is a significant reason why many smokers feel it very difficult to stop smoking although they are clear that smoking is harmful. However, if he is determined to endure the suffering, the more he endures, the less the intensity of the suffering becomes. While enduring to the end, he will be able to give up the bad habit. If as a specific sensory reaction in one's brain, the craving for cigarette is closely related to the motion of matter inside his body, then this exactly shows that, in changing the existing state of the motion of matter inside one's body, endurance also plays a great role that can't be substituted of. Therefore, in order to remove various acquired bad notions in our brains as well as change the existing state of the motion of matter inside our bodies, we of course should still believe in "Ren." [endurance, forbearance, tolerance] What I said above is a bit of my personal shallow understanding of why I practice the cultivation of "Zhen-Shan-Ren" of Falun Dafa. In the cultivation practice of Falun Dafa, one should just take the characteristic of the universe "Zhen-Shan-Ren" as the criterion to constantly eradicate various acquired bad notions, namely all the attachments including the desires stored in one's brain. While eradicating them, both one's mind and body will naturally stay in an improving state of the motion of matter. At the same time, it is certain that his body will remain in the state of being purified constantly. Perhaps there are some people who think, "If all the attachments and desires are given up, what interests will one have in life?" In fact, practitioners will not and should not interfere in whatever other people seek after. For an ordinary person, it is very normal that he has this or that attachment and desire, and he may not hesitate to live in this interesting way. But at the least, his attachments and desires should not harm other people and human society. Otherwise, such an attachment or desire should all be restrained and given up. In the human society today there exist more and more problems such as corruption and degeneration, robbery and embezzlement, committing murder and arson, prostitution, homosexuality and drug abuse, as well as racial enmity, environmental pollution, border clashes, the "star war," nuclear weapons and nuclear wars, etc. All these problems severely imperil the human society and even the existence of the human race itself, this despite the human material wealth becoming more and more rich and the human living standards being much better than in the past. As a matter of fact, if we can gain an insight into the source of all the problems, it is not difficult to discover that they are all the outcome of the vicious expansion of human desires. We have always been emphasizing social stability and world peace. In fact, it is the vicious expansion of human desires that is the largest threat to social stability and human peace. It is a pity that few leaders of our mankind presently have a genuine understanding of what is the nature of human desires. Under the domination of their various desires, they have been following their own feelings, "I'm all for this, and I'm all against that!" I can't help asking them, "My honorable great leaders, where on earth do you want to guide the human race to?!" Certainly, as a genuine practitioner, one should remove all the attachments and desires of his own, even if his attachments and desires don't harm the other people and the human society. Why? In the eyes of a practitioner, any attachments and desires bring about the specific motion of matter inside his body as well as the specific mental feelings under specific conditions. As a practitioner, he isn't like an ordinary person who only seeks after the mental feelings but instead he cares about whether or not the motion of matter inside his body shown by the mental feelings will genuinely benefit his health of both mind and body. For instance, for an ordinary person, a certain attachment or desire is what he seeks after as he likes to accept the mental feelings brought about by the attachment or desire under specific conditions. However, for a practitioner, the same attachment or desire is what he wants to give up because he thinks that the motion of matter inside his body formed by such an attachment or desire under specific conditions doesn't genuinely benefit his health of both mind and body. Some people may ask, "If one gives up all the attachments and desires, isn't he like a 'wooden man?' Is he still a normal person?" Please don't worry. For a practitioner, he doesn't seek after the specific mental feelings, but he will attain much better mental feelings than those of a non-practitioner. It is because as a practitioner, in the course of giving up all the attachments and desires, his body will stay in an improving state of the motion of matter, which will of course bring about the better mental feelings to him. In addition, because practitioners always conduct themselves according to the criterion of "Zhen-Shan-Ren", all genuine practitioners will benefit other people and the human society. These principles, I think, are very difficult to be genuinely understood by a non-practitioner. Only during the course of the cultivation practice, can a practitioner truly realize and understand such principles. Human nature is constantly seeking after the truth. Since "Zhen-Shan-Ren" is the truth and the characteristic of the universe, more and more people in the world will be bound to accept it and use it to guide their thoughts and actions. For this reason, the whole human society of ours will also become even more magnificent. As a practitioner, I know that this is an inexorable trend of the historical development, and is an objective law independent of anyone's will.   Lu Lingqi (pseudonym) April 4, 2001