(Clearwisdom.net)
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1995. In the course of my cultivation, I have met a lot of fellow practitioners. The special strengths of each one of them have illuminated my way and helped me to improve in my cultivation. Today, I would like to write about a fellow practitioner who has walked through rain and storms together with me.
What is her special strength? Actually, it is studying the Fa. It may not seem so special when I mention this, because after all, Teacher has emphasized studying the Fa in every lecture and we all know about this point. We study the Fa every day. Many other practitioners have also written articles on this subject. But I have come across so many practitioners, including myself, who from time to time become too lax and are no longer strict with themselves in Fa study.
For those of us doing Dafa work, the problem is more prominent. Even now, some practitioners still do not pay enough attention to Fa study. When they become too busy, they study the Fa very little, and when they do study the Fa, they cannot come to a state of tranquility. As a result,
"...it not only prevents you from improving, but also causes Dafa some losses,"
(Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston).
This situation has been prevalent recently among many practitioners in my district.
The strength of this certain fellow practitioner I am writing about, however, is exactly this: she pays great attention to Fa study. Since 1994 when she first started to practice, she has never relaxed her standards for herself in studying the Fa and she has kept doing it every day. No matter how busy she is, she always puts Fa study as her top priority. Nothing can deter her from studying the Fa. She makes sure that she reads through Zhuan Falun every three to four days, reading a minimum of two or three lectures each day. She is the same way when it comes to practicing the exercises. She insists on doing all five sets of exercises every day. If she misses one set of exercises during the day, she will make it up before going to sleep that night. It is hard to do this if one does not have enough solid determination and willpower .
This woman is also the contact person for her area, so she has many things to do every day. She has little time for herself during the day. In order to finish the many tasks she is responsible for, her Fa study has to be done during times normally reserved for sleeping and eating. She has to utilize her time strictly. For example, when she walks, cooks or goes shopping, she keeps reciting the Fa. She goes to bed at 11 p.m. and gets up at 3 a.m. each day. She has said that once in a while she may have a thought of relaxing a little and taking a rest, but as soon as this idea appears she banishes it right away. "No! I should absolutely not relax! I must listen to Teacher, in order to strive forward diligently; I need to be worthy of the compassionate salvation of Teacher." Thus she continues studying the Fa, copying the book by handwriting and reciting the Fa every day under such an intense and busy situation.
It seems that this practitioner has never been affected by any interference from the old forces. Since she has been studying the Fa so well for so long, her understanding of the Fa has become more and more profound. At the same time, it has established a strong foundation for her cultivation. No matter what problem she comes across, she can understand it rationally from the basis of the Fa. She can see clearly whether her own thoughts and behaviors, even a single idea, as well as the thoughts and behaviors of fellow practitioners, are in accordance with the Fa. She can remember immediately what Teacher says about a specific issue, and understands how we can correct ourselves in time. She also points out such issues to her fellow practitioners, with a compassionate heart.
This practitioner had said that through studying the Fa she has really experienced the importance of Fa-study. It is exactly as Teacher says,
"Fa-study truly is extremely important for a Dafa disciple, for a cultivator. No matter how difficult your environment is, no matter how busy you get, you cannot forget to study the Fa. You must study the Fa, because it is the absolute, most fundamental guarantee of your improvement"
(Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.).
She truly studies the Fa according to Teacher's requirement. Whenever she comes across any problems in cultivation, especially when she comes across any trouble in Dafa work or is moved by an everyday person's heart, she will stop immediately, no matter how urgent the work is. Then she calms herself down and studies the Fa -- no matter which Dafa book she is reading, she always makes certain that she is calm when she reads it. In this way, it is as if each word of Teacher's is directed at her current problem. Suddenly she understands everything and becomes enlightened. One minute ago the problem seemed hard to understand, now it looks so simple. One minute ago the tribulation looked so big, and no matter how hard you try you cannot pass it and it bothers you, but now you don't have any of that kind of feeling. You look back and find that it is nothing. The problems needing to be solved are all solved. The Fa has indicated the solution to you. It is too wonderful to describe it in words! This is the power of Dafa. This is the breakthrough to higher levels and to higher realms. This is the display of a layer of the Fa principle! Teacher said,
"As long as you study, any problem can be solved. As long as you cultivate and as long as you're able to understand the Fa from the Fa, there's nothing you can't achieve" (Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.).
Since Fa-study has been made such a solid foundation for this practitioner's cultivation, when faced with a big test, she continues to firmly believe in Dafa and she does not waver. When the evil pressed down on July 20, 1999, many practitioners were confused and did not know what to do. But she enlightened very soon to the understanding that Dafa disciples should step forward to validate the Fa, that Dafa disciples should safeguard the Fa. Through communication with each other, practitioners elevated their understanding of the Fa, and in October of 1999, several of us went to Beijing together. But we were not clear about what to do, and therefore, although many of us stepped forward, we did not all achieve the purpose of validating Dafa. But this practitioner did. She and another practitioner sat down to do the meditation on Tiananmen Square and called out loudly, "Falun Dafa is good!" At that moment all people present on the scene were shocked and were respectful towards them. She was calm and believed that she was doing the most righteous thing, that there was nothing to fear. Had she not studied the Fa well before the tribulation, it would have been hard for her to enlighten to this principle and to be able to accomplish what she did. She went back to Beijing to validate the Fa on several other occasions, and she was arrested and released several times, and suffered various tribulations. Under the guidance of the Fa and under the protection of Teacher she went through each hardship one by one.
It is important to mention her experience of walking out of the brainwashing class. In 2001 she was arrested and thrown into a brainwashing class. There she met fellow practitioners who had once stepped forward together with her to validate Dafa, and who had been arrested and tortured together with her. However, some of them, due to their shallow level of Fa-study, due to not being able to drop human attachments, under extreme coercion, enticement and deception, compromised and went over to the opposite side. Many of them assisted the "610 Office" in persecuting Dafa disciples, and even accepted a salary of more than 1,000 Yuan per month for what they were doing [notes: the "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems; 500 Yuan is the average monthly salary of an urban worker]. This is extremely sad. Some of these former practitioners became totally different people and even displayed a large aspect of demon nature, beating the steadfast Dafa disciples even more fiercely than did the police. Seeing these actions, our practitioner was shocked and felt sad for them. She shed tears and talked to them, recited Teacher's Fa and articles to them. She believed that it was her responsibility to help these fallen practitioners become clear-headed again. But they had become numb and did not receive her words at all. Their only purpose was to "transform" her.
They all knew that she studied the Fa very well so they made her the subject of intensified assault. Dozens of former practitioners played different roles, some playing the "nice guy," some playing the "bad guy," constantly pressuring her and claiming that they had enlightened to so-called "high level Fa principles" (which were actually just ridiculous and laughable nonsense). But to practitioners whose Fa study is shallow, that nonsense had certain fraudulent effects. She used Teacher's Fa to break through their evil enlightenment theories. Every one of her words was based squarely on Teacher's Fa; she recited the Fa paragraph by paragraph to them, she used the Fa to break through the lies one by one, and she used the Fa to debunk their arsenal of tricks and lies. In less than a few minutes these former practitioners failed. They faced the truth and had nothing to answer. By this time the leaders of the brainwashing class became flustered because they had already promised to the higher authorities that "the rate of transformation will reach 100%". They could not accept failure and still thought that there was a thread of hope. They grabbed the "expert" from our practitioner's local area, but this person was not able to say much before retreating in failure and shame. Finally nobody dared to try to transform her. In a few days our practitioner's body presented signs of disease and she was sent back home. When her husband came to pick her up, the police said to her husband, "In the future we will never say anything about transformation to her anymore. If she does not go to Beijing and get us in trouble, she can do anything she wants. She can go back home to practice, we will not bother her." Thus this practitioner quickly left behind the test of the brainwashing class. Later she said, "At the critical moments the power of the Fa manifests itself. It is as Teacher said,
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts"
(Drive Out Interference).
Fellow practitioners, if every one of us can do this, the old forces will not be able to exploit our loopholes, and even the most meticulous arrangement cannot be actualized nor exert any effect. They will not have any tricks. At present, along with the fast progress of the Fa rectification, the Fa has a higher requirement for us and requires us to assimilate to the Fa and elevate as quickly as possible and do the "three things" that Teacher asks us to do. Otherwise, not studying the Fa
"... not only prevents you from improving, but also causes Dafa some losses" (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston).
Let us take a look at how this fellow practitioner is doing at the present time. With respect to Fa-study, she keeps doing the same thing; besides reading Teacher's various lectures, she completely reads through Zhuan Falun every three to four days. She is still very busy every day and still has a great deal of Dafa work to do. She also sends righteous thoughts at least nine times every day, and she insists on completing the five sets of exercises every day.
Teacher writes,
"Study the Fa and obtain the Fa,
Share in learning and share in cultivating,
Following [the Fa] in everything,
Compliance is cultivation."("Solid Cultivation" from Hong Yin)
If we compare ourselves with this practitioner, do we see where we fall short? Teacher has also said,
"There are a lot of things you still aren't able to do well as Dafa disciples, though, and I can tell you that this is in fact because you've neglected Fa-study"
(Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston).
Fellow practitioners, time is pressing! We cannot relax ourselves any more. We must advance diligently! Especially as the Fa rectification has entered the final moment, studying the Fa well becomes even more important. This is the fundamental guarantee of our elevation in cultivation and it will help us walk our path righteously! Only in this way can we do our present tasks well, can we completely and totally deny the arrangement of the old forces, and can we consummate our prehistoric vows! Finally, let us use Teacher's poem, "Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions" to encourage ourselves!
"A Great Enlightened Being does not fear hardship
Having forged an adamantine will
And with no attachment to living or dying
He walks his path of Fa-rectification openly and nobly"
