Western Practitioner: Observations and Understandings from My Cultivation

Changes in the Form of Dafa Cultivation

Since beginning to practice Dafa in September of 2004, and visiting different cultivation environments in the US, I have seen a change in the group study and exercise site environments that Teacher has created for us. As a more recent student, I understand the importance of the environment that Teacher has created for us to share our experiences and help each other improve on our cultivation paths as quickly as possible. This is the environment where Dafa disciples can separate themselves from ordinary society and in a sense be purified from the contaminating factors of the ordinary world. The most common manifestation of this change that I have seen is that, involuntarily, practitioners' minds are very focused on projects. Therefore, it has become natural to neglect sharing experiences at group study or in exercise sites, as time is an issue. It is also possible that there may be attachments that could be causing this issue to manifest, such as fear from the attachment of what others might think. In my understanding, if we do not share experiences with each other, in a sense, we are going against the very form of cultivation that Teacher has created for us, slowing our improvements as individuals and as a whole.

In "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the US Capital 2006," Teacher said:

"It's just like Dafa disciples getting together to hold Fa conferences, getting together to study the Fa and share experiences, and doing the exercises together. Dafa disciples spend relatively little time in such a setting, and yet those are the only opportunities you have to discuss things and learn from each other."

Misunderstanding of Being Diligent

In reading the Fa that Master taught in Washington D.C. in 2006, I realized I had an incorrect understanding of the word "diligent". I thought that to be diligent meant to be doing Dafa things on a daily basis, such as studying the Fa, clarifying the truth, sending forth righteous thoughts, and doing the exercises. What I understood from Teacher is that to be diligent is to have a strict and firm will in keeping our minds on the Fa, to understand everything around us from the Fa, and that even the slightest things that we do, including our actions and speech, should be based on the Fa. If our minds are on the Fa at all times, then things like studying the Fa, clarifying the truth, sending forth righteous thoughts, and doing the exercises will naturally be done with the best results.

In, "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the US Capital 2006," Teacher said:

"Being diligent means that he is able to watch his words and actions closely every moment, pay close attention to his thoughts, and is able to be strict with himself, and is usually able to conduct himself strictly. That describes someone who is diligent in cultivation."

With this understanding, I can now understand some of our shortcomings in doing our projects. When we are being diligent, always having the Fa in our hearts, we will naturally know what to do as the Fa will guide us in how to do things. If our minds are filled with human thoughts, then we will handle things in human ways, and be stuck in a situation where we do not know how to handle it when problems arise. The worst part is that it won't have the effect of saving sentient beings.

In "Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Manhattan International Fa Conference," Teacher said,

"What's more, if you don't cultivate yourselves well and your righteous thoughts are lacking, when you handle certain things you will tend to slip into human ways of thinking, and then you won't be able to have the effect of saving sentient beings."

Deeper Understanding of Attachment to Comfort

In reading the book, "Our Teacher", I realized how our attachments control everything, from our character to even the slightest things that we do in our daily activities.

In the article, "Traveling with Master Before and After Falun Gong Was Introduced to the Public," the author states:

"Master is very dignified in his daily activities including walking, standing, sitting and laying down. "..."Even after so many years, I have never seen Master cross his legs or lean back when he sits on a sofa or a chair."

When we don't stand upright, or are sitting down with our legs crossed, and leaning back, the attachment to comfort is manifesting. As an example, it's like doing the Falun standing stance. At first, it is not a problem to hold the wheel, but as the karma starts to move to the arms, the karma will project its thoughts into our minds to put our arms down, as it does not want to be eliminated from the discomfort. I understand now that an ordinary person will naturally adjust his position after sitting or standing for a while as he/she starts to feel uncomfortable. A practitioner however, should treat it no differently than the Falun standing stance and eliminate the karma and attachment; thus projecting externally a manifestation of tolerance and dignity. One's attachment to comfort can be exposed even when sitting down initially such as slouching.

"What everyday people want is personal gain and how to live well and comfortably. Our practitioners are not this way, but exactly the opposite." (Zhuan Falun Lecture 4)

Seeing Oneself as a Cultivator

The whole process of cultivation is letting go of our humanness and transforming our minds to a higher level. When Teacher says that we need to understand the Fa from the Fa, what does that mean? At my current level, my understanding is that the Fa is what created everything around us. It is the nature of everything and is what creates the motion of everything. Therefore, Teacher's words and speech are the manifestation of the Fa in the human world, and are the way to understand everything around us. When we can eliminate our attachments, clearly understand and assimilate to the Fa, in essence, we are becoming this Fa; therefore we will understand the motion of everything, and everything will make sense at various levels. For a cultivator, every second of time and everything that happens around one is not by coincidence and has its arrangement; it just becomes an issue of understanding that arrangement, or the motion of the Fa.

In "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles 2006," Teacher said,

"From the day that a Dafa disciple takes up cultivation his whole life is rearranged. In other words, this life of yours is now the life of a cultivator. Nothing is by chance anymore, and nothing will happen just by chance. Everything on your life's journey is directly related to your improvement and cultivation. After the arrangements are made, nobody can change them. To change them would be to violate Heaven's laws. Only Master can change them."

What I have enlightened to is that we cannot use the concepts that we have understood within our human lifetime to understand the Fa.

"Of course, you cannot use the concepts of this dimension to understand it, and your body must meet the requirement of that dimension's form of existence." (Zhuan Falun, Lecture 1)

The same applies to the Fa: we cannot use what we have understood within our human lifetime to understand the Fa. We should be using Teachers' words in Zhuan Falun to understand everything around us. This is my understanding of what understanding the Fa from the Fa means at a certain level. If there are any misunderstandings, please provide corrections.