(Clearwisdom.net) [Note from the translator: In Zhuan Falun, the Chinese term "Zhen Zheng" was translated into different words in English, including "true," "truly," "real," "really," "genuine," "genuinely," etc.]
I started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, nine years ago. However, I have many attachments, and my enlightenment quality is not good, so I have not been improving very fast. My body continues to experience the tribulations of sickness karma, and I always have the feeling that I cannot really do much about it. Once when sharing experiences, a fellow practitioner said to me, "You should try to enlighten more on the Fa." I was very shocked when I heard this. At first I felt a bit wronged. I have a lot of time at home since I'm retired, and I study the Fa very regularly and know numerous Fa principles, so how could someone say that I needed to enlighten on the Fa? Although I did not immediately realize what the issue was, I felt that since a fellow practitioner mentioned it, it must be that I did not do well in this regard. The only way to find out the real issue was to study the Fa, but how would I study it? Should I just read it over and over like before? Recently on "Minghui Weekly" there have been many articles by fellow practitioners that talk about the benefits of memorizing the Fa. I was greatly illuminated by this, and I decided to start memorizing Zhuan Falun.
I am almost 70 years old, and I felt that my ability to memorize things had indeed deteriorated. Thus I decided to memorize Zhuan Falun sentence by sentence--just get to a period each time. I read one sentence at a time over and over, and repeatedly tried to memorize it, until I got it down very well. Although I have read the Fa many dozens of times, most of the time I would just read it through. I did not pay special attention to measure myself with the Fa or carefully think about its relationship to the people, principles, and things that are happening around me. Most understandings I achieved were based on just the superficial meanings of the words. But once I started memorizing the Fa it was totally different. I suddenly saw Fa principles that I had missed. I have benefited greatly from it.
When I read Zhuan Falun over and over, although I saw the characters for the word "Zhen Zheng" many times, it never drew my attention. I did not feel the weight attached to these two characters. In my endeavor to memorize Zhuan Falun I am still on Lecture Four, but what appears most frequently in my mind, impresses me the most, and is most closely related to the people, things and principles around me, is the word "Zhen Zheng," and the Fa-principle that goes with it. I would like to share with fellow practitioners my limited understanding at my current level. If anything is inappropriate, please point it out and correct me, so that we can truly improve.
1. The Weight of the Characters for the Word "Zhen Zheng"
In Zhuan Falun, Teacher always used "Zhen Zheng" with the crucial Fa-principles. I feel that these two characters weigh tens of thousands of pounds! The reason is that whether or not we are able to achieve "Zhen Zheng" defines the difference between humans and gods, and it determines the results of the things we do, whether they are good or bad, successful or unsuccessful. If we are able to follow "Zhen Zheng," then there will be no faking, self-deception, glossing things over, being hypocritical, absent-mindedness, or carelessness in anything we do in cultivation. Teacher said,
"Cultivation practice is not child's play. It is more serious than anything of everyday people--it isn't something to take for granted." ("Practicing Cultivation After Retirement" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Now let me list the places Teacher uses "Zhen Zheng" in the first several pages of Zhuan Falun, and let us try to enlighten on it together.
Teacher said,
"Offering salvation to humankind means that you will be truly practicing cultivation, and not just healing illness and keeping fit. Accordingly, genuine cultivation practice has a higher xinxing requirement for practitioners. Everyone sits here to learn this Dafa, so you must here conduct yourselves as true practitioners, and you must give up attachments."
"I do not talk about healing illness here, and neither will we heal illness. As a genuine practitioner, however, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body. I will purify your body. The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa. We emphasize one point: If you cannot relinquish the attachment or concern for illness, we cannot do anything and will be unable to help you."
"One should return to one's original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human. Therefore, once a person wants to practice cultivation, his or her Buddha-nature is considered to have come forth. Such a thought is most precious, for this person wants to return to his or her original, true self and transcend the ordinary human level."
"To fundamentally resolve these issues, we must treat everyone as genuine practitioners."
"Genuinely teaching a cultivation system requires teaching the Fa or the Tao. In ten lectures I will make known all of the high-level principles so that you can practice cultivation. Otherwise, you cannot practice cultivation at all." (Zhuan Falun, 2000 Translation Version)
Fellow practitioners, we have just studied these several paragraphs of Fa. Do we now have a deeper impression of the word "Zhen Zheng" and its weight in our cultivation? When we do not truly follow Teacher's Fa-principles in doing things, we will not be able to truly meet Teacher's requirements, there will not be any miracles, and we will not become true disciples. Fellow practitioners, let us truly advance diligently! Let us truly relinquish disease, life and death, truly eliminate our attachments to fame and material gain, and we will return home with Teacher.
2. Truly Believe in Teacher and the Fa
Thinking back on the course of my cultivation path since 1998 when I started the practice, I indeed went through big and small tribulations. Which ones did I pass? Which ones did I stumble on and not pass well? Which ones did I fall down on and fail to pass? When I summarize these I really do see many lessons. I think that the most crucial thing is whether or not we consider ourselves as genuine practitioners and whether or not we truly believe in Teacher and the Fa. Teacher said,
"Live with no pursuit,
Die not caring about staying;
Clear out all wild thoughts,
Cultivating to a Buddha is not hard."
("Nonexistence" from Hong Yin, Translation Version B)
If we can really do this, then no tribulations can stop us.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to rampantly suppress Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. They arrested practitioners all over China and forced them into brainwashing sessions. I did not study the Fa enough and had many human notions, including the attachment of fear. I did not conduct myself as a true cultivator and did not truly believe in Teacher and the Fa. Due to all these reasons, under pressure from the authorities, I signed the three statements against my will. I compromised with the evil and did something that a Dafa disciple should not do. This has left a stain in my cultivation that can never be erased. Although later I declared that I would cultivate again, after making such a mistake on the path of cultivation, it is a lifelong regret! When I look around myself I see so many practitioners who closely followed Teacher and Dafa and did not cooperate with any CCP demands or orders. Under Teacher's protection, they righteously removed themselves from the evil's grasp. We can only walk a straight path of cultivation if we truly believe in Teacher and the Fa.
Now I would like to talk about the sickness tribulations of two fellow practitioners close to me. Due to the different degrees of their belief in Teacher and the Fa, the consequences were completely different.
Practitioner A was a little less than 50 years old. In 2003 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before the persecution started on July 20, 1999, her cultivation was not bad. After July 20, the brutal persecution by the Chinese communist regime, along with many pressures from society, her workplace, and her family had interfered with her studying the Fa and practicing the exercises regularly. She also rarely contacted or shared experiences with fellow practitioners, and she did not truly do the three things Teacher told us to do. Thus, when the sickness karma came, she became frightened and could not maintain her xinxing. One day she would want to study the Fa, the next day she would be thinking about going to the hospital, and the day after she would tell ordinary people that she practiced Falun Gong just to show that she did not have the attachment of fear. Because she could not truly relinquish the attachment to her sickness and did not truly believe in Teacher and the Fa, her situation continued to worsen. In the end she could not bear it and went to the hospital. She was in and out of the hospital several times before passing away in 2004. Her death had quite a negative impact on her fellow practitioners and on ordinary people around her.
Practitioner B is 87. Despite her old age, she always insists on studying the Fa and doing the exercises regularly. She is also very strict with herself and does whatever she can for Dafa. During a big tribulation with sickness karma, she became incontinent. She also had stomach problems and could not eat anything. Several days went by with her not getting out of bed and soiling herself and the bed. Her family knew that she was a practitioner, but because of her constant pain, in addition to her old age, her family worried that she might not survive for long. They asked her whether she would go to the hospital or rely on her belief in Teacher and the Fa to pass the tribulation of sickness karma. The older practitioner maintained her xinxing at this critical time and said that she would not go to the hospital no matter what, and that she would leave everything for Teacher to decide. With this righteous thought , a miracle occurred! That night Teacher eliminated her karma in her dream. The next day, she was no long incontinent, and she was able to eat. She got out of bed the very same day. She truly passed the test of life and death, truly believed in Teacher and the Fa, and passed the tribulations of sickness karma. It was Teacher and Dafa that saved her. Today she is still cultivating very diligently.
In short, Teacher is "genuinely guiding people toward high levels" (Zhuan Falun, 2000 Translation Version) We must truly believe in Teacher and the Fa and be true Dafa disciples. Let us reach consummation and return home with Teacher.