(Clearwisdom.net) Several of us living in near each other began group Fa study in 2002. For the past seven years we have met on a daily basis, except for holidays or emergencies. We deeply feel that the reason we have been able to closely keep up with Master's Fa rectification and make steady progress is Master's protection and the mighty power of Dafa. That is also why we are increasingly rational and mature, and long-term group Fa study has contributed to this. We would like to share our experiences with fellow practitioners.
Persevering with Group Fa Study and Creating a Positive Influence
The vast majority of practitioners know the importance of group Fa study. We take it very seriously. Nevertheless, many groups lapse or fall apart when the evil interferes. Only a few groups have persevered throughout the years.
Our group has persevered for seven years. We get together every day except during the busy holiday season. All of us try very hard not to miss a session, and if we have to take a day off, we make it up by studying the Fa on our own. Our perseverance has definitely paid off. We discovered that when every practitioner is punctual, work or home-related ordinary things rarely interfere. Once we finish studying the Fa and go home, whatever ordinary things come up can be taken care of with ease. If someone encounters interference with Fa study, they look inward for gaps in their xinxing.
The most common form of interference comes from our families. Certain family members are afraid of persecution and try to limit our contact with fellow practitioners. The evil is afraid of our improvement and tries to isolate us and prevent us from cultivating ourselves. If we can abandon human notions and regard Fa study as our number one priority and act with righteous thoughts, we can absolutely overcome interference, and wonderful things will happen. Group Fa study has allowed many practitioners to discard human notions and overcome family restrictions. They created a positive environment to validate Dafa and save sentient beings.
When the persecution was at its peak between 1999 and 2001, I didn't study the Fa very much and didn't care about group Fa study. Circumstances at home were intense. I was arrested twice, and my family suffered as a result. My husband and mother-in-law resented Dafa and complained a great deal. I never stopped talking to fellow practitioners and was fearless. Surprisingly, one practitioner who often came to my home never had any problems, and my husband didn't give her any trouble. Quite the contrary, he was always respectful and polite to her. As of 2002, we often studied the Fa together, and my husband said nothing. Later, more and more practitioners came, and we had a Fa study group based in our home, and my husband never opposed it. After we persevered with group Fa study for a while, my family's attitude toward Dafa took an amazing turn--my husband began to practice cultivation in 2003. He is very diligent and acts with strong righteous thoughts. He has done a good job with the three things.
One practitioner's family opposed her meeting with other practitioners,and they tried to stop her from joining group Fa study, but she did it anyway, day after day. Her family eventually changed completely and began supporting her. Her mother-in-law used to watch TV all the time but reminded the practitioner about Fa study when it was time to leave, and she also watched Master's lectures at home. Her entire family began practicing Falun Dafa.
One of my neighbors was diagnosed with terminal stage bone cancer in 2004. The doctors told her to go home, as there was no hope. This woman and a neighbor had religious beliefs, and though they prayed for four days, nothing happened. She asked me how to learn Dafa, and I played the Fa lectures for her. She listened to it daily. The woman was previously unable to take care of herself and had to crawl to the restroom. After several days of listening to Dafa lectures she could sit up on her own, and a month later she was able to walk without assistance. The woman joined the group Fa study at my home. She is now healthy. Her dramatic improvement had a huge impact within the community.
Because we benefited tremendously from group Fa study, we grew increasingly fond of it. The more we studied the Fa, the less our human notions interfered with us and the better we did with validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. Our understanding of Fa rectification deepened, and our xinxing rose. Our families changed, our environment changed, and the people around us changed. The miraculous power of Falun Dafa was manifest in predestined people through us. More and more people were saved by witnessing the incredible wonders happening to us.
Once we Improved as a Whole Body, Cooperating and Doing Things as a Group Became Easy and Efficient
I often hear about practitioners in a certain area having difficulty cooperating, how they do not form a whole body. If all practitioners would persevere with Fa study and remain diligent, our human thoughts would diminish and be replaced by powerful righteous thoughts. Communicating with one another in a timely fashion and looking inward would result in less interference, and cooperation becoming simple and efficient. Groups that persevere with Fa study in our area can quickly get together and do things to validate the Fa. Cooperation is so easy and smooth, to the extent that many practitioners marvel at the speed at which things get done and the automatic harmony among these practitioners.
Most of our Dafa materials at the beginning of the persecution came from large production sites. Once the materials were brought to my home, several of us quickly folded and repackaged them, and distributed them among practitioners during group Fa study, not missing a beat.
I eventually established a Dafa materials production site at my home. Because we persevered with group Fa study, downloading flyers from the Internet was fast, and we always did it without a glitch. These were not merely for our own use, but I also gave them to practitioners in other cities. Once a practitioner from out of town asked for 200 copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. We fulfilled his request within three days, without affecting Fa study. Another time practitioners from a different place asked for a large quantity of materials. Practitioners in my area worked together to make banners, pamphlets, DVDs, copies of the Nine Commentaries, and other items within two days.
A coordinator asked us to send righteous thoughts outside a prison in 2005 to rescue an incarcerated practitioner. Several practitioners were afraid, and at first only a few people went. The first to arrive were those from our Fa study group. When we received the notice, the six of us talked about it among ourselves, and everyone agreed to do it. We went there once a week for two years, despite the long travel time involved. We remained inside the prison's reception area initially, but as more and more of us showed up, the Party officials took notice. We changed strategy and went to a forest next to the prison. We sat on the ground and sent righteous thoughts despite the weather, even in rain or sleet. In the summer, bugs and mosquitoes would mob and bite us, but we sat still. The insects retreated after a while and stopped bothering us. More than twenty practitioners sat in a row. The magnificence of Buddha Law manifested through our quiet perseverance. We eliminated lots of evil with the Falun Dafa-endowed divine powers.
Many practitioners, including our group, went to the Heilongjiang Women's Prison and to Wanjia Forced Labor Camp in 2006. Wanjia is located in a remote village in a sparsely populated area, with very few outsiders. We looked conspicuous and attracted the attention of residents. If we had not based our actions on the Fa, or if we had not had powerful righteous thoughts, we would not been able to make the trip. Many practitioners were afraid to go, and a few turned back halfway, but every practitioner in our Fa study group arrived. We also brought many Dafa materials to hand out. After sending righteous thoughts, we handed out flyers in the village and returned safely.
Looking Inward Amid Persecution--Persevering with Fa Study in All Circumstances
The single biggest barrier to group Fa study in China is fear of persecution. Some practitioners pack up and temporarily halt Fa study on so-called "sensitive days" or when they hear of persecution incidents. They think it is the only way to avoid persecution and to stay safe. Master said,
"The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Group Fa study follows the same principles. Master chose group Fa study as part of our cultivation. It is most sacred. How dare the evil interfere with us? If interference really happens, shouldn't we look inward to find the underlying reasons? Shouldn't we Dafa disciples who assist Master in Fa rectification eliminate and negate the interference?
The apartment complex where I live has a 24-hour doorman and surveillance cameras in the elevators. At least six practitioners come to my home to study the Fa, and occasionally as many as twenty. After I started a materials production site, even more people came and went, but our Fa study group acted with a righteous mentality. We paid attention to security but we didn't do it out of fear.
Our workload increased after we established the production site at my home. Unfortunately, because we had done the three things well over the past few years, I developed an attachment to doing things and the desire to show-off my skills. Some practitioners grew dependent on me and looked up to me. They all saw me as very important and asked me about everything. More and more people came to me, yet I didn't realize this was not right. I didn't look inward, either, and I welcomed everyone who walked through the door. In 2007, interference came in. I was followed by secret agents, and my relative in another city fell ill and I went to take care of him. For more than twenty days we could not study the Fa in a group. I was arrested a few days after returning home, along with many other practitioners in the city. The police took the computer, printer, and other equipment. After my arrest, other practitioners had no fear and still went to my home to study the Fa without stopping for a single day. No one blamed me, and every practitioner shared heartfelt thoughts about his or her own problems. They sent righteous thoughts, exposed the persecution, and supported my husband and family in appealing to the government and police department. I calmly searched within my heart while I was detained and resisted the persecution with righteous thoughts and righteous actions. I was unconditionally released after two months, and soon afterwards the production site recovered and began operating again as usual. Our group got over the loss within a very short period of time. This lesson made every practitioner more rational and clearheaded. I changed my domineering ways and encouraged and helped other practitioners to become self-sufficient and independent. Several practitioners changed from waiting for materials to accessing them on the Internet and producing their own. Some practitioners were afraid to buy equipment from computer shops, but after several trips, they eliminated the fear and now they do it like it's a stroll in the park. When I look back, if we didn't have a solid foundation with group Fa study, it would have been difficult to act with righteous thoughts as a whole body.
Master has mentioned the importance of group Fa study many times throughout his lectures. We have realized through personal experience that persevering with group Fa study is walking the path Master has arranged for us, and it's the fundamental guarantee for quickly improving ourselves and doing the three things well. If we don't study the Fa well as a group, we are walking the old force's path. Fellow practitioners, during these final moments of Fa rectification, let us melt in the Fa and study the Fa as a group, do away with the old force's evil arrangements, and better fulfill our prehistoric vows.