(Minghui.org) I have been practicing Falun Dafa for more than ten years, but from time to time I have felt physically or psychologically “cold.” I'd like to share three examples on how I broke through this “coldness,” and my understanding from the perspective of the Fa.
The first incident happened in the winter of 1999, after our practice site was disbanded when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong that summer. I had to do the exercises alone at home. It was an extremely cold winter, with deep snow and long icicles on the eaves of my home. I wrapped myself in a thick jacket and comforter during morning meditation, but I still felt very cold, and did not even feel like getting up.
One day, I heard that other practitioners from my city had gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. They were arrested, and still being detained at that time. I was shocked and felt ashamed. Not only did I not join them because of the snow and lack of information, I could not even get up to do the morning exercises.
I got up the next morning without any hesitation, wearing only a sweater. I started to shiver right away, but I controlled myself, thinking about other practitioners in detention, and thinking about myself not behaving like a cultivator. After meditating for a while, I was not trembling as much, and gradually got used to the cold. I meditated for 80 minutes as usual.
After two days, I wondered why I felt cold, even though I wrapped myself in thick jackets and comforters, but felt OK when I wore less. So I tried taking off my sweater and meditating wearing only a shirt... I was fine. After another two days, I took off my shirt. For the whole month of January 2000, I meditated while wearing shorts.
Another incident happened a few years ago. On my way to the fields, my body felt extremely light, which reminded me of myself before cultivation. I used to be very ill and not able to squat from a standing position, as well as not able to stand up after squatting. Realizing that Dafa gave me physical health, I felt very energetic while walking. That afternoon, I did twice as much work without feeling tired at all.
For a period of time I had a problem calming down when sending forth righteous thoughts, which troubled me. I kept thinking about how to focus so that I could use my righteous thoughts to eliminate evil. I kept thinking about how to calm down, how to calm down… After a while I gradually calmed down, and felt a thick energy field surrounding me. After sending forth righteous thoughts, my mind became extremely clear and I felt very peaceful.
I did not think much about these incidents until recently, when I thought about my mentality at those moments. I realized that it was a manifestation of the Fa when we truly cultivate ourselves.
In the first incident, after knowing that other practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, I no longer felt cold. It was because, at that moment, I was touched by the actions of other practitioners. I was thinking only about the Fa, ignoring the cold. I indeed melted into the Fa.
Master said, “... matter and mind are one thing.” (Zhuan Falun)
The reason I felt cold in the past was that I was doing the exercises only superficially. When I was thinking about the cold, I felt extremely cold. Later, when my mind was filled with the Fa, without any thought of coldness, I no longer felt cold. Once our minds change, our physical bodies also start to change. This is the supernatural power of the Fa. Just like the Chinese say, “Different thoughts result in completely different outcomes.”
In the second incident, I compared my physical health before and after cultivating. I was so moved by the mightiness of Falun Dafa that I completely melted into the Fa, which made me forget all attachments. The power of the Fa then manifested. I did twice the amount of work, without feeling tired at all.
In the third incident, when I tried to achieve a tranquil mind, I thought about Master rectifying the Fa, the cosmos being renewed, the old forces interfering, and practitioners assisting Master. I melted into the Fa, and the field of righteous thoughts surrounded me. After I finished sending righteous thoughts, I felt the serenity of the field and a clear mind.
When I truly think about these incidents from the perspective of the Fa, I understand that one can only rectify oneself by melting into the Fa. Only by rectifying oneself can one bring the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to one's every thought. We can then distinguish truth from falsehood and good from evil, find our attachments to fame, profit, and sentiments, pass the tests, and know how to save sentient beings. I think that when we truly apply this, the beauty of Dafa will manifest. We will then be diligent, and become “warm” in cultivation.
Regarding those moments when I felt “cold” in cultivation, some practitioners have said, “If practitioners only pay attention to superficial formality, without truly changing themselves in the Fa, they will not be able to see the beauty of the Fa, and they will appear indifferent.” This may actually be because they were not truly cultivating themselves. When it happens, we should look inward like Master said, find out our human attachments, and truly improve ourselves.
I also realized that the reason my diligence wavered was that I did not truly improve myself in the understanding of the Fa and did not see the beauty of the Fa. For example, when I saw other practitioners or myself recover from sickness karma, I would become “diligent.” When human attachments occupied my mind, I would become attached to human life. Thus, only by studying the Fa and improving our minds can we follow the requirements of the Fa and make breakthroughs in cultivation.
These are my personal understandings. Please kindly correct me if there is anything inappropriate.
