(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa before 1999. Although I have been cultivating diligently, I have not fulfilled my responsibilities or the mission I should. I came to this understanding after observing the most recent manifestation of the Fa.
Reading Dafa books is the first step to understanding the Fa. We need to read Zhuan Falun and all of Master's teachings at cultivation experience sharing conferences. In particular, Master's teachings after 2003 tell us much about how to save sentient beings. Only after understanding the Fa well can we save sentient beings effectively.
A person will gain only limited wisdom and will not be able to understand the deep meanings in Master's publications if he or she holds onto human notions when studying the Fa. Human notions are formed throughout one's lifetime. They come from studying ordinary science and from indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These notions must be eliminated with righteous thoughts.
Sometimes I think of other practitioners' shortcomings when I read Master's teachings. This is unacceptable, especially since it turned into an attachment after some time. It was not easy to let go once I recognized this attachment.
Master said,
“When some people read Zhuan Falun they are not concentrating, but rather, thinking about other things, and not able to focus their attention on cultivation. It thus amounts to wasting time. And not just wasting time—instead of it being the time when they are to be elevating, they are using their minds to think over issues and things that they shouldn’t concern themselves with, and thus, not only aren’t they elevating, but on the contrary, they are often dropping in level. If you don’t study the Fa well, there are many things you will not be able to do well.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
I thought I had eliminated this particular attachment and had corrected my thoughts, but it is not completely gone. So whenever this attachment arises during Fa-study, I send righteous thoughts multiple times to eliminate it from its roots. Then I am able to concentrate on studying the Fa without thinking of anything else.
When I thought of something that is not good for my cultivation, I noticed during sending righteous thoughts that there are substances in a certain field of my brain. It turns into an attachment after such substances have increased to a certain level.
Some of these wrong thoughts also came about because of wrong concepts arranged by the old forces. Cleansing the concepts is to deny the old forces. However, if one neglects the cleansing, one accepts the arrangement.
Practitioners have large energy fields, so the density of the substances from their thoughts is large. Such substances could become a mountain when they accumulate to a certain level. Complete elimination requires repeated and concentrated sending of righteous thoughts.
The Fa is the universal principle that sentient beings must abide by. We are not to judge Master's words based on personal preferences. We must abide by Master's words.
When studying the Fa, we need to take each word into our heart and accept each sentence. If there should be any thought that dislikes or rejects Master's words, we must immediately send righteous thoughts and eliminate the underlying issue.
The thought of not liking or rejecting Master's words amounts to not believing or respecting the Fa. This thought should be considered a factor arranged by the old forces and be eliminated through sending righteous thoughts.
I recollect that when I read Master's words “...and the people in Mainland China, in particular, are waking up to it.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference V) for the first time, I did not believe it. The reason was that my truth clarification did not have enough impact and that people around me were not aware of the persecution. Thus, my environment only changed with the help of fellow practitioners who had cultivated well.
When I reread that sentence, I still did not believe what Mater had said. I sent righteous thoughts right away. The substance that was instrumental in my having that thought was like a big cloud in another dimension of my brain. Once I eliminated that substance, I experienced the wonderful feeling of believing in Master and Dafa.
I am certain that complacency invites demonic interference. At the onset of the persecution, a detained practitioner saw with his celestial eye that he had a srivatsa symbol on his chest. He thought he had reached the Tathagata level. He became complacent and thought that he had reached consummation and no longer needed to cultivate. He was “transformed” under pressure.
Some veteran practitioners became complacent after they accomplished something during projects to validate the Fa and were praised by fellow practitioners. They thought they were outstanding. They did not recognize that they had the strong human notion to validate themselves when doing Dafa work. Their loopholes were taken advantage of by old forces, leading to big losses.
Sending righteous thoughts is very effective for getting rid of the attachment to complacency.
Without recognizing the methods of saving sentient beings from Master's teachings, one would act mechanically or go to extremes. Only when truly understanding the Fa can one clearly and unconditionally act according to the Fa and know how to save sentient beings. That does not mean that one cannot use everyday people's means.
To truly understand the Fa, one needs not only to study the Fa with a pure heart, but also cultivate diligently. This way, one will receive one's understanding through the Fa standards. There is a slight difference in thought between sincere and insincere cultivation, yet the slight difference could result in a huge difference.
Veteran practitioners who stepped into Dafa cultivation before 1999 have no second chance. We must accomplish our mission we should shoulder within the time that Master gave us.