Rectify Our Cultivation State and Do the Exercises Properly

(Minghui.org) After my older sister told me about Falun Dafa in 1998, I began to practice. I was doing some odd jobs in another city, and there were many practice sites there, but the one nearest was some distance away. I had to rush there to do the exercises in the morning before hurrying to work afterwards. I didn’t seriously read the book The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection, so my knowledge about the requirements for each exercise movement was very shallow.

Although I occasionally visited my sister, our sharing was superficial. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Dafa in July 1999, I had to do the exercises alone at home and I didn’t know if I was doing the movements correctly.

I later met a new practitioner in the area, so the two of us practiced the exercises together for a long time. At first I noticed that she always appeared to be half-asleep when we did the exercises. I reminded her to focus, but she said that I also appeared to be asleep. Seeing that she didn’t like what I told her, I stopped reminding her. This situation continued for more than ten years.

Two years ago she started telling me that I dozed off when we did the exercises. I disagreed and said that I was always clear-headed and awake, so she didn’t mention it again.

Another practitioner joined us to do the exercises once a week. She said that the other practitioner and I appeared to be asleep when we did the exercises and suggested ways for us to improve. We disagreed with her and insisted that we were always clear-headed.

To convince everyone, I bought a tripod for my cell phone and took a video of us doing the exercises. We were shocked to see our true state when we did the exercises. It was obvious that we were in a trance state when we did the second and the fifth exercises, but I always believed that I was being absolutely clear-headed. We looked within.

To be honest, I felt shocked, scared, and rather depressed after watching the video. Master said in Zhuan Falun,

“Some people go by how they feel in practicing something. What does your feeling account for? It is nothing.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

For many years, I had practiced the exercises based on my feelings. After watching the video, I felt depressed and couldn’t pull myself together. The next day, a thought came to me: Read the book The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection. Almost instantly, I felt energized, and I knew Master was encouraging me.

I studied the book with full attention, and when I practiced the exercises the next day, I rectified my way of thinking and followed the instructions for each set of the exercises explained in the book. I took another video and saw that I was doing much better. In the next few days, I read the book a few more times and I kept improving. Now I feel confident and assured when I do the exercises.

I shared my experience with the other practitioners, so we could all improve. I realized that when encountering issues or difficulties on our path of cultivation, we should never be afraid or feel depressed, and as long as we have the wish to rectify ourselves and move forward, Master will help us.

In China, where the persecution is still going on, we have been through all kinds of ups and downs and various tribulations in Fa-rectification cultivation. We were deprived of the freedom to study the Fa and do the exercises in big groups as we did in the past, but many of us persevered on our own. Because of this, sometimes we cannot see our own state of cultivation very clearly—like what happened to me.

I would like to suggest that, if possible, you take a video of yourself doing the exercises and check to see if you are doing them properly. Let us keep rectifying ourselves in all aspects of Dafa cultivation, do the three things well, and follow Master to successfully return to our true home.

Thank you, revered Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!