[Minghui Net] On the ninth anniversary of Master's introduction of the Fa, I would like to report to Teacher and our fellow practitioners on my course of cultivation in Falun Dafa.
1. The Power of Righteous Belief Shakes the World of Ten Directions
Since the early days, I have listened to Teacher's lectures on the Fa [law and principles of the universe]. This bright and joyful experience is unforgettable, even today. During the lectures, I could deeply feel everything Teacher said, even though I had slipped into the lecture hall without buying a ticket. However, after the lectures, I did not start practicing cultivation. The major reasons were: 1) I thought that Teacher spoke with too much authority, and 2) I could not let go of my attachments. In other words, I could not determine whether this was truly a Dafa [great law and principles of the universe] that could offer salvation to people. I was thus unwilling to abandon my human attachments.
Still, I recommended Falun Dafa to many friends. They all felt good about it and asked me to learn too, but I still would not study it. Two and half years later, in early 1996, I read one of Teacher's articles, "Genuine Cultivation." At that moment I felt as if Teacher were calling me from the very depths of my soul: "My disciples of genuine cultivation, what I have taught you is the Fa for cultivation of Buddha and Dao..." I was in tears. I understood that what I had encountered was the Buddha's Fa, which could truly offer people salvation. Shortly after, at a Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference, I witnessed how other practitioners had benefited from practicing cultivation. During the conference my wife and I made our vow: "We will cultivate all the way to the Right Fruit Status." [One's level of Attainment in cultivation]
Ever since I made my vow, I have never had any doubt as to whether I could achieve the Right Fruit Status. My resolution has been as firm as iron. The reason I entered Dafa was because I understood fully that it could truly offer salvation and bring people to the Right Fruit Status. From then on, no matter what I encountered, I had no hesitation or doubts about Dafa.
Even though I had indeed made up my mind, in actual cultivation practice I found that letting go of my human attachments was as painful as being cut with a knife. Often and repeatedly I failed to do well. When I thought about not doing well and always falling down, it occurred to me with a calm mind: How can I reach Consummation like this? I recalled my original motivation for cultivating in Falun Dafa. When I became certain that Teacher really came to save us, my feeling of falling down ceased to exist. I realized that there must be laws or principles that I hadn't understood yet. This understanding enabled me to no longer be puzzled by what I could not do well, and to move forward and continue cultivating.
Four months later, I was thinking about the Fa while doing household chores. All of a sudden, the thought came to my mind that the huge cosmos was as large as six layers. At that moment my whole body became excited. I felt I wanted to rush up at once, but I did not have the faintest idea about the seventh and highest layer. It was empty, and even a bit terrifying. But below the sixth layer of the cosmos, things seemed leisurely and carefree, very clear to my mind. As this moment was swiftly passing, I hastily said to my wife: "Oh! Oh! This Fa is so profound!" Immediately I felt a heavenly ladder placed in front of me. I cried and felt I was cultivating an incomparably immense Fa. Later on as I listened to Teacher's words, "Dafa, Dafa, you don't understand how immense this Fa is," the joy in my heart could not be described in words. So I made a solemn oath to Teacher: "I will depend on my enlightening to reach Consummation!"
After this, I placed stricter requirements on myself. I was able to abandon my attachments without the least hesitation. My heart of compassion began to emerge layer by layer. The change could be seen every couple of days, and my benevolent heart became more and more immense. I felt that my gong [cultivation energy] was thrusting upward without stopping, regardless of whether I was sitting at home, lying down, sitting on a bus or walking on the street. It was truly like riding a rocket and zooming upward. As the power of searching inside of myself was very strong, a field formed that could automatically correct any abnormal state in my body, in my home, and in my environment. When Teacher said at the Singapore Conference that we should look internally for reasons when we encounter any problem, I felt his words touched something at the bottom of my heart. Around this time I began to study the Fa more. I was able to suddenly and completely realize from the Fa "why humans are in delusion," "why human life is the sea of bitterness," and "why people should cultivate." I suddenly read in Zhuan Falun the complete exposition of Zhouyi and Bagua [Prehistoric diagrams that disclose the changes in the course of nature] and even higher and more immense principles and higher realms. Thus, later on, when I heard someone say, "Your Teacher doesn't understand Zhouyi and Bagua," I laughed heartily. How could a non-cultivator perceive the immense principles beyond the words of human language?
2. Fa study
After I had cultivated in Dafa for six months, I felt an indescribable regret for having delayed my cultivation for two and a half years. After enlightening to so many inner meanings in Dafa, especially after learning that many veteran practitioners were studying a chapter of Zhuan Falun every day, I was so anxious that I was eager to make up for lost time. I started to read through Zhuan Falun repeatedly and with a quiet mind.
In the beginning I could not enlighten to anything. After reading the Fa more than ten times, and after completely giving up the idea of analyzing and understanding Dafa with my human mind, I discovered that all of the Fa that Teacher had taught dissolved into my mind. The Fa enabled me to easily pass the tests and solve problems and conflicts when they arose. I felt so wonderful. I felt that I had wasted time again: I was so slow in cultivation, yet I felt that I had been cultivating diligently through many tribulations. Teacher has again and again asked us to study the Fa more, and he repeatedly said, "All of the gong and Fa are in the book, and one will naturally obtain them by reading Dafa. Those who learn it will change automatically, and they will already be in the Dao when they read the book over and over again." "Teacher will certainly have Law Bodies (fashen) safeguard them quietly. With perseverance, they will certainly achieve Righteous Attainment in the future." ["Seeking Discipleship with Teacher" in Essentials for Further Advancement]
Before this, I had not understood the importance of studying the Fa. After this, all my cultivation changed and my xinxing [mind nature] was entirely different, too. Countless Laws and Principles were unfolding in front of me, layer by layer, realm by realm. Dafa's requirements became higher and higher. When facing conflicts, I was so happy, and there was no feeling of pain and suffering at all. Whenever conflicts appeared, I would catch them, and I didn't care at all about the hardships, the tests, the conflicts and the attachments. I put my mind to the Fa, thinking about what Teacher intended for me to enlighten to by arranging this matter, and which layer of the Fa this conflict might reveal. I could always naturally retreat from worldly affairs and judge everything based on the Fa. Later on I often talked with other practitioners about the joy of dissolving into the Fa, and the righteous enlightenment arising from the deepest part of my heart. It was as if every cell was permeated with the Fa, and every cell enjoyed basking in the Fa. All of these were my experiences as I cultivated in the Fa.
After nine months of cultivation I was unexpectedly told one day that my wife had been unfaithful to me before. At that moment, what came from my heart was pure mercy, without even the slightest bit of hatred. And just at that moment, all of the details of my whole life were displayed in front of my eyes. I came to the full understanding that Teacher had arranged my whole life properly. Every wrongdoing I had committed among everyday people had to be repaid in various ways. Dafa is truly so splendid!
My experiences of enlightenment from the Fa closely resemble what Teacher has expressed. No matter which realm we cultivate to, the Fa will be at that realm to guide us. I felt it inconceivable that some practitioners didn't study Falun Dafa Explication. I think this is to treat Dafa with a human mentality. It is like saying: "I do not want this part of Dafa." In the course of reading Dafa over and over again, there will be countless trials coming out of the Fa to test us. So long as we have any doubts about the Fa in our hearts, we will be restrained by the Fa, and face the trials. So whenever I see a point in the Fa that I do not understand, I always leave it alone and do not take it to heart or worry about it. I just move ahead and cultivate forward. If I can't understand a question well, I'll cultivate another question. I believe that, along with the elevation of my realm, those questions that I can't understand will definitely be understood through my cultivation. It is truly like this. For two years I had a question that I did not understand. It was the question "Would it be all right to dig your eyes out?" ["What is Emptiness" in Essentials for Further Advancement]. Why was the word "eyes" used here? When I finally came to the proper understanding through cultivation, I laughed heartily, and felt that it was really appropriate to use this word.
I started practicing cultivation after my doubts about Dafa were removed, and it took me two and a half years to get these doubts resolved. Today I have truly and clearly seen the Fa at different realms in Dafa, and righteously enlightened to the existence of Dafa in many different realms. What could be more splendid, more solemn, or greater than this? Therefore, in the process of cultivation, I have not had any doubts or questions about the Fa. I have always been clear-headed and conscious, regardless of whether it was in July 22, 1999 or now. I have never had any doubts or questions about Dafa and Teacher.
In different realms, my feelings about suffering and hardships were totally different. The experience of "taking suffering as joy" in different realms changed enormously too. Later, even the feeling of "taking suffering as joy" was forgotten. I only remembered that I used to have such a feeling, and took it as a basic prerequisite. Besides, I have been fully aware in every single cycle of In-Triple-World-Fa cultivation that I went through. The gaps between realms were different, and some were very large. Yet I was clear about many things.
In Teacher's article "A Heavy Blow," he asked everyone to read his book Essentials For Further Advancement ten times with a peaceful mind. Before this article was published, I had already copied the book by hand over 20 times. But I still did as Teacher required, wholeheartedly, and with a pure and steadfast mind. When I read each article for the sixth time, I could naturally recite it, yet I did not intentionally memorize the book. This is only speaking from the surface. Regarding the scripture "Sickness Karma," the Fa displayed principles to me at different realms that were so immense, they were beyond anything mentioned in religions. But "Sickness Karma" was truly spoken to "humans." I have seen many people get attached to the surface layer for humans, so they dig into the surface meaning of the words and cannot get out. For a long time, those who were restrained by the Fa could not break away from human notions. They were quickly eliminated in the evil force's complete and thorough tests. In my mind, while studying Zhuan Falun there really is no need to tell which lecture is talking about which topics. All the Fa lectures are complete, harmonious and linked together.
After cultivating for a full year, I came to understand that our cultivation at this time has great inner meaning. We should not care too much about our personal improvement, but should go and spread the Fa more widely. At the moment I could not figure out the reason for doing so, and could only keep it in my heart. Later, after I read "Assisting the Fa" in Hong Yin [the collection of Master's poems], I became clear about this. The meaning is implied in the words, "Coming to the world with the same wish, obtaining the Fa earlier," "Pre-arrangement arrives and the Fa succeeds," "Assisting Teacher in his journey in this human world." After that, when I read Teacher's speech at the Great Lakes/USA Conference about the state of veteran practitioners, I knew I was in that state. I have exchanged experiences with other practitioners on this. We have only one body, but Teacher needs to use all of our awareness while in a human body, such as conflicts, sickness karma, suffering, attachments, etc. to help us cultivate our understanding of the Fa in different realms, our righteous belief in the Fa and its grandness, and everything we will consummate in different realms. Thus, Teacher makes use of everything about our human side to help us make rapid progress. He is like the teacher in the kindergarten who gives you a "candy," and then teaches you how to walk. Therefore, when our practitioners have symptoms of sickness karma, as long as their righteous minds prevail, the sickness will be gone. We can feel the splendor and grandness of the Fa at once, thus we are able to move forward. We understand that Teacher has led his disciples like this, step by step, to the cultivation of a firm and righteous belief in Dafa. If a cultivator becomes attached to the taste of that "candy" and all kinds of feelings and experiences of the human body, but forgets the Fa that can enable us to return to our original true selves, he or she will never be able to escape from the human notions formed throughout the ages. (To be continued)
April 6, 2001
