I know that my life was created by Dafa, and my individual cultivation is insignificant compared to the Fa-rectification. Master said, "The Buddha Fa can save mankind, but it is not for the salvation of human beings that the Buddha Fa came into existence." ("Verification") It is not right to limit oneself to so-called "individual cultivation" during the Fa-rectification process. But Master also said, "As a Dafa disciple, in order to do a good job in Fa-rectification and to bring yourself to consummate the cultivation, you must study the Fa a lot." I believe that the purpose of Fa study is to guide our cultivation practice. Master said, "Why do I ask you to study, read, and memorize Zhuan Falun? It is to guide your cultivation practice!" ("What is Cultivation Practice?") Master also asked us to "validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence." ("Rationality") I can obtain reason, wisdom and benevolence only through genuine cultivation practice. For a period of time I had some confusion in my understanding of the Fa and became unable to balance my individual cultivation and Fa-rectification work. This confusion was reflected in my day-to-day life and cultivation. I was so busy with Dafa work that I did not take enough time to study the Fa, and studying it became a mere formality. Everyday I would rush through one chapter of Zhuan Falun, thinking that I had fulfilled my duty again for that day. I did not study the Fa with a calm heart. Lack of Fa-study brought me many troubles, as I often failed to look inside to find my own problems when encountering conflicts in daily life or while clarifying the truth. Occasionally, I pondered what Master said in "Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)," "Over the past year, practitioners' own Karma, inadequate understanding of the Fa, inability to discard attachments amidst tribulations, inability to deal with things using righteous thoughts amidst painful trials, and so on, are the main reasons behind evil's escalation of the persecution, and are the true fundamental excuses that the evil has used to attack the Fa...If every practitioner is able to do this, evil will of itself no longer exist...Everything that the evil has done has actually targeted the attachments and fears that you have not let go of." I went through two tribulations of sickness karma that served to make me understand the relationship between Fa-study and clarifying the truth. First, I had flu-like symptoms, which lasted more than a week and were quite agonizing. The second time it was a toothache, and this was even worse than the first time. My teeth were in so much pain that I could not fall asleep at night. I remembered Master's words and told myself that I had to keep a righteous heart. "Body is suffering, mind is also upset." Between dreams, I endured the suffering with my will. It seemed as though I heard someone condemning Jiang Zemin, and I felt that I was fighting the evil in the process of enduring the pain. This feeling became clearer and stronger after a while. During the suffering, I saw my steadfast faith in Dafa attacking the evil like a sharp sword. Through this experience, I enlightened to a truth. I realized that studying the Fa with a calm mind and making progress in genuine cultivation should be combined with clarifying the truth and exposing evil. As a Dafa disciple, clarifying the truth, offering people salvation, and truly resisting the persecution by the evil forces are all things I must do well. I can only do these things well by engaging in real cultivation through discarding all kinds of false notions and breaking free of an ordinary person's mindset. As a life in this universe, like most other lives, my very nature was terribly distorted over a long period of time. Through painstaking cultivation, we must discard all twisted notions and Karma, truly assimilate to Dafa, become more and more purified, and be more and more determined to believe in Dafa. This process itself is eliminating the evil. This is the only way to ensure that we will do well in the Fa-rectification. A Dafa Practitioner in U.S. March 30, 2000

Category: Journeys of Cultivation