8/21/2002
(Clearwisdom.net) A fellow practitioner mentions in his article that reading Zhuan Falun over and over again is like a big falun automatically changing our bodies and improving us. Upon reading this, Master's article "Seeking Discipleship with Teacher" from Essentials for Further Advancement came to my mind. "A person who truly cultivates will gain things naturally without pursuing them. All of the gong (cultivation energy) and Fa lie 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 Tao when they read the book over and over again."áMaster suggests we "read the book over and over again," which not only lets us obtain gong in terms of changing our bodies, but has the connotation that the Fa in the book can also guide us to get rid of attachments and notions, thus enabling us to improve our xinxing.
Our true nature is covered by layers upon layers of notions, just like a rusty steel ball. With thick layers of rust covered outside, the shining essence cannot be seen any more. During the first two years of my cultivation, I always focused on certain points of the Fa and ignored the others when I was reading the book. I tended to comprehend one side of Master's words and to become estranged from society, friends and family. On the surface I still harmonized with everyone but my heart drifted apart. I thought I was very diligent, but actually my cultivation was not within Fa. I cultivated on a deviant path.
Master said in Lecture at the Conference in Switzerland, "These attachments are precisely like a big, sturdy padlock that locks you in. You have to open every padlock as you progress on your path. If you don't, they will lock you in and delude you, and you will be unable to see the truth." After I read this paragraph of Fa given by Master and recalled my cultivation experience, I realize that these attachments are associated with each other, as if the padlocks were interlocked, layer by layer, shielding and covering each other. It is impossible for us to cut off these attachments, which are like twisted roots and gnarled branches, from the top to the end once and for all. We can only crush them one by one and get rid of them layer by layer by reading the book over and over again.
Our individual cultivation is this way. Cultivation during the Fa-Rectification period also requires our continuing understanding of the Fa from within the Fa.
Sometimes we notice that some practitioners only comprehend the Fa from one perspective. They tend to go to extremes when they clarify the truth and send forth righteous thoughts with intention. The results turn out to be opposite to their intentions, which has brought a loss to Dafa. This is due to the lack of studying Fa in depth and as a whole. Not only do we need to tell people that Falun Dafa is good, but we also need to show that Falun Dafa is good through our words, behavior, and actions.
The mistakes we have made all have their costs. Master has quietly endured a lot for us that we do not know, helping us to truly understand the Fa and to assimilate to the Fa gradually during our Fa-Rectification cultivation. Master said in Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference (July 22, 2002), "To do well is to not walk down the path arranged by the old forces; the goal is to not allow the old forces to take advantage of your gaps. Despite all of this, our Dafa disciples as a whole have become more and more mature, and they're handling all of this with greater and greater rationality, composure, steadfastness, and seriousness." It is time for us to be able to study the Fa correctly and to do all of the necessary things well.
The above is my personal understanding, for my fellow practitioners' reference.