(Clearwisdom.net) With the passing of the New Year, I heard that two fellow practitioners died due to sickness karma. I am truly pained and I am disappointed to have two fewer practitioners to help save sentient beings. Also, what will ordinary people think when practitioners pass away from sickness karma? Furthermore, I have heard that several practitioners in our area have suffered from various kinds of sickness karma. When it happens, it affects the energy of fellow practitioners. I know their cultivation situations somewhat. Seeing fellow practitioners facing problems, I want to share my understandings.

Not Understanding Fa Principles

Some practitioners are very proficient in studying the Fa and can even memorize Zhuan Falun by heart. But they have little understanding of how to cultivate in the Fa-rectification period. When they encounter problems, they first think that they are arrangements made by the old forces and we ought to not recognize them. They verbally deny the old forces, but their thoughts and behaviors are still attached to their old ways of doing things. Those practitioners, in fact, did not really understand that looking inward is negating the old forces' arrangements. Some fellow practitioners do not measure themselves against the Fa; instead, they use the Fa to judge others. Some practitioners cannot accept any criticism. As a result, they have sickness karma all the time.

I think it is best to follow a program suitable for our own situation to study the Fa. I used to read the Fa, but I did not really understand many of the Fa principles. Later I adopted the method of memorizing the Fa. Of course, I not only have memorized Zhuan Falun, but also Teacher's articles. It helps me understand what is Dafa cultivation in the Fa-rectification period. Then I felt that I had improved from a perceptual understanding to a rational understanding. Of course, memorizing the Fa does not prove that we cultivate well; it is to let us understand that after we understand Fa principles, we can cultivate our minds. Cultivating solidly is the most important. Although we may be able to memorize the Fa fluently, if we do not truly cultivate ourselves, is it really cultivation?

Our cultivation environment is very good, but many practitioners do not cultivate solidly, so they have had some doubts. They think: “I have memorized Zhuan Falun, why do I still have the symptoms of sickness karma?” They did not link memorizing the Fa with the cultivation of one's mind. They even used memorizing the Fa fluently to obtain fame among practitioners. Some practitioners had such attachments for a long period of time and even amplified it.

Maintaining the Form of Group Fa Study without Truly Improving One’s Xinxing

Due to many years of persecution, and because the situation in China is very complex, there are many types of practitioners. Some of them are true cultivators, but some are not genuine cultivators, and some fell behind in their cultivation. There are a variety of situations. We should have compassion towards fellow practitioners and have concern for others' cultivation situation. If we are able to enlighten to Fa principles, of course it will play a positive role. Otherwise, it will lead to interference.

A fellow practitioner who participated in several study groups thought that each group he attended was chaotic. Some in the group had attachments about others' attachments, some couldn't take criticism, others defended human feelings, while still others used the study group as a safe haven, and so on. They had participated in group study for a long period of time, but there were still more instances of sickness karma. Some practitioners didn't even know why they joined the group Fa study. Because of their sickness karma, they thus tried to join more study groups in order to get practitioners' help to eliminate their sickness karma.

We should be responsible to our own situation. It is like what Teacher said about religious forms. Those who understand it use it to cultivate themselves, and those who don't, they maintain religious forms for their own sake. The religious forms themselves are not the goal; the goal is to use them to cultivate.

The old forces are pervasive. Why do we not calm down and ask ourselves these questions? Those who cultivate solidly felt perturbed when they participated in group study. However, some practitioners felt happy in the group environment. Why were they happy? It was because it suited their mindsets. They felt lonely, and when they joined others, they avoided loneliness and boredom. Many of them thus met with mishap.

A fellow practitioner found that the same problems existed in three different groups. He pointed it out to them, but they wouldn't listen. The practitioner thus stopped going to study the Fa with them. Later, all three groups suffered persecution. Although some of them weren't persecuted, the states of those practitioners became worse.

We really need to calm down and understand Dafa rationally. Saving sentient beings is hard. If practitioners lack integrity, there will be problems, and ordinary people will therefore go to the opposite side. I now understand why Teacher said saving sentient beings was hard. Only when Dafa practitioners are truly mature and have strong righteous thoughts can they walk well on the cultivation path and be able to save sentient being.