(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings. We were recently fortunate enough to share experiences with a practitioner from China. I think what she said could be beneficial to other practitioners. For example, many in our group reflected on their own cultivation states and how they could improve following her sharing.
This practitioner is in a group of ten practitioners, all of whom are retired. This is considered a large Fa-study group in China; practitioners there often tend to gather in smaller groups, so as to not attract attention from the authorities.
Practitioners in this group follow a strict daily schedule, making sure that doing the three things well is the priority in their daily lives. They get up at 3:40 a.m. to do all the exercises. Veteran practitioners perform the fifth exercise (sitting mediation) for the full hour and soon plan to increase the time to 70 minutes, as the exercise music for that duration has now become available. Some beginners sit for 45 minutes. All practitioners sit in a double lotus position.
At 6:10 a.m., after sending forth righteous thoughts at the globally set time, they allocate time for breakfast, cleaning, and other personal tasks. Then they leave their homes to send forth righteous thoughts near labor camps and prisons where fellow practitioners are detained, or hand out fliers to clarify the facts about Falun Dafa and convince people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its related organizations. Their coordinator tells them which activities are needed each day.
In earlier years some practitioners sometimes disagreed with what the coordinators were asking them to do and were unwilling to do the assigned task, but now all of the practitioners in this group have learned to look inside and focus on their own cultivation improvement, so there is minimal friction. If there are differences of opinion, the practitioners sit together and share their opinions, determine which method can yield the best results, and then carry it out.
These practitioners don't spend much time eating lunch, usually settling for something very simple like fast-cooked noodles or dumplings.
Starting at 6:10 each evening, upon returning home, they study the Fa individually. They read two or three lectures from Zhuan Falun each day and also try to read Master’s other lectures. Twice a week, they gather together for a group Fa study.
On the weekends, they also get together and study Zhuan Falun from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The practitioners read while sitting in the lotus or half-lotus position. Some practitioners sit motionlessly in the full lotus position for many hours during Fa study. They take a ten minute lunch break, and in order not to disturb others by having to go to the restroom during Fa study, they try to drink less in the morning.
The practitioners go to bed at 12:10 a.m., after sending forth righteous thoughts at midnight.
According to what the practitioner shared with us, deviating from this schedule due to domestic responsibilities or other things usually doesn't happen. All of the practitioners she personally knows live in accordance with the schedule daily.
Although the evil is still rampant in China, albeit not as much as it had been several years ago, it cannot interfere with students who have strong righteous thoughts. This practitioner shared that a group of 20 practitioners recently went to different places in broad daylight for two weeks, openly clarifying the truth to people and giving out fliers.
She also shared that the manifestation of miracles among the practitioners in China is very common. Here are just two examples that involved her.
Due to the persecution, she was forced to leave home. However, she understood that a situation of a practitioner being homeless is not correct and means that there are omissions in the practitioner's cultivation. Therefore, she looked within to find her omission. When she found and eliminated the problem, she dreamed for three consecutive nights that her house was being cleaned. She realized that it was a hint that it was time to return home. When she returned home, she thought about how the CCP often installs small surveillance devices to eavesdrop on practitioners. She was unsure how to find them, so she asked Master to help destroy them. Suddenly there was a rumble in the room and sparkles flew—a listening device exploded.
On another occasion, when she was illegally arrested and interrogated, two police officers threatened that they and other CCP agents would cause problems for her daughter and granddaughter. She sternly told these officers that they should not do bad things, and told them to freeze in place. They indeed froze. While passing by the window after exiting, the practitioner could see them still standing motionless.
After two days of sharing with this practitioner from China, we Russian practitioners felt that we need more such sharings on a regular basis. The practitioners in China live in such dire conditions, yet they practice so diligently.
I've noticed that when I study the Fa online with other practitioners, I am not always in a good state. In our area, we try to study in small groups, in the homes of practitioners who live nearby. We can then help each other, if for example one of us falls asleep or can’t remain focused. Last Sunday we got together and studied five lectures. It may be difficult to do now, but I think that eventually there will be significant improvement.
Category: Journeys of Cultivation
