(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 2)
11. Only Going through the Motions of Fa Study
Some fellow practitioners spend a lot of time every day studying, listening to and memorizing the Fa. Some have even memorized the entire book of Zhuan Falun. Some envy these practitioners and believe they are studying the Fa well. I met several of them who were going through long-term sickness karma. They did not know what had gone wrong.
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“Sakyamuni said that one should chant the scripture with a righteous mind and undivided attention in order to shake the paradise of his cultivation practice.”
If one can read and memorize the Fa like that, it is good and there will be changes inside and outside of one's body and one's cultivated world. The more single-minded one can be, the more the change. Many practitioners might not be able to see the changes in other dimensions, and thus cannot experience the joy of studying the Fa. However, if one perseveres in Fa study, one can still reach Consummation through enlightening.
Master also taught in Zhuan Falun:
“When one chants the Buddha’s name, one must do it single-mindedly with nothing else in mind until other portions of the brain become numb and one becomes unaware of anything, with one thought replacing thousands of others...”
If one takes the understanding of this Fa teaching to an extreme, he will only focus on studying the Fa, all the while failing to measure himself against the Fa. They read and memorize the Fa rapidly, as if they were just scanning the book. If they always read the Fa this way, they might get stuck at a given level, unable to improve and elevate.
I would encourage those with this tendency to slow down when reading and memorizing the Fa. Upon finishing a paragraph, one should measure their words, deeds and thoughts with the Fa. When conflicts surface, what is my first thought? Is it befitting a cultivator? Is there a better way, a higher standard? When one is able to search within, one will have deeper and newer understandings, which amounts to the elevation of one's realm. Transformation of body and mind will follow.
Master taught us in Hong Yin, (“Solid Cultivation”):
“Study the Fa and gain the Fa,Focus on how you study and cultivate,Let each and every thingbe measured against the Fa.Only then, with that,is it actually cultivation.”
Some people compare themselves with others and feel pretty good about themselves, but their sickness karma lingers on. In actuality, they overlook the most important aspect of studying the Fa: one has to measure oneself with the Fa, search within, rectify oneself, change one's words, deeds and thoughts, and elevate one's mind. Only by meeting the requirements of higher realms can one enlighten to the Fa at that level.
If one can truly study the Fa with a calm mind and always search within for further improvement, one will gradually be able to enlighten to deeper implications of the Fa, and do Fa-validation projects better.
When one is accustomed to this positive way of studying the Fa, without intentionally digging for deeper meanings of the Fa, one might develop a new understanding the Fa. Even though one might not be sensitive, one may still feel the sudden warmth, inspiration and enlightening, and experience the joy that comes with elevating to a higher realm. It is a breakthrough in level, and one's innate nature will experience the deep joy that comes with enlightening.
For those who only study the Fa without making efforts to improve themselves, it will be hard for them to experience this joy of enlightenment. Their problems might accumulate and remain unresolved for a long time. If they were able to achieve that, their sickness karma should be long gone.
Master made it very clear in “Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Yanji” (Zhuan Falun Fajie)
“...this Fa of ours has explained it very clearly, and the question is one of whether you are willing to measure yourself according to it.”
12. Trapped in Trading Stocks
Master points out in “Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Jinan,”
“Trading stocks is gambling and taking other people’s money. Some of those who trade stocks lose everything they have—do you know how that feels? A cultivator should never do this. How could you cultivate yourself with an attachment like that! The same holds true for mahjong. Some people ask, “Can we play mahjong?” You might as well ask me, “Teacher, can I gamble?” How does a practitioner measure his xinxing? Have you acted according to this Dafa?”
Many fellow practitioners lost money in the stock market. In Mainland China, the stock market is a trap. Many investors have lost tens of thousands to millions in the span of a year. Only a very few are able to make money. Some fellow practitioners believe since they practice Dafa, they are smarter than everyday people and can thus validate Dafa if they are able to make money in the stock market. How can one validate Dafa this way? The old forces will seize upon this loophole and persecute them. This is another reason why some of them got stuck in long term sickness karma.
One invites tribulations when one does things that violate Dafa principles.
13. Addiction to Television and the Internet
This problem does not apply to new practitioners, since they have a learning curve and need time to get rid of their attachments to watching TV.
However, some veteran practitioners are still glued to their TV sets or computers even after years of cultivation. Some of them claimed that they only watch New Tang Dynasty TV programs. As I see it, NTDTV programs are made for non-practitioners. During the Fa rectification period, every minute is precious, so why don't those practitioners put their hearts into doing the three things well?
They cannot help it. They just love watching those programs, and they get drawn in to the storyline. They are not much different from those who are obsessed with trading stocks. Many fellow practitioners who were addicted to TV and web surfing ended up with long term sickness karma. They were stuck at one level and not able to break through due to lack of diligence.
14. Pyramid Schemes
Master told us in “Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”:
“Dafa disciples cannot do bad things. Pyramid schemes are not used in Western society anymore. That's outright cheating people. It rips people off tier after tier, and the latecomers get exploited the most.
[You're asking about] Dafa disciples getting involved in pyramid schemes? Is it right to be obsessed with making money off others? No, it's not. If you do that, you are not doing legitimate business. There should be a loss for every gain, with commodities changing hands, but what are you doing? Racking your brain to rip people off. You can't do that! I told you that long ago. You can't get into pyramid schemes, and whoever does is wrong. Among the Dafa disciples in China, whoever gets into pyramid schemes is disrupting the form of cultivation that Dafa disciples do. They will have to bear all the consequences for that later on.”
After reading this Fa, many fellow practitioners who were involved with pyramid schemes corrected their mistakes. Pyramid schemes are even banned by the communist regime. But some practitioners continue the practice by changing the name to “direct sales,” when what they do couldn't be further away from legitimate direct sales models.
They know all too well that it is old medicine in a new bottle. They are deceiving others, fellow practitioners and themselves. Some fellow practitioners even set up classes and dragged fellow practitioners to attend; some set up the schemes among fellow practitioners. They not only use Dafa and its resources, but also destroy the cultivation environment. If only they could see what was behind those pyramid schemes, how they ruined other cultivators, and how they brought harm to Dafa, they would understand why they encountered serious sickness karma, which was usually life-threatening.
Even if they could not see, they still should think it through: “Why did Master speak on this issue in such a stern manner?” Why can't they abide by the Fa? Why not correct their mistakes? They knew full well what they were doing. Do they think they can get away with it by changing the name? They are deceiving themselves!
If a cultivator does not abide by the Fa, could they still achieve Consummation? Do they think the old forces would let them off the hook so easily? They have to completely rehabilitate themselves, amend the loss they caused to other practitioners and explain to them that it was wrong to do this. They must eliminate those bad substances caused by pyramid schemes. Only then can they come back to Fa rectification.
Master taught us in Zhuan Falun:
“You will be made to stumble, whereby you will become enlightened to the Tao. This is how one goes through cultivation practice.”
Some practitioners lost money as soon as they participated in such schemes. I say this was a good outcome since it reminded them right away to stop this unlawful act.
Other practitioners made some money that way and could not extricate themselves. The profit made them unable to give up. If they did not rectify themselves, nothing would help them break free of their sickness karma.
There are also those who made money doing pyramid schemes, but are in good health. These practitioners thus believe that they haven't done anything wrong. They have no idea to what extent they have been manipulated by the old forces. When everyone comes to understand how wrong pyramid schemes are, no one would listen to such practitioners. The old forces would then think they have no more value and may attack them with sickness karma as well.
Related articles in Chinese language:
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/10/16/渐悟状态中看到的长期病业（七）-299037.html
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/10/17/渐悟状态中看到的长期病业（八）-299038.html
Category: Improving Oneself
