(Minghui.org) I'm originally from China, but am now living overseas. I would like to share with fellow practitioners what I've recently enlightened to regarding the fundamentals of cultivation – respecting Master and the Fa.
Respectfully Studying the Fa
Master has given us majestic and sacred cultivation forms: studying the Fa and sharing together. I've heard that in China, practitioners have shared that before they study they wash their hands and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate interference in assimilating with the Fa. They sit on the floor with legs crossed in the full lotus position. Many sit that way for the entire study time. They don't drink water or use the facilities. They stand up or kneel to read if they run into any interference or difficulties.
It pains me to see the various postures in which practitioners sit in our large group Fa study overseas. We always say that we “take the Fa as the master.” Yet our posture isn't as good as students and scholars in ancient times. Isn't pursuing ease and comfort the same thing as being disrespectful to Master and the Fa?
Nightmare of Master Pressed Under the Bed
I remember many years ago reading a sharing by a practitioner in China. To hide her Dafa books, she put Zhuan Falun in the bottom of a chest under her bed. That night she dreamed that Master's massive body was being pressed and bent under the bed. She enlightened right away, “I'm not being respectful to Master or the Fa! I didn't put my Dafa books where they rightfully belong.”
Daoist Nun Kneels Before Zhuan Falun
She also remembered a sharing from the early days of practice in China. Practitioners went to Jiuhuashan to share information about Falun Gong. They met a Daoist nun who had been waiting for them to come for a long time. When they took out a copy of Zhuan Falun to give to her, she knelt on the ground. She was terrified to touch the book with her hands. She placed Zhuan Falun on top of her head and reproachfully asked them, “How can you handle this heavenly book in such a casual manner? Do you know how high the level of this great Buddha is?”
Eating While Studying the Fa is Disrespectful of Master
On one occasion we were sharing while sitting around the dining room table. I was eating while a practitioner read a paragraph from Master's Fa. Another practitioner scolded me, “Don't eat. She is reciting the Fa.” I felt I was being disrespectful to Master and was very ashamed. I was very grateful to this practitioner for helping me to enlighten to this.
In the past I shared with fellow practitioners when I observed practitioners' behavior that I felt was disrespectful to Master and the Fa. After I got some unhappy responses, I thought it would be good enough as long as I was respectful to Master and the Fa, and that I couldn't control anyone else—Master would take care of the rest.
Master doesn't want to lose a single disciple and is responsible to all disciples. I hope that practitioners can awaken to this, mend their ways, save Master some hard work, and give him a little relief. To be a true disciple and elevate upward, we must be respectful to Master and the Fa. Otherwise, cultivation is out of the question. I recommend that practitioners carefully examine this aspect of the Fa. Master's teaching “Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival” is particularly helpful in this regard.
Master said,
“Any type of habit that you form is in fact a material product.” ("Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan")
From my experience, being disrespectful to Master originates from one's thoughts. We all know that we need to eliminate these thoughts. Our behavior, postnatal notions, and the habits that we've formed are the same, and we should eliminate them. All desires are living beings in other dimensions, and we should send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them. If we restrain our unrighteous behaviors and don't want them, Master will help us to remove them.
Fellow practitioners, please compassionately point out anything that is incorrect.
