(Clearwisdom.net) Before July 20, 1999, before the persecution started, was a period of personal cultivation for Falun Dafa practitioners. It was mainly for us to study the “Fa” a lot and do the exercises often, so that we were able to eliminate many of our attachments and have a solid cultivation basis for the Fa-rectification.
“I’ve said before that for a Dafa disciple, reaching Consummation through personal cultivation isn’t such a big deal—it’s only a Dafa disciple’s laying a foundation for himself in the cultivation process to prepare him for bigger things” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
From Teacher's Fa we already know what the bigger things are. In my understanding, “clarifying the truth” and saving sentient beings are the bigger things. Studying the Fa and cultivating oneself is the basic assurance for us to be able to save them, and sending forth righteous thoughts (SFRT) is to eliminate the evil, also so we can save more sentient beings. Therefore, we must do the “three things” well according to Master's requirements.
I would like to first talk about my own understanding of SFRT. Personally I think that we, as disciples of Master, should do whatever Master tells us to, and not do the things he does not tell us to do.
We can enlighten from the Fa that during the evil persecution, our suffering is not just our personal tribulations anymore; it's persecution of Dafa, hence we need to eliminate the evil. Master has already opened up our divine abilities to eliminate the evil, so as long as we have strong righteous thoughts, we will be able to eliminate the evil. How do we actually use our righteous thoughts? Our compassionate Master taught us the Fa-rectification verses to eliminate the evil at the Canada Fa conference in 2001. We've used these verses to purge the evil in the universe, to negate the existence of the old forces, to root out interference, to eradicate the dark minions and rotten demons, to destroy the Communist evil specter, to totally disintegrate all the evil elements and factors hiding in forced labor camp and prisons persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners in China, and, most recently, to totally disintegrate all the meddling deities in the Three Realms that have a hand in interfering with Fa-rectification. These actions represent step by step requirements for the Fa-rectification arranged by Master. We must follow Master's direction in Fa-rectification.
Each Dafa practitioner corresponds to a part of the universe. If all practitioners do well, then the evil will be completely eliminated. In my area there are still some fellow practitioners who neglect SFRT. They do it whenever they remember, and when they get busy, they sometimes forget about it. With regard to the four daily times for global SFRT, practitioners tend to miss 6 a.m. and midnight the most. There are three situations:
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Some practitioners say that their “biological clock” makes them want to rest around 10 p.m., and they have to go to sleep. After that time, they cannot fall asleep.
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Some practitioners think that they need to go to work in the daytime and that they need to get up at 4 a.m. to do the exercises. So if they wait until midnight to SFRT and then go to sleep, they think that they will not get enough sleep, and in the long run their bodies will not be able to stand it. Thus, they always skip SFRT at midnight.
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Some practitioners are interfered with by the demon of sleepiness. They get very sleepy right before midnight, and when they wake up, the time to SFRT has already passed. For the 6 a.m. time, they cannot wake up.
Fellow practitioners, we must remember Master's Fa:
“Let me tell you that if you do as I’ve taught in this practice system, it’s guaranteed that there won’t be any harm, only benefit. You claim that you’re too busy and don’t have the time. Actually, you are afraid that you don’t get enough rest. Have you ever thought of the fact that practicing cultivation is the best form of rest? You can obtain the kind of rest that can’t be obtained through sleeping. Nobody would say: ‘The exercises are making me so tired that I can’t do anything today.’ One would only say: ‘The exercises are making my whole body relaxed and at ease. I don’t feel sleepy after a sleepless night. I feel full of energy.’” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
“Let me tell you, all those who remain and that can persecute Dafa and Dafa disciples are due to our students themselves. Students who haven't taken sending forth righteous thoughts seriously: the evil in the dimensions that you are supposed to shoulder and be responsible for has not been eliminated. That's the cause.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)
“What you eliminate from your own mind are ones which have an effect within the expanse of your own body; at the same time, you need to eliminate the external ones, which are directly related to the dimensions you're in. If you don't eliminate them, then they not only persecute you and restrain you, but also persecute other students, other Dafa disciples.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)
Thus our minds must be clear. Also there are practitioners who take the hints in their dreams as eliminating the evil. Teacher said: “Undergoing tests in dreams isn’t part of your cultivation practice. It’s trying you under that state to see if your cultivation is solid—that’s what it is” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America).
In Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia, a practitioner's question about dreams and Master's response were as follows.
“Student: In my dream, Master told me that if I could turn what’s real into what’s false and eliminate all that’s false through my cultivation, then I would complete my cultivation.
“Teacher: This needs to be looked at from two sides. First, in the eyes of gods, this reality of human society isn’t real. In addition, this is a hint about the real things that you are attached to, and is a hint for that side of you that has specific attachments. I can only tell you about it this way. You can’t have me explain to you the words that were meant as hints for you. Otherwise why would I have given you the hint in the first place?”
So I think, if in a dream there is interference from the evil, it could be because we are not calmly studying the Fa. Or is it because there are some attachments that we have not yet given up? Or have we missed something? Or are our righteous thoughts not strong enough? Is it just that we need to search within and then do well according to the Fa?
When we send forth righteous thoughts as a group, we must follow Master's requirements to eliminate the evil, and only by doing so can we bring out the great power we have as one body.
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