(Clearwisdom.net) I can be regarded as a veteran practitioner, as I started practicing in 1999. I can't remember how many times I have read Zhuan Falun. I study the Fa quickly and read three lectures every day without fail, but I often don't remember the contents of the Fa after reading it. Fellow practitioners reminded me many times that I should slow down while reading and pay attention to the quality of my study. However, I just couldn't slow down. I thought that since I read the words correctly and understood what I was reading, why would it matter if I read quickly? One day I had a clear but short dream, where my mother and I were picking chillies. Just as I was about to pick the chillies that had turned red, my mother said, "They are red, but they are not hot."

I awoke and understood that Master was telling me that even though I studied a lot, I had not assimilated much to the Fa. It was just like in my dream, all the chillies appeared to be red, but it didn't mean that they were ripe. I then began paying more attention to the quality of my Fa study, but the situation didn't change much. Sometimes I was in a good state of mind while reading the Fa, but at other times I couldn't read with a calm disposition, and the results were not ideal.

I subsequently participated in the production of truth clarifying materials and reduced my Fa study from three to two lectures per day. Since I studied less and the Fa study was not very effective, of course my cultivation state deteriorated. A practitioner asked if I had memorized Zhuan Falun, saying that doing so would be very beneficial. I listened to what this practitioner had to say, but I didn't decide to memorize the Fa at that time. Afterwards, another practitioner asked me about it and photocopied articles for me to read, which were written by practitioners about memorizing the Fa. I wondered if I should memorize the Fa. However, I was very passive, and in my heart I didn't really want to memorize the Fa. Consequently, I gave up after memorizing five pages. I thought it was quicker to read the Fa because I was busy. After all, how many pages can you memorize in a day?

For a period of time, as I was studying the Fa with my daughter, I would lose track of where I left off. I was in a daze and didn't know what I was reading. There was sometimes a lot of interference in my mind as I produced truth clarifying materials. My head felt swollen, and I was in pain. Additionally, the truth clarifying materials that I produced were not very effective. I knew how serious this problem was. It was because I didn't study the Fa well. It so happened that a practitioner again asked if I had started to memorize the Fa. I also dreamed several times about taking exams, and all the questions were about memorizing, but I couldn't answer any of them. I even tried to stand on my toes to see how the other pupils answered the questions, and I thought of cheating. I understood that benevolent Master was anxious about my cultivation state. He was hinting that I should memorize the Fa.

There are no short cuts in cultivation. One can only make progress through cultivating oneself steadfastly. I was hindered however by my indolence, my attachment to seeking comfort, and my fear of hardship, despite repeated hints from Master.

Thereafter, every morning I studied the Fa together with my young daughter and produced truth clarification materials in the afternoon. At night, I memorized Zhuan Falun. I memorized a paragraph at a time. If it was a long paragraph, I broke it into small sections and memorized each section. The next day, I moved on to the following contents and did not repeat what was memorized the day before. I progressed in this way, memorizing Zhuan Falun, paragraph by paragraph.

At first I memorized three pages every night. Sometimes I could memorize up to five pages. I sent righteous thoughts every hour, and indeed it was very effective. I am now memorizing Zhuan Falun for the second time. Unlike reading, you can't memorize the Fa if your mind is not tranquil. When your mind is in chaos, your eyes are looking at the words, but your brain is thinking of something else. Unknowingly, you read a page, but you have not studied anything at all. Thus you have not reaped the benefits of Fa study. I now sit quietly and memorize the Fa, and truly experience what it is like to be immersed in the Fa. That wonderful feeling and sacredness I have is something I have never experienced while reading through the Fa.

Actually it is not difficult to memorize the Fa. The difficulty lies in persevering. I think many practitioners are like me. When they memorize Zhuan Falun for the first time, because of their fear of hardship, they don't persist and give up halfway through. Even if you memorize only a paragraph or a page per day, as time passes, if you continue to persevere, you will finally reach your destination. I read the story of a 70-year-old practitioner from Taiwan who was memorizing the Fa. She had Alzheimers and many other illnesses before she practiced Dafa, and she was unable to take care of herself. After practicing Dafa, she became a healthy person with a clear mind and fit body, and was able to take care of herself. She knew that her life was extended by Master so that she could cultivate. She hoped to study more Fa during this precious period. Therefore she began to memorize the Fa. She memorized a page every day and persisted daily. Driven by her experience, young practitioners around her also started to memorize the Fa. Her story was a great encouragement to me and often motivated me to persevere in memorizing the Fa. I think every practitioner would be inspired by this story, so why not give it a try? Master said in "Lecture Nine" of Zhuan Falun,

"When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find: 'After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!'"

When you study the Fa well, it is just like Master said, you get twice the results with half the effort. When producing truth clarifying materials, my brain is also very clear and I seldom encounter interference. When I study the Fa well, I let go of my attachments quickly. While assimilating to the Fa, my attachment to fear that troubled me for a long time naturally diminished greatly. Before I began memorizing the Fa, I would close the windows tightly every night before going to bed, especially when my husband was away. Now I don't even think of these things. In the past, when I saw my husband's attachments (he is also a practitioner), instead of kindly pointing them out to him so that he could improve, I only criticized and grumbled at him. This irritated him and made his attachments even stronger. I now share with him with a calm heart and point out inadequacies in his cultivation. Even if he can't accept it, I don't react like I did before, shouting at him and acting irrationally, feeling moved by his attachments. The Fa is imprinted in my mind and guides my actions. In daily life, my actions have also been greatly rectified. It is just as Master taught in the book Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa ("Suggestions Given at the Beijing Falun Dafa Assistants Meeting"),

"With such a deep impression [of the Fa] in their minds, whenever they do something they'll be able to hold themselves to a practitioner's standard. It really makes a difference."

I have changed tremendously since I began memorizing the Fa. I truly hope that fellow practitioners can look to each other in studying the Fa and cultivating. Let's all memorize Zhuan Falun, study the Fa well, cultivate ourselves better, and save even more sentient beings with a purer state of mind.

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Category: Improving Oneself