(Minghui.org) My wife and I participate in a local group Fa study. We noticed that someone came late on two occasions. Every time someone is late, whether it's opening the door or walking in and out, these things cause some interference to those who are studying the Fa.
Some practitioners check who is coming in while reading the Fa at the same time. Some go to the washroom during Fa-study. There are also those who can't help but look up to see which practitioners go out or come back. Their main consciousnesses are not focused on Fa-study.
There are also some practitioners who check the time while studying the Fa and some will check how many pages are left while studying the Fa There are even those who fall asleep or who are very drowsy.
I noticed that there are many practitioners who are easily interfered with by some “small trivial things” while studying the Fa and they can't completely concentrate when studying the Fa.
Sometimes cell phones ring during Fa study. Others then look in the direction of the ringing cell phone. Though I concentrate when I study the Fa, I also have a limited attention span. I realize that this is a very big interference in Fa-study.
Not long after, another cell phone starts to ring. I can understand that their phones are on because they're coordinators. They have a big workload with many things to attend to. Lots of people contact them. Yet I always have a feeling that this is not serious enough when it comes to Fa-study. Plus it distracts others and makes them unable to seriously study the Fa.
I remember Master once said: “For example, to avoid interference while you study the Fa, you can switch your phone to "voice mail" mode.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference”) My understanding is that unless it is something extremely important, Fa-study shouldn't be interfered with by any thing.
There is another common phenomenon.
Many practitioners consider 10pm and 11pm as additional set times to send righteous thoughts. Therefore when 10pm and 11pm are approaching, we will suddenly stop Fa-study and start to send righteous thoughts. After that we continue with Fa-study.
We are encouraged to do this because when many practitioners send righteous thoughts together at every hour, the power is immense. We are told that we therefore shouldn't miss this opportunity. What's more, when the four set times for sending righteous thoughts that was recommended by Minghui.org are missed, they can be made up at these two hours.
My personal understanding is that there is no problem with sending righteous thoughts as many times as possible. However, if it interferes with Fa-study, I don't consider this acceptable, especially during group Fa-study. By doing this it's very easy to distract one's attention and to cause problems with earnestly studying the Fa. Plus, I have a feeling that this is not being sincere to Fa-study. In my opinion this is a serious problem which affects the three things that Master asks us to do.
We all know that studying the Fa is not to follow any particular routine or formality. Yet I still have a feeling that many practitioners consider Fa-study with the same attitude as when they read an ordinary textbook. They don't look at Zhuan Falun with a serious attitude; they don't cherish it as the real Buddha Law.
I also know that some practitioners are busy making truth-clarifying materials while they listen to Master's recorded lectures at the same time. I believe that if we study the Fa, whether listening or reading, we should do so wholeheartedly. Our main consciousness must commit to one discipline.
Think about it, if Master is lecturing on the Fa at the podium, however some practitioners down there are making truth-clarifying materials, some are doing this, some are doing that, isn't not very disrespectful toward Master?
We should think about what kind of an attitude we would have when listening to Master lecture on the podium. Then, we should also be mindful and adopt the same attitude when we study in the Fa study group, or anywhere in fact.
Some Fa-study groups start studying Fa-lectures at different Fa conferences right after they finish studying one chapter of Zhuan Falun . Then everybody will go out to clarify the truth. The time is arranged in a very compact way. Of course this gives an impression of diligence. However there is a feeling that though everybody has studied the Fa in this way for many years, some practitioners are still unable to study the Fa deeply enough, nor can they digest what they just studied.
From studying the Fa, I was enlightened that if we do not have a serious attitude towards Fa study by following Master's requirements, then we cannot obtain the Fa when studying the Fa, and that it's no different from wasting time. What's more, not only won't we be able to obtain the Fa, but our levels will even drop.
Below are some quotes from Master's lectures in relation to Fa-study:
“You will encounter many tribulations during the course of practicing cultivation. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, you can overcome any difficulty. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, answers found within the Fa can solve any hard-to-untie knots in your heart, or any hang-ups. This Fa encompasses how to be a human being as well as how to be a heavenly being. I’m also telling you how to be a Buddha, Dao, God, and even a god in still higher realms. How could the Fa fail to eliminate your hang-ups? How could the Fa not open your mind? How could the Fa not resolve your problems? It can do all of this.” (“Lecture at the First Conference in North America”)
“But I think that as long as you seriously read the book and seriously learn it, when you don't understand something Master's Law Bodies will give you hints and have you understand. But there's one thing: when you study the Fa, don't do it while holding on to some attachments. You have to calm your mind and be truly studying the Fa. Don't study with some purpose in mind. When you study the Fa, you can't let your mind wander or think about other things while studying the Fa. You can't do that or you'll learn nothing. When you study the Fa, just study the Fa. No interference should be able to affect your Fa-study.” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at Metropolitan New York Fa Conference”)
“The most prominent manifestation of this is the severe persecution many students face as a result of their strong human mindset and lack of righteous thoughts. The solution is to without exception make studying the Fa a priority and to study the Fa diligently. This Great Law is able to rectify the colossal firmament and allows people to cultivate to Consummation-shouldn't you treasure an opportunity as rare and precious as this? And this is an opportunity that will be gone in an instant!” (“Shed The Human Mindset” (Comment on a student's article, September 1, 2005))
“But when you squeeze in time for study there's a problem that's apt to come up: you can't calm your mind, and if you can't calm your mind, you're in fact studying in vain and wasting time. If you're going to study, you need to set aside everything else that's on your mind, keep your mind steady, quiet your mind, and truly study. Even if you just study a few paragraphs [this way], it's better than reading the entire book with a restless mind. When you study the Fa, you have to absorb it.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)
“Reading the book cover to cover contributes tremendously to your improvement.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe” (May 30 & 31, 1998 in Frankfurt))
“What’s best for you is to have a set time for studying the Fa. Studying the Fa together is the form that I have given to you. But, you must be diligent about studying the Fa, and study often, and only then can you not lose your bearings, can you walk your path correctly, and do well what you should do. Don’t alter the manner of studying the Fa. Simply read it straight through. Don’t go and start something different, trying to be novel. I think it’s human thinking that leads people to pick and choose which part of the Fa to study or to come up with a new approach to Fa-study.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)
“This is especially true with Fa-study: you really need to study the Fa with utter seriousness. Do you know what has become of Fa-study in many places? In some areas it has lapsed into a formality. When some people read Zhuan Falun they are not concentrating, but rather, thinking about other things, and not able to focus their attention on cultivation. It thus amounts to wasting time. And not just wasting time—instead of it being the time when they are to be elevating, they are using their minds to think over issues and things that they shouldn’t concern themselves with, and thus, not only aren’t they elevating, but on the contrary, they are often dropping in level. If you don’t study the Fa well, there are many things you will not be able to do well.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”(July 16, 2011))
“You must study the Fa well, for that is the fundamental guarantee that you return to your position. (Disciples applaud) This isn’t just something that I casually thought up: what Master is imparting to you is the Fa of the cosmos. What I just said was to tell you that you absolutely must not slack off in your cultivation, you absolutely must not slack off in your Fa-study, and that you definitely must do it with all due sincerity. If previously you didn’t study well, you definitely should, once you leave here today and having heard Master address this again, really earnestly study and cultivate, and not let your mind wander. (Disciples applaud) ” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”(July 16, 2011))
Master has told His students everything patiently and earnestly. It's just that some students do not pay enough attention and are blocked by their own human mindsets.
As far as the three things that Master requires is concerned, many practitioners in my area are very persistent in doing them.
Whether it's sending righteous thoughts, clarifying the truth, doing the exercises or studying the Fa, everybody is persistent in doing these things with great effort and is very diligent, all not wanting to lag behind.
But there is still a feeling that their understandings of the Fa is not solid or deep. Some still have very strong human notions. Normally speaking it shouldn't be like this given the long period of cultivation. Plus it gives me an impression that it's a reflection of not being solid enough when it comes to looking inward.
I therefore believe that the problem many of us share is not lack of Fa study. The problem is not studying the Fa seriously.
The Fa can break all delusions. Only when we truly and continuously study the Fa and obtain the Fa can we not be deluded by demons and assist more practitioners to be diligent in cultivation together.
Above is my personal understanding at my level. Please point out anything inappropriate.
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