(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I’m a young practitioner and I came to the U.S. last January with my dad. I have been practicing Falun Dafa since I was little, along with my parents and grandparents. Grownup practitioners guided me when I was little, so I was very diligent. When my grandparents read Dafa books, I would read along. I would also go into residential buildings and distribute Shen Yun CDs and copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party with my parents or my grandma.
When I was in elementary school, my dad often told me that I must send forth righteous thoughts if our school raised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flag in the morning. But after entering middle school, I had more schoolwork. My attachments and fear also became stronger. I slacked off, and I was not diligent at all.
After I came to the U.S., I deeply regretted missing so many opportunities to save people. I was determined to catch up and cultivate solidly. Today I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences after I came to the U.S.
Starting from Studying the Fa and Doing the Exercises
Back in China when I studied the Fa, most of the time I just read Zhuan Falun. I knew that Master gave other lectures, but I had never read them. I only read Master’s new teachings that my dad printed out and asked me to read.
One day after I came to the U.S., two boxes full of Dafa books were placed in our living room, many of them I hadn’t read. Looking at the golden books, I felt very excited and wanted to start reading them immediately. I thought it’s because the sentient beings in my world were so happy to see so many Dafa books, they could not wait for me to read them.
I started to read them one by one. Because I hadn’t been diligent, this was the first time I’d read many of Master’s teachings. They were all new and fresh to me.
Because I have read Zhuan Falun so many times, sometimes I don't focus on what I’m reading. I can read several pages and still don't know what I’m reading. I thought, this is not right. This is not studying Fa. Zhuan Falun is the main teaching that guides our cultivation. We need to concentrate on reading Zhuan Falun.
There was a period of time when my dad and I listened to Minghui on the radio while having breakfast. One young practitioner talked about memorizing the Fa. It took him only one summer to memorize Zhuan Falun. Dad suggested that we start memorizing the Fa as well. We could start with two pages a day.
Memorizing the Fa is a very good way to study the Fa. If you want to memorize a paragraph, you will have to understand the meaning of the paragraph and you must be focused.
Actually I did try to memorize Fa before, when I was little, but after a few days I lost the perseverance. I started finding all kind of excuses and ended up giving up. This time I started again. I managed well through Lecture One, but then I got reluctant again. I could memorize a lot when I was in a good cultivation state, but when I was not, I often got irritated, and could not memorize even one paragraph.
I stopped for some time. I recently began again, continuing where I stopped last time. My way of memorizing Fa is as follows: Memorize the first sentence, then the second. Recite the two sentences together. After memorizing the third sentence, recite again from the first sentence.
However, for me this method could take quite a lot of time. Sometimes when the paragraph is a bit long I become impatient. I always tried to find a shortcut, to find a faster way. I would memorize several sentences without reciting them afterwards, and would keep memorizing. But this is actually the slower method, because I would always forget some words here or there. I often couldn't remember what should come next, and my dad needed to remind me a lot when checking my progress. The results turned out to be bad.
I realized that our whole cultivation process is just like memorizing the Fa: there are no shortcuts. The only way is to cultivate solidly and steadily, step by step. Trying to find an easier way will only lead to opposite results.
I didn't like doing the exercises before. My arms were tired while doing the standing stance and my legs hurt during the meditation. My movements were often incorrect because I started to feel tired. I didn't take doing the exercises seriously either; a lot of times when I was busy, I would just skip doing them. I thought I only needed to make sure that I study the Fa.
This summer Dad told me that we need to start doing the exercises every day, so we started getting up at 7 a.m. and doing the exercises. I was very reluctant at first. I thought it’s finally vacation and I can get some more sleep, and now I have to get up like I was in school. But then I realized I was being lazy and not diligent. Doing the exercises is the best rest; losing some sleep is nothing in comparison to the benefits of doing the exercises.
In the first few days it was difficult to get up early, and I always needed to stay in bed for several minutes before I really got up. After doing the exercises for several days, I started to realize the importance of doing the exercises. I feel like a Dafa practitioner even more. This accelerated my whole cultivation. I have decided that I must keep doing the exercises every day, no matter how busy I am.
Participating in Fa Study and Making Phone Calls to China
After I came to the U.S., fellow practitioners suggested that I join the Little Practitioners’ Truth-Clarifying Platform. As a young practitioner, I’d have a better cultivation environment, where I could be with practitioners my age. I thought, I’d caught up on studying Fa and doing the exercises, so I should also save people.
My dad and I always thought that we were busy, that we didn't have time. So my joining the group was delayed for a very long time. Fellow practitioners kept mentioning this, so we figured we’d better hurry. My dad helped me join the platform.
When I first joined, I didn't know how to make truth-clarifying calls. I listened to the others making calls for a few days, then I decided to start making calls. I was very nervous when I made the first phone call to China.
When I picked up the phone I didn't know what to say. I’m only comfortable speaking to people really close to me, but the phone numbers on the platform are all random, it could be anybody. What am I supposed to say to them? I know that we have transcripts, and I can just read them. However, the person on the other side is also a living person, I don't expect him or her to follow my transcript!
What should I do? I typed in the phone number, but didn't dare to dial. I was worried about what would happen if I did. That week our weekly discussion topic was to believe in Master and believe in the Fa. So I thought, I should not feel nervous making calls. I should take the path Master arranged for me. If Master gave me the ability to do it then I can do it, and there is nothing to worry about.
Saving people is my responsibility. Master already arranged it all. Although I still felt a bit nervous, I stopped delaying. I made two calls. The people on the other end of the line didn't react, but I felt different after making this step. I was less nervous, and I felt more confident.
After making calls for some days, I became familiar with the transcript, but I always felt that my words couldn't reach the person’s heart. I felt that I was just reading my transcript. If there are questions, I answer them. If the person remains silent then I don't know what to say. One time I listened to other practitioners talking about being diligent when clarifying the truth. I thought that maybe I was still not diligent enough, and I merely took truth clarifying as a task.
I thought about it, and found that I only thought about how I should express myself, and did not think about how the person on the other side would take my words. We should have compassion when saving people and truly think of others.
The next time I made a call, the person was silent. I said, “It’s fine if you didn't understand what I just said. Let me tell you more about Falun Gong.” Although the person on the other side still didn't agree to quit the CCP, I felt he became friendlier. Those who had a bad attitude at first became less hostile.
I often stay in my room when sending forth righteous thoughts. Sometimes my dad asks me to come to the living room and sit with him while sending forth righteous thoughts. I thought that it doesn't matter where you sit when sending forth righteous thoughts, so there is no need to go from one room to another one. Then my dad told me that we need to form one body even there are only two people; we need to send forth righteous thoughts together. So from then on I came out of my room every time.
I recently found that a group cultivation environment is better than practicing alone. Participating in group Fa study and going on the truth-clarifying platform have both helped me cultivate quickly. While in the group, it’s easy to remember that I am a practitioner, reminding myself of my responsibilities to save sentient beings. Sometimes when I slack off, I get behind in doing the three things. When I’m with the group, I see the distance between me and others, and I work to catch up.
When I am on my own, although I am trying to change, I’m surrounded by everyday people. When we are in a bad cultivation state, the more we slack off and the further we are from Fa. The further we are from Fa the less active we are, and we will get stuck. Therefore our environment is very important.
Participating in group activities can make sure we don't drop in cultivation. So I think that we should all try our best to participate in the group.
I recently realized that we need to do all the three things well and must not fall behind on any one of them. The group environment is also very important. We should all keep up with Fa-rectification. We mustn’t stop now.
The above are some of my experiences during my cultivation. Thank you, Master!
Thank you, fellow practitioners!Heshi
(Presented at the 2015 Mid-US Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
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