(Minghui.org) Master said:
“We have said that Dafa is boundless, and it is completely up to your heart to practice cultivation. The master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you, yourself to practice cultivation. It all depends upon how you, yourself practice cultivation. Whether you can practice cultivation all depends upon whether you can endure, sacrifice, and suffer. If you can commit your mind, no difficulties can stop you. I would say that there is not a problem.” (Zhuan Falun)
I have lived outside China for more than a year, and I wish to share how I overcame problems when doing the Falun Dafa sitting meditation.
As a child, I put both of my legs on top of each other and would walk around the room on my knees. Some elderly practitioners who had difficulties to sit in the lotus position often sighed when they saw me. They remarked that it was so easy for children to cultivate.
After the onset of the persecution of Falun Dafa, we lost the ability to gather together in public to do group exercises. For the next decade, although I still read Zhuan Falun and occasionally did some of the exercises, I do not recall ever doing the sitting meditation.
Several years ago on New Year's Eve, I burned incense to pay respect to Master. I felt so ashamed that I could not look at His portrait. I decided I would be able to look at Master with pride the next year.
Master never gives up on any disciple. I began to truly cultivate again. For some reason, the sitting meditation was really difficult, and almost half of my hardships were somehow related to it.
I knew that the minimum time to sit in the lotus position is 30 minutes, which I set as my first goal. It was extremely difficult in the beginning. In order to sit for 30 minutes, I first stretched for 15 minutes, and then endured 30 minutes of pain. Then, I had to wait for another 15 minutes before I could feel my legs again.
I remember that one day, I was determined to sit for 30 minutes. I asked my mother and sister to leave the room. I closed all the doors and windows and sat for 30 minutes in the lotus position. Afterward, my mother and sister told me that they could hear me scream in pain.
After I graduated from college in China I went to Europe. There, I went to local parks, but could not find any Falun Dafa practitioners. My mother asked me when I called her if I had found any local practitioners. I said no, and immediately realizied that I should try harder, so I surfed the Internet.
The Minghui website showed information about an upcoming European Experience Sharing Conference that was to be held in my city. I was so excited that my hands trembled. Quickly I searched for the contact information and found the name of the practitioner in charge, a Westerner. Despite the language barrier, I made a phone call and was able to vaguely understand that there would be a candlelight vigil in the city square that evening.
It was almost dark. I was afraid that I would be late and miss my chance to meet practitioners. Therefore, I rushed out of the house without even changing my clothes.
As soon as I exited the subway, I saw groups of practitioners in yellow T-shirts. It was surreal. I had only seen these scenes in photos on the Minghui website. Tears covered my face. “I am a Dafa disciple too,” I thought. I found an empty spot and sat down. My mind became empty. I felt my body was immersed in the energy field. I brought my legs up to the double lotus position - it was very easy!
About 40 minutes passed. Soon, an organizer announced that we were going to do the sitting meditation. I did the meditation for 30 minutes, and my legs lost all feeling. With Master's strengthening, I endured a full hour of the sitting meditation for the first time! It was such an incredible experience. When we finished, a practitioner said, “You do the sitting meditation so well!” I understood right away that Master was using the practitioner's kind words to encourage me.
Then, the organizer announced that we were going to do the standing exercises. Although my legs were totally numb, I stood up, but my legs trembled. Nevertheless, I finished the first set. I kept telling myself, I cannot fall down, since many bystanders are watching us and I cannot tarnish Dafa's good image.
It was this day that I joined the local practitioners group, and have been a part of it ever since.
When I went to do the exercises with the local group that weekend, a practitioner asked me if I could sit for one hour, and I said that it was not a problem. However I knew that one hour would be very difficult to do. But, since I already said I could do it, I had to do it. It was really painful, and time seemed to pass so slowly. I counted each and every second. As soon as the music stopped, I put my legs down and tears covered my face. I lay on the ground for a long time. Everyone else had left but my legs still had no feeling.
After doing the exercises with the group every Sunday, the pain in my legs lasted until Wednesday. They hurt when I climbed the stairs and even as I slept. I started getting nervous every Friday, I knew Sunday was coming.
While I participated in truth clarification projects, I eventually broke through the obstacle hindering my ability to sit in meditation.
When I finished my studies, I decided to join the local Dafa media to work on ad sales. Fellow practitioners told me that the success of our sales was directly related to our cultivation level. This gave me the impetus to cultivate better. I could not let our team down, nor have a negative effect on our projects to save people.
I set up some guidelines. I would do 30 minutes of the sitting meditation every day, no matter what. This helped. My legs now hurt only intermittently while mediating, which encouraged me.
Selling advertisements required me to walk a lot. Sometimes, after I walked for a long time my legs hurt badly, similar to the pain I experienced during the sitting meditation. I understood that this was because some of my karma was eliminated during the day when I walked. Two months later, I was able to easily do the 30 minute sitting meditation.
The next test was to sit in the lotus position for one hour. One time, I was in so much pain that I almost lost consciousness. I told myself, “I will not take my legs down during the sitting meditation as long as I am conscious.” With this thought, I soon was able to endure a full hour in the lotus position. Another time, when the pain was really severe, I recited Master's Fa again and again:
“Tis not that the journey of cultivation is painful,Karma from generation upon generation is blocking you.Steel your will,eliminate karma,cultivate xinxing,And become a Buddha who keeps forever the human body.”(“Cause and Effect” in Hong Yin)
“I would say that the physical pains are the easiest thing to endure, as they can be overcome by biting the teeth tightly.” (Zhuan Falun)
I knew that my karma was being eliminated while I was meditating.
Over time, I improved my xinxing and got rid of more attachments. Gradually, I achieved a state of tranquility and experienced the wonders of meditation.
Recently, I was doing the sitting meditation in a park when I quickly went into a state of tranquility. My mind was empty, and I could not move my body. I felt as if my body was as vast as the entire universe. I had experienced a phenomenon that Master described:
“All matter, including the human body, exists simultaneously in connection with dimensional levels of the cosmic space.” (Zhuan Falun)
I experienced how solemn and sacred Dafa is!
“When you give up attachments, your level will be upgraded, and your ability to concentrate will also improve.” (Zhuan Falun)
Only when we practitioners let go of personal attachments and desires can we have a clean mind and reach a state free of intent, a state that is truly wonderful to experience. While we do the sitting meditation not only are we suffering and eliminating karma, but we also eliminate various attachments such as eagerness to succeed, the fear of suffering, seeking comfort, the pursuit of personal gain, and more.
One time last winter, when I finished the sitting meditation, my hands felt like they were glued together. I could not separate them until fellow practitioners helped me take them apart. I felt the energy flow inside my body as if it were electricity. Another time after meditating, I felt as if my body was in an earthquake; every cell was shaking as if it were about to explode. This is what I experienced here in this dimension, though I believe that in other dimensions, my body was going through tremendous important changes.
When I look back now I find that the obstacles I faced when doing the sitting meditation was not that terrible. When I recall those times, I remember what Master said:
“To a genuine practitioner, I would say that it is very easy and not something too high to reach.” (Zhuan Falun)