(Minghui.org) Master always emphasizes the importance of group Fa study and exercises. When I started to practice Falun Gong in 1998, our local practitioners paid particular attention to practicing as a group. Influenced by their diligence, I changed my habit of sleeping in and got up early to join the group.
After former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin initiated the persecution in 1999, we could no longer gather outside to do the exercises and study together, and I gradually started to slack off in my cultivation.
In early 2000, I learned that practitioners were sharing their experiences on the Minghui website. Touched by their perseverance despite the hostile situation, I started to devote myself to telling people the facts about Falun Gong wholeheartedly.
While I still studied the Fa, I could not calm down because so many trivial things always filled my mind. I could hardly do the exercises and neglected to improve my xinxing. Thus, although I validated the Fa, I did not cultivate myself well.
I later left China and met many young practitioners who were very busy in different projects. But they seldom did the exercises. I followed suit, thinking that how often I did the exercises was not a major issue.
Master always gave me hints. He arranged for me to meet some diligent practitioners, two on my project team, in particular. But their diligence did not inspire me to change my ways.
I did not get rid of my attachment to comfort and never got up early in those years. My cultivation thus fell further behind.
A few years ago, a not-so-diligent practitioner passed away. I also developed some karmic sickness symptoms. That forced me to take cultivation seriously. I have gotten up early to participate in group exercises and Fa study ever since.
Diligent practitioners can create a positive environment that will influence others. I was greatly inspired not only to do the exercises, but also to study the Fa, improve my xinxing, and send righteous thoughts. My ability to get up early was attributable to the persistence of those practitioners who validated the Fa with righteous actions and cherished Dafa.
Every practitioner is different when it comes to cultivation levels, karmic returns, and understandings of the Fa. If we do as Master said in Hong Yin, “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating,” we can make up for our shortcomings.
From my perspective, practitioners on the same team may unknowingly have the same kinds of attachments and limitations to their understanding of problems after working together for a long time. By sharing experiences with practitioners on other teams, we can view our problems from a different angle, which can help our cultivation.
For this reason, attending Fa conferences can give us new insight based on sharing experiences with people from other areas. Reading experience sharing articles on the Minghui website can also do the same.
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Category: Improving Oneself
