(Minghui.org) It has been nearly 20 years since I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. But only recently did I come to truly feel the benefits of reciting the Fa.
Understanding “Poor Memory”
When it comes to reciting the Fa, some practitioners feel that their memory is poor, possibly because they are too old, or they never received a high-level education. Some practitioners have said that no matter how hard they tried, they could not even remember the first few sentences in Lunyu, so they gave up.
As a middle-aged person, with a good education. I always believed that I did not have a good memory, since I found it difficult to recite the Fa. I persevered, and found that through reciting the Fa, my memory improved greatly.
I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil substance such as demonic interference from one's own mind and attachment to my ego, which were hindering me from studying and obtaining the Fa. When I was studying or reciting the Fa, I was very humble and respectful to the Fa. Thus, the power of the Fa was able to manifest and it became easy to harmonize with the Fa and memorize it.
I came to realize that a poor memory is the result of one's mind being full of sentimentality, all kinds of attachments, and so on. If one's mind is filled with all the dirty things of ordinary people, one's main consciousness becomes separated, and one no longer has full control over one's mind. That is why one manifests such a state.
Cultivating and reciting the Fa cleans out all the bad substances in one's mind. Therefore, I feel that it is an ordinary person's mentality for one to think that one has a poor memory. For a practitioner, there is no issue regarding age, level of education, or quality of memory. It is all a matter of whether one is experiencing evil interference.
Continually sending forth righteous thoughts can help eliminate interference, as can studying the Fa. This eliminates thought karma and strengthens the main consciousness, as well as clears and cleans the mind, so that the ability to memorize is greatly improved.
Finding Time
The idea of not having time to recite the Fa is also interference from the evil. I came to realize that there is a lot of time to recite the Fa. It's just a matter of whether we want to spend the time on Fa-study or not.
I have noticed many practitioners, including myself, wasting time watching video clips on line, reading the news, planting a garden, or chatting away with other practitioners.
I came to realize that this precious time could have been used in reciting the Fa. During the last leg of the Fa-rectification period, whether one has the time to recite the Fa is determined solely by oneself.
I used to think how long it would take to recite the Fa, and how time consuming it could be. Due to my fear, I could not step forward.
Now I think differently, I just try my best, without worrying about how long it would take. I decided to recite the Fa not as an accomplishment, or to compare with others, but to assimilate to the Fa. Each time I could recite more, I felt I had gained a great deal.
Removing Obstacles and Interference
I realized that the process of our reciting the Fa is also a process of our cultivation. When we encounter interference or obstacles, we must eliminate them and make breakthroughs.
I remember on my first day, as soon as I picked up Zhuan Falun and began to recite it, my family member who is also a practitioner made a phone call, speaking very loudly. It disturbed me and I was a bit impatient at first, but I soon realized that this was interference. I calmed down and was able to focus on reciting the Fa.
The next day, as soon as I began my study, loud music boomed from the building across the street. I wasn't moved this time, I began to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind the interference. Then the volume went down and I was able to stay focused again.
On the third day, it was my neighbor's crying child; the forth day, a dog was barking like mad. It all came down to the fact that evil manipulated people and animals to interfere with me. When I became firm, this kind of interference disappeared.
On another day, it occurred to me that this was so boring, and I did not want to keep going any more. Fortunately I recognized that this was another form of interference, and I forced myself to carry on. The dissatisfaction disappeared, and was replaced by the wonderful feeling of being immersed in the Fa.
One day, I was afraid that I could not make it to the end. Another day, I was overexcited by my progress. All of these were interference towards my reciting and assimilating to the Fa. Of course, there were also some attachments of mine that triggered the interference. As soon as I could treat everything with righteous thoughts, the interference disappeared.
Eliminate Competitive Mentality
The competitive mentality can be a great obstacle for us in reciting the Fa. For a time, I was trying to catch up with other practitioners' pace, as if it were a race. When I couldn't keep up with them, I became worried.
Later I realized that during the process, I have continuously overcome all kinds of difficulties and interference. I have gained solid elevation, Teacher's Fa kept enlightening me, giving me wisdom, and helping me pull myself together after each setback. I stopped comparing myself with others regarding speed.
This great Fa is truly worthy of being treasured by us, and needs to be memorized. Fellow practitioners, please don't hesitate, let's all seize the time to recite the Fa!
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Category: Improving Oneself