(Minghui.org) One day before last Christmas, I was doing the Falun Dafa exercises by the lake when a couple approached me. The woman asked, “What kind of exercise is this?” I replied, “This is a qigong. It is based on the principles of the Universe, and was introduced to the public in China by Master Li Hongzhi in 1992. I have been practicing it for nearly 10 years.”
The man asked, “What do you think about when you practice?” “Nothing,” I replied. He asked again, “How are you able to do it - thinking about nothing?” My response was, “I just focus on the music.” He said, “Ah, I see...”
At this point, I handed him a flier and explained to them the two very different situations of Falun Dafa in China: “One was having 100,000,000 people practicing Falun Gong in parks every day, and the other was the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners ever since July 20, 1999, and the torture, killing, and harvesting of organs from living practitioners. Their organs are sold on the international market, and so on.”
The man said, somewhat indignantly, “Are you saying that they face life-threatening danger in China, every day, just by practicing this qigong?” With this simple sentence, he pointed out the vile evil of the persecutors. I was impressed by his understanding, and was touched by his kindness. He comprehended the suffering of a people, and saw the difference between good and evil.
When I got home, I was grateful for the man’s question, which reminded me that I should “think of nothing.” These words alerted me to the fact that when I was practicing, my mind was actually habitually thinking about many random things. I then resolved to write an article to share with you the process of transforming my mind into that of a true practitioner.
Master has talked about this in the Fa,
“How many people practice qigong with a right mind? Qigong practice requires one to value virtues, do good deeds, and be kind. One should conduct oneself this way in everything and under all circumstances. Whether practicing qigong in a park or at home, how many people think this way?” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
Did I attain tranquility during the practice today? No! My hands and feet were frozen and I felt very uncomfortable. How could I attain tranquility with the winter wind and the sound of waves from the lake? Of course this is just an excuse, because even if I practiced at home, I would still find an excuse for interference.
I must take this good opportunity that Master has arranged for me to bring an end to my uncalm mind.
Master said,
“Why can’t you calm down? It’s a mental state caused by your postnatal notions from the society of everyday people as well as your karma. Those aren’t your true thoughts. Now that you are cultivating, you have to eliminate them. That’s why they don’t let you. So they have your mind run off like ten thousand horses galloping about in your head, preventing you from becoming tranquil and making you go off into wild flights of thought.” (Teachings at the Conference in Europe)
I understood at once that my random thoughts were connected to my notions, and they broke the connection between me and my righteous thoughts. I couldn’t concentrate when I had random thoughts, which even made me deviate from Master’s Dafa.
Master said,
“To cultivate, you know, a person has to find himself and cultivate himself. If you’re able to differentiate those thoughts from yourself and think, “Those aren’t me. Think if you want to, but I want to become tranquil. Let’s see how long you can keep running off like that,” ...”(Teachings at the Conference in Europe)
Amazingly enough, after reading Master’s Fa, when I resolved that I must quiet my mind down, a voice spoke from my dantian area while I was meditating, “This state of uncalm mind was before the practice of Dafa, wasn’t it? How come I still can’t experience tranquility after practicing Dafa, and enjoy the beauty that comes from tranquility?” I was very surprised, “Who’s talking to me?” I pondered.
The next day, I returned to the practice site. As I was feeling very good, suddenly my mind was interfered with again, as if it was filled with thoughts of solving other people’s problems.
One of the reasons for my random thoughts and lack of tranquility was the notions I held since childhood – I could solve every problem. After practicing Dafa, I understood I should not be obsessed with solving problems for myself and others, but the thought surfaced very strongly today. As soon as it surfaced, I eliminated it. I felt this was a first step in a good direction.
Then, as I continued practicing, I realized that the random thoughts were driven by a show-off mentality, which had wasted me a lot of time, and even made me forget what the exercises were for, so I immediately removed the show-off mentality.
In the days that followed, I noticed my mind become more and more righteous, and I was less and less distracted. My mind was more on how to accomplish the mission that Master has given us. I have gained a clear understanding of the importance of grounding every thought on the Fa. I no longer had the thought of “I have to be the one who solves everything.” I have transcended the illusions.
My mind has quieted down. I have chosen to practice Dafa with more righteous thoughts, sobriety, and diligence on the path Master has shown us.
Thank you, Master, for your help and blessing.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Improving Oneself
