(Minghui.org) I recently made a breakthrough in doing the exercises early in the morning, and I wrote my understandings down to share with fellow practitioners.
Before making this breakthrough, I was sleepy in the morning and didn’t place much importance on doing the exercises early in the morning. I always figured that I paid more attention to studying Master’s teachings, so it was alright to exercise less. Many practitioners shared with me that we must persist in exercising in the morning and the exercises can transform the body. But I didn’t really enlighten to it from the Fa’s principles. I just persisted from a human perspective, thinking that if I practiced the exercises it showed that I was a cultivator.
During the exercises, I also felt uncomfortable, especially during the second set of exercises. I couldn’t raise my arms high and my movements were not right. I couldn’t stand in one position for long, and I always had to move around. The effect of doing the exercises was not good, and I always felt sleepy after doing the exercises. I had not enlightened to:
“. . . cultivation is the best form of rest?” (“Teachings at the First Conference in North America”)
I met a fellow practitioner recently. She told me that she had poor enlightenment quality, so she worked hard by practicing the exercises, and Master had never given up on her. I couldn’t understand it. I felt that my enlightenment was not bad, but I couldn’t keep up with the exercises. The fellow practitioner said that doing the exercises was very effective with strong energy. She said she was energetic all day long and was not afraid of the cold. It’s winter now, and she was wearing very thin clothes. I felt like I wore more at home than she did outdoors.
This made me seriously examine the state of my practice. I found that not wanting to persist in doing the exercises in the morning was caused by my attachment to comfort. Master arranged this fellow practitioner to encourage me with her diligence in doing the exercises. I was determined to pay attention, and so I earnestly got up early and did the morning exercises. Since then, getting up at 3:10 a.m. has become less difficult for me, and doing the exercises is not as tiring.
As I persisted in doing the morning exercises, Master allowed me to enlighten that persisting in doing the morning exercises is not merely about a cultivator changing his or her benti (original body). It is a form that Master will leave for the cultivators of the future. If Dafa practitioners do not walk their paths righteously in this respect, it will not only affect humanity but will also affect a multitude of levels of interconnected dimensions and celestial bodies.
After I enlightened to this from the Fa, I felt that the responsibilities of Dafa practitioners are enormous, and our missions are sacred. I no longer struggled to get up to do the exercises after I became clear on the Fa, and I no longer had any obstacles or the notion that getting up early to exercise is suffering. I now feel that this is something I should do, and not getting up to practice would be abnormal.
After practicing the exercises in the morning, my physical body changed and I have more energy. I seldom feel sleepy during the day, my mind is clear, my righteous thoughts are getting stronger, and I really don’t feel that it’s so cold outside. My attachment to comfort has subsided a lot. I can complete my daily responsibilities quickly and have more time to do Dafa work.
I shared the above with fellow practitioners, and one said the reason I made the breakthrough so quickly was because I had enlightened that Master has emphasized the importance of exercises many times and it’s part of the three things required of us. Master has also said before that what we do will set examples for people in the future. If we don’t do well in the exercises, that may affect future people as well. It was because my thoughts were kind, thinking about others, and were not selfish.
Thank you, Master, and thank you, fellow practitioners. I hope that we can all enlighten to the necessity and sacredness of getting up early to exercise and all be untiringly diligent on the path of Fa-rectification cultivation.