(Minghui.org) I’m 56 years old and grew up influenced by the atheism instilled into my generation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I was fortunate to learn Falun Dafa in 1997. I never truly understood the deeper meanings of the Fa or attempted to improve my character based on the Fa, especially after July 1999 when the CCP began persecuting Falun Dafa. Over the years, my understanding of Master and the Fa remained at a superficial level, and as a result, my cultivation was inconsistent and I wasted precious time.
However, compassionate Master never gave up on me and arranged for me to join my current Fa study group. Most practitioners in this group are retirees in their 50s. Even though our cultivation states vary, we all want to cultivate and improve ourselves in the Fa.
With their help, I gradually learned how to look within and solidly cultivate my xinxing. I changed from an arrogant snob to being humble. All these improvements came from my memorizing the Fa.
We Decide to Memorize the Teachings
In autumn 2022, I learned from sharing articles on Minghui.org that some practitioners cleared atheism out of their minds by reciting poems in Hong Yin VI. Our Fa study group decided to memorize Hong Yin VI—one poem per week. After we read the Fa we took turns reciting a poem. We soon overcame the initial fear of difficulty and recited two poems a week. After we finished Hong Yin VI, we decided to recite all the Hong Yin poems. It no longer seems difficult to memorize the Fa, and everyone is keen to continue. We use every spare moment to memorize the Fa.
Not long after we memorized Hong Yin VI, our group decided to recite Zhuan Falun. I tried to recite Zhuan Falun in the pastbut was never able to keep it up. In order to help everyone, we downloaded audios from Minghui.org about other practitioners’ experiences while memorizing the Fa. When we occasionally slacked off, we listened to them. They deeply touched our hearts and inspired us to keep going.
If someone in the group becomes sluggish about memorizing the Fa, we encourage them. We keep a record of how each one of us is doing so that we can encourage each other and make sure that no one lags behind. Because everyone’s situation and cultivation state is different, we have no hard and fast rules on how many pages we memorize each week, and we progress at different rates. However, everyone in our group continues to memorize the Fa.
I’d like to share how I memorize the Fa. I sit cross-legged, read the paragraph to be memorized a couple of times, and then read one sentence at a time until I remember it before I move on to the next sentence. After I memorize each sentence, I recite the entire paragraph. Then I recite the paragraph again, sentence by sentence and check it against the book to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. Only then do I move on to the next paragraph and repeat the process.
I found that when I tried to memorize long paragraphs, I sometimes add or miss a word, or leave out an entire sentence. I’ve noticed that some practitioners keep making the same mistakes when they recite the Fa, so I’m very strict with myself the first time I try to memorize a paragraph to make certain that I don’t make any mistakes before I move on to the next paragraph. Some paragraphs are very long, but I never break them up into smaller sections to make memorizing them easier. My thinking is that I must put in more effort to memorize them as they were written. There must be a reason Master wrote them that way.
The Importance of Internalizing the Teachings
As time passed, memorizing the Fa became automatic for me. If I make a mistake or if I have attachments I’m not aware of, I have trouble memorizing a particular paragraph no matter how hard I try.
We may be able to read the Fa fluently, but memorizing the Fa is completely different. I also memorize each punctuation mark. Even though it takes more effort, I truly sense the different connotations Master is trying to convey.
I gained so many insights from memorizing the Fa—my state of mind improved so much because I’ve been studying the Fa regularly. We all know the importance of Fa study for a Falun Dafa practitioner, and Master repeatedly stressed that we must study the Fa well. In the past, however, I treated it as a task to finish. I read Zhuan Falun quickly and fluently, but I didn’t apply the teachings to myself. I didn’t know how to cultivate solidly, and I only improved a little after hearing other practitioners discuss their cultivation experiences.
Would the universe’s principles be casually revealed to an everyday person? If one does not cultivate one’s xinxing, one cannot see the deeper connotations of the Fa. In the past, even though I studied the Fa, I did it passively, and as though I were completing a task.
After I started memorizing the Fa, I was able to study it with my heart. Whenever I encounter difficulties, I can now evaluate them with the Fa’s principles and differentiate which thoughts are not from my true self.
I’d also like to share some experiences about doing the exercises. After we extended the second exercise from half an hour to an hour, I had to get up half an hour earlier in the morning. I wasn’t happy at first as I wanted to sleep longer. So, I did the exercises with a passive attitude, and felt it was something I had to do. When I failed to do the exercises in the morning, I tried to do them in the evening, but I sometimes skipped them.
After I started to memorize the Fa, I no longer have trouble getting up in the morning to do the exercises. I also find that I’m able to calm down when I meditate and I have fewer random thoughts.
As for sending forth righteous thoughts, in the past, I never felt much and 15 minutes seemed to pass very quickly. I always thought that I didn’t cultivate well and my sending righteous thoughts had little impact. After I started memorizing the Fa, I felt surrounded by a strong energy field and I’m more focused. Now, whenever I have time, I send righteous thoughts because we all know that if we fail to clear out our own dimensional fields, it will interfere with our mission to save sentient beings.
When I memorize the Fa, I always sense that Master is right next to me, guiding me patiently on how to cultivate. I’ve often been moved to tears by Master’s immense compassion. As I memorize the Fa, I sometimes think, “How come I never read this sentence before?” I never had this feeling in the past when I read the book. I realized the reason could be that, as we keep studying the Fa and our cultivation improves, the Fa reveals to us a higher level of understanding.
My Cultivation Improves
I had a xinxing test with a fellow practitioner and thought I was right. When I memorized the section “Transformation of Karma,” I understood a Fa principle, and I no longer wanted to argue about who was right or wrong.
When I was memorizing the section “Cultivation Insanity” in Lecture Six, I wept and thought, “Didn’t I also come to the human world with a mission? The sentient beings in my heavenly paradise are anxiously waiting for me to save them, and yet I almost passed by Dafa in this chaotic human world!” That was the first time I realized what huge responsibility I have.
When I was memorizing the section on “Jealousy,” I realized that all of our uneasy feelings stem from jealousy. When another practitioner memorized two lectures in Zhuan Falun ahead of me, it bothered me, and I thought: “We distribute Dafa materials together, but I’m the one who has to download, print, and bind them. She doesn’t need to do any of that, so of course she has more time to memorize the Fa.” I didn’t think about how much time and effort she must have put into memorizing the Fa or how diligently she cultivated. I realized I should feel happy for her that she was ahead of me in memorizing the Fa. Without her pushing forward, I might have given up halfway through.
When I was memorizing the section, “Heavenly Circuit,” I suddenly understood the concept of the central energy channel, which I never quite understood before. When I was memorizing what Master said about “What is a heart of great forbearance?” in the section “People with Great Inborn Quality,” I examined myself. It felt like Master was talking about my shortcomings. I felt bad that I read the Fa for so many years, but I never internalized it.
As I memorized I felt there was nothing else in my mind but the Fa. I entered a state of emptiness. When it was time to do the exercises, I told myself: “I’m a being created by the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I’m not restrained by the time in the human world. Even though I haven’t slept, I won’t feel sleepy when I do the exercises.” I had no problem finishing all the exercises and did everything as usual throughout the day. I didn’t feel sleepy at all.
I remember once when I was about to do the exercises, I thought: “Eliminate all the bad thoughts in my dimensional field that do not believe in Master and the Fa. They are not me.” I felt something flow down from my head and leave through my feet.
I’ve had so many other insights and experiences that are hard to express in words.
This March, after 19 months, I finished memorizing all of Zhuan Falun. I felt as if I attended the Fa lectures given by Master. Even though I cannot see anything in other dimensions, I can feel that Master removed many negative substances from me and broke the shell that prevented me from truly assimilating to Dafa. I truly felt Master cleansed me, and pushed me forward.
I also gained a deeper understanding of something Master said, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s Master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun) I only put forth a little effort, but because I have the heart to cultivate and be kind, Master gave me so much!
No words can express my deep gratitude to Master. I know that every bit of small improvement I made is due to Master’s boundless compassion and enormous endurance.
It took me nearly four months to write this article. I edited it many times, but I still don’t feel I clearly expressed my feelings and experiences while I memorized the Fa. Each time I began writing this article I felt Master was encouraging and empowering me.
Fellow practitioners, if you aren’t happy with your state of mind when you study the Fa, or if your cultivation state is like mine was, I suggest you begin memorizing Zhuan Falun. In fact, memorizing the Fa is not as difficult as you may think. Please don’t let your notions stop you. Let us all take this great universal Fa with us when we return to our heavenly homes!
Thank you, compassionate Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners in my Fa study group!
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