Can Not or Will Not?

In April of 2007, the Chinese version of the Falun Gong related website Clearwisdom.net announced that the Falun Gong exercise music would be broadcast daily via satellite at 3:50 a.m. for practitioners in China to practice the exercises at the same time. At first, I got up every morning to practice the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts at midnight daily. Later on I was unable to get up in the morning for the exercise practice due to some personal reasons. Sometimes when I did get up, I didn't finish practicing the exercises. At other times, I skipped sending forth righteous thoughts at midnight in order to get up in the morning to practice the exercises. I struggled for a while, but could not make myself do both. Then I started to look for excuses and neglected both.

On September 7th, 2007, the Clearwisdom editors made an announcement, calling for articles for "The Fourth Mainland China Falun Dafa Practitioners Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference on the Internet." The content of the article had a great impact on me. The editors wrote, "We hope practitioners will exchange their experiences regarding what they have learned from their cultivation during Fa rectification--how they raised their understanding on the basis of the Falun Gong teachings; how they are strict with themselves according to the standards of a cultivator; how they truly rectify the Fa as Dafa practitioners during the Fa rectification period; [...] and how they actively arrange things to meet the requirements of Fa rectification."

I have no comment on sending forth righteous thoughts as one body. Our goal is to end the persecution immediately. If the evil beings in other dimensions are not eliminated to a certain extent, how will the persecution be ended? All I can do is to make up for the times I missed sending forth righteous thoughts by doing it more frequently. It is remediable because sending forth righteous thoughts alone has the same effect as doing it as a group. Besides, this is what Teacher expects of each and every practitioner. That the persecution has lasted so long has reflected that we practitioners fail to upgrade our understanding and that our character and actions fail to meet the requirements of the Fa-rectification. But does this mean practising Falun Gong exercises should take a back seat? From the perspective of reaching personal Consummation or transforming our health, it is secondary to practice the exercises. However, practising the exercises is extraordinarily significant from the perspective of the Fa-rectification. Teacher rotates a giant Falun that is as large as the heavenly body He is rectifying the universe, and we are within Teacher's heavenly bodies. When we practice Falun Gong exercises at the same time, the Faluns Teacher has given each of us will rectify our neighbouring environment.

"The Falun offers salvation to the practitioner when it rotates inward (clockwise), since it absorbs a great amount of energy from the universe and transforms it into gong. The Falun offers salvation to others when rotating outward (counter-clockwise), as it releases energy that can save any being and rectify any abnormal condition; people near the practitioner benefit." ("The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa" in Falun Gong)

The Falun will retain the good elements and purge the bad elements. This is a process of rectifying and saving the world. When we practice the Falun Gong exercises together, our Faluns are rotating together in the same mechanism and we are elevating our levels together as one body. We are lives in this small universe. All the universes below our levels will be rectified by Teacher's Faluns. Imagine the tremendous effect!

Teacher has taught us repeatedly in Falun Gong lectures to evaluate things from the perspective of a great enlightened being, from the standpoint of supernormal capabilities, and at a higher level. Nothing is a small matter in the Fa-rectification and in cultivation practice, for nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface. When something happens, there must be a need for it in the Fa-rectification or in our cultivation practice in the Fa-rectification. It is only that we may not be able to recognize it from a personal standpoint. In my understanding, to join the morning exercise practice on time daily is to actively harmonize the needs of the Fa-rectification, especially when the majority of Falun Gong practitioners live in China.

It's not enough for me to attain a good understanding on the issue of joining the morning exercise practice. It does not count until I put it into action. However, I still had difficulty sending forth righteous thoughts at midnight and getting up in the morning on time to join the morning practice. Even when I did wake up, I was still sleepy and couldn't practice the exercises with a clear mind. Later I discussed my problem with a fellow practitioner and began to ask myself, "Have I truly applied strict standards for myself? When I failed to do both, have I ever reflected upon myself seriously to find the root cause? Have I persevered?" Teacher said,

"If you fail the test the first time, it will be difficult to pass it the second time. Yet there is also the case where when one fails the first test, one will regret it very much upon waking from sleep. Perhaps this mentality and state of mind will reinforce your thoughts about it. When the issue again arises, you will be able to control yourself and pass the test. If one who fails the test does not care about it, it will be harder to pass later. It is definitely this way." ("Demonic Interference in Cultivation" in Lecture 6 of Zhuan Falun)

Have I ever felt painful or sad when I failed to do both? Haven't I forgiven myself easily? What is cultivation? "Accomplishing is cultivating." ("Solid Cultivation," Hong Yin)

A cultivator must not stop along his cultivation path. Once an established automatic mechanism is interrupted, it takes a stronger will to re-establish it. I must let go of all the external and objective reasons for not being able to do both. I must readjust my schedule and get up on time. Moreover, I must send forth righteous thoughts at midnight and practice Falun Gong exercises in the morning and do them well. On the first day, I forced myself to go to bed early, but I couldn't fall asleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, my mind was filled with random thoughts. But I ordered myself to fall asleep and I really fell asleep quickly. Therefore, I got up before midnight to send righteous thoughts and then again before 3:50 a.m. on the first day. I was very clearheaded. After a few days, I adjusted to the new schedule. Then I began to reduce my sleep time. I thought, "When the mechanism is running normally, it will be running automatically like a well-oiled machine. Then I won't feel any difficulty." But during the process it is important that I apply a high standard for myself because I am validating the Fa.

Now that I have overcome the problem, I have learned something valuable -- A cultivator either "will" or "will not" do it. It depends on whether he wants to do it. As long as he puts his mind to it, he can do it. It's just like facing a test. You can pass the test if you want to.