Study the Fa with a Clear and Clean Mind

Many people say that children's memories are good, and they can memorize things very quickly. Some people think their memory is good in the morning; some people think people's memory is good before they go to sleep.

We are practising cultivation in the regular society, and have physical bodies like everyone else. Sometimes we feel that the principles of everyday people also manifest in us. Young practitioners obviously have better memories than older practitioners, and are able to memorize the Fa quicker. Studying the Fa at a particular time in the day has a better effect. Sometimes we feel that memorizing the Fa in a certain way is quicker and more effective.

Actually, the principles of this level are just a manifestation of the Fa on a low level. Children are not polluted by the big dye vat of society, so it is easier for them to be tranquil than it is for adults. The manifestation of a clear and clean mind is relatively obvious with them. However, an average person's principles are relative, and practitioners must transcend this level. Teacher says in Zhuan Falun:

"The entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments."

Along with our attachments getting less and less, our thoughts achieve a relatively clean state, and our abilities of memorizing and understanding also become stronger and stronger. Some older practitioners' memories are actually better than those of young non-practitioners. Illiterate practitioners are able to read Zhuan Falun. Some practitioners are more effective in studying the Fa regardless of the time of day.

Sometimes the situation can be more complicated. One fellow practitioner can memorize four to five pages of Zhuan Falun in one hour. Once, when he was on night duty, he talked about lots of everyday things with colleagues. After he came home, he sat down to memorize Zhuan Falun; however, he was unable to memorize one page in an hour. He realized it was because he was not tranquil, and that everyday people's notions interfered with his mind. When he encountered a similar situation afterwards, he did not start memorizing Zhuan Falun immediately, but did one hour of the sitting meditation first, and then began memorizing the book. This way he was able to memorize four to five pages. Later, he enlightened that his mind was clear after doing the exercises, and that is the prime time to study the Fa, so he formed a habit of studying the Fa after he had done the exercises.

Another practitioner felt sleepy when studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts, and unexpectedly dozed off sometimes. A fellow practitioner noticed that he hardly clarified the facts about Falun Gong. It was suggested that he should go out to explain the facts and hand out materials. This practitioner quickly acted on this and soon no longer encountered interference from the sleep demon. A practitioner reaches a good state when he explains the facts about Falun Gong and hands out materials, only thinks about saving sentient beings, and abandons the attachment to fear, which had been hidden for a long time. Then, he can achieve quite a good state for studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts.

Some practitioners think that when we study the Fa, we should kneel down, or sit with both legs crossed, and maintain a good posture. This is paying respect to the Fa, and can have a good effect while studying the Fa with such a pure heart. Teacher says:

"How can an everyday person attain tranquillity at will? One cannot do it at all unless one has very good inborn quality. In other words, the fundamental reason for one's being unable to achieve tranquillity is not an issue of techniques, but that your mind and heart are not clean." (Zhuan Falun)

If we are still unable to achieve a relatively clean state, then we should look within to see what attachments we have, and what bad things are interfering with us. We need to find it and remove it, attain tranquillity, study the Fa well, and then we will discover that "there will be bright flowers and another village ahead" (Zhuan Falun).