My Understanding of the Fa After a Three-Day Conference in Central Taiwan

Twice a year we have a Fa-conference in central Taiwan. On September 6, 2009, we held such a conference in Zhanghua County. The following are my sharing articles, "Looking Inward," "The Meaning of Illness," and "Study the Fa."

Looking Inward

In the article, "How to Give Assistance" in Essentials for Further Advancement, Master said, "As a cultivator, how can you be free from faults?"

My understanding is that the purpose of looking inward is to apply the Fa to find out our own attachments and anything that is in conflict with the Fa. Generally, when we look at others we should focus on their strengths and not their weaknesses, because the Fa requires us to create harmony and not conflict.

As a practical example, there was a time when I was serving as a coordinator to bus a group of practitioners from different districts to participate in a Fa-conference in Taipei. The bus stopped many times along the way and a certain number of practitioners would get on the bus at each stop. While the proper stops were made and practitioners were getting on the bus, I neglected to verify whether all of the practitioners were there at a given stop. When I discovered that someone was missing, I became anxious. I called the fellow on my cellphone and asked him to go to the next bus stop. It sounded like he had just awakened from sleep, and I got angry, urging him to hurry up. He did make it to the next stop and got on the bus. He appeared relaxed, as if nothing had happened. Again, I reacted negatively to his "don't care" attitude and was about to criticize him, when I realized that my own negligence had forced him to rush to the current bus stop. As I let go of my negative attitude, he came to apologize to me for his failure to show up on time. These incidents reminded me that every thought indeed generates a corresponding response.

For an ordinary person, the ability to coordinate is an art. For practitioners, I think we can be frank and sincere in what we do to provide useful service to others. Clarifying the truth (explaining the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong in China) and saving sentient beings is our historical mission. It is important for us to work together on this mission. Although each of us may be doing a different job, we all have the same goal.

The Meaning of Illness

Some practitioners can overcome serious illnesses very quickly. Others have faced the same illnesses for a very long time and continue to deal with them. Why?

In Zhuan Falun, Master said, "These are all your own tribulations that we use to improve your xinxing (heart and mind nature), and you will be able to overcome them. As long as you upgrade your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them."

My view is that each tribulation is as strong as the practitioner's beliefs in applying human views to work with his own tribulations. The best way to overcome a tribulation is to study the Fa until one's level of understanding is raised so that one recognizes what the illness is and why there is interference.

Go within yourself to see if there is an attachment relating to the illness. Is there a desire to treat the illness? Do you have complete confidence in the Fa? If there is interference from the old forces, do you ask yourself why the old forces have been able to interfere in your affairs? One must know the cause of the problems before beginning to correct them. I believe that we must do what we should and have complete confidence in the Fa before Dafa will work in our favour.

Study the Fa

There is nothing more important than studying the Fa. Some people get tired very quickly while studying. This is due to thought karma or interference from evil spirits. Hence, one must know about one's own condition and overcome it. One possible approach is to send forth righteous thoughts before studying the Fa. Sometimes it is best to do the exercises first. One can also try to listen to the MP3 recordings, watch the videos and/or copy Zhuan Falun, etc.