Cultivating in the Environment of Group Fa Study

When my son was very little, I started teaching him to recite the poems in the book Hong Yin and to send forth righteous thoughts. However, I did not really view him as a little practitioner. I would let him watch TV and satisfy his requests as long as he did not interfere with my doing the three things (study the Fa [the teachings of Falun Dafa], send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and about the persecution to the world's people). As a result, he became spoiled. In order to study a paragraph of Fa, I needed to spend quite a while with him to persuade him not to interrupt me. I was very worried and truly hoped that there would be a Minghui school established in mainland China. Master arranged for me to meet another two practitioners with children. All of our children are in the same age group. After discussing the situation, we established a group Fa study site for young practitioners in the home of practitioner B.

In this environment of group Fa study, with the help of other practitioners, I found and eliminated my attachment to relying on others and also my selfishness. In the past, I was not responsible in guiding my son as a little practitioner and I began to worry about his character.

"Parents are committing a crime when they indulge their children." "We say that cultivators shouldn't get angry, but you can discipline children. If you're in a good mood and you spank them with a smile, they'll still feel the pain. The purpose is to teach the child a lesson, to tell him not to do bad things." ("Teaching the Fa at the Assistants' Fa Conference in Changchun")

I followed Master's words. When I found his shortcomings, I pointed them out without getting upset. I only let him watch programs from NTDTV (New Tang Dynasty TV). Now my son is well-behaved. On his final exam, he ranked among the top ten. Upon seeing his improvement, my husband became very happy. He is no longer opposed to me studying the Fa with our son.

It has been mentioned in Master's new articles and experience sharing articles by fellow practitioners that one can improve rapidly in a group study environment. Thus I always wanted to exchange experiences with those who cultivate well and have a good understanding of the Fa. Sometimes, I felt that I myself had cultivated quite well and could help other practitioners to improve. With such human notions, I looked down on others. Then a test started to take place--practitioner B said that I wanted to be different. She also found Master's Fa to target my problem. Sometimes my heart was moved, but on the surface I was trying to be "tolerant." One time she said that the quality of my truth-clarification materials was not good enough. I could not take it any more and replied, "Why don't you do it?" I thought to myself, "I am so busy with work. Once I get home, I need to study the Fa with the children. I managed to make the materials. Yet you still complain that the quality is not good and you are waiting and relying on others. You don't understand others' situations and still complain. Ah! How come I cannot meet practitioners who cultivate well?"

Finally I exploded when we were memorizing the Fa. Practitioners A and B felt that the children could not focus well when they just read the Fa. Therefore we decided to get them to memorize Zhuan Falun. When one person read, others repeated after him. Sometimes practitioner B's voice covered the leader's voice. I was used to memorizing quietly by myself and this most noisy environment exposed my attachment. Therefore, I repeatedly interrupted them. In addition, practitioner B did not allow others to read the book while memorizing it and only the leader could read. Sometimes when the young practitioners read, they tended to miss words or make mistakes. I could correct them only because I studied the Fa well in the past. It seemed that it further "proved" that I cultivated well and I was right. I repeatedly requested, "They cannot even read correctly. Let's stop memorizing it. We should continue to read." But they both disagreed.

At that time, Master published the lecture, "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference." Practitioner B came to discuss it with me. She told me to follow the majority, using Master's example of a clenched fist versus an individual finger. Master said,

"Some people might think, "Why should I listen to so-and-so? I think I've cultivated better than him." You mustn't say that. Only someone who has cultivated well will be content to follow whatever is assigned to him, and [thinking that way] only proves that you have not cultivated well." "Since you understand this principle, and know that just because someone manages you it doesn't mean he has cultivated to a higher place, then should there still be issues of discontentment or jealousy involved here? It's fine for someone to manage you, since that is for Dafa. Aren't Dafa disciples supposed to be able to adapt to different circumstances?" ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")

We should look inside ourselves because we are forging new paths in our cultivation. We can only explore our own path during the process of Fa validation. As long as we study the Fa, it doesn't matter if we read it or memorize it, the effect will still be the same. There is no use in arguing about who is right or wrong. I found and eliminated my attachment to jealousy, seeking comfort, showing off and proving myself. When these notions surfaced, I tried to suppress and eliminate them. I tried to harmonize the form of memorizing the Fa and give my sincere suggestions as to how to do it better. Currently we are memorizing the third lecture. I can now meditate with my legs in the double lotus position for over twenty minutes.

In fact, the cultivation path of each individual practitioner is a record in our grand history. As cultivators, how can we ignore others' good points and only look at their shortcomings? Isn't that the same as the workings of the old forces? Where is our compassion and tolerance? I was looking everywhere for practitioners who cultivated well. In fact, these two practitioners cultivated very well. Since Master arranged for us to cultivate together, there must have been some attachments that I needed to eliminate.

Please point out anything that is inappropriate.