(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
A recent incident showed me the importance of practicing the exercises with other practitioners.
Ever since I started cultivating, meditating in the full lotus position has been a big test for me. My body has always been rigid, and I needed to grit my teeth before I could meditate in the full lotus position for ten minutes. I set goals for myself, such as: being able to meditate in the full lotus position for an hour by a certain date. However, as I did not cultivate well so I could not calm my mind when I did the exercises, these goals went down the drain. In fact, they actually made me waver in my determination to continue cultivating.
I still measured this matter using an ordinary person’s standards. I thought that as long as I set goals and put in the effort, I would be able to attain them. As I continued practicing I gradually realized my mistake. I then experienced the power of Dafa when I cultivated diligently with fellow practitioners.
Cultivating Solidly
One issue that troubled me for a long time was that my bottom was very painful when I meditated. I thought that this might be due to my thigh bone [femur] and the pain increased whenever I meditated for a long time. The shape of the bone was sharp, so I could not sit still when I meditated. It sometimes felt like I was sitting on a see-saw. If I did not focus, my body started moving. I placed a soft mat under my bottom so the “sharp” edge wouldn’t touch the ground. As a cultivator, I know that enduring hardship is a good thing. I also wanted the other practitioners to think I cultivated well, so I didn’t want to take my leg down in front of them. I just endured the pain.
I recently participated in the parade in Kansai and I had a breakthrough in my cultivation. Before the parade began I did the exercises with fellow practitioners. I brought an exercise mat and a soft mat to place underneath my bottom. Just as I was about to do the exercises I noticed another practitioner sat directly on the hard stone floor because he did not bring a mat. I thought he would be in pain so I lent him my soft mat.
The other practitioners quietly did the exercises. However, I could not calm down. As there was no soft mat, the “sharp” area in my bottom started to hurt and it was exceptionally disturbing. But we were only halfway through the meditation and I felt it would be too embarrassing to take down my leg. So I grit my teeth, tolerated the pain, and sat still.
About eleven minutes later the base of my thigh no longer hurt. When I carefully felt it I discovered that the “sharp” area in my bottom disappeared. The usual see-saw feeling was also gone and I felt very comfortable. I knew that I passed this test. When my legs hurt after this it felt different. I understood that through a long period of solid cultivation and getting rid of my karma, my xinxing also improved, thus my bottom no longer hurt.
Joining the Group Exercise
Last year I began doing the exercises with practitioners in Tokyo, especially the morning sessions. I truly experienced the joy of cultivating.
I usually do the exercises at home and I sweat. After I do the exercises, I usually take a shower. Another practitioner kept talking about his experiences when he did the exercises at the park in the morning, so I decided to go to the practice site.
After I went there a few times, I discovered that doing the exercises with the group is an amazing experience. My main consciousness was very strong and I did not fall asleep. I was able to persist even when my hands were tired or my legs were sore, especially when we did the second exercise. When the other practitioners said we would do the second exercise for an hour, I didn’t feel confident. When I did the half hour version my arms usually felt heavy, as though they were filled with lead and I sweat. I was able to finish by enduring the pain. I felt I’d be able to do the second exercise for one hour.
As I continued doing the exercises with other practitioners there was significant improvement in my tolerance. It no longer felt so hard to do the second exercise and my heart calmed down. I even forget about the time and just listened to the exercise music—it felt like a gentle breeze was passing by.
It’s not easy to maintain such a good state. For example one morning, just as I was about to get out of bed I began having negative thoughts. I wanted to continue sleeping. I complained about my family, my girlfriend and my current state—I complained about everything and everyone. These bad thoughts all had the same goal: “Wouldn’t it be better to just continue laying under my blankets instead of getting up to do the exercises.”
I realized this was a test to see if I could differentiate between the true me and if I could remember that I’m a cultivator. I began eliminating these negative thoughts. I knew they were not mine. They are the combination of the attachments and thought karma that I acquired after birth. I sat up and sent out the thought: “I am a cultivator and I do not want these bad thoughts.” As soon as I had this thought, many of those negative thoughts quickly disintegrated and my mind felt awake and clear.
I turned on the exercise music and I started doing the exercises. As the gentle music slowly sounded, I entered a tranquil state very quickly. As I listened to the exercise music, there was almost no distracting thoughts in my mind. My body also attained the state that Master mentioned: “...you should feel wonderful and very comfortable as though you are sitting inside an egg shell; you will be aware of yourself practicing the exercise, but you feel that your whole body cannot move.” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun).
After I did the exercises, I felt energetic and the tiredness was gone. What replaced it was the feeling of relaxation and joy.
I experienced the seriousness of cultivation and I wished to cultivate diligently.
Master Opened Up My Wisdom
I also personally experienced Dafa’s power, which opened my wisdom.
I studied liberal arts when I was at university. I was bad at mathematics and always made mistakes. The teacher often criticized me, and said I did not solve the mathematical questions. I was just making up the numbers. I understood that my frequent mistakes meant that my main conscious was weak, so I had trouble concentrating. After I started cultivating, I made few mistakes. However, I still had trouble solving mathematical problems.
Last year, due to my job requirement I had to learn some skills related to accounting. I graduated from university years ago, so I lost the habit of studying. I also always used the computer at work and seldom took notes.
I forced myself to study, but the results were bad. I grasped the basic courses, but if the content was slightly difficult I had trouble absorbing it. I usually forgot what I learned in class and gave incorrect answers in the homework exercises. When I told a fellow practitioner about this problem, he immediately pointed out, “Have you placed Dafa in a secondary position? You only value fame and gain and look forward to a good life, but you’ve forgotten who you really are.”
His words awakened me. I indeed reduced the length of time I read the Fa and did the exercises because I studied late into the night in order to improve quickly. I thought that this is a shortcut but it is a detour instead. After going through some inner turmoil, I was determined to place my cultivation as my top priority.
I began doing the exercises in the morning and I squeezed in time to study the Fa at night. A miracle happened. My memory kept improving and my ability to resolve mathematical problems improved greatly. When I recall what I studied, I was even able to remember the page numbers. I was able to calculate the rough answer for some complicated financial problems.
As I trained myself in mathematics day after day, it felt like my brain was a calculator, and I could quickly solve problems, and I seldom made mistakes.
Initially, I did not understand why. I shared this phenomenon with a fellow practitioner and he quoted Master’s Fa. Master mentioned:
“In fact, let me tell everyone that matter and mind are one thing. In scientific research of the human body, today’s scientists hold that a thought generated by the human brain is a substance. If it is something of material existence, isn’t it something of the human mind as well? Aren’t they the same thing?” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun).
I suddenly understood and once again, I personally experienced Dafa’s inner meaning.
In my work after that, I fully utilized what I have learned and experienced joy at work. This experience also strengthened my belief in Dafa, motivating me to cultivate more diligently.
Eliminating My Stubborn Jealousy
Even when I was a child I compared myself with others. I felt unsettled if I saw others did better than me. I was influenced by Chinese Communist Party culture. For example, when I attended university and saw my classmates did better in their studies than me, I was jealous. At work, when my boss praised my coworkers, or gave them a more important role, I was jealous. When I was among practitioners I felt jealous when someone was acknowledged by the others or someone did well in their project.
From the Fa we know that jealousy is something that we cannot keep. I couldn’t eliminate it and it was almost a natural reaction. I felt anxious but there are no shortcuts in cultivation. I could only strengthen my main consciousness and catch hold of it whenever jealousy appeared.
One day, when the practitioners were talking about some matters in their daily lives, I suddenly realized that my jealousy had weakened. It was as though it had no effect on me. In the past, I would definitely feel jealous and the matter that was made up of jealousy would stay in my heart for a very long time, making me feel really uncomfortable. Why was it gone now? I continued to dig deeper and I saw these two reasons.
One, I strengthened my Fa study and did the exercises more. Master’s Fa often appears in my mind. When the amount of time that I interact with ordinary people became lesser and the amount of time that I study the Fa increased, the jealousy is easily controlled and diminished. When I do the exercises, through enduring the hardship, I got rid of some karma and the bad matter that interfered with me was reduced.
Second, through diligent cultivation, my main conscious became stronger and when jealousy appears, I’m able to differentiate it from myself. In the past, my behavior would often be led by the jealousy and I would feel that this was because I thought in this way. Now, I am able to reject and oppose to it. Now, whenever jealousy appears, I am able to automatically realize that this thing is not me, so I can immediately reject this bad thought.
I realized that strong jealousy is a display of not believing in Master and the Fa. The arrangement that Master has given his disciples is the best. It is able to help us succeed in our cultivation. In that case, why are we still desiring for things that we don’t have? Furthermore, when I dig further into this jealousy, I discovered that this attachment is actually not a simple existence. It is related to all sorts of attachments.
Take for example, seeing others who are more good-looking than me, is a reflection of my vanity and lust and my admiration of others. I also have the inferiority complex, thinking that I am not as good as others. As I dig further, I discovered that there are all sorts of dissatisfaction that are well hidden behind that, and I will even put the blame on others. Writing till here, I took a deep breath myself. Jealousy is so evil. At the same time, I am also full of gratitude, knowing that Master has helped me to get rid of a lot of bad stuff.
Conclusion
I personally experienced the meaning of “cultivating” and “practicing” that Master mentioned. Master said, “When your xinxing is upgraded, your gong will increase. One’s gong level is as high as one’s xinxing level, and this is an absolute truth.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun).
The old me only understood this on the surface. Now, when I read this segment of the Fa again, I have a deeper understanding.
I truly thank Master for his benevolent salvation! I also thank fellow practitioners for helping me and their encouragement.
These are some of my cultivation experiences. Kindly correct me if there’s any room for improvement.
(Selected article presented at the 2025 Fa Conference in Japan)
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