Yu Menglong's Reply: About Cultivation Practice
(The following responses have all been reviewed by Yu (Yu Menglong) word by word.)
Lemon: Can reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” be used for cultivation in the same way as reciting “Om Mani Padme Hum”?
Yu En Transmission: They are different cultivation paths.
You may wish to read an introduction to Falun Dafa:
https://big5.falundafa.org/introduction.html
If you are interested in learning more, the website also provides Falun Dafa books as well as exercise instruction videos and audio recordings, all of which can be downloaded free of charge.
Lemon: I actually skimmed through some of the materials before, but I couldn't quite grasp the essence. The books don't seem to teach cultivation through mantra recitation, though they do mention qigong. I suppose one must start by learning the qigong exercises. I'll take another look to see if there is any form of recitation practice.
Yu En Transmission: Different cultivation schools have different methods. Not all of them involve mantra recitation.
Falun Dafa is a high-level cultivation practice of the Buddha School and does not require beginning with lower-level qi cultivation.
From our current level of understanding, Falun Dafa emphasizes the cultivation of one's character (xinxing), while gaining insight into higher-level principles during the cultivation process. The exercises serve as a supplementary means toward achieving spiritual fulfillment.
We recommend reading Zhuan Falun from beginning to end in its entirety. We believe you will gain your own insights from it.
Lemon: Yu En, I've been reading Zhuan Falun by skipping around, but no matter where I look, it mostly talks about principles and character improvement. It seems to tell people not to be impatient. Like many other books, I can't find anything that helps me quickly eliminate karma, become independent in various aspects of life, or improve my circumstances. I honestly can't find a path forward. The more I can't find one, the more anxious I become.
Yu En Transmission: The fact that you can see that the book focuses on character and moral cultivation suggests that you have a good foundation and strong comprehension.
Our suggestion is that Zhuan Falun should be read from beginning to end and not selectively. Unlike ordinary philosophy books or popular science books, it is not a text where you can simply look up a particular chapter to acquire a specific piece of knowledge or skill.
Zhuan Falun is a genuine cultivation book. It contains the principles of the New Universe, and everything is encompassed within it. Without reading it in its entirety, it may be difficult to truly appreciate its deeper meaning.
Have you ever heard the story of the wordless heavenly book? Different people, depending on their character and state of mind, can see completely different things within the same heavenly text. Perhaps Zhuan Falun is such a book.
When you read Zhuan Falun with the mindset of wanting to “quickly eliminate karma, quickly become independent, and quickly improve life,” cultivators would view that as a form of attachment and pursuit. The more one pursues, the less one obtains; the less one obtains, the more anxious one becomes—and the cycle continues.
Cultivation is not undertaken for the purpose of eliminating karma, nor is it for improving one's worldly life. Its purpose is to return to one's original, true self and ultimately return to one's true home.
During the cultivation process, a person gradually lets go of unhealthy thoughts and attachments, improves their character, and part of their karma is removed with the Master's help, while another part must still be endured and repaid by the individual.
Since much of life's suffering is connected to one's karma, when karma is reduced, life naturally becomes easier. These things complement one another.
However, such changes do not happen overnight. The karma people carry was not accumulated in just one lifetime, so there is no way to rush the process. Having a sense of urgency about making good use of time is understandable, but excessive anxiety is another extreme. As the saying goes, excess is as harmful as deficiency.
There is an old saying: “Planting willows without intention, yet finding shade beneath them.” Cultivators often say, “Seek nothing, and what is meant to come will come naturally.”
When you let go of expectations, maintain a humble mindset, and calmly read Zhuan Falun from beginning to end again and again, you may discover that each reading brings different insights. You may gradually perceive deeper layers of meaning, improve your character, and strengthen your abilities without even realizing it. In time, the problems you are trying so hard to solve may no longer seem like problems at all.
The above reflects our understanding at our current level and is offered only for reference.
(Note:"Om Mani Padme Hum" is a traditional Buddhist mantra associated with Avalokiteśvara and Tibetan Buddhism.)
