用中文學法與參與正法項目中不斷提升自己 Striving to Improve in Cultivation (PM 1st sharing

在努力用中文學法與參與正法項目中不斷提升自己  (PM 1st sharing

J. T.

尊敬慈悲偉大的師父好!

各位同修大家好!

我叫芳,是一名來自越南的澳洲大法弟子。感恩師父的慈悲,我有幸在2019年融入了墨爾本的整體修煉環境。我得法至今已經九年多。在不斷修煉、成長的過程中,我越來越明白自己身為大法弟子的責任,能和澳洲同修一起助師正法,我心裏充滿珍惜。

師父在《再造》中開示:「走回傳統路通天。」這句話深深印在我的心裏。

師父在《轉法輪》中開示:

「從做好人做起,一味的提高自己的心性,一味的吃苦,一味的往上修,一味的要求心性的提高,卻看不到自己的功。」

我也體會到,按照傳統文化的道德標準來要求自己、修煉心性,是我們不斷向上提升的基礎。

第一部分:透過學習用中文學法的過程修煉自己

師父在《二零零五年舊金山法會講法》中開示:

「當然如果用原來的越南文幾乎不用翻,因為那時候亞洲幾乎都使用漢字,但後來法國人給越南人創造了這種文字以後就把越南人的古代文化與近代人的思維方式隔斷了。現代越南人在思維方式上是受到了影響,近代文字內涵幾乎沒有,所以在翻譯他的時候就很難翻準確。」

從中我體悟到,作為一名越南籍大法弟子,如果能夠走回傳統文化,透過學習中文來學法、理解法,為自己的修煉打下更加紮實的基礎,這對自己的提高一定會有所幫助。

師父在《二零一五年美國西部法會講法》中開示:

「法正人間的時候,不用中文讀都不行的,不懂原意都不行的,那要求就高了。」

這更加堅定了我想要學習正體中文、以中文學法的心願。

六年多來,我從零開始,靠著讀《轉法輪》和各地講法經文努力自學中文。這條路雖然走得很辛苦,但對我來說,這正是突破自我、修煉心性的過程。

正如師父在《洪吟》<法輪大法>中開示:

功修有路心為徑
大法無邊苦作舟

這段艱苦學習與修煉的過程,也讓我有機會不斷磨煉自己,逐漸培養出「自強不息」、「循序漸進」和「持之以恆」的毅力。對我來說,都是在實踐「忍」的內涵,也是在修煉中不斷提高自己的過程。

2020年澳洲封城時,我從拼音開始學。後來意識到拼音缺乏傳統文化的內涵,我面臨了一次很大的考驗:是要繼續走輕鬆的路,還是重新開始,去學正體中文注音符號——也就是《轉法輪》正體版印刷書採用的注音系統?

我當時心裏考慮了很久,要放下過去的對時間和習慣的執著,去學一套完全陌生的系統,真的需要勇氣。而且那時我白天要帶兩個年幼的孩子、忙家務、讀師範課程,還要適應新移民生活的壓力;學注音的課程又是澳洲時間晚上11點到凌晨1點。

我體悟到,這是對我學習中文的正念所安排的第一次考驗。面對這次考驗,我沒有灰心和放棄,而是體悟到:要通過這次考驗,就必須以學法為基礎。

師父在《精進要旨二》<排除干擾>中開示:

「法能破一切執著,法能破一切邪惡,法能破除一切謊言,法能堅定正念。」

通過堅持每天參加越南語小組學法,在師父的慈悲加持下,我在很短的時間內,很快掌握了注音系統,能熟練地辨認字詞的組合,從而能夠讀通中文版《轉法輪》。當我第一次能夠熟練地使用注音讀中文版的《論語》時,我流下了眼淚,內心感到無比幸福。

疫情過後,生活恢復正常,我開始全職工作,同時也要完成學位課程,使得時間非常有限。為了能真正做到以中文學法,深入理解法的含義,而不只是停留在表面誦讀,我與年長同修成立了學法組,每天早上五點一起學法。這個整體的修煉環境就像一面鏡子,讓我看見和去掉了自己許多的執著心。

每天當鬧鐘響起時,我都要跟懶惰心和安逸心做掙扎。我那時候負責整理詞彙和翻譯文章,每次看到年長同修認真、準時的參加學法,讓我意識到不能因為個人的事情和自己的執著耽誤整個小組的進度。與同修們一起學法、比學比修的精神,幫助我克服了安逸心。經過三年的不懈努力和堅持,我們終於完成了第一輪用中文閱讀和理解《轉法輪》。

此外,與同修一起學法,也讓我認識到自己存在的急躁心和自卑心。初期,當我看到我們每天只能讀懂一小段時,覺得完成《轉法輪》的目標變成一條漫長無盡的道路,不知道什麼時候才能抵達終點。我的急躁心和對追求結果的心就冒了出來,讓我感到灰心。除此以外,看到幾位年長的同修已經能夠記住漢字,直接看著漢字閱讀,而我還需要用注音閱讀時,讓我感到非常自卑和有壓力,甚至埋怨自己沒有足夠的時間學習。

認識到這些問題後,我立即向內找,並想起了傳統文化中的求學之道,貴在專心與持之以恆。我明白,學習中文也是一個修煉的過程,重要的是保持持之以恆的態度,如水滴石穿。我認識到,自己必須放下對時間的執著以及對結果的追求,要真正用心地累積。

師父在《轉法輪》中開示:

「你得對自己要嚴格要求,佛法修煉你要勇猛精進的。」

我深深感恩師父的教導,努力把握時間學法、複習用中文學法。每當有空閑時間,我就用來複習。無論是在日常生活中,還是與家人外出旅遊時,我也堅持每天按照既定的時間用中文學法。在這段漫長的歷程中,我還必須面對各種各樣的干擾。無論是熬夜照顧生病的孩子、經歷自身消業的過程,還是持續面對完成學位課程的進度壓力,各種考驗接連不斷的向我襲來。

然而,我明白,這些都是考驗我的關,正如師父在《轉法輪》中開示:

「複雜的環境,我想反倒是好事,越複雜,才能出高人哪,要從這裡脫穎而出,那才修的最紮實。」

每當完成一遍用中文閱讀《轉法輪》後,我都感覺自己累積了更多中文知識,但同時也認識到,自己在技能方面存在著不足,需要繼續完善。目前我還無法用中文進行交流和閱讀、理解修煉範疇以外的中文閱讀。因此,我也正在專業老師的指導下,努力提升自己的中文溝通和閱讀能力。

回看六年來用中文學法的過程,對我來說不僅僅是學習一種語言,更是一段克服困難、完善自己、磨煉「忍」的過程。隨著我心性不斷提高,語言能力也逐漸發生變化。在今年七月的美國之行中,我得到了一個神聖的機緣,憑藉自身累積的中文能力、外語技能和教育經驗,我非常感動的收到了紐約小蓮花學校的合作邀請。

我內心充滿對師父的感恩,也提醒自己在接下來的修煉道路上,要更加努力、更加精進,不辜負師父慈悲苦度。

第二部分:透過參與翻譯項目修煉自己

師父在《轉法輪》中開示:「當然,修在自己,功在師父。」我悟到,當師父看到我堅定用中文學法的心時,慈悲的加持我,幫助我加快對中文的領悟。

我讀法時越來越準確,逐漸能記住漢字的字形,不再需要依賴注音系統。每天學法時,透過練習翻譯《轉法輪》和各篇經文,我的翻譯能力也逐漸提升,讓我更有信心的參與到每年的法會翻譯項目中。

在澳洲,懂中文的越南學員非常有限。對此,我體悟到,師父給予我的能力,不是為了滿足自我需求,而是為了成為整體中有用的粒子,為整體作出貢獻,回報於大法項目。

考驗往往發生在法會召開的前一晚。許多時候,一篇翻譯稿經過一番努力,卻突然在最後一刻又有了修改,我必須立即與時間賽跑,趕緊進行調整。當時,我的私心和抱怨心就翻出來了,覺得工作流程不夠完善,浪費了自己很多時間。

然而,我突然想起師父在《轉法輪》中開示:

「我過去修煉的時候,有許多高人給我講過這樣的話,他說:「難忍能忍,難行能行」。」於是我就靜下心來,重新全力以赴,馬上找出要修改的地方,讓翻譯稿能夠準確完成。

隨著自己不斷去除人的觀念、提高心性,師父也進一步為我開啟智慧。在接下來的幾年時間,我認識中文字的能力逐漸提升,能夠翻譯更多交流文章,翻譯稿的質量也有所提升,從而減輕編輯組很多工作量。

第三部分:在協調越南舞蹈項目中修煉和成長

除了翻譯項目之外,我還負責墨爾本越南舞蹈項目的協調工作。

回顧這三年來,與同修們一起維護和發展越南舞蹈項目的過程,我才深刻體會到,這是一條更具挑戰性的道路,讓我突破自己的人心,真正的實修。

師父在《二零一五年紐約法會講法》中開示:

「當負責人壓力大,是,壓力小也不是修煉了。」

我沒有舞蹈專業背景,協調這個項目我要從零開始,對我來說,壓力確實不小。但我也很明確,這個項目對越南裔社區洪法和講真相的重要性。

我們不管各自的生活多麼忙碌,舞蹈項目的同修們還是會安排好家庭,克服重重干擾,一起堅持練習,使舞蹈動作更加優美。

現在,我們已經編排了三個舞蹈節目,每個節目都有不同的服裝和內容。感恩師父,在不同的時期,都會安排有專業的舞蹈同修來指導我們,讓我們不斷的同化傳統女性的美好特質,用純真純善的心態將大法的美好帶給眾生。

面對項目中多次的人員變動和心性上的摩擦,也促使我更加深入地向內找,反思自己究竟在哪些方面存在不足。我認識到,自己對人的情仍然有所執著,於是,我立即調整自己的修煉狀態,更加專心地學法,端正自己的心態。正是這樣的改變,使項目同修之間形成了一個祥和的整體,從而更好地完成助師救人的使命。

過去這段時間,我們參與了墨爾本越南社區舉辦的許多文化活動。不僅讓更多眾生看到真、善、忍的美好,以及法輪功學員純正的風貌,也為我們創造了更多講清真相的機會。在各類攤位和社區交流活動中,許多越南裔民眾因此認識了大法,瞭解了發生在中國大陸的殘酷迫害,並主動找到我們,在正義的請願書上簽名制止中共對法輪功的迫害。

這也讓我們有機會向社區介紹並傳播神韻的美好。澳洲推廣神韻項目的一位協調人與我們分享了一個好消息:來劇院欣賞神韻的越南裔觀眾增加很多。同時越南同修協調人分享,我們舞蹈隊也經常收到越南社區領袖的感謝與認可;同時,我們也把握機會向政要講清真相。當地眾生的轉變見證了大法弟子在一起配合救度眾生展現出的大法的威德。

以上是我有限層次的修煉體會,如有不當之處,請同修慈悲指正。

感恩慈悲偉大的師父!

感謝同修!

Improving in Cultivation By Striving to Study the Fa in Chinese and working in Dafa Projects

July Thanh

Greetings to our respected and compassionate Master!

Greetings, fellow practitioners!

My name is July Thanh. I am a Vietnamese practitioner living in Australia. I obtained the Fa in Vietnam, but through Master’s compassionate arrangements, I became part of the Melbourne cultivation body in 2019. After more than 9 years of cultivation, I have become a true Dafa disciple, joining other practitioners in Australia to work together with one heart to assist Master in Fa-rectification. This has truly been a great blessing.

Master wrote in his article “Creating Anew”: “Return to tradition to connect with the divine.” This teaching has been deeply engraved in my heart. Master also said in Zhuan Falun:

“One should always improve xinxing, always suffer hardships, ascend constantly in cultivation, and always seek to improve xinxing, even though one cannot see one’s own gong.”

Through understanding these Fa principles, I came to realise that cultivating traditional virtues is the foundation for cultivating to higher levels.

1. Improving Myself in Cultivation By Studying the Fa in Chinese

In Teaching the Fa at the 2005 San Francisco Fa Conference, when discussing the Vietnamese language, Master said:

“…If you used original, classical Vietnamese, you almost wouldn’t need to translate it because at one time Chinese characters were used in almost all parts of Asia. But later when the French created those characters for the Vietnamese, it cut contemporary Vietnamese thinking off from its ancient culture. The modern-day Vietnamese people have indeed been affected in terms of their way of thinking. There is almost no inner meaning in the contemporary Vietnamese language, and that’s why it is so difficult to translate it accurately. …”

I realised that, as a Vietnamese Dafa disciple, if I could return to traditional culture and use Chinese characters to study and understand the Fa, laying a foundation for my own cultivation, it would help me improve in cultivation. This intention was further reinforced by Master’s words in Teaching the Fa at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference:

“…The requirements will be high, however, during the Fa’s rectification of the human world, and at that time it won’t work if you aren’t reading the Fa in Chinese, if you don’t understand the meaning at the source…”

For this reason, over the past 6 years, starting from scratch, I began to learn Chinese through self-study, using Zhuan Falun and Master’s lectures as my study materials. It has been a challenging yet deeply uplifting journey of cultivation. Master wrote in Hong Yin, in the poem Falun Dafa:

“Gong cultivation has a way, the heart is the path

Dafa has no bounds, hardship serves as the ferry.”

This process of arduous cultivation has helped me develop qualities such as continuous self-improvement, progressing step by step, and perseverance. These qualities are manifestations of the inner meaning of forbearance in cultivation.

In 2020, during Victoria’s lockdown, I began learning Chinese using the Pinyin system. However, knowing that Pinyin did not carry the traditional cultural connotation, I faced a major test: Should I continue along the familiar, easier path, or take the right path by starting over and learning using the more traditional Zhuyin phonetic system, used in the standard printed editions of Zhuan Falun?

This inner struggle was intense. I had to let go of my fear of difficulty and my attachment to the effort and time I had already invested in learning through Pinyin, so that I could learn the unfamiliar yet traditional Zhuyin system from the beginning.

Making this choice meant attending classes from 11 pm at night to 1 am in the morning, while during the day, I had to manage household responsibilities, raise two young children, study for a teaching qualification, and find a way to settle into the demanding life of a new immigrant.

I realised that this was the first test Master had set for me to test my righteous thoughts about learning Chinese. Rather than becoming discouraged and giving up, I realised that to pass this test, I had to make studying the Fa my foundation. As Master taught in Essentials for Further Advancement II, in “Drive Out Interference”:

“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.”

Persevering with daily group Fa study in Vietnamese strengthened my thoughts. Within a short time, I quickly mastered the Zhuyin phonetic system and became proficient at recognising Chinese characters and reading them in Zhuan Falun using Zhuyin. The first time I was able to read Lunyu fluently in Chinese using Zhuyin, my eyes welled up with tears of happiness.

As life returned to normal after Covid, I began working full-time while completing my qualification, leaving me with very little spare time. To continue studying the Fa in Chinese in a meaningful way—that is, to deepen my understanding of its meaning rather than merely reading the words aloud—I joined a daily group Fa study at 5 am with practitioners in Melbourne, many of whom were elderly. Cultivating together in this environment served as a mirror, helping me recognise and eliminate many deeply hidden attachments.

Every time my alarm went off, I faced a difficult inner struggle with laziness and seeking comfort. However, when I saw the older practitioners consistently and punctually attending group Fa study with such seriousness, and recognised my own responsibility for organising the vocabulary system and translating the study materials, I realised that I could not slack off and delay the progress of the entire group.

It was this sense of responsibility, and the spirit of learning from and cultivating alongside other practitioners that helped me overcome my attachment to comfort and strengthen my righteous thoughts. Together, we persevered, diligently improving our understanding little by little over three years, until we completed our first full reading of Zhuan Falun in Chinese.

Studying with other practitioners helped me recognise my attachments to impatience and low self-esteem. In the early stages, when I saw that we could understand only a short passage each day, the journey ahead to complete Zhuan Falun suddenly seemed endless, and I wondered when we would ever reach our destination. My impatience and pursuit of results surfaced, and I felt quite discouraged.

When I saw that the older practitioners could already recognise the Chinese characters and read directly from the text, while I still had to rely on Zhuyin to read, I felt stressed and deeply inadequate. I even complained to myself that I didn’t have enough time to study.

However, when I caught these thoughts, I immediately looked inward and recalled a traditional Chinese proverb: that the key to teaching and learning lies in wholehearted focus and perseverance.

I also knew that learning Chinese was a process of cultivation, and that what mattered most was maintaining consistency and perseverance over time. Like water dripping steadily upon a stone until it wears it down, I realised that I needed to let go of my attachment to time and my pursuit of results, and simply apply myself wholeheartedly to accumulating knowledge bit by bit.

Master said in Zhuan Falun, Lecture 9:

“You must be strict with yourself. In cultivation of the Buddha Fa, you should strive forward vigorously.”

Taking Master’s teachings to heart, I tried really hard to find time to study and review the Fa in Chinese. Whenever I had a spare moment, I would take out my study materials and review what I had learned. Whether during my daily life or while travelling with my family, I was committed to setting aside time each day to study the Fa in Chinese.

I ran into many types of interference throughout this long journey. Whether it was staying up late to care for a sick child, going through karma cleansing, or dealing with the stress of demanding deadlines to complete my qualification, these challenges seemed to surround me constantly. However, I understood that they were all tribulations and tests. As Master said in Zhuan Falun:

“The complicated environment, in my view, is instead a good thing. The more complicated it is, the greater the individuals it will produce. If one can elevate oneself above and beyond it, one’s cultivation will be the most solid.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Nine).

Whenever I completed a reading of all nine lectures of Zhuan Falun, I felt that my Chinese vocabulary had grown, while also becoming more aware of the language skills I still needed to improve. I was still unable to communicate in Chinese or understand Chinese texts outside the context of cultivation. So, I am now making efforts to improve my Chinese communication skills with the guidance of a qualified teacher.

My six-year journey of studying the Fa in Chinese has been more than simply learning a language. It has been a journey of continually overcoming difficulties, improving myself, and cultivating the quality of Ren (Forbearance). As my xinxing improved and my language abilities gradually developed, Master compassionately arranged a sacred opportunity for me.

During my trip to the United States this past July, I was deeply moved to receive an invitation to collaborate with the Little Lotus School in New York. This came about due to the Chinese language skills I had developed through studying the Fa, along with my foreign-language skills, and my existing educational experience. I am deeply grateful to Master for this encouraging gift. It reminds me to cultivate more diligently on the path ahead, so that I may live up to Master’s compassionate salvation.

2. Cultivating While Participating in Translation Projects

Master told us in Zhuan Falun:

“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.”

Seeing my determination to study the Fa in Chinese, Master compassionately strengthened me and helped accelerate my understanding of the language. I became more accurate in reading the Fa and gradually learned to recognise Chinese characters without having to rely on the Zhuyin system.

As I studied the Fa each day, I also developed my translation skills through Zhuan Falun and Master’s lectures. This gave me the confidence to participate in translating experience-sharing articles for the annual Fa Conference.

Given the extremely limited number of Vietnamese practitioners in Australia who also know Chinese, I realised that the abilities Master has given me are not for serving my personal interests, but to be able to contribute meaningfully to the Melbourne cultivation body and support Dafa projects.

Tests and challenges often came up the night before a Fa Conference. On many occasions, after I had put in considerable effort to complete a translation, unexpected changes and revisions would suddenly come in at the last minute, forcing me to race against time to make the necessary adjustments. At such moments, my selfishness and resentment would surface. I felt that the workflow was not well organised and that I was losing a considerable amount of time.

However, I suddenly recalled Master’s teaching in Zhuan Falun:

“When I practiced cultivation in the past, many great masters told me these words, and they said, When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.”

I immediately calmed down and returned to the task, doing my utmost to identify the changes and complete the translation as accurately as possible.

As I continued to eliminate human notions and improve my xinxing, Master further broadened my wisdom. As the years went by, my ability to recognise Chinese characters improved, allowing me to translate more experience-sharing articles. The quality of my translations also improved, helping to ease the workload and pressure on the editorial team.

3. Improving in Cultivation While Coordinating the Vietnamese Dance Project

In addition to the translation project, I also coordinate the Vietnamese dance project in Melbourne. Looking back on the three years I have worked with other practitioners who have sustained and developed the Vietnamese dance project, I now understand more deeply that Master gave me this more challenging path to help me break through my limitations and genuinely cultivate.

Master said in Teaching the Fa at the 2015 New York Fa Conference:

“There is a lot of pressure being a coordinator, indeed, but it wouldn’t be cultivation if there weren’t much pressure.”

Taking responsibility for a project from scratch, when I had no professional dance training at all, was quite stressful. However, I also understood the importance of this project to our local efforts to promote Dafa and clarify the truth, particularly in an area with a very large Vietnamese community.

During this time, despite the demands of our personal lives, our group of female practitioners worked hard to arrange our family responsibilities and overcome different interference so that we could practise diligently together, making our dance movements softer and more graceful.

So far, our project has developed three dance performances, each with different costumes and choreography. At different stages, we were guided by other practitioners who had professional expertise in dancing.

Participating in the dance project is not just to improve our dance techniques. We are also assimilating ourselves to the purity, kindness and beauty of traditional women as we introduce the beauty of Dafa to sentient beings.

During the process, there were repeated changes in team members and conflicts arose due to differences in xinxing. This made me look inward more deeply and examine where I had fallen short. I recognised my attachment to the “qing” among us. I immediately rectified my own cultivation, studied the Fa with greater concentration, and corrected my mindset. As a result, the team gradually became more united, enabling the dance project to better fulfil its role in assisting Master to save people.

Over the past few years, we have participated in many cultural events within Melbourne’s Vietnamese community. The group’s presence has not only allowed people to see the beauty of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and the upright demeanour of Falun Gong practitioners, but has also created more opportunities to clarify the truth. Many Vietnamese people have come to learn about Dafa, understand the brutality of the persecution in China, and proactively approach us to sign petitions calling for justice.

This has also helped us introduce and share the beauty of Shen Yun with the community. A Shen Yun project coordinator in Australia shared some good news with us: the number of Vietnamese people attending Shen Yun performances had increased significantly. According to the Vietnamese coordinator, our dance group has also frequently received expressions of appreciation from the President of the Vietnamese community. We have also had opportunities to clarify the truth to Members of Parliament when they attend our events. These profound changes among people in the local community bear witness to the mighty virtue of Dafa disciples when they work together to fulfil their mission of saving sentient beings.

These are my personal understandings in cultivation. As my level is limited, if anything I have shared is not in accordance with the Fa or is inappropriate, I sincerely ask practitioners to kindly point it out.

Thank you, respected and compassionate Master!

Thank you, fellow practitioners!