In learning Dafa, intellectuals should be aware of a most prominent problem: namely, they study Dafa in the same way everyday people study theoretical writings1, such as selecting relevant quotations from renowned people to examine their own conduct. This will hinder a practitioner’s progress. Furthermore, upon learning that Dafa has profound, inner meaning and high-level things that can guide cultivation practice at different levels, some people even attempt to examine it word by word, but find nothing in the end. These habits, acquired from studying political theories over a long period of time, are also factors that interfere with cultivation practice; they lead to a misunderstanding of the Fa.
While learning the Fa, you should not search for relevant parts, stubbornly intending to solve a particular problem. In fact, this (excluding those problems needing immediate solutions) is also a form of attachment. The only way to gain a good understanding of Dafa is to study it without any intention. Each time you finish reading Zhuan Falun, you have made progress so long as you have gained some understanding. Even if you understood only one point after reading it, you have truly made progress.
Actually, in cultivation practice you ascend by improving yourself gradually and unknowingly. Keep in mind: One should gain things naturally without pursuing them.
Li Hongzhi
September 9, 1995