(Minghui.org) As Falun Dafa practitioners, we know that the old forces will often use the illusion of sickness karma or accidents to persecute us. Thus, every practitioner, especially the elderly, must maintain strong righteous thoughts. We must treat ourselves as true cultivators. We must solidly believe that Dafa cultivators do not come down with illnesses.
We first must use righteous thought to deny the persecution imposed by the old forces. We also must intensify sending forth righteous thoughts, and eliminate the old forces completely. Then, we should look inward and look for loopholes or attachments, which allow the old forces to take advantage of us.
Master said:
“If you can truly cultivate, when you can truly let go of your attachment to living or your fear of death--and not just act that way for others to see while constantly thinking about it inside--then no matter what kind of illness you have, it will be cured. In cultivation, the difference between humanness and godhood is just the difference of one thought. This difference of one thought sounds easy, but it can be achieved only with a deep and solid foundation in cultivation. If you can really devote a lot of effort to studying the Fa, you will be able to achieve that.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York)
Common Pitfalls
I would like to point out some common pitfalls, which I believe have brought harm to many practitioners. Those, who are being deceived by sickness karma, are probably making these mistakes.
We must study the Fa intensively, and send more righteous thoughts to eliminate those attacking us.
A cultivator must solidly believe in Master. No one should hold any doubt. How can one cultivate, if one does not believe in Master and the Fa, or if he or she even develops the heart of complaining? It is one's problem, if he or she has long-term health issues. However, it would be a big loophole, if one blames it on Master and Dafa.
When facing physical torture imposed by the old forces, one should never think, “I don't want to live anymore,” no matter how painful the illness. Once one has such a thought, one is seeking death. Then, the old forces will “help” realize that “wish.”
Our task is to help Master rectify the Fa, so how can we give up because of some temporary pain? We should hold onto the thought: “I am a Dafa practitioner. Nobody, but my Master, can test me. I rescind all the pledges that I signed with the old forces and only abide by the oath I made to Master. I deny all the arrangements that the old forces made for me. I will eliminate all of them. I will solidly continue to help Master rectify the Fa. I will follow Master, and finish the journey that Master arranged for me. Nobody can make me leave early.”
If you can hold onto this thought, the old forces will not be able to persecute you.
Mr. Chen's Story
A senior practitioner in my area, Mr. Chen, had made these mistakes, and passed away. Mr. Chen was in his 70s. He did well in clarifying the truth and saving people. His death had brought some damage to my area. We feel regret, and admit that it was partially our fault as we could not help him.
Mr. Chen began to practice Dafa for health reasons. His illnesses were cured from the practice, however, he came down with the same illnesses after some time.
Local practitioners talked to him many times, sent forth righteous thoughts for him, and encouraged him. But, he was not able to understand this issue from the Fa, and he did not deny this persecution.
Mr. Chen's son, who did not practice Dafa, passed away a few years ago. Mr. Chen told him to recite “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” They recited it and Mr. Chen asked Master to save his son. But his son still passed away.
Mr. Chen's wife filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime, and was harassed by the police. She passed away because of the sickness karma.
The deaths of his son and wife, as well as his own illnesses, shook Mr. Chen's belief in Dafa. His doubts accumulated. He told other practitioners that sending forth righteous thoughts or reading the Fa didn't help. In the end, he even held resentment in his heart. He gradually stopped doing the three things.
Local practitioners were worried about him. Although they talked to him many times, they could not resolve whatever wrongness was in his heart. His illnesses worsened. His relatives demanded that he see doctors, and have surgery. After the surgery, he told others that he felt much better. Thus, he reverted to human notions and believed this was an illness, and felt lucky that he went to the hospital on time.
Mr. Chen felt lonely after his wife passed away. His non-practitioner friends pushed him to find a girlfriend. He and his girlfriend moved in together, and he reverted to everyday people's life – walking the dog, spending a lot of money on food, and so on.
Practitioners tried to talk to him, telling him that it was dangerous, and encouraged him to step out this trap, and come back to Dafa.
“I cannot live by myself,” he told the practitioners. “If nobody is around me, people won't even know if I die.” Soon after he said that, he died.
Treating Everything with Righteous Thoughts
I didn't want to tell Mr. Chen's story, because it might damage the reputation of Dafa. But, I thought that exposing it would help awaken other practitioners.
Master has said many times that we need to treat everything with righteous thoughts, and deny the persecution with righteous thoughts. What kind of thought we have at the critical moment is very important. Having human notions and lacking divine thoughts at the critical moment, or even having evil or wrong thoughts, is very dangerous. It reflects the solidness of one's cultivation.
I suggest that practitioners without strong righteous thoughts read the Fa, especially the books Essentials for Further Advancement and Essentials for Further Advancement II, and The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III. This will strengthen righteous thoughts.
One must look for one's loopholes, and fix them in a timely manner; look for attachments, and get rid of them right away. Once the loopholes and the attachments are eliminated, the persecution will end.
Category: Improving Oneself
