Some Understandings about Tribulations

(Minghui.org) Many of us experienced tribulations during our cultivation journey. My opinion is that the tribulations you encounter are the result of your own karma. You only bear the portion you are able to overcome because the rest has been borne by Master.

Master said that tribulations are arranged based on our cultivation levels and our endurance, and they are the best arrangements. Some practitioners complain that their tribulations are too big to handle and feel Master is not taking care of them. They want the tribulation to become smaller and smaller and want Master to bear more for them. Are you here to practice cultivation or to enjoy your human life?

Master said,

“As long as you upgrade your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun, Third Translation Edition Updated in March, 2000. USA)

I had a severe pain in my gallbladder a few years ago. The other practitioners were busy, so I didn’t want to bother them. I endured it alone and lost about 15 pounds in five days. My righteous thoughts were exhausted but I was ashamed to ask the others to help. At one point I even thought Master was not taking care of me. In the end, I called two friends to drive me to the provincial capital where my mother and my elder brother would take me to a good hospital.

On the way, one friend heard me moaning in pain and said, “You used to be very capable and strong-willed, what happened? You often said that you memorized the Fa, can you recite some now?”

I understood Master was using his mouth to remind me, so I began to recite the Fa that I could remember, from Lunyu and Hong Yin, to paragraphs in Zhuan Falun. My friends stopped the car halfway to use the restroom. My pain disappeared when we hit the road again.

I had NMR twice in the provincial hospital but the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong. I knew Master saved me again.

I later realized that it was a display of low xinxing that I didn’t want to call for help from fellow practitioners. I didn’t put myself into the one body. My selfish behavior separated me from the larger group.

Master said, 

“Let me tell you that a lot of it has already been removed for you, and your tribulations are already quite trivial. If it were not removed for you, you might already have dropped dead had you encountered this trouble. Perhaps you would never be able to get out of your bed. When you meet with a little trouble, you will feel uncomfortable. But how can it be that comfortable?” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

And,“This is to say just how difficult it is to save a person. So much had been done for him, yet he still did not realize it; instead he said something like that.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

It’s important to have a correct base point when looking at a problem. The first thought will determine the direction. When a tribulation comes, if you regard it as a good thing and an opportunity to eliminate your karma, the matter will go in the right direction, and the outcome will be positive.

Editor’s Note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)