(Minghui.org) In a recent article, Master made it very clear why encountering hardships is a good thing:
“The reason the Creator made the Three Realms was for beings to diminish their sinful karma by experiencing adversity, with the essential purpose of their elevating on a moral level. Only a being free of sin or karma can be delivered home to Heaven. And the principles of the greater universe dictate that karma must be paid for.” (“Why This World Is a Realm of Unknowing”)
I realized that Falun Dafa practitioners came to the lowest and most miserable place in the Three Realms and cultivate in this confusing environment. We must eliminate our sins, repay our debts through suffering, and improve our character—only then can we reach Dafa’s standards and return to heaven with Master.
I was sick since childhood, but was always pampered and well taken care of by family members. I was spoiled for decades.
Looking back on the 27 years I’ve practiced Falun Dafa I never considered suffering while I eliminated karma to be a good thing. Even though I knew I wasn’t sick, the painful process was still arduous. I passed each test as if I came back from the dead.
In the past, I usually experienced sickness karma during the slow season and it didn’t affect my ability to work in the field. But last year I went through sickness karma during the busy autumn harvest season; not only could I not help in the field, I couldn’t even cook for the family. I felt awful—and the pain wasn’t just physical; I thought that I tarnished the reputation of Dafa and my health was worse than an ordinary person’s. I felt depressed and pessimistic and lacked confidence. Another practitioner suggested that I memorize Zhuan Falun the main book of Falun Dafa, and after about two weeks, I recovered.
Besides studying the Fa, I listened to the recordings of Master’s Fa lecture series. While working in the field during the harvest this year, I listened to the Fa. I also listened to Chinese version of the series, “Podcasts: Our Teacher.”
After listening to the series, I felt motivated to read the Fa. Even if I only was able to read for ten minutes, I felt the time wasn’t wasted. I used all my free time to study the Fa. What power motivated me? I felt it was the infinite compassion Master left behind when he taught the Fa in China.
I felt terrific after listening to the 130th podcast in the series in Chinese. Although I haven’t attended any of Master’s lectures, the practitioners who did told me the details of what Master said. I felt as if I was there. Master’s image, realm, and compassionate demeanor subtly changed me and helped me understand how profound Falun Dafa is.
The profound meaning of Dafa changed my notions and helped me step out of the human world. I finally understood what Dafa cultivation really is. No matter how uncomfortable I feel, I regard it as a good thing. It’s an opportunity to temper my will, and tests me. More importantly, it verifies the extent of my faith in Master and the Fa.
My family has 20 acres of land. My husband saw that I wasn’t in good shape, so he went out to work alone. He worked hard without complaint. He’s nearly 70, and was exhausted and sweaty when he returned. When I saw how tired he was, I felt sad and quietly shed tears. I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner and cannot regard my pain and discomfort as an illness. I should share the burden with my husband and help him in the fields.
When my righteous thoughts came out, I went to work in the field. I was also able to cook after I came home. However, I felt short of breath, coughed, and could not rest well at night. Others thought I was tired because of the hard labor, but in my understanding of the Fa, I was speeding up repaying my karmic debts, and Master was helping me eliminate karma.
Even though my body endured hardship, my heart was happy and relaxed. I realized that I was eliminating karmic debts. I studied Fa, did the exercises, and maintained righteous thoughts.
Milarepa suffered a lot during his cultivation. Why did his master let him carry boulders up the mountain, build a house with them, and then tell him to repeatedly demolish and rebuild the house? His back bled and festered from carrying the rocks, but his master told him to continue. Why was his master so harsh with him?
On the surface, the work seemed to harm him, but in essence, it was guiding him to become divine, allowing him to pay off his sins through suffering and following a path of return. Suffering is paying back a debt; only by suffering can one eliminate one’s sins. His master’s goal was to enable him to achieve enlightenment. In the end, Milarepa did indeed become a Buddha.
We cultivate in Dafa (Great Law), and we have to eliminate the karma from our past lifetimes. Although we are eliminating karma, Master already eliminated a significant portion for us. We are repaying the remaining karma as we cultivate and improve. It’s not in accordance with the Fa of the universe for us not to bear any of this debt we accrued. Therefore, it is wrong for us to avoid suffering. We have to endure some of it.
I made this mistake repeatedly in the last 27 years. Each time, I avoided the pain and suffering and asked Master to help me. Compassionate Master did not give up on me, and he helped me. How many difficulties did I add to Master’s already heavy load? It was very hard to save a disciple like me. I’m sorry, Master. I know now that no matter how hard or painful it is, that is my karma—my debt that I have to repay. I understand now that it is good to suffer to eliminate karma.
Master showed me the way out of the maze, and I finally understand the goal of Dafa cultivation. I feel as if I awakened from a long dream. I can now face pain calmly, and I know that it’s good to endure hardships to eliminate karma. I sincerely thank Master for his compassion and hard work in saving me.
This is my understanding at my level; please kindly point out anything that’s not in line with the Fa.