(Clearwisdom.net)
Master Li points out in "Sickness Karma" (Essentials for Further Advancement),
"Cultivation practice in Beyond-Triple-World-Law is that of the purest Arhat body--a body that does not have any sickness-karma. But as for a person that has not yet achieved Consummation and who is still practicing cultivation towards higher levels of Beyond-Triple-World-Law, he will still suffer and have tribulations and trials to advance his level. These will only involve interpersonal tensions or other things in the area of xinxing and the further abandonment of his attachments; he will no longer have physical sickness-karma."
This being the case, have the Fa-rectification Dafa disciples who have reached this stage in the Fa-rectification process come to the Beyond-Triple-World-Law level? Master Li said, "By July 20th of 1999 I had already pushed all of the pre-July 20 students to their positions--I pushed you to your highest positions." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa) In addition, Master Li teaches us to "send forth righteous thoughts", that is to "use supernormal capability[ies], the divine power[s] of Buddha Fa". It has been pointed out to us in Zhuan Falun, that the divine power of the Buddha Fa will only appear during "the cultivation practice in Beyond-Triple-World-Fa, also called the cultivation of a Buddha-body."
We understand that Fa-rectification Dafa disciples (with the exception of new practitioners) don't have sickness karma. Then what is the essence of the sickness karma phenomena for each individual?
Sometimes when we have some seriously uncomfortable feelings in our body, we still cannot have a clear thought about it. Though we don't think it is sickness karma, we will change to another viewpoint and passively accept or endure it. Views such as, "does this give me a hint that my cultivation status is not good recently?", or "Is Master Li helping me purify my body as I remove some attachments that I failed to let go of before?" The foundation of these thoughts is that some practitioners are unwilling to send forth righteous thoughts, or that they could not send forth pure righteous thoughts.
Let's analyze this question from a more macroscopic perspective. Master Li told us,
"Consummation is the conclusion of a Dafa disciple's cultivation, while Fa-rectification is a Dafa disciple's mission. For a Dafa disciple, Consummation is only a matter of the time of return, whereas Fa-rectification is to be left for the future. The future of the cosmos that beings at different levels have seen actually doesn't exist and is an illusion. At present, humankind's every day is arranged according to Dafa's needs; Dafa disciples' performance in the human world is to be left for history (What Are Supernormal Abilities)."
Nowadays, however, so many of the beings who have come here for Dafa don't know the truth. If we fail to offer them salvation or if we don't have time to do so, where will the countless beings they represent go? At this crucial moment, which becomes more and more urgent each day, the most important task is to assist Master Li in the Fa-rectification and to make full use of all the time that we can find to offer salvation to all beings.
Given this, how could Master Li arrange for us to eliminate the karma and lie in bed for long periods of time while not participating in the Fa-rectification work, especially when there is so much work to be done by overseas Dafa disciples and since we are so short of hands? This sickness karma is, therefore, the persecution that the old forces have carried out with the excuse that "we have attachments and need to improve." However, the essence and objective effects that they actually want to achieve is to force a Dafa disciple who could have more actively participated in the Fa-rectification and done lots of Dafa work to give up the things that we really should do. Thus, many more beings could not be saved. This is one of the means that they use to impede and damage the Fa-rectification.
"A Dafa disciple should put the Fa first in everything he does--whenever you evaluate something you have to consider the Fa first."
("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
If we can "put the Fa first" at all times and think about the abovementioned questions not only from the perspective of a Fa-rectification disciple, then we can see the essence of things much more clearly.
In order to manifest the righteous belief of Dafa during these tribulations, we really need to know who we are. Many fellow practitioners have done very well. When a situation that looks like sickness karma suddenly comes up, they face it calmly with a smile and immediately look inward to see whether they have been careless in studying the Fa, practicing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts. If that is the case, they make up for it right away. At the same time they won't delay doing Fa-rectification work at all. Consequently, the evil substances that come to interfere with them are cleaned out very quickly and they do not have the "disease" any more.
On the other hand, after sending forth righteous thoughts once or twice and not able to see much effects, some practitioners will become unconfident and even have a helpless spirit, thinking that they have cultivated so poorly, and that maybe their righteous thoughts are not strong enough to eliminate the illness. There are also some practitioners who think that they should use everyday people's methods to eliminate it first, which may be quicker and more direct.
The tribulations that the old forces impose on us can also genuinely show whether we believe in the abilities that we have developed in our cultivation. In the past, when we read the scripture, "Expounding on the Fa", we could not understand and enlighten to it deeply, whereas today we turn back and read it again, carefully. Master Li said,
"Whenever a tribulation comes, you do not see it with the side of your original nature but view it completely with your human side. Evil demons then capitalize on this point and inflict endless interference and damage, leaving students in long-term tribulations. As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and have prevented them from doing Fa-rectification. "
Nowadays, Master Li helps us unlock our supernormal abilities, and when we send forth righteous thoughts, our cultivated parts--the divine part--can directly participate in the Fa-rectification. Then many times, however, we humanly restrain our divine parts from playing their role because we have the thoughts and notions of the human side. Master Li also told us that the genuine reason for "disease" is that there is a spirit residing there and the manifestation in this dimension is an ulcer or tumor. Isn't this the crux of the matter--whether we understand the issue from the deep in our mind and whether we remember to use our righteous thoughts to "remove the sources of problems" when they emerge?
On the other hand, we feel it's crucial that only when we clearly understand who we are can we completely reject the old forces' arrangements. We are still cultivating in everyday people society, in the maze. On many occasions, we cannot clearly see or feel. Thus, we have to rely on our "enlightenment", or on the understanding of the Fa Master Li taught us. We feel that in the recent Fa-lecture, Master Li has broadened our scope of eyesight more and more, while at the same time, bringing us to to higher and higher levels, and returning us to our original positions.
As Master Li told us recently in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.", regarding how the old forces are also candidates to be saved,
"It was created just by a Great Fa Enlightened Being's one thought. The single thoughts of the Great Enlightened Beings at different levels created cosmoses at different levels."
My understanding is that Fa-rectification disciples come from very high levels, and that many old forces (no matter what images of high-level gods they appear to have) have participated in actions that damage the Fa-rectification and persecute Dafa disciples. These are the beings that have been created underneath our original realms. Master Li said, "Those beings are really insignificant in the eyes of that God whose one thought created them." How can we be manipulated by them and still feel helpless?
"So in other words, we can't acknowledge the arrangements that the old forces made for us, no matter what they did, because they, too, are candidates for being saved, only they've chosen to be weeded out. How could someone who's to be saved choose how he's saved?" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
The above are some practitioners' personal points of view and for other practitioners' reference only.