(Clearwisdom.net) Fa-rectification cultivation has come to the final stage, but some practitioners are still having difficulties in overcoming sickness karma, or have even passed away prematurely. This is definitely not what Teacher wants; it is the old forces' interference. Four years ago, I experienced two serious bouts of sickness karma. Under Teacher's compassionate protection and with faith in the Fa, I was able to make it through. I want to share my experiences and understandings, hoping it will help fellow practitioners.
One morning in 2007, when I was walking out the door, I suddenly felt something go from the top of my head down to the right side of my torso. The left side of my body was normal but I lost control of the right side. I felt the bones and muscles on the right side become loose, and then I fell down. I was surprised for a moment. What was going on? Weren't these symptoms of a stroke? I thought it wasn't right! I was a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, not an everyday person, and I have shouldered the historic mission of saving sentient beings. How could I be in such a state? During this critical moment of clarifying the truth to save sentient beings, wasn't this the interference of the old forces? I firmly negated the arrangement at once and did not acknowledge it at all! I would never allow any evil to persecute my body under any pretext. At that time, I knew that if I believed I was paralyzed on the ground, I would not be able to get up again. I shouted in my mind quickly, “Teacher, help me! Teacher, save me!” I called my own name, and had the thought that I must get up and stay up. I told myself, “Up! Up! You can do it! You must do it!” I exerted the greatest effort possible to get the right side of my body to stand up and leaned on a door frame so that my body would not slide down.
I sternly admonished the old forces, “Let me tell you that if I were not a cultivator of Falun Dafa, I may be paralyzed in bed today. But I am a Dafa disciple, and I am walking on a divine path. My Teacher has arranged a new life for me. Although there are many attachments I haven't cultivated away, you cannot use them as an excuse to persecute me. I will rectify myself through the Fa. You are the evil old forces, dark minions, and rotten demons—things without a future—how dare you persecute me!” I quickly cleared my human thoughts and sent forth righteous thoughts. While asking Teacher for help, I continued to demand myself to stand up. “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Zhuan Falun) I had to stand up. Then, amazingly, I was able to stand up slowly. But the right side of my body was still limp. I thought that this was not good. How could I do the three things in such a condition? Wouldn't it be a disgrace to Dafa and an obstacle in saving sentient beings? So I started walking slowly to the bed and lay there. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate all the evil and recited “Lunyu,” Hong Yin, and “Expounding on the Fa,” “Position,” “Path,” and “Cautionary Advice” from Essentials for Further Advancement. At the same time, I searched for my shortcomings in cultivation such as the competitive mentality, resentment, jealousy, showing off, laziness, and so on.
I said to Teacher in my heart, “Teacher, I'm sorry. I haven't cultivated well and have worried you. Even though I have omissions, the old forces are not allowed to persecute my body. Teacher, please take charge of me. I will rectify myself through the Fa.” In about an hour, my body became numb. I thought this was a good thing. Wasn’t I alert? It showed that a large number of evil beings in other dimensions had been disintegrated and Teacher was purifying my body. I continued to send forth righteous thoughts and recited Teacher's lectures. In about one hour, the numbness disappeared and the symptoms became less severe. I thought that as a Dafa disciple, I couldn't accept the old forces' persecution and I couldn't lie in bed. “Good or evil comes from a person’s spontaneous thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences.” (Zhuan Falun) I was then able to get out of bed and walk, although my body was still pretty stiff. I thought that I couldn't let my husband know about what had happened. Even though he knew Dafa was good and supported my practicing, he was still an everyday person. If he knew about it, it might bring him tribulations, or he would not understand. Although my movement was limited, I still continued with my day and put together a simple meal. I decided not let my family know about my condition. The following day my physical condition was normal. About every ten days or so, the condition would reappear but each time the symptoms were less severe. After five or six times, the interference disappeared for good.
Another time when I was sweeping the floor, I felt my spine crack, and then I couldn't stand up straight or bend down. It was so painful that I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe normally. It felt similar to having lumbar disc herniation. I once had this condition prior to Dafa cultivation, so I knew this was the evil persecuting me. I knew that a cultivator did not have illness and this had to be an illusion. Teacher said,
“I do not talk about healing illness here, and neither will we heal illness. As a genuine practitioner, however, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body. I will purify your body. The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa.”
“If they are not cleaned out, how can you, with such an impure, dark body and a filthy mind, practice cultivation toward a higher level? “ (Zhuan Falun)
I recited Teacher's lectures repeatedly. I knew that we had practiced cultivation at high levels from the start, and not at the level of healing and fitness of low-level qigong. Where there is qi, there is illness. We already had the divine power of Buddha Fa and were not simply at the level of qi. I completely denied the old forces' evil arrangements. In the meantime, I also found the root of my attachments. Before Dafa cultivation, I was tormented by illness. For two decades, I did not have normal sensation in my body, and I often looked forward to having less pain. After I started practicing, Teacher purified my body many times until I was in a state free of any illness. I was so attached to the feeling that I had the attachment of pursuing leisure and comfort. Also at the time, I went out to clarify the truth every day, and was able to persuade several or dozens of people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party, leading to the attachment of zealotry and complacency. Although I knew that “cultivation depends on one’s own efforts while the transformation of gong is done by one’s Master” (Zhuan Falun), I still had the mindset of validating myself. There were other factors such as slacking off in studying the Fa and not putting the Fa into my heart while studying the Fa, and the attachment of focusing only on “doing things”. Even though I had recited the Fa, knew the Fa principles, sent forth righteous thoughts, and looked inward for my attachments, the pain didn't alleviate. For almost four days, I couldn't eat any food and couldn't sleep, and I lost some weight.
One evening, an elderly practitioner came to see me. After asking about my situation, she said firmly, “This is a hurdle you must overcome! When you break through it, it will have really been nothing! There have been situations in which practitioners were lacking righteous thoughts and became hospitalized. You need to enlighten to this yourself!” The practitioner's words put me at ease. I had been looking forward to practitioners helping me send forth righteous thoughts. Now my dependent mind vanished. Looking up at Teacher's picture, I said in my mind, “Teacher, if you are using this practitioner's mouth to remind me, what should I do?” I knew I had to break through it. There is the Fa and Teacher, so what was I afraid of?
The next morning, I sent forth righteous thoughts and sought Teacher's help to have my husband go out. I couldn't let him wait on me as a patient. A while later, my husband said, “I am going to wash the car and get a fill-up. You stay home and rest.” After he left, I bent over, endured the pain, and went out with some truth-clarification materials on a bicycle. I reminded myself that it was only pain and I needed to confront it. I rode the bicycle downhill in front of my home. Then a miracle happened: My back straightened up, the pain disappeared, and my body felt light and buoyant. It was like riding a motorbike. The bicycle went forward without me needing to peddle. I was at a loss. How did this happen? I immediately realized that it was our compassionate Teacher seeing my wish to break through the barrier and thus undertaking everything for me. It was Teacher strengthening me. Once again the evil disintegrated in the face of righteous thoughts. I couldn't express my gratitude toward Teacher and I actually cried out loud in the street. Luckily, there weren’t any pedestrians around. The tears could not stop flowing down my cheek. I later persuaded six people to withdraw from the CCP that day. After learning the truth, they were very grateful. One of them said, “I can see that you are here for us and I can see your kindness. Thank you.” I said, “Just thank our Master. It is our Master who has told us to save you. He wants everyone to have a better future.”
When I returned home, I bowed to Teacher. When I saw the compassion in Teacher's photo, I burst into tears again. I knew that Teacher's compassion and his allowing me to constantly enlighten enabled me to overcome tribulations one after another. Aren’t these miracles a powerful manifestation of the Buddha Fa in the world?
Through my personal experiences, I deeply realized that in the face of tribulations, Dafa's mighty power and Teacher's immeasurable compassion are always guarding us. Therefore, the key is for us to truly believe in the Fa and Teacher. When we use righteous thoughts and righteous actions to negate the old forces' persecution during tribulations, we will be able to pass the tests and enlighten to what Teacher said,
“Disciples’ righteous thoughts are strong
Master has the power to turn the tide”
(“Master-Disciple Grace,” Hong Yin II)
After my sickness karma was eliminated, I tried to write down my experiences to share with fellow practitioners. But I felt that there were already many similar articles published, so I didn't write it. This time with encouragement and Teacher's help, I wrote this article to share with fellow practitioners. Through writing the article, my vanity, selfishness, and tendency toward inaction have been exposed. Time for Fa-rectification cultivation is running out. I hope those practitioners who are still having difficulties in overcoming sickness karma will study the Fa more, lay down all human notions, and cherish the valuable time Teacher has extended for us and return home with Teacher.
