(Clearwisdom.net) Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes abstention from certain foods and dietetic therapy. For a specific illness, traditional Chinese medicine gives clear requirements on what kinds of foods one should eat more or less, what kinds of foods one can or cannot eat, and when one should eat. Western medicine also prescribes similar approaches, it is just that its requirements are relatively simple, such as, one should take certain kinds of medicine before or after the meal, someone with heart disease should not eat foods high in fat, one with diabetes should not eat foods with a high sugar content, and one undergoing chemotherapy should not eat spicy foods, etc. There are many popular folk prescriptions in China that often have a particular therapeutic effect on certain stubborn or peculiar illnesses. These folk prescriptions usually require the patients to take the medicine in a certain way and with specific foods. Abstention from certain foods means that one avoids eating certain foods. Dietetic therapy involves the understanding of what kinds of foods function to regulate the body’s metabolism and make people strong; it stresses that foods are the best medicine. There is also the view that “medicine and foods have the same origin,” and so on.
Whether it is abstention from certain foods or dietetic therapy, they do not have any fundamental relationship with our cultivation. I bring up this issue because the concept of “having illnesses” is very strong in the minds of some practitioners. Even after they have cultivated for over ten years, they still have not truly taken themselves as Dafa cultivators, as they still feel—in their subconscious—that they have illnesses, so they knowingly or unknowingly want to avoid certain foods or try dietetic therapy. They also rationalize that this is not the same as taking medicine. They are fine when they feel OK. But once they experience some discomfort, they believe that they are “sick” and want to resort to human means to lessen their suffering. This is especially true for some practitioners who have suffered from chronic illnesses, such as diabetes: their minds are always preoccupied; they have not truly given up the concept of feeling sick even after they have cultivated for a long time; it is just that this attachment of theirs is hidden more deeply.
In our region this attachment has led some practitioners to pass away. Some practitioners have also fallen into the trap of the “demon of illness” for a long time and cannot free themselves. Take diabetes as an example. Some practitioners dare not to eat sugar for many years; some specifically choose to eat fruit with low sugar content or get intravenous injections to increase their energy; and some go so far as to drink their own urine. When one practitioner felt unwell, he visited different hospitals; all the doctors who examined him said that he did not have any illnesses. The practitioner still did not become enlightened to the situation and still wanted to go to a mental hospital for an evaluation. Even his family members knew that he was not ill. This practitioner, however, still took himself to be a patient. As result, he collapsed, fell out of bed, and died.
Cultivation is about cultivating one’s own mind. How could it work if one still holds onto the attachment of illnesses? With this mentality, one will certainly encounter tribulations, which are used to force the practitioner to let go of the attachment. If one’s righteous thoughts have emerged, those symptoms would be a false manifestation, and it is an opportunity for one to validate the Fa and establish great virtue. If one’s human notions become dominant, one will not be able to let go of the thought of “having illnesses,” and this state will keep changing and evolving, making it appear tangible . As result, many practitioners finally passed away. Master has taught us all the Fa and has done everything for us. Shouldn't we at least believe in this point? One who believes in Master and the Fa should not lose faith when one starts to feel ill. Only when one is in suffering can one show whether one is truly cultivating oneself or not. If we do not have faith in Master and the Fa, how could Master help us? Although Master has given us many chances, it is still our decision to give up our own attachments, and no one can take on our own responsibility in this regard. The Fa has a standard for everything, and this criterion is forever unchanged. Without meeting this requirement, a practitioner will have eternal regrets.
