(Minghui.org) Cultivation is a serious matter, and there are no shortcuts to take or role models to follow. As Falun Gong practitioners, we should genuinely cultivate ourselves to walk the path arranged by Master. It is crucial that we follow Master’s teachings and meet the expectations bestowed on us by the Fa. Tiny little mistakes can be fatal because the old forces seek to take every opportunity possible to divert us from the righteous path. We must walk the path arranged by Master all the time.
1. Lesson Learned from the Death of a Fellow Practitioner
A practitioner in our area, Mr. Liu, passed away. We were all shocked, and did not understand why he died. He began to practice Falun Dafa in 1996, and seemed to be very diligent. He did not take any medicines when illness karma symptoms came, and faithfully followed Master and the Fa. As a result, his physical condition improved, and he looked very young and energetic.
When he had cold symptoms, he did not join the group study. Fellow practitioners sent-forth righteous thoughts to cleanse the factors behind him, but were not too worried about him at first. Nonetheless, when his situation began deteriorating, his wife threatened to divorce him if he did not go to the hospital. His family later took him to three different hospitals, but nobody could cure him. Three weeks later, he passed away. He was only in his sixties.
We all believed that he was doing a good job as a cultivator. He once told us that he never argued with his wife, but took care of all the household chores by himself. He only read Falun Gong books and practiced the exercises after his wife had gone to work, and his child to school. In the evenings, he watched TV with his wife to make her happy.
After the persecution began in 1999, out of fear, Mr. Liu’s wife destroyed all of Master’s portraits and Dafa books, and took down the satellite dish for New Tang Dynasty TV. However, Mr. Liu did not stop his wife.
He only talked about Falun Gong and the persecution to his family members and close friends, but never to strangers.
After Mr. Liu's death, his child brought to us a big bundle of materials, including the issues of Minghui Weekly that had never been opened, and flyers with Falun Gong information from 2006 that should have been distributed.
I realized that Mr. Liu indeed tried to do the three things, but his attachment to his family prevented him from confronting his wife when she destroyed Dafa books and Master’s portraits. Because he did not stop his wife, in a way it encouraged his wife to destroy Falun Gong materials and Master’s portraits. In addition, his fear stopped him from clarifying the truth to strangers and distributing flyers. The old forces took advantage of his loopholes to make him follow their path instead of the one arranged by Master.
As Falun Gong practitioners, we should all defend Dafa and Master when people commit crimes against Dafa. We should and must endure when our personal benefits and comforts are being compromised and challenged. When we clarify the truth, we have responsibilities and must uphold all the righteous factors – this is being responsible for Dafa.
2. Attachments Create Unnecessary Barriers
The Chinese Communist Party intensified the persecution during the 2008 Summer Olympics. I learned that large numbers of practitioners incarcerated in labor camps recited Falun Gong teachings daily. I thought that if I memorized Master’s teachings, I would be able to do the same as the other practitioners if I were locked up. That bad thought brought about a big tribulation for me.
The old forces indeed incarcerated me in a labor camp right after I memorized Zhuan Falun. Master does not accept the old forces’ arrangements; however, a bad thought gave the old forces a chance to persecute me.
3. My Husband’s Costly Attachments
Master pushed us up on par with the standards of the Fa, which means that we should all walk the path of Fa-rectification clear of major barriers or tribulations. However, after my husband bragged, “The Tang Monk in The Journey to the West went through eighty-one tribulations, so I can pass five,” he did stumble on five life-threatening tribulations.
The first two tribulations came when he was thrown off his bike and another when he fell hard onto the icy road in winter, but both times, he was able to stand up after begging Master to help him.
The third tribulation happened when he was hit by a car while riding his bike. When the driver offered to take him to the hospital, he told the driver that he was alright. Then he refused the driver’s offer to take him home or fix his bike for him. When he got home with his broken bike, however, he told me that he did not pass the test well since he should have told the driver the facts about the persecution and Falun Gong and that he was not injured because Master protected him. The bruises on his body were signs telling him that he could have done a better job.
The fourth tribulation hit hard when he fell off a ladder and injured his back. He collapsed to the floor, and was unable to move. Reminding him that he would be alright, I went to help him to get up, but he said that he could not move. After he lay on the floor for a while, I told him, “With Master’s protection, you can stand up.”
My husband understood, and said, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Nonetheless, he was bed-bound for a week after the accident. The worst part was that he did not have any bowel movements for the entire week. Some fellow practitioners, including myself, asked if he wanted to go to the hospital, however with strong righteous thoughts, he refused to go. After watching Master’s lecture videos, listening to Master’s lectures and reading Zhuan Falun, he was able to do the exercises again, although his back was still very stiff.
About two months later, my husband told me about a dream he had, where he was surrounded by a couple of people who told him that he had recovered. Meanwhile, there seemed to be an explosion inside his belly which jerked him violently. He knew that Master had removed the bad substance from him, so he told me that he was completely cured. He then walked around to show me that he could bend his back again.
The fifth tribulation that my husband went through was the most frightening. After having diarrhea for two days, he told me that he was tired and needed to take a break right after he came home. He sank into the couch, looked rather pale, and only inhaled, but did not exhale. I knew from being a medical doctor that he was in critical condition because I had witnessed many people dying. Terrified, I asked Master to save him. He could not speak then, so I told him to recite in his mind “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I told him that he must be steadfast and walk the path arranged by Master and go home with Master!
At that moment, he took a deep breath, and his face began to regain some color. He perspired so much, as if he was soaked by rain. Master had just brought him back from death, and cleaned him up from inside out. Instead of abandoning him, Master wants to take him home.
Category: Improving Oneself
