(Minghui.org) Five Falun Dafa practitioners, who were advanced in their years, recently came down with sickness karma. Only one of them managed to overcome the tribulation, while the other four passed away. There are lessons to be learned from these incidents.
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997 and am now in my 70s.
Dafa practitioners must get rid of their human notions, but elderly practitioners have lived in the human world for more years than most, and so their human notions can be difficult to get rid of.
One of the practitioners who passed away was 88. She was doing the three things that practitioners should do, and we thought that she was a diligent practitioner.
Her skin looked smooth and healthy, but she thought that she was old and couldn't walk well anymore, which made it a little hard for her to go out and clarify the facts.
Her children bought a spot in the cemetery for her a couple years ago. She did not oppose the purchase and thought that her children were just looking after her. This was a loophole that the old forces could latch onto. She passed away within a month after the sickness karma appeared.
Master, the founder of Falun Dafa, said:
“An everyday person cannot discern the changes in you from the appearance, as your cells’ molecules still retain their original structure and combination; their structure does not change. Yet the energy inside has changed. Thus, from this point on this person will not age naturally, and his cells will not die. Accordingly, he will stay young continuously. In the course of cultivation practice, one will look young and, in the end, stay that way.” (Zhuan Falun)
Master clearly tells us that practitioners do not have the issue of getting old. If we can strictly follow the Fa to cultivate, then our bodies will stay young.
A couple of years ago, other practitioners worried about my age and suggested that I no longer ride my battery-powered bicycle to purchase things we needed for Dafa projects. In my understanding, however, practitioners do not need to worry about age, because Master has changed our bodies to be young again.
Some suggested that I should watch my diet to avoid high sugar levels, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. But my wife, also a practitioner, and I have never been concerned about these things, as they are all human notions and could become loopholes that the old forces could exploit.
Studying the Fa a lot and studying the Fa well are fundamental to cultivation.
Most elderly practitioners are retired. We have a lot of time to study the Fa. We need to fill our heads with the Fa and righteous information and not let the bad things get into our minds.
My wife and I study two lectures of Master's teachings each day. We have established a Dafa material production site, where we print materials daily for us to take out and distribute when we clarify the facts.
While cooking or eating, we listen to Minghui radio. We do not read mainstream media newspapers or watch television. That helps us to reduce our exposure to the Chinese Communist Party lies and propaganda, but through Minghui radio we can keep up-to-date with the current situation of Fa-rectification and listen to other practitioners' sharing.
Regarding our health, our lives, and any other information that can be found in ordinary society, practitioners should not listen to them or become attached to them.When I went to my hometown in 2011, a childhood friend told me that he had predicted I could only live for two or three more years. I just smiled and thought, “You cannot predict the future for a practitioner.”
Master said,
“The entire life of a practitioner has been rearranged. One’s palm reading, face reading, birth data, and all messages in one’s body are already different and have been changed.” (Zhuan Falun)
I firmly believe that my life has been completely changed by Master and that it is now a life for cultivation. I only believe in Master and firmly cultivate.
Another practitioner's sister-in-law predicted that the practitioner would only live to be 60. She did not negate it, but said happily, “If I could live until 60, then I would be able to see my grandchild.” She died soon after she turned 60.
Practitioners who are advanced in their years must clearly realize that we do not know how much time is left in our lives, so we must put all of our time and energy into cultivation. Only then will we not deviate in our thoughts and actions.
We cannot have the longing to enjoy a comfortable life, spending our time socializing and engaging in leisure activities like ordinary people.
A practitioner in his 80s was addicted to watching a certain TV series and wasted a lot of time watching it. The old forces took advantage of his addiction, and after fighting painful sickness karma for several months, he couldn't overcome it and passed away.
We must also let go of sentimentality. There are quite a few elderly practitioners who worked hard half of their lives to raise their children. Now they are looking after their grandchildren, and some have allowed that to interfere with their cultivation. This is very dangerous.
Letting go of sentimentality is not that difficult if we always remember to put cultivation first. My wife and I only have one criterion—we will do whatever is beneficial to our cultivation.
The time remaining for Fa-rectification has been extended by Master, which means that, without cultivation, one will lose that extra time. How then can we waste such precious time on enjoying ourselves? The old forces are never slow in finding any loophole they can exploit. If we don't walk righteously on our paths, they will persecute us.