During my cultivation I passed several tests related to my health. I had symptoms that seemed to be of illnesses, but with the wisdom of the Fa I could let go of them and recognize them as acts of cleansing. It was even more difficult for me, because as a physician, my work is based on medical studies and I am aware of what various symptoms can mean from a medical point of view. But without regard to the location or the pain--be it on the skin or in the internal organs--I was able overcome the temptation to accept the symptoms as a disease. I had let go of the thought that it could be a disease.

But some months ago I had a toothache and the pain kept going on for some weeks. Thus, I went to the dentist and he said that I had an abscess in one tooth. After some time without relief from pain, I agreed that the tooth should be pulled. I agreed because from a medical point of view, I knew that an abscess can spread bacteria and it can affect other organs such as the heart.

Some days afterwards I thought about it: From the point of view of the Fa, isn't it the same whether I have an infection-like cleansing, a cough, skin discharge, high-blood pressure or an abscess in a tooth? Yes, indeed, there is no difference between these types of conditions. So why could I handle all the other disease-like symptoms but not the one with the tooth?

Looking within, I found out that I had a specific, but hidden understanding about the physical body. I thought that the body is built of living cells, which have a turnover; after some days or weeks, other cells replace them and this is the how the Fa can cure the physical body. I presumed subconsciously that the Fa cures conditions by replacing the old cells and supporting the growth of new cells.

But with this understanding, which is based on some notions from my medical studies, I thought that the teeth, once they are developed, don't change anymore. There is no turnover of cells in the teeth, so they cannot be replaced by healthy cells. In my mind the teeth were fixed, and my understanding about them was also fixed. And this was the reason that I couldn't break through the notion that an abscess in a tooth is a disease rather than just a symptom and a cleansing. Afterwards I had another tooth that started to ache, but this time I immediately rejected it as a disease, and from the beginning I said to myself: this is just a cleansing of the tooth. Later on, I didn't have any problems with this tooth anymore.

What did I learn from this incident?

1. As Master said in Zhuan Falun, "... a good or bad outcome comes from one thought." If one thinks it is or might be an illness, it will probably become one. The same situations exist with other tribulations or evil arrangements. If we accept an evil arrangement from the beginning onwards, it will be very difficult later to escape. We have to deny each evil arrangement from the beginning, whatever it may be.
2. During cultivation we might pass different tribulations and tests. Some of them are easy to pass and some are not. But if they are not easy to pass and overcome, it doesn't mean that they are insurmountable. Actually, we are able to overcome all of the tribulations, as Master said in Zhuan Falun, "It's hard to endure, but you can endure it. It's hard to do, but you can do it." As long as we are in the Fa, we can overcome all of the tribulations. With regard to the Fa there is no difference between a small or big tribulation. I understand that whether it's a harmless or severe evil arrangement, we should deal with it using righteous thoughts. Every kind of evil arrangement and persecution has to be denied because its intention is targeting the Fa.
3. Another benefit of this experience with my tooth is even more important. I understood that especially in the time of Fa-rectification, we might come up against hidden borders and limits in our knowledge and human notions. Actually the evil used my hidden and unconscious notions and attachments to guide me into a dead-end understanding that something cannot be changed. This is typical of such notions: We accept something as fixed and unchangeable, and this is a deception caused by the evil on the basis of our knowledge.

I accepted the tooth abscess as something unchangeable, but with the help of the Fa it was changeable. The same principle can be applied to Dafa activities. Even if we are arrested in China, our minds may accept the belief that the walls and the police are something that we cannot change. Don't we tend to think that a wall is similar to a tooth, which is solid, and there is no way out? But if our minds stay in the Fa, we can change the situation. If there is a practitioner in prison for many years, it doesn't mean that we cannot change the situation. If we accept that he is in prison for such a long time and every effort to get him out was in vain, then we have accepted the evil arrangement and further efforts will be weak. If we totally deny the captivity and insist on his release, then we will rescue the fellow practitioners. And we have experienced this in some cases in the past. In my understanding, the absolute denial and rejection of the evil arrangements will strengthen the righteous thoughts and supernormal abilities. And Master taught us in the article, "What Are Supernormal Abilities" what is possible if our thoughts are righteous. Now I understand that I have to deny every evil arrangement, especially if it seems to be unchangeable.