(Minghui.org) A fellow practitioner suffered from sickness karma for a long time and eventually passed away. When he was ill, other practitioners supported him by sending forth righteous thoughts and studying the Falun Dafa teachings with him. He also tried his best overcome the sickness karma, but he still passed a way in the end.
I’ve noticed a similar situation with certain Dafa-related projects. When a project falters, the response is “to study the Fa teachings, do the exercises, and send forth righteous thoughts,” almost like a formula, to get things back on track. But the practitioners involved often fail to look for the cause in their xinxing. So there is no fundamental improvement.
When I went through sickness karma, I also had a tendency to do the same thing and thought that if I did the exercises, studied the Fa, and believed in Master more intensely, I would be all right. But deep down, there was still this mentality of “treating illness.” Unwittingly, I used that “formula” as a remedy to solve all my problems.
Master told us:
“The reason for your discomfort is principally that you always fear catching some illness.” “What’s not a right mind? It refers to a person’s inability to always treat himself as a practitioner.” (Zhuan Falun)
How was I to think like and handle myself as a cultivator? When it came to wisdom, I sometimes felt so inadequate that I ended up relying totally on my human efforts and just hoped for a miracle. Others repeated, “Believe in Master and the Fa, do not acknowledge the old forces’ arrangement.” But without a deep understanding, those are just empty words and serve no purpose.
At times I felt compelled to do the exercises because I did not feel good otherwise. But I wondered how I could eliminate the notion of “treating illness” and be more proactive about doing the exercises.
I went back to studying more of the Fa teachings, particularly the early ones, and I realized that what Master has taught us is Dafa cultivation. That means that, if I truly handle myself as a cultivator, the Fa will guide me in how to cultivate.
Sickness karma and tribulations of all sorts are caused by entities in other dimensions. In Chinese medicine, they will manifest as congestion or blocked meridians. No matter what kind of entities they are, as long as one cultivates xinxing, meets the standard, and believes in Master's mighty power, everything will be resolved. It is Master's wisdom and reinforcing power that determine the outcome. When one elevates in cultivation, one's abilities will improve and one's righteous thoughts will take effect.
When I understood the Fa on the basis of the Fa and believed that its mechanisms were at work in my body, I felt much calmer and at ease. I no longer ask for Master's intervention when I do things based on the Fa, because the mechanisms and Master's fashen will automatically resolve the problem. I remember that Master has said:
“Of course, in addition to Falun, we will also install in your body many energy systems and mechanisms that will, together with Falun, rotate and transform you automatically. Therefore, this gong transforms people all automatically. Thus, it becomes that "the gong cultivates practitioners," which is also called "the Fa cultivates practitioners."” (Zhuan Falun)
When we face intimidating and overwhelming interference, and when tribulation seems impossible to overcome, we should go back to the basics: Why are we cultivating? What is Dafa? Why do we do the exercises? What is the purpose of cultivation? Most times, the tribulations accumulate because we forget why and what we cultivate.
No matter how accomplished an artist is, he or she still has to practice the basic techniques on a daily basis. As cultivators, the exercises are our daily lesson and our basic training. Without that, how can we hope to handle the tough tasks ahead of us?
I have come to understand that the process of eliminating the human heart and attachments is the process of cultivation. It happens naturally, and one cannot force it. When one understands certain Fa teachings and elevates one's realm, one will find things that one used to cling to can be let go of easily, without much struggle.
When I finally understood Master's teaching: “In actuality, how can people be the same?” (Zhuan Falun), I stopped myself from wanting to change others, wanting them to follow my orders. My job is to discover their skills and talents, and coordinate so that those skills and talents are utilized to their best advantage. That keeps conflicts from surfacing in the first place, and we can all enjoy the project much more.
The essential thing is to believe in Master and the Fa, study the Fa teachings well, enlighten to the content, and follow up with appropriate action. It won’t do to just ask for help when one is in trouble.
Master told us:
“ If you want to, through cultivation practice, change your body, develop all of the divine powers of the Buddha’s Law, keep raising your levels, and gain everything you will have after you achieve Consummation, [then you will find that] I have consolidated all of them in this Fa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the International Experience-Sharing Conference in Beijing” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference I)
When a person is earnest about learning the Fa teachings, thinks and behaves according to the Fa principles, and proactively eliminates his or her attachments, Master will support and help that person without one having to ask. The mechanism within the person will automatically operate on its own.
On the other hand, if we can't do that, then whatever the tribulation, no matter how hard one tries with human efforts, the results will be less than ideal.
This is my understanding at my level. Please kindly point out any shortcomings!