(Minghui.org) I am a graduate student and have been practicing Falun Dafa since childhood. Recently I experienced a serious test of sickness karma.
My legs became swollen on January 30th of this year. It started in one ankle, and then expanded to both legs. I was limping badly and in a tremendous amount of pain with every step.
My parents, who are both practitioners, became concerned and began sending forth righteous thoughts and studying the Fa with me. The next day I began to feel itchy in both legs. Then I developed spots that looked like blotches of blood, which really scared me.
My dad told me that he had similar symptoms when he was 14 years old. The doctor told him that if he had come to the hospital one day later, his life would have been in danger. Now the same thing had happened to me. I believed that this was a test, to see if I truly believed in Teacher and Dafa.
Up to this point, my cultivation had been driven by my parents. Now it was time for me to make a conscious decision on my own!
As soon as I began to do the sitting meditation, my legs hurt. The pain became more and more severe. As a result, my whole body became numb, and my breathing got quicker. It felt as though I was losing consciousness. Tears started rolling down my face; I was in so much pain that I kept calling for Teacher's help.
I only had the thought that I wouldn't stop doing the meditation. I thought to myself: No matter what happens, I will believe in Teacher and Dafa, and remain on the path that was arranged for me.
In the end, the pain and numbness disappeared. I felt that my whole body was very light. On the same day, little bumps began to appear on my hands, just like mosquito bites. They were in patches and extremely itchy. I suddenly thought about what Teacher said:
“The old forces wouldn’t venture to directly persecute Dafa disciples at present—none of the larger beings that assume a form would venture to do that. Then what sorts of things are doing that now? Things like worms, bugs, bacteria, and all kinds of foul things like that. Sending righteous thoughts is extremely effective in these cases!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference”)
Wasn't this to remind me that the bumps I had were caused by those bugs and bacteria? It surely did. Therefore, I began to send righteous thoughts to eliminate those little beings. From there, my body started going through changes every day. The swollen part receded from the upper legs down to the ankles, until it completely disappeared. The blotches turned from red to purple, and then to dark purple, until they completely disappeared.
Teacher said:
“The issue of cultivation practice is not child’s play, and neither is it a technique of everyday people—it is a very serious matter. Whether you want to practice cultivation or are able to practice cultivation depends completely upon how your xinxing is upgraded.” (Lecture Two in Zhuan Falun)
I came to enlighten to the fact that I needed to take cultivation seriously, and look within to assess whether I have met a practitioner's standard in every thought and action.
From this incident, I discovered many attachments. For example, I used to believe in physical exercise, thinking they could enhance immunity. I was running everyday. On one occasion, I twisted my ankle, but didn't realize that it was to warn me.
I was also attached to watching some TV series and following news about celebrities. I couldn't let go of my attachment to lust and often felt that the emotions between a man and woman was something very beautiful.
Thinking back over more than a decade, I was not doing the exercises properly or keeping a conscious mind when sending righteous thoughts. I also did not take Fa study seriously enough, as my thoughts were wandering all over the place.
I also held a wrong notion: I thought that since I didn't do well, it created grounds for the old forces to persecute me. I subconsciously acknowledged the old forces' persecution.
Before that, I was heavily impacted by the atheist doctrine taught by the Communist party. I often used a scientific approach to judge Dafa, thinking that Falun Dafa's principles didn't quite comply with ordinary societal principles.
Now I understand that cultivation is different from ordinary knowledge. One must believe in Teacher and Dafa unconditionally. Later, after sharing with my parents, I began to realize where I had slacked off in my cultivation.
Especially for young practitioners living in today's dye vat of society, one must be able to resist the temptations of technology (such as QQ, v-chat, TV, or movies) and stay away from them. We should not be moved by ordinary temptations, but rather use the standards of a cultivator to rectify ourselves.
I hereby submit this article to encourage young practitioners or whoever is impacted by sickness karma. By believing in Teacher and Dafa, one can overcome all obstacles. Only when we use the time Teacher extended for us to do the three things well, will we live up to his saving grace.
This is my personal understanding. Please point out anything inappropriate.
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Category: Improving Oneself
