(Minghui.org) I was very sad when I heard that a fellow practitioner recently passed away. I didn't know her well, but she did help me once with a truth-clarification project when time was very pressing. I continued to work on this project for several years and truly appreciate her helping me through that difficult time. I am very sorry that she did not get to the end of Fa rectification with Master.
I visited her in the hospital last summer when she was struggling with sickness karma. She gave me a list of people who had quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations, and she wanted me to register them for her.
One morning last fall, I had a vision while I was meditating. It seemed like I was on my way to visit her. I saw another practitioner walk out of her room and tell me that she had passed away. That alarmed me.
I visited her again in early summer this year and asked her “Are you afraid of death? Do you firmly believe in Master and allow Master to decide your path?” She didn't reply.
I said, “Everyone that is born eventually dies, so death is nothing to be afraid of. But as beings created by Dafa, we are particles of the Fa. Master arranges our path of cultivation and protects us. So for us, sickness karma or death is nothing to be afraid of. We have Master.”
She still said nothing.
She was always worried about not being able to go out to clarify the facts and save people, so I told her, “You shouldn't worry about that right now. If you study the Fa and do the exercises, your symptoms will soon be gone. That is the best way to let people know about Dafa—when they can see how miraculous it is.
“You just study the Fa and do the exercises. Master can do anything for us, as long as we are with the Fa.” She nodded in agreement.
Now this practitioner has departed, and she must be full of regret. However, did we help her as much as we could? Were we also partly responsible for her passing away? Should we reflect on ourselves to see if we could have done anything better?
I didn't know her situation well and can't comment or speculate on her. But what about me? Can I use my last conversation with her as evidence that I “did my duty?” Can I just say “everyone chooses his or her own path” to comfort myself? What might she have wanted us to do at her last moment?
I thought about this and realized that maybe we have been in the dirty human environment for so long that we may gradually become cold and selfish without realizing it.
When practitioners experience sickness karma for longer than expected, we should not lose our enthusiasm to help them. Master cherishes each practitioner, but do we really cherish ourselves and other practitioners as much as we should?
We should look within and treat other practitioners with compassion. We should correct our wrongdoings and do better next time.
Master said,
“What I am ultimately trying to convey to you is that it was all for this affair that you came here! So you have no choice [but to do all of this well]; there is really no other way! That’s the case for Dafa disciples. For ordinary people it’s fine to reincarnate however they may. But that’s not an option for you, as you are here for Dafa and its great undertaking. So if you don’t do well you will be left with regrets. And I especially want to remind our veteran Dafa disciples not to slack off. You have gone through so many long and grueling years to make it to this day, and it really hasn’t been easy! Do you not know to value and cherish yourselves? I certainly cherish you! And divine beings do too! (Applause.) So all the more so should you value and cherish yourselves.”
“… you have gained the Fa, and your life belongs to the Great Way, so you should forge ahead without any doubt, with righteous thoughts and actions, and do things as I have taught you.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
As soon as this was published on the Minghui website, I memorized and recited it. I also often recall it to remind myself, “Master cherishes me. The gods cherish me. I should cherish myself even more. My life belongs to Dafa. At every critical moment I should step forward as a Dafa disciple and do what Master has taught us.”