(Minghui.org) I am a veteran practitioner who has been practicing Falun Dafa for over two decades. Over the years, I went through big and small tests. However, through a recent experience where I overcame the deceptive symptoms of a stroke in six days, I became aware of how compassionate Master is, and recognized the power of Dafa.
I was still asleep at 1 a.m. on December 25, 2021 when all of a sudden, I felt a tendon in my shoulder tugging at my brain. Words cannot describe how painful it felt. I tried to ignore the agony. This was followed by two more occurrences.
I got out of bed to go to the toilet, only to discover that I had no strength in my left arm and leg. I walked dragging my leg along. I realized my previous three states of agony was a sign of a tribulation, yet I did not negate it with righteous thoughts.
Although I appeared to have symptoms of a stroke, I did not regard it as such, and did not have any negative thoughts. I recalled Master’s words about “Heavenly circuit” in Zhuan Falun. I told myself, “All my energy channels are open, I am not ill at all.”
I held onto one thought, “I must not undermine the Fa. Master is in charge of my cultivation whether I do well or not. No one is fit to make use of me to damage Dafa because I did not cultivate well.”
I talked to my left arm and leg, “We are one body. You cannot be abnormal just because my main body did not cultivate well. If non-practitioners find out about my present condition it will undermine Dafa. Besides it is a great sin to undermine Dafa. As long as my spirit is not broken, and I cultivate based on the Fa, Master will help me.”
Due to the nature of my husband’s job, he only comes home once every three weeks. He had just returned to work after a break, but unexpectedly called that day to say he would be coming back home for a rest. He said he would be home in the afternoon, and asked me to prepare food for him. Usually he would make what he wants to eat, but this time he asked that I cook for him. I realized Master wanted to me to practice cultivation solidly, and break through my physical discomfort. I told myself to accept the challenge.
But it was easier said than done. I had no control over the left side of my body. I wanted to walk but could not lift my leg. I wanted to do something but had no strength in my arm. I tried to cook and attempted to hold a knife with my left hand that had no feeling. But, I could not lift the knife. How am I going to cut vegetables? I then thought of Master’s words: “For a practitioner, one’s mind-intent dictates supernormal abilities to do things.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I communicated with the left side of my body, “We are one body. Furthermore my limbs are fine. With righteous thoughts, a practitioner uses one’s mind-intent to dictate one’s supernormal abilities to do things. Therefore let’s overcome it and do what needs to be done.” Just then, my feeling returned to my left hand. I could use it to lift the knife! This boosted my confidence. How crucial it is for a cultivator to act based on the Fa!
I could cook for my husband, though with great difficulty.
I did not want to let my husband know about my condition as he is not a practitioner. I did not want him to have a negative impression of Dafa. When he returned home in the afternoon, I laid the table for him as usual. After finishing the meal, I tidied things up. My husband did not discover my condition!
The next day, my husband told me he would like to invite some friends over for dinner. I thought, “Master is using this incident to tell me to regard myself as a practitioner and quickly get over this tribulation.” I agreed to accommodate my husband’s friends without hesitation.
I prepared a table of food and everyone ate merrily. My husband lay on the sofa after dinner, and fell asleep as he had drunk too much alcohol. I started to clean the table and mop the floor.
Because I didn’t want to undermine Dafa. Every movement was tough but I persevered with righteous thoughts. No one noticed that I was unwell.
Later on, my husband said his clothes were dirty so I said I would wash them. It was not too difficult to operate an automatic washing machine but I had to hang the clothes up to dry afterwards. Initially, I put them on the rack given my physical condition. I looked at it and thought, that won’t do. It is not up to standard and took them all down. I organized them and hung them up high on the rod. By then, I was covered in sweat.
On the third morning, I got out of bed and my husband asked me to buy him a pair of thicker pants. In fact, I had just regained a bit of feeling in my body the day before, but I still could not walk steadily. I thought, alright, I can do it as I have Dafa. I pushed my electric bicycle with great difficulty and headed out to the shops to buy a pair of pants for my husband.
However, on the way back, my electric bicycle ran out of power. I then recalled that I had not charged it for several days. What should I do at this point? I have to rely on my faith in the Fa!
It was easier said than done. This test was for real! I still had another three miles to go before I reached home. It was already arduous for me to walk. Now, I have to push a bicycle. It was a challenge indeed! I said to myself, “It is all my fault for not cultivating solidly. As a result, my karma has accumulated into a big test for me. There is no excuse for me! I have to face it! No problem, I will treat this as a chance to pass a supplementary exam.”
I pushed the bicycle slowly. As the wheels moved, I got closer to home. I kept encouraging myself with righteous thoughts along the way, repelled any thoughts that were not in line with the teachings of Dafa, and begged Master to help me!
I plodded on for one and a half hours, taking breaks along the way. Finally I got home! By then, my physical condition had improved. Once again, Master gave me confidence!
At home, I tried to act normally. My husband had not seen anything wrong with me, even after staying at home for three days.
I did not allow myself to have any negative thoughts and refused to regard this as an illness. Instead I saw this as an opportunity to improve in cultivation.
Whenever I acted in line with the Fa, I felt positive changes in my body. For example, while doing the standing exercises, I told myself to persevere and complete the exercises standing up. Listening to Master’s directives while doing the exercises is a great way to eliminate karma. My body from microscopic layers to the surface is assimilating to the Fa. With this thought, I was able to stand and do the exercises.
While holding the wheel for the second exercise, I could not lift my arms. To make sure my movements were correct, I steadied my arms at the door frame with a sash.
When doing the third set of exercises, I could not raise my left arm. I told myself that every part of my body was normal. I will negate the old forces’ arrangement. With great effort, I stretched my arms to the right position. It took me two days to do the exercises normally.
While doing the fourth exercise, I could not squat. I forced myself to bend down and tried to do every movement according to the requirements. Again, I was able to do it properly after two days.
When practicing the sitting meditation, my left hand was drooping. I thought of a way: I tied three fingers to align with my arm, which then looped around my neck. This incorrect condition disappeared in two days. I used the same method to ensure my posture was right when sending righteous thoughts.
At times, I do the exercises two, three times a day. I used all my time to practice cultivation and hardly slept at night. Sometimes I became drowsy when studying the Fa, so I sat on the floor, holding the book Zhuan Falun and reading out loud.
In the beginning, when my body became partially paralyzed, I would urinate in my pants. After communicating with my body, things were back to normal after two days.
I could not button my clothes properly due to my condition. I told myself that I am not ill, and therefore I should do things properly. I cannot lower my standards. With righteous thoughts, I was able to wear my clothes normally.
Because I had long hair, I needed to use two hands to comb it. One time, I thought of cutting my hair short so that it would be easier for me to maintain it. I instantly recognized this as an admission of persecution. I looked into the mirror and told myself, “I must raise my arm and comb my hair the way I used to do it.” I felt the tendon in my arm was twisted and I simply could not lift it. I then talked to it, “We should work together to comb my hair.” Immediately, I felt the tendon become normal! I was able to comb my hair.
Whenever my body felt wrong, I told myself,
“...good or bad comes from a person’s initial thought,...” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
“Things are bound to turn around after reaching the limit!” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
Through this incident, I came to understand that we should always put ourselves in the position of a cultivator. My conviction in Master and Dafa deepened.
On the fourth day, a practitioner came to see me and said I had recovered speedily. Yet I felt there was still something amiss with my leg.
On the 6th day, I thought, why is it that my leg still feels a little different? I began to search within. I discovered I still had the mentality of being happy with the ways things are currently. My leg was able to lift normally then and the tendon was fine. Indeed, “...good or bad comes from a person’s initial thought,...”
During these six days, Master’s teachings in Zhuan Falun often came to mind:
“Your Main Consciousness Should Dominate” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)“Your Mind Must Be Righteous” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)“As long as you improve your xinxing, you can overcome them. Unless you, yourself do not want to do so, you can make it, provided you want to overcome them.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I also gained a deeper understanding of Master’s words:
“When you can really do that, not just saying it but putting it into action, Master will definitely stand up for you.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)
I also wondered why I had this tribulation all of a sudden. I recalled that I often saw practitioners around me with stroke symptoms. and they did not get better after a long time. I had a thought then, “Why can’t they break through this? If it happened to me, I would surely be able to overcome this.” Perhaps it was this pursuit that led to this tribulation.
Master said:
“A person’s cultivation is a rigorous process, with every aspect closely linked, and not a single moment or step of it can afford to be disrupted” (“Another Stern Warning”)
I understood the seriousness of cultivation. It also made me mature and more rational when assisting Master during the Fa-rectification. Thank you Master!