(Minghui.org) When I woke up one morning, the left side of my back hurt. I thought, “Perhaps I strained it while I was asleep?” I stretched my back but it still hurt. “Maybe I ate something wrong yesterday? My stomach hurts.” Then I had another thought, “Your kidneys are damaged,” followed by, “It can’t be--I'm young.”

Just then I recalled Master’s various teachings on practitioners who don’t have any illness, that it’s simply karma surfacing. I suddenly realized that not only was the thought: “Your kidneys are damaged” interference from the old forces, “It can’t be as I am young” is also a form of interference. I was judging things using ordinary human principles. I should look within and reflect on where I went wrong from the perspective of the Fa.

When I examined my cultivation state, I discovered that I was depressed due to setbacks in life. I gradually slacked off in cultivation and became attached to human things. I should immediately correct these shortcomings and do well. Could it be that I hadn’t been doing the exercises enough? I will go and do the exercises in a moment. Did I not send enough righteous thoughts? I immediately sent righteous thoughts. However I could clearly feel something in the area where the pain was coming from, blocking my righteous thoughts. I was puzzled, “I’ve made the effort to do well, why didn’t the pain go away?”

Since I did not immediately eliminate the interfering thought, it took the opportunity to create trouble again: “This is a sign of kidney failure. An intestinal adhesion. Quick go to the hospital!” Many ailments came to mind. I usually ignore illness symptoms, as I know they will only make me regard physical discomfort with the mindset of an ordinary person. Therefore I was not fooled by these thoughts. If I went along with them and went to the hospital for treatment, it would be diagnosed as kidney failure or intestinal problems. The negative factors would seize the opportunity to intensify the persecution and my tribulation would expand.

I knew that it was not just the attachments I identified that were causing the pain. I felt as if I was desperately clutching a straw while drowning. I knew there was room for improvement in my cultivation and I should pay attention in the future. I should not push myself to do well in order to solve the problem, as that would be a form of pursuit.

The negative elements began to stir things up: “You’ve practiced for so many years—how could something like this happen? Is Master still taking care of you?” I recalled that Master said in a lecture that when he bore the karma of a person who had stroke symptoms, and it was like he'd drunk a bowl of poison. I negated this doubt: “Don’t try and make me blame Master and Dafa! Master has already suffered so much for me!”

Looking back, I suddenly realized that there is something in my thoughts that is not in line with the Fa: If Master bears your karma, you’ll practice cultivation—if not, will you blame him? In that case, will you give up cultivation? Isn’t this practicing with conditions? Aren’t you bargaining with Master?

Master said,

“If it happens that your Master does things differently from you and you find it objectionable, then are you going to stop cultivating? Isn’t [your notion that] the master who saves you must be like his disciples, the result of being poisoned by the Party-culture of the CCP? Do human beings really want their master, who brings people salvation, to undergo human suffering along with them?” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)

“Divine beings who save people really can’t be the same as those being saved. Say someone has fallen into a mud pit: would it make sense for him to refuse help if I offered to pull him out, and he insisted, “You have to jump in here and be like me before I’ll let you save me”? There’s no such thing. During this evil persecution, [think about] how many students who had such thinking fell after seeing, reading, or hearing the slanderous propaganda against Master. (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)

I gained a clearer understanding of the principles of the Fa and eliminated the notions that were not in line with the teachings. No matter what happens, I have faith in Master and Dafa.

Recalling what Master taught about sickness karma manifestation, I realized it was a reminder that I had attachments. This prompted me to be more diligent in cultivation and to send righteous thoughts regularly. It was also a test of my conviction and a chance to eliminate the bit of karma that collected and surfaced now. I realized this sickness test was a good thing.

I looked at the thing that was hurting me and thought: “I don’t care if it hurts. This is nothing major. Once the karma is eliminated, you will no longer hurt.” My mind was calm and steady. A few seconds later, the pain was gone.

This article seems to be rather long but the entire incident lasted less than 10 minutes. There were traps laid out for me throughout the process. It was an opportunity for me to improve. Master taught us how to deal with this in his teachings. If you can recall Master’s words and follow what he said, you will be able to pass the tests. That’s why it is important to study the Fa frequently.

Master said,

“You might not be able to recall the specifics of what I said afterwards, but if and when you do have challenges with sexual desire, you should be able to recall what I’ve taught. The moment you regard yourself as a practitioner, you should be able to remember my teachings on this, exercise self-control, and pass the test.” ( The Sixth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I did not intend to write this sharing because I thought this was just a test in my personal cultivation and there was nothing to talk about or show off. However, after talking to other practitioners, I found that I had not considered things from the perspective of awakening people. If a practitioner discovers shortcomings after reading this and passes a cultivation test, he won’t have to waste time on overcoming sickness karma. Instead he can use the time to save people. From this perspective, I realized I should write down my experience.

I remember reading an article in which a practitioner talked about overcoming sickness karma a few days before my experience. It helped me tremendously in passing this test and I would like to thank that practitioner.