(Minghui.org) After reading some sharing articles about the passing of Dafa disciples, I could not help thinking of several local practitioners who passed away.
Some of those who passed away and some who are currently stuck in sickness karma used to be active in their cultivation practice. That is, they appeared to be very diligent, went out to clarify the facts about Dafa rain or shine, and distributed truth-clarification materials in large quantities.
They include coordinators, experts of IT support, those who always reach out and help practitioners in need, and some who broke out of incarceration with righteous thoughts again and again. In the end, however, they did not escape from the clutches of the sickness karma. They felt hopeless, helpless, and isolated with no righteous thoughts anymore. They left with regrets and confusion; some even complained that Master no longer cared for them.
Master said,
“You might know that a few of our students passed away. Some of them reached Consummation, while some [died to] do harm to us. So I didn’t make any comments on the matter or offer any explanation. Yet I think those things were a test of life and death for our students. Although they didn’t happen to you personally, it was almost as if they did. You’re sure to have felt like that. It’s a critical test of life and death, then. If a person can’t abandon his concern for life and death, he absolutely won’t be able to Consummate.” (Teachings at the Conference in Singapore)
From this, we know that the passing away of other practitioners is also a mirror for each of us to reflect upon. It is like a test of our life and death — a very serious question. How to pass this test? Let’s start with our own cultivation.
Importance of Studying Dafa Teachings
In the beginning of the persecution, I went out to validate the Fa without hesitation. There were no truth-clarification materials at the time, so we wrote messages about Dafa ourselves and put them up. They included the most conspicuous places, such as utility poles, bridgeheads, and even the traffic police towers at intersections.
Later, truth-clarifying materials were distributed door to door. As time went on, I clarified the truth face-to-face to save sentient beings, offered materials, or persuaded them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations. I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I felt that, only by doing this could I be worthy of being a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period.
However, I neglected the important part of studying Dafa teachings with a calm mind. That is, I have considered doing things as cultivation and studying Dafa teachings as a formality. I didn’t know how to look inward, so I often argued and had many conflicts with other practitioners. This went on until various physical discomforts appeared and even doing Dafa exercises did not help. So I was perplexed.
Later on I read a practitioner’s sharing. I was awakened, realizing that I should calmly study the Dafa teachings and evaluate things according to Dafa principles. I thus began studying Dafa teachings attentively with a tranquil mind while looking within whenever encountering difficulties.
In this process, I noticed I was eager to do things with ego while being impatient, restless, domineering, and overbearing. I did not take criticism well and I kept looking outwards.
After studying and memorizing the Dafa teachings for some time, I had a better understanding of Dafa principles. I was thus able to identify the difficulties I encountered and the source of my karma. Master had already borne part of it for me, and I had to bear some of it too.
Karma is stubborn. But we can cleanse ourselves by doing the exercises, studying Dafa teachings, and sending forth righteous thoughts. With the mechanism bestowed by Master, we can break and disperse the black karma into small pieces. Through our perseverance in cultivation, we are able to constantly expel and weaken the karma, to a point of posing no threat to our body. The old forces could no longer take advantage of our loopholes to drag our physical body away.
Therefore, only by understanding the principles of Dafa and diligently guarding every thought can we successfully overcome every tribulation. Only then can we negate the arrangements of the old forces.
During these years of cultivation, many Dafa disciples are doing very well in cultivation. Their faith in Master and the Fa is as solid as a rock.
Story of a Practitioner
In our study group, there is an elderly practitioner who firmly believes in Master and Dafa. She has survived several life-and-death situations. Once, after she passed out at home, her husband was stunned and called the ambulance but the line was busy. He also called his son. By then, she regained consciousness, pushed her husband aside, and said, “I am fine. I just need to go to the bathroom.”
When she discovered that she had lost control of her bowels, her son arrived and asked her to go to the hospital. “I am fine. I won’t go to the hospital,” she said. The practitioner was calm and her mind was clear and she felt little more than a feeling of heaviness in her body. She fell asleep and in her dream, someone was digging a hole in the ground and told her that it was for her. She replied in the dream, “That is not for me, I have to guide my sentient beings through the gates of heaven to the future.” She woke up, and because of her righteous thoughts, she recovered in a few days. If she had acknowledged the arrangement by the old forces, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
She went through another tribulation lately, when she suddenly experienced excruciating back pain, and could not turn or lay down. For several days she suffered enormous pain. But she was not afraid. Considering the situation to be an illusion, she knew it should not prevent her from doing the three things. She slowly stood up, went downstairs while holding on to the railing, and rode her electric bike out to clarify the truth once again.
She would sit in front of the computer for hours to break through the internet blockade, downloading informational materials and listening to Minghui Radio. She said that in a dream, she was holding a vine with both hands and no matter how much her body swayed, she just wouldn’t let go and held on tight to the vine.
Seriousness of Cultivation Practice
Master said,
“If you are a true cultivator, our Falun will safeguard you. I am rooted in the universe. If anyone could harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
In these years of practice, some practitioners do not understand this part of Master’s teachings well. With Master's protection and having done so many Dafa projects as well as saving people’s lives, they think that they shouldn’t be persecuted so severely, tormented by illnesses, lose their life, and so on. This is interpreting Dafa using human notions and human thoughts. Master will take care of Dafa disciples who have righteous thoughts.
In my understanding, Master does not want any kind of death. By practicing dual cultivation of body and mind, we are extending our lives while practicing. But we have to practice based on Dafa and know how to practice. How well we assimilate to the Fa is how much Dafa protection we will have. This is for sure.
For practitioners who are in tribulation, please waste no time and study the Dafa teachings well. If we work hard on cultivating our character, look within, and eliminate attachments, we will be able to return with Master in an upright manner.
This is my understanding at my level, please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Cultivation Insights
