(Clearwisdom.net) Fellow practitioners often discuss whether Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples still have sickness karma tribulations, and if disciples who began cultivation before the persecution started have different sickness karma tribulations compared to those who started after. I'd like to share my understandings on this topic. Please correct any mistakes.
Some fellow disciples think that Master said that he pushed all disciples that began cultivation before the persecution to their rightful places, and that they should not have any more physical tribulations, thus allowing them to fully turn their attention from personal cultivation to clarifying the truth. Thus some practitioners became confused, thinking that all sickness-related karmic tribulations are not arranged by Master, so we should negate them all by sending forth righteous thoughts. In some cases, this works immediately, while others are mired in it for long periods of time and even become depressed because of it. I believe that these situations are caused by the practitioners' being unclear on the Fa-principles. Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples should not have severe sickness karma that interferes with doing the three things, and such severe sickness karma symptoms are the results of our xinxing shortcomings.
Sometimes no matter how hard we search within, we still cannot find the problem. That may be because our attachment has become almost second nature to us and hard to detect, or perhaps because after we found the attachment, we did not see it as a big issue. However, there is no such thing as a small issue when it comes to cultivation. A disciple's one thought or action can play a huge role, and even a tiny mistake on our part can be exploited by the evil.
There are multiple ways to pass such tests, and the most effective is to find that attachment. Another way is steel our wills and put everything in Master's hands. I recently had an experience where I woke up on the morning of January 4, 2010 and found that I had a headache, sore throat, and a stuffy nose. My whole body was in pain, and I was shivering with cold. I forced myself to get up, did the exercises, and prepared my family breakfast. For the rest of the day, I had a fever. I could not read, so I only listened to the Fa, but I dozed off constantly. I sent forth righteous thoughts on the hour whenever my mind was clear enough. Over the course of the day, I endured the physical symptoms and battled thoughts of loneliness, as my child was away in boarding school and my husband was too busy to notice my discomfort. I concentrated on studying the Fa and no longer felt lonely or helpless.
That night, I realized that the sickness karma was so strong, it was not likely arranged by Master, so it must have been set up by the evil. I carefully searched inside, looking for anything that was not adequate in my cultivation. I did the fifth exercise in the morning, and then did 30 more minutes in the evening. I got very sweaty, and the fever was gone. But the next morning, I felt worse, and I could not do the standing exercises. After using a bag to hold my legs in place, I barely made it through 30 minutes of the fifth exercise. I was determined to do whatever I had do. I went out to pass out truth clarifying materials and did my errands. I felt a fever on and off the whole day.
On the third morning, my lips cracked and bled, to the point where eating hurt and I had to do it very gingerly. I still could not do the standing exercises and had to use a bag to help during the sitting exercise. I watched Falun Dafa--Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa Practitioners and the eighth talk of the Dalian Fa lectures. That night, I sent forth a steadfast thought, "I cannot pinpoint my attachment, but all the evil who are torturing me, listen! No matter how you torture me, don't think for a moment that my determination to cultivate in Falun Dafa will waver! I have my Master, and I do not acknowledge your existence. I will do whatever I should do."
As soon as my righteous thought emerged, I felt so different. On the fourth morning, everything went back to normal, and I could do all five exercises just fine. I experienced how one thought can determine the outcome. I am not saying that we should not look inside for attachments. I mean that when we cannot find it, we still cultivate diligently, trust in Master, and we will soon find the problem.
