(Minghui.org)
Greetings esteemed Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 2005 and to be truthful, I wasn't a diligent practitioner. I can now see clearly that my cultivation was on a downward slope over a long period of time. Because of this I had many loopholes, so demons have been able to interfere with me. One incorrect thought nearly led to disastrous consequences, but has taught me a lesson I will never forget, including the seriousness of cultivation.
I always became a patient of the doctor in any local area when I moved to a new house. But, when I moved over 4 years ago I just didn’t bother, as I believed that it wasn't important for a practitioner and that I didn’t need one anyway. However, I began to have doubts several months ago and thought that it might be a good idea to register with a local doctor. This thought grew and I began to reason that if I should fall ill and need to take time off, I might need a doctor’s note. At the time I kind of felt out of sorts and thought that I might be developing an illness. I can now see the gradual shift in my thought process, from a practitioner eliminating sickness karma, to that of an everyday person experiencing an illness.
Feeling the Onset of Sickness Karma
A few months ago, I began to feel a few twinges around my heart after meals. I monitored the situation for about a week and noticed them getting stronger and more frequent. I do enjoy the food my wife cooks and have been putting on weight for quite a while. I decided to tell my wife about the pains and asked if she would reduce my food. I told her that my chest was feeling tight and the ribs around my heart were bruised. I am only 42, and began to feel scared. Then, I started to fear the worst, expecting to have a heart attack. My wife spoke with a Chinese doctor, also a practitioner. They came to the conclusion that I was interfered with because of improper thoughts, and that I had put myself in a very dangerous situation.
I went to work the following day and felt my chest becoming tighter. I started to send righteous thoughts to relieve the pain and asked Master for help. I just wanted to make it through the day and get back home to study the Fa. When I was reading one of Master’s lectures, I developed strong thoughts about dying and tried to hold back my tears. My feelings for my wife grew in intensity, and I wondered what I needed to do to keep her safe if I passed away. My wife later shared her understanding with me on how I should deny the old forces' arrangements and eliminate the interference. I listened to her, but my mind was all over the place and I was feeling pity for myself.
Master's Hint in Dream Results in Strong Righteous Thoughts
That night I dreamt that I was attending a Shen Yun performance. I was walking around during the break and saw two former colleagues, whom I hadn't seen for over 10 years. They had brought their children to watch the show. I didn’t speak to them, but was very pleased to see them there.
When I woke up I knew that I wanted to save people. I was full of confidence and sent strong righteous thoughts. Strong righteous thoughts is something I had not experienced for a long time, as my mind always seemed to drift off when I sent righteous thoughts. But now it was different. When sending righteous thoughts I asked Master for help and denied the old forces' arrangements, saying that I would only follow Master.
My wife woke up a little later, and told me that she had a bad dream. She said that she could see clearly a demon’s hand holding a knife, violently stabbing at my heart. There were some other nasty scenes as well. I told my wife that I must have done some really bad things in my previous lives and now it was payback time. I immediately thought from the Fa and my mind was even clearer, as I now knew why I was experiencing these pains. My wife told me that when I send forth righteous thoughts I should say to the demon, “If I owe you from my previous lives, I will pay you with my mighty virtue after I reach consummation. If I don’t have enough, my Master will offer you a benevolent solution. I am a practitioner and need to save people. If you want to be saved you must assimilate into the Fa. If you try to interfere with me, I will eliminate you.”
The One Thought Determines the Outcome
With just this one thought of wanting to follow Master, everything changed in an instant. For months, maybe years, there was a gradual decline in my ability to understand the Fa, dragging me down to this dangerous level. But, with just the one righteous thought, everything changed. My chest pains disappeared, and my righteous thoughts became stronger and more focused. How can practitioners have illness? How can we validate the Fa if we are bedridden or hospitalized? It is not what Master wants, especially at this very important stage when time is pressing.
I also learned that when I had illness symptoms, if my first thoughts were about going to a hospital, I would be an everyday person. However, if my first thought is to follow Master to save people, then I am a practitioner. I believe this is the fundamental difference for cultivators.
When I was looking inward the night before, I could see many problems in my cultivation and believed that it’s going to be a long arduous task to dig myself out of this hole I had gotten into. But when my thought was in line with the Fa, Master picked me up and placed me back on the cultivation path. Now, I am in the correct frame of mind to earnestly cultivate, eliminate my attachments and begin to catch up with the Fa-rectification process.
On the surface, this incident is a life and death test. But fundamentally, it was a test of my belief in Master and the Fa, and is a significant step for me to actually start cultivating.
Thank you Master.
Thank you fellow practitioners.
