(Minghui.org) While sharing experiences with fellow practitioners we once talked about a practitioner who had recently passed away. Many practitioners had supported this practitioner by sending forth righteous thoughts, without success. We later heard that this practitioner was hiding the fact he was taking medicine. He also held strong sentimentality toward his family, and was not diligent in studying the Fa. This had been going on for quite some time and I think that it was not realistic for him to overcome his attachments by sending forth righteous thoughts over a short period of time.
Sharing among practitioners is therefore important. Had we known about this practitioner's problem, we could have studied the Fa with him. Through Fa study and sharing he could have improved his understanding of the Fa, which may have helped avoid the disaster.
In my mind, it is not appropriate to just ask a practitioner not to take medicine, because cultivation cannot be achieved through forcing the truth upon a practitioner. It requires an environment suitable for the practitioner to cultivate. When he truly cultivates, his character will improve, which is the key to overcoming his problem.
Some tribulations require continuous cultivation over long periods of time. It is helpful to find out if any fellow practitioners have long standing problems. For example, one could deduce the cultivation state when one notices a lack of focus when studying the Fa or the palm is not erect while sending forth righteous thoughts. Whenever there is a problem we should share and study the Fa together. The point is to eliminate the problem before it becomes a disaster.
Some practitioners are not attentive when sending righteous thoughts. Others show signs of fatigue while studying the Fa. These are signs of problems, and they are warning signs. I suggest that we pay attention to these and other similar problems. The key is to learn about a problem early, find a solution, and not let any problem turn into a disaster.
