Reflections On Thought Karma

(Minghui.org) The cultivation environment in mainland China is still harsh, so some practitioners, including me, do not have an environment that allows us to share experiences with one another, or even to read Minghui articles. As a result, we have improved very slowly and have been stuck in a certain state for a long time. We have become used to this state and consider it normal, but it is not. This can cause difficulties in making breakthroughs and overcoming tribulations.

For example, if one can not calm one's mind in doing the exercises. The manifestation is that one has trouble in listening to Teacher's voice, or the music, throughout the course of doing the exercises. Therefore, the mind wanders.

Last year, I had pain in my kidney. After a physical exam, I was diagnosed with lipoma. I couldn't help thinking about the fact that I had lipoma. I wanted to eliminate the thought, but just could not.

I found myself thinking about my condition during the sitting meditation. I wanted to correct my state of mind. However, the night before my next doctor's appointment, my attachment was still very strong.

Sitting in meditation, I tried to stay focused on listening to the exercise music so that I could eliminate my thoughts about illness. I felt quite relaxed after my meditation, and as it turned out, the test results revealed there was no lipoma. It was just a false alarm.

Afterward, I enlightened to the fact that all this came about because I had slacked off. I then enlightened to the fact that I could eliminate other thoughts while doing the exercises by just concentrating on the music.

I personally think that this is also a reflection of Teacher's benevolence, for people in our busy society always have a hard time becoming tranquil, so Teacher arranged the exercise music for us, to help us improve.

I also think that we should pay attention to the issue of thought karma. Thought karma can be huge, like a mountain, which manifests in various aspects, such as pursuing fame, self-interest, lust, etc, that one can not let go of or suppress. In Teacher's article Be Levelheaded in “Essentials for Further Advancement”, it mentioned: “extreme thoughts”.

For one to have extreme words, be moody, easily agitated, or depressed – I consider these to be a reflection of one's thought karma. For one to be in this state for a long time, the substance formed behind those thoughts must be very strong. Let us be more diligent to remove such blocks in our cultivation paths.

Whatever we are attached to and can't let go of will certainly surface while doing the exercises, preventing our ability to become tranquil. As I understand it, this would impede the bodily transformation that should otherwise occur, and elevating in cultivation level would thus not be possible.

To summarize, I believe that an effective way to deal with this is to keep listening to the music to dispel other interference. As I see it, this is also a process of strengthening one's main consciousness.