A Small Tribulation Becomes a Life or Death Test

(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa when I was in high school. One of my teachers gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun, and I read it cover to cover without stopping. I accepted all the principles that Master talked about in the book and suddenly understood why I was here in this world.

Now, I have been practicing Falun Dafa for 20 years. And though I have had many ups and downs, I have never given up on cultivation. When the persecution first began, I went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Dafa. I was soon detained and expelled from school. However, I never had any regrets for going to Beijing and following Master. I think of Master and Dafa all the time, even when I am in very difficult situations. I would have not made it to this day if it were not for Master’s protection.

Once I started cultivation, I stayed away from smoking and drinking, but I never paid much attention to the issue of eating meat. Others may eat a few pieces of meat, but I could eat a pot of meat. Master hinted to me several times through other people’s mouths that I needed to let this attachment go. I even had stomach pain after eating meat. I knew I had to let go of the attachment, but I just could not correct myself.

This is an attachment that has stayed with me from the beginning of my cultivation. Year after year went by and still I did not correct myself. Twenty years later, a small tribulation became a life or death test.
A month ago, I ate too much at my colleague's wedding. By the next morning I could not move the left side of my body. I had difficulty getting up and could not even talk clearly. At that time, I could not figure out why I had these illness symptoms.

My sister, also a Dafa practitioner, came to help me send forth righteous thoughts. She directly pointed out my attachment of eating meat and that I did not do the Falun Dafa exercises enough. While she was talking, an image of Pigsy (a character in Monkey King), appeared in my mind. Pigsy failed in his cultivation because he had too many attachments. I did not want to be Pigsy. At that moment I decided to completely quit eating meat from that day on.

I could not go to work, so I listened to Master’s lectures all day. I managed to stand up on the second day. On the third day, I went to work, but walked with a limp. My co-worker helped me walk to the office. He secretly called a taxi to take me to a hospital. While I was in the taxi, I said to myself, “I am Dafa practitioner and I should not go to the hospital.”

I asked for Master's help. On the fourth day, I could walk normally.

Following the incident I came to realize that when we find an attachment, we should try to get rid of it right way. If we know we have it but let it remain, a small test can become one of life or death. I was in a very serious predicament because I had not gotten rid of my attachment to meat. If I did not have the right thoughts and Master’s protection, I could have died because I had not let go of the attachment to eating meat.

From then on I completely cut meat out of my diet. Some people were surprised and suggested I just eat less meat to avoid malnutrition. I realized from the Fa that as a genuine cultivator, I would not have malnutrition.

I soon found my loophole: I had the mentality of being a superior person as I became a practitioner. I felt happy about myself and did not pay enough attention to small things. However, in cultivation, one is to let go of attachments. We cannot keep any of them.