The Mentality of Old Age

(Minghui.org) I usually don’t agree with fellow practitioners who claim that they were aging and had this or that ailment. I believed that I didn’t have the mentality of old age. However, a recent event reminded me that I had more places to improve.

I am now 71 years old. Since the beginning of 2022, my granddaughter has often said, “Grandma, you are getting old.” My daughter also made similar comments. My hair was white and neighbors and friends often told me that I looked older. Gradually, I started to agree that I was old.

My agreement with old age brought me tribulations. I went to a relative’s 90th birthday party on August 6. On the way back, my left knee started to hurt. I didn’t worry about it and only gave it a rub. “Just a karmic debt,” I thought.

I did the standing exercises just fine the following morning, but I had severe pain in my left knee during the meditation exercise. I had to add a cushion under the left leg so I could complete the meditation.

Sending forth righteous thoughts didn’t relieve the pain. I was limping for a few weeks, and then my right leg hurt, too. I realized it was not a normal karmic debt. I looked inward to find out what attachments gave the old forces a reason to persecute me. I found the attachments of personal gain, resentment, and showing off.

Both legs still hurt a week later, which made it difficult to use the restroom. It was very difficult for me to squat down and stand up. I wondered if I should put in a toilet bowl as many old people in our area had done. That idea stopped me, because I remembered that I am a Dafa disciple, and my body keeps rejuvenating during my cultivation. How could this have happened? It must be that I had accepted the idea that I was old.

I recalled something I saw when I was meditating in May. I was holding a steaming tray full of water in both hands. "How could a steaming tray with so many holes hold water?" I wondered. Master enlightened me that, “You can only reach Consummation after you have abandoned all of your attachments and none of them remain.” (“Cultivation Practice is Not Political,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Looking further inward, “I am getting old” contains laziness, a mind of dependence, and slacking off. It is a manifestation of not being diligent in cultivation. It is an excuse to slack off, and it is an attachment that needs to be eliminated.

Realizing the problem, I sent forth a strong righteous thought: "I do not allow any evil factors to interfere with cultivators for any reason, and I deny the arrangements of the old forces. The older I get, the more diligent I must be."

I cleaned up the painful parts of my legs with mighty power given by Master. My condition was much better the following day. Now I can basically do the exercises with both legs crossed.

Most practitioners near me are in their 70s and 80s and have practiced for more than two decades. However, many of them also appear to have slacked off.

Some have good incomes and their children are filial, so they don’t want to participate in Dafa projects but want to enjoy old age in peace. Some will visit a hospital when they have symptoms, saying it is to avoid giving Dafa a negative image.

Some think the Fa-rectification will take many more years, so they wait at home and send forth righteous thoughts from home. Some are enthusiastic about ordinary people’s matters and put cultivation secondary.

I believe these practitioners who slack off are in danger, as their levels will descend if they are not diligently advancing. Master cherishes us very much, and we should cherish ourselves even more.

My understanding is that constantly cultivating our xinxing when doing the three things and getting rid of our attachments is how one cherishes oneself.