My mother has practiced Falun Gong since 1997. She has persisted in cultivating, appealing on behalf of Falun Gong, and clarifying the truth about the persecution.
At the end of May 2004, my mother was disturbed seriously by sickness karma. When I saw her later at a relative's house, to my great surprise, she looked sallow, had edema, and could not walk without support. I realized the seriousness of the issue. After exchanging views with fellow practitioners, I decided to stay with my mother to study the Fa (1), send forth righteous thoughts and share experiences with her, in order to discover the problem.
I learned that her sickness had lasted for over one month. During this time she was sent to the hospital for an intravenous drip several times. She insisted that there be no more treatment. But the situation did not take a favorable turn. The underlying reason includes the persecution by the "dark minions," as well as unsolved problems which have accumulated for a long time. However, no matter what attachments we still have, we must not acknowledge the old forces' arrangements and persecution.
When studying the Fa together, I found that my mother's master consciousness was not strong enough, and the interference from thought karma was also serious. I asked if that was the case all the time. She said, "No. Only now has the interference become fierce." We asked her to strengthen her righteous thoughts to break through the interference. As long as you can adhere to Fa study, you are eliminating interference. When you are interfered with to the point of putting down Dafa books or are unwilling to study the Fa, you have gone along with the old forces' arrangements.
At the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference, a student asked Teacher, "I obtained the Fa after [the persecution began on] July 20, 1999. When the phenomenon of sickness karma occurs, if I regard it as sickness karma and acknowledge it, would I be acknowledging the old forces' arrangements? Should I send righteous thoughts?"
Teacher replied:
"As to whether there are old forces interfering, when you're changing your own most surface bodies there is a portion that you need to endure yourselves. But relatively speaking it isn't much, and it won't have too much of an impact on validating the Fa. When big hardships come along, that has to be the evil interfering, and you have to send righteous thoughts to eliminate it! Today what Dafa disciples are doing are things that validate the Fa, and they're the most sacred and most magnificent things. If you're doing Dafa things and something happens during a critical time for saving sentient beings, then it must be interference. You need to evaluate it rationally. Don't be attached and think, 'Whenever I suffer or don't feel well, it must be interference. I can't accept it if I'm suffering or don't feel well. I have to send righteous thoughts.' Of course, it's okay for you to send righteous thoughts. The gong you send out takes care of the things it's supposed to take care of, and when it comes to things it's not supposed to take care of the gong will act according to the Fa, because that gong was cultivated by your cultivating according to the Fa's standard. (People laugh) So what I think is, you should do things rationally."
("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
My mother seldom read other Fa besides Zhuan Falun (2). When Teacher's new articles were published, other practitioners would read them once to my mother, and after that she seldom read it. She said that was because she could not read clearly. When I learned this, I developed a guilty conscience. Since I have not been able to stay at home for two years (as I would face near certain arrest), I seldom have the opportunity to study the Fa with my mother. As a matter of fact, as to all her problems, Teacher has mentioned them in recent articles. But she did not study them thoroughly. So when the tribulation occurs, she endured it as sickness karma. The dark minions took advantage of this loophole and persecuted her endlessly. This is also due to our not coordinating well as a whole.
After continuous Fa study and experience sharing, we gradually found many problems. Mother's sickness also lessened during this time. We took the chance to clarify the truth about Dafa patiently to friends and relatives so that they could understand why mother persists in cultivating. They said nothing more and showed support for us. After one week, father beseeched me with tears not to leave home again, and to stay to look after mother. Thinking of my mission and seeing that she became more and more clearheaded, after soliciting her opinion, I gave her an MP3 player which had a recording of all of Teacher's new articles, and departed with fellow practitioners.
The next night, father took mother to the hospital. When I hurried to see her, she was lying on the hospital bed weakly. Seeing me, she felt much better. Father dragged me aside and told me that mother suffered from a malignant tumor, and was in the late stage of cancer. The doctor said she was critically ill. He thought that Mother's life was in danger. I kept my heart unaffected and sent out steadfast righteous thoughts to eradicate all these false appearances. I recited Hongyin II to mother while fellow practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts beside me. I also read Zhuan Falun to her that night. We sent forth righteous thoughts overnight. Mother got up around midnight. I told her that we were one body and that we do not allow the dark minions to persecute us under any pretext.
Notes
- Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.
- The book, Zhuan Falun, comprises the principal teachings of Falun Dafa.
