(Clearwisdom.net) On August 8, 2002, my uncle (a Falun Dafa practitioner) fell ill shortly after finishing reading some Dafa books. He felt dizzy, vomited, and died two hours later. The doctor diagnosed the cause of death as a stroke. His relatives could not believe he had died so suddenly and found it hard to accept. The local practitioners were also somewhat confused. We recalled how my uncle started practicing Falun Gong in January 1999; how he never stopped studying Dafa books, doing the exercises and promoting Falun Gong to others, how he shared his profound understandings, and how he did so well after July 20 1999 in validating Falun Gong and clarifying the truth. We came to the understanding that his death may be a test for all of us to see if we would continue to cultivate after seeing a diligent fellow practitioner pass away.
When I heard about his death, I was in a forced labor camp. My initial feeling was that it should not have happened. Why would a practitioner die like that during such a critical time in the Fa-rectification? Vaguely, I felt perhaps my uncle's righteous thoughts had not been strong enough. I also realized that cultivation is a very serious matter and that we should take control of our every thought. Only then can we walk our paths righteously. In Zhuan Falun Master said, "We'd say that a good or bad outcome comes from one thought. The difference in one thought leads to different results." Perhaps what happened to me later on can illustrate what Master Li said.
One night in December, I dreamed about riding in a car with my uncle and we were heading southeast where there were many practitioners. When he asked if I wanted to go, I hesitated and said, "I still have a lot to do." My uncle said, "Then you should get out of the car."
When I woke up, I thought that the dream was weird, but didn't think about it for long. On the evening of the following day, while I was watching the news in one of the classrooms at the forced labor camp, as we were forced to every day, I felt dizzy and vomited a lot. The inmates took me to a bed and left me alone. Two fellow practitioners helped me get up and walk to my bed. Then I heard a very real voice say, "Go quickly, and leave the body here." Then, I felt that my soul just left me and I saw two practitioners carrying my body, one went to call for the guards, and the other was shaking my body. I was shocked and didn't know what to do. I heard that deep voice again, "Come with me. Your work is done. We have a pact. Today is the day for you to leave." Although I didn't know where the voice was coming from, I realized it was interference. I shouted, "Master, help me. How can I leave now? Practitioners should leave in an open and dignified manner." So I started to send forth righteous thoughts. I saw some white light/substance carry my soul back to my body. My eyes opened.
By then, I had been laid on my bed. The doctor and guards were calling for emergency medical services; many practitioners surrounded me. One said to me, "You passed out, you did not have any blood pressure. The doctor said that it was very serious." When a guard heard that I had regained consciousness, she came over, still shocked, pushed me, and said, "What's the matter with you. You always cause us so much trouble." I didn't want to see her face, so I closed my eyes. Then I saw a horrible, dark face staring at me, but he stayed at a distance. He pointed his finger at me and accused me of not honoring the pact and said that if I didn't follow him, I would be going against heavenly principles. I knew that it must be the old forces. I said to it, "Master Li is compassionate. He treats you compassionately too and has given you many chances to position yourself. But you are attached to your own goals and interfere with Fa-rectification, which the universal principles do not allow." Upon hearing my words, it disappeared. At this time, my eyes filled with tears because I could feel Master's bountiful mercy, and felt that I was very lucky. When I read Master's Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A. I realized that I might have signed some kind of pact in the past with the old forces.
In 2003, I was released from the labor camp on medical grounds. When I got home, my father told me that one night he saw my uncle in a dream. My uncle said with tears in his eyes that he had not taken control of himself at one moment and told us to cultivate diligently to the very end. He also mentioned that he has cultivated to a very high realm and is waiting for us in another dimension with many other practitioners.
My aunt could not accept the fact that my uncle had passed away. She blamed his death on Falun Gong. One day, she said to me, "I now believe in Dafa. Your uncle said to me in a dream that he has consummated and asked me to treat Dafa correctly." She also said that our neighbors, who are also practitioners, saw my uncle in their dreams as well. They said he was sitting on a lotus holding a copy of Zhuan Falun. He said that the higher the realm, the more beautiful it is. I was so moved at hearing this and could feel Master Li's compassion.
Through studying the Fa, I enlightened:
Firstly, one is free to choose what they want at critical moments. Different thoughts will bring different outcomes as pointed out by Master Li in Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A. Master said,
"But even so, if our righteous thoughts are very strong, then we're in line with a law in the cosmos, and this law holds in both the old cosmos and the new one: a being's choice is up to him, even if he made some kind of vow in history. At critical moments it's still up to him what he wants to do."
The difference between my uncle and me was in our thoughts. Although I hadn't read this lecture at that time, I knew that I only had one Master and I would not listen to other gods no matter how high they appeared to be.
Secondly, we should cherish this one in a thousand lifetime's opportunity to validate Dafa and save sentient beings. Although I do not know what was on the minds of others like my uncle as they passed away before the arrival of the Fa in the human world, and how different they were from those who negate the arrangements of the old forces and stay to validate Dafa and save the sentient beings, at least we are walking the path arranged by Master and will be able to do more to save lives and have more opportunities to establish our mighty virtue. This is probably one of the reasons my uncle was crying when he talked to me in a dream.
Thirdly, Master mercifully saves sentient beings; but the arrangements of the old forces damage the righteous faith of practitioners and eventually bring damage to all sentient beings. The passing of my uncle brought some interference to the righteous faith of practitioners and some everyday people who may have been predestined to also practice Falun Dafa. Master used the arrangements of the old forces, my dreams, and my understanding of the Fa principles to enlighten us and strengthen our righteous faith and righteous understandings. This is what prompted me to write this article.
Basking in Master's mercy, we have no reason not to do well. We can only cherish Master's mercy more and walk our paths righteously.
This is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything that is inappropriate
2004-8-5