(Clearwisdom.net) I have recently heard that some older veteran Dafa practitioners have been hospitalized one after another due "sickness karma." I worry a lot about them. Many of them started practicing Falun Gong before the persecution began on July 20, 1999, and have experienced many difficulties. I am not blaming them, as I understand that everyone, including myself, has had some difficult times. I didn't start practicing Falun Gong until after July 20, 1999. I do not know these other practitioners, and perhaps we are hundreds of miles apart, but I feel this is a matter concerning the whole body, so I would like to present my opinion in the hopes that my words can help them.
Let me first talk about why "sickness karma" can occur. At present, there are only two reasons for "sickness karma." One is eliminating karma to pass a test, and the other is a loophole in cultivation that has caused one to be persecuted. When sickness karma happens repeatedly, practitioners normally develop a complaining mentality, "Why on earth is this happening to me?" In my humble opinion, unable to find the cause, one does not necessarily have to think about this issue too much. How to deal with it then? I have the following three suggestions.
1. Strengthen One's Righteous Thoughts
When "sickness karma" strikes we should ask ourselves if we indeed believe in Master and the Fa. Even veteran practitioners who have read Zhuan Falun several hundred times usually feel depressed and cannot learn anything while studying the Fa when sickness karma strikes. But it may not be difficult to calmly recall Master's lectures,
"Now it's up to you to battle through tests with righteous thoughts."
"If the righteous thoughts of somebody are not strong during his cultivation, he won't be able to pass his tests well and they will drag on. Also, when he's not able to achieve strong righteous thoughts, his confidence will be weakened." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
"When disciples have ample righteous thoughts Master has the power to turn back the tide." ("The Master-Disciple Bond" from Hong Yin II)
"...cultivation depends on one's own efforts while the transformation of gong is done by the master..." ("Lecture Four" from Zhuan Falun)
There are ample Fa lectures by Master on "sickness Karma." If one focuses in recalling related Fa lectures, one's righteous thoughts will be strengthened very quickly.
"But how could a divine being have ordinary people administer treatment on him?" ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
Was it because the practitioner did not want to "offend" his or her family members' good intentions before he or she agreed to follow everyday people's arrangements? Or, was he or she indeed afraid of losing the physical body? Have you forgotten that only with righteous thoughts and righteous actions can a practitioner keep his or her physical body and would lose it anyway if looking for a cure solely from everyday people? I have a relative who is also a practitioner, and he is 69 years old. A few months ago he "suddenly" suffered partial paralysis. His family members wanted him to be seen by a doctor, but he refused firmly. He recovered in a very short time.
2. Look Unconditionally Within
When "sickness karma" strikes, as I understand it, it's time for one to raise one's xinxing, and things will change as soon as the attachment is found and removed. Many genuine practitioners have personal experiences in this regard. Not long ago I experienced a month-long bout of sickness karma. When I found my attachment and put effort into removing it, my condition improved a little, but I did not completely recover. I had no choice but to ask for Master's help in my heart. In only a short time I had a dream. In my dream I was participating in a race held at my workplace. I turned out to be the last one running across the finish line because I was wearing high-heel shoes. In Chinese, the word "shoe" sounds the same as the word for "evil." I woke up and realized immediately that the evil was in my dimensional fields, and I had fallen short in sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them. For three consecutive days after that I tried to send forth righteous thoughts at every hour except during sleep. Everything returned to normal in less than three days. I have come to understand that as long as we truly want to improve ourselves, Master will give us hints. It probably won't always happen in a dream, but it is really dependent on our own enlightenment quality. A few words from someone in our daily life or something very trivial could be all the hints we need. There have been no coincidences since our cultivation began.
3. Righteous Actions
Once the righteous thoughts are sufficient, one's righteous action should closely follow. As soon as we experience "sickness karma" we feel disturbed, and as it drags on, one will do the three things as if finishing a routine job, and fail to do things according to the Fa. This can last for a long time. For instance, I was passing a big test this January, and as I climbed up to the third floor I would have to stop and rest. Even when I carried nothing with me, my head hurt terribly. I also experienced unusual uterine bleeding, completely clogged nasal passages, and my back pain was excruciating. I was so frustrated that I even thought, "This is worse than death," but I immediately banished that thought. I was not able to read the Fa, but could only listen to the Fa lectures.
I took my child with me and stayed at my parents' home. We studied the Fa and did the exercises together every day with the simple goal of letting me recover as soon as possible. However, my condition worsened every day. One day I suddenly realized, "The evil is persecuting me, but all three practitioners in my family are busy dealing with this and have to put aside the important matter of rescuing sentient beings. Aren't the old forces tricking us?" We immediately discussed it and decided I should immediately return to my home. I am a Dafa practitioner, and I can make anything happen, even things in my everyday life. All three of us must continue to do the three things! I returned home with my child. Once again, Master mercifully removed my tribulation, and Dafa manifested its wonder: I was back to normal in only one day.
My fellow practitioners: have you thought about it? Even though you go to the hospital or even pass away, Master will give you the best of everything because you are a Dafa disciple. However, what would the everyday people and some other Dafa practitioners think about it? Will some everyday people lose their chance for salvation because of you? Will this affect some practitioners who do not have a thorough understanding of the Fa? My fellow practitioners, let's strengthen our righteous thoughts quickly and not miss this extremely rare opportunity. For our prehistoric vows, let's advance diligently!
