(Clearwisdom.net) Several days ago, I was helping out Practitioner A, who had been severely tortured by the police and was only surviving with the help of medicine.
With other practitioners' help, Practitioner A decided to discontinue taking the medicine (which did not have much effect) and to treat cultivation seriously. She started to suffer severe symptoms, as if she were about to lose her life, including vomiting, unable to eat, shortness of breath - her misery was unimaginable. At this critical moment, she said steadfastly: "I am letting go of my attachment to life and death. I am not going to the hospital no matter what and no matter who tells me to do it." Meanwhile, practitioners intensified sending forth righteous thoughts to help her. Shortly after, the evil forces dissolved, and Practitioner A's health gradually improved.
I witnessed this entire process. At the moment of choice between life and death, I saw how helpless and miserable a human being was; I also saw how relieved and comfortable a practitioner could be after letting go of the attachment of life and death. But, what caused all this suffering?
Through studying the Fa and through cultivation, we have come to learn the cause and effect of everything. In the course of cultivation you might not let go of your family, your husband, your children, or your parents; or you cannot let go of your attachment to personal interests, and you might become irritated whenever you are offended by someone or when you suffered some losses. You might become happy when everything is smooth, yet you will become irritated when things do not go your way; "They're happy when they get something and miserable when they lose it" ("Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students") Not only do you want to avoid repaying any karma that you have accumulated in your past life lives, but you are also collecting new karma with your strong attachments. When the karmic retribution arrives, what can Teacher do to help you?
Oftentimes, when people received something good, when your family obtained some good things, this person will be very happy. In fact, people do not understand; when someone obtains something, hasn't this person also developed more attachments? Furthermore, people will not understand the theory of loss and gain - people will become happy when they get something, but people do not know that they will not gain anything without losing something else. When the time comes to lose, the happiness of gain will become suffering in a split second. People are just like this; they are repaying their karma, yet their attachments keep growing amidst the losses and gains, happiness and suffering. Eventually, when they reach the end of their lives after going through a lifetime of hardship, they cannot even take a penny with them.
People want to end the suffering in their lives, but how can an everyday person end such suffering without cultivation? Cultivators are fortunate. We have become practitioners, and all sentient beings of the universe envy us. Why don't we grasp this once-in-a-million-years opportunity and cultivate ourselves diligently! We should completely eliminate all the desires and pursuits of an everyday person. Whenever our human heart is aroused, we should consider at that moment what attachment we are to eliminate. Just one notion can mean the difference between being human and being divine.
