The Difference of One Thought Can Lead to Different Outcomes

(Minghui.org) After many years of cultivation, some practitioners often say that we must use our righteous thoughts instead of human thoughts—that the difference of one thought can lead to different outcomes.

Though we often talk about it, a human state of mind still comes up every now and then. Recently, I have had two different tribulations, and the outcomes were different due to my different thoughts about them.

I have a large tooth on the left side of my mouth that hurt whenever I ate. For several months I was unable to chew on that side. I mentioned this to another practitioner and she told me, “Don't worry about it. That happens as we age; it's normal.” So I thought, “Oh, okay then”

When I got home I thought about what she said and realized that was wrong thinking. I am a Falun Dafa disciple and not an ordinary person. There is no such thing as “getting old” for me. Master taught us to cultivate both mind and body, and I am conducting myself according to Dafa. I am thus ageless. I touched my tooth with my finger and said, “Stop hurting me. You cannot behave like this.” The pain subsided, and my tooth has never hurt again.

My next experience was not so easy.

Last winter, under my hair at the back of my neck I developed a patch of small pimples that itched terribly. My first thought was, “Master is cleansing my body for me.” But it continued to itch so much that I put some aloe lotion on it. I consoled myself with the thought that “It's okay since it is not a drug.”

I asked some practitioners to take a look. Amy said, “It looks like a white rash. Don't worry about it. Did you have something before and Master is cleansing it for you now?” Li said, “It looks like some kind of fungus. Don't worry about it. Study the Fa more and it will go away. ” I also told myself, “I should not worry about this; it will go away.

Deep in my heart I could not forget about it. One day while I was cooking, I was going to add some parsley. Then I thought, “I can't eat that, because it is an allergen and I don't want to make my rash itch any worse.” This was a human notion, and I had trouble letting it go. I realized that I have to try my best to strengthen my righteous thoughts and look within to find and eliminate any attachments.

A fellow practitioner who is over 80 years old still works hard to provide materials for at least a dozen practitioners. Every week she and another practitioner download the weekly editions of newspapers, print them, and distribute them to other practitioners. She is very diligent.

Last year, just before the Chinese New Year, she came back from visiting her son's family in southern China. She was losing her hearing and had become very thin.

She also had a lot of sentimentality. For one, she always thought about going back to her son's home to take care of her grandchild. Fellow practitioners tried to help her, but she was not improving. We had some elderly practitioners in the area who passed away in the form of sickness karma, so I began to worry about her. The more I thought about her, the more I was attached to it. I came to realize that there were attachments that I had to get rid of myself.

I shared this with fellow practitioners, and one of them said, “In the old times, the monks all begged for food. They did not plant food for themselves and they did not cook. Because they did not think about anything, they let everything be.”

I realized that the older practitioner's state could be due to my attachments. It was my strong sentimentality that led to a fellow practitioner's incorrect state. Master was giving me a hint and asking me to look for my human attachments and eliminate them.

Master said:

“In other words, this life of yours is now the life of a cultivator. Nothing is by chance anymore, and nothing will happen just by chance. Everything on your life's journey is directly related to your improvement and cultivation.” (Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles)

I told myself, “It is time for me to look within and cultivate myself. Everyone has a different path and Master is taking care of all of us. It is not something that I need to spend too much time thinking about.”

As soon as I thought this way, the other practitioner said she no longer wanted to go to her son's home in the south and that she should no longer think about taking care of her grandson all the time.

Master said:

“With attachments left behind, the lightened boats sail swiftly,With a preoccupied human heart, crossing the ocean proves arduous.”(“The Knowing Heart” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)

I realized that, if we do everything as Master requires, then we will be able to overcome all the issues we encounter.