Looking Inward to Overcome the Illness Illusion

(Minghui.org) I recently found a protrusion on my skin. It did not bother me at first, but later it began to disturb my sleep, and caused my shoulder to hurt.

My husband and I are both medical professionals. I told him about the protrusion, and he urged me to see a doctor. I discussed this with another practitioner and she suggested I look inward and identify my cultivation issues instead of thinking I was sick.

I felt that the protrusion was caused by my attachment to looking attractive, since I always wore tight fitting clothes. When I looked inward I realized that behind this was my attachment to lust. I also found resentment. Shortly after I identified my attachments, although the protrusion was still there, it no longer bothered me.

The other practitioner asked if I got better when we delivered information about Shen Yun. She helped by keeping me in her thoughts when she sent righteous thoughts. I told her that it stopped bothering me. She and another practitioner praised me after we walked for a long time. I replied that I joined the waist drum team. When I don’t feel well, I play the drums and every cell in my body feels joyful and energetic.

I learned that when we have illness symptoms we should quickly look inward and eliminate our attachments. We should also communicate with fellow practitioners openly, so we can identify and firmly remove our shortcomings.

Removing Sentiment and a Show Off Mentality

After my mother passed away, I often thought of her kindness. One day when I went to sell Shen Yun tickets I suddenly thought about her again. “My heart is broken,” I thought. I did not sell any tickets that day. I did not realize that I should have immediately denied my sentimental attachment to her as soon as it surfaced. Afterwards, I began to occasionally feel dizzy and I almost fainted during a business trip. I sent righteous thoughts immediately: I am the hope of those who are supposed to be saved by me. Ordinary people can casually say that their hearts are broken, but a practitioner should eliminate any thought that deviates from the Fa. 

After the business trip, I still felt dizzy occasionally and my joints were painful and swollen. My legs were stiff when I woke up. I had no appetite and kept losing weight. My hair began turning white. I was afraid of people’s comments about my thin figure. Sometimes I wondered what went wrong with me and whether I would die soon. I even thought about my funeral. I realized that these thoughts were not righteous and I must stop them at once. However, I failed to realize that the thoughts were from karma; not from my true self. I continued to feel dizzy and felt tired from the heavy load at home. One day I felt very bad, old, and muddleheaded, and I could not help thinking about my funeral.

I discussed my thoughts with the other practitioner again. She said, “You know your attachments. You felt dizzy while hosting a discussion session. What are your attachments?” I looked inward and found my jealousy and a deeply hidden attachment to showing off. I should not have any thought of showing off because my abilities were given by Master. I should identify any unrighteous thoughts and completely deny them.

One day after a group discussion with fellow practitioners, one said she was surprised that I looked so well even though I was experiencing illness symptoms. Another commented that there were very few wrinkles on my face. One said that I had high spirits after overcoming a huge karma elimination. I believe that Master used their comments to point out that those negative feelings I had were illusions.

Removing Thought Karma

Being a medical professional, I calculate my “Body Mass Index” (BMI) and try to stay slim. As a practitioner, I should maintain a healthy lifestyle and eating habits, but should not follow ordinary people’s measurements, such as BMI. I often thought about genetic inherited diseases which made reference to family illness history. The more I paid attention to this, the more I was asking for a disease!

Also, I should remove my sentimental attachment to my family. I ought to take care of my family members, view hardship with a positive attitude, and remind myself that practitioners are free from illness.

One day I went to the mall to sell Shen Yun tickets. At first, I felt dizzy and I was worried that I could not stand very long. However, I maintained righteous thoughts and soon sold tickets. I continued to walk around the booth to introduce Shen Yun to people. The more I walked, the better I felt. I kept the thoughts in my mind: “Master is using Shen Yun to save people. We are doing the most righteous thing, and no one is allowed to interfere.” 

Later, I focused on looking inward to identify my attachments. That night I did the exercises even though I got home late. My condition improved noticeably, and I felt more energetic.

I know some practitioners are experiencing illness symptoms. Some cannot even go out due to their condition. I hope my experiences can benefit those who are troubled by similar problems.