(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2002. For two years, I’ve wanted to share my thoughts about the article “Cautionary Advice” in Essentials for Further Advancement.
Master told us,
“You cannot always count on me to eliminate karma for you while you fail to truly progress in comprehending the Fa and rise above human understandings and notions. Your ways of thinking, your understanding, and your appreciation towards me and Dafa are the product of ordinary human thinking. But what I’m teaching you is in fact moving beyond ordinary humans to a rational, true understanding of Dafa!”
“In practicing cultivation, you are not making real, solid progress on your own, which would effect great, fundamental changes internally. Instead, you rely on my power and take advantage of powerful external factors. This can never transform your human nature into Buddha-nature. If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary—the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!” (“Cautionary Advice,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Master’s words kept going through my mind: “You cannot always count on me to eliminate karma for you while you fail to truly progress in comprehending the Fa and rise above human understandings and notions.”
I realized that if we feel pain and discomfort and consider it to be sickness karma, we are looking at it as personal cultivation. However, as Falun Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, we must transcend human understandings and notions and truly improve ourselves based on the Fa (teachings), in order to break through these tests. If we can do this, and truly elevate, Master will help us and the tribulation will be resolved.
Master also told us,
“Except for newer students, from July 20 of 1999 on, Master hasn’t created any personal cultivation tests for you, and that’s because overall your personal cultivation has changed in every respect so that it’s in the direction of saving sentient beings and validating Dafa.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)
“As a matter of fact, with regard to the veteran students [that started] prior to the persecution, I raised all of you to your positions. As long as you can go about things with righteous thoughts and righteous actions you can protect yourselves perfectly well, and that applies as well for new students that joined later.” (Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco)
I realized that Master pushed us to our highest position, including new practitioners who have righteous thoughts and actions. If we’ve been pushed to such high positions, how can we still be sick?
Our personal cultivation changed to Fa-rectification cultivation, so that we can help save sentient beings and validate Dafa. Any symptoms of sickness karma, interference, and tribulations are illusions, but they can help remind us to walk our cultivation path well.
Our human hearts are sometimes strong, causing us to think: “I have an inflamed gall bladder so I need to avoid greasy food”; “my stomach cannot handle spicy or cold food”; or “my leg is swollen and hurts so I’d better go to the hospital.”
Master wants us to walk the path to divinity, but we keep sliding back into humanness. If we can break through our human notions we will see that, “After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
One practitioner had severe motion sickness. She was afraid to eat much before we went out. I told her, “Do not acknowledge the motion sickness—just eat as usual and ignore it. You do not have motion sickness. Every cell of yours is filled with high energy, so how can you still have motion sickness? It is an illusion.” She suddenly enlightened and ate a full meal. She was perfectly fine and never had motion sickness again.
Another practitioner was too busy to do anything except harvest crops last Fall so I decided to take two days off work to help him. But when I got up the next day, I had severe pain in my lower abdomen and several blisters—I knew this was the symptoms of shingles.
What should I do? I promised to help this practitioner, and he needed help, so I sent strong righteous thoughts to eliminate this interference. I refused to acknowledge any pain or discomfort. I went to his place and was so busy harvesting corn that I forgot all about the blisters. When I got home that night, they were gone!
We need to truly understand that Master has pushed us to the pinnacle of our divine position. We need to break through personal cultivation and evaluate things based on Fa-rectification cultivation.
We are here to help Master rectify the Fa and save people, and we can rectify all that is not righteous. No matter what tests, difficulties, troubles, or sickness karma we come across, they have nothing to do with us. There is no place for evil interference, only for us to rectify the Fa and eliminate evil. If we can all think like this, will the evil dare to touch us?
This is my understanding at my level, please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Editor's note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)