Beware of Slacking Off in Cultivation

(Minghui.org) My son had a new baby last year and asked me to come and help. I immediately agreed and moved in. I was completely immersed in cooking, laundry, babysitting, and cleaning. I did not do the three things.

One day, I noticed that I couldn’t lift my right arm. After a while I could move it, but a few days later, it felt numb again. I tried to lift it with my left hand but I couldn’t feel anything. It realized this was a symptom of a stroke. I refused to acknowledge it and I was able to move my right arm again.

Nothing happens by coincidence in cultivation. I looked within, and realized that I hadn’t read the Fa, and I couldn’t stay focused when I did. I also stopped going out to talk to people and clarify the truth. It seemed I completely forgot my mission as a practitioner and I was an ordinary person, busy taking care of my son’s child. I knew I had to return home.

I had been so blinded by qing that I couldn’t see that my children no longer needed my help. My son worked from home. His wife didn’t have to work, and their child was already nine months old.

The next day I told them I was returning home since they should be able to take care of the child, and I needed to resume cultivation. To my surprise, my son replied, “Go home. You are almost 70 and we’re supposed to take care of you, not have you work for us.” My daughter-in-law agreed and said, “Thank you. You should go home and practice. We’d like to see you stay healthy, and we support your practice.”

After I returned home, I spent a lot of time studying the Fa and clarifying the truth. It’s been over a year and I had no further issues with my arm. I thank Master for reminding me not to slack off in my cultivation.

My sister is also a practitioner and lives upstairs. After I came back, she told me that I could eat with her and didn’t have to cook for myself; it would save both of us money. I thought, “Why not? I don’t like cooking, and she’s cooking anyway—she just needs to add a little more rice. We are family and don’t have to haggle over trifles.”

From then on, I ate at her place twice a day. I let her do the dishes and take care of our elderly mother, who was in her 90s. When our younger sister and brother came to visit, they brought nutritious food for my mother—but I ate it before my mother did. I did not feel ashamed.

One day my legs felt heavy and I had a hard time walking. I thought, “I’m getting old, and I’ll let nature take its course.” But it got worse and it was hard to stand up and walk after I ate. I began walking with a limp. I sensed that something was wrong, but I still didn’t realize it was because I was taking advantage of my sister’s generosity.

A practitioner asked me one day, “You still eat with your sister, and act like a ‘senior monk?’ Shouldn’t cook for yourself?” It was stick-warning for me. I knew that I couldn’t keep doing what I’d been doing for the past eight months. The next day I started cooking, and my legs were fine. The more I walked, the more energetic I felt.

I looked within and found many attachments. I ate with my sister in order to save money, which showed I was attached to money. Not wishing to cook showed my attachment to comfort—I took advantage of my family and I was selfish. I need to eliminate all these bad notions.

I am determined to study the Fa well and let the teachings guide me, so that I can remove my attachments.