(Clearwisdom.net) I always feel pained whenever I read articles about practitioners losing their lives when they failed "sickness karma" tests, and I want to tell of my experience in helping a practitioner through such a test. I hope that it can serve as a reference for others in similar situations.

Towards the end of 2006, a male practitioner in his 50's was in a life-threatening situation and had trouble eating and sleeping for more than 20 days. Fluid in his chest cavity made it difficult for him to breathe. Once hospitalized, the doctors diagnosed him with late stage lung cancer. The hospital officials issued a notice saying that he was close to death and told the family to be prepared. According to the doctors, he only had three to four days to live. His condition was indeed frightening: he could not move his eyes, and his feet were badly swollen. His close relatives were gathering at the hospital. His wife and children were in deep grief while waiting for the final moment.

After I heard about it, I talked to another practitioner. The two of us decided to visit him at the hospital the next day and sent righteous thoughts for him. We brought him an MP3 player with Master's lectures. The next morning, a snowstorm hit our area. The other practitioner called me to ask if I still planned to go. I said, "Yes, we must be there, even if there were knives falling from the sky; we cannot delay at all. We must compete with the old forces to rescue our fellow practitioner." I got on a bike and headed to the hospital. I did not even notice how slippery the road was. I had only one thought: We must rescue our fellow practitioner from the hands of the old forces.

Once at the hospital we asked each of the family members to silently recite the words, "Falun Dafa is good." One of his relatives, a hospital director, told me, "I read his X-ray film, and it is indeed late stage cancer," implying that there was no hope for him. I told everyone, "Now you must have a strong belief. No one could save his life. Only Falun Dafa's Master has the power to save him. Our Master said in "Zhuan Falun", "Matter and mind are one thing." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun) I also told them, "You should hurry up and recite, Falun Dafa is good!"

Next to his bed, I encouraged the practitioner and told him to have strong faith in Master and Dafa. I told him to remember Master's words:

"If you can let go of life and death, you're a God; if you can't let go of life and death, you're a human-this is the difference." ( "Teaching the Fa in New York City," Lectures in the United States (1997))

I encouraged him to recite Master's teachings and refuse to acknowledge his physical situation. I repeatedly recited Master's poem,

"When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide" ("The Master-Disciple Bond" in Hong Yin II)

I asked, "Can you hear me?" He nodded. Then I reminded him to send righteous thoughts constantly, eradicate the sickness karma and refuse to acknowledge the old forces' arrangements. He should follow Master to his real home. He nodded again several times.

He had trouble breathing, and I told him to yell out "Master." He again had breathing troubles at night after I went home. Right before he lost consciousness, his wife reminded him to call out "Master!" Without hesitation he yelled out "Master" in front of all the people in the room. Immediately he saw Master coming to his side, dressed in a yellow kasaya. Master told him that he was not treating cultivation seriously. He promised, "I will change."

This practitioner had stopped his cultivation practice after July 20, 1999 when the persecution started. Later he suffered from kidney atrophy, and the hospital could not help him. So he began to read Dafa books again. However, he hardly practiced the exercises, and he was not diligent in cultivation. Sometimes he read Dafa books while lying in bed and did not change his habits, even after others pointed this out to him several times.

Master's great compassion protects all practitioners all the time, regardless of our cultivation state. As long as we still treat cultivation seriously, Master will give us opportunities to improve. He never gives up.

After the practitioner called out to our Master and promised that he would change, he vomited and spat out two pink-colored tumors the size of a nickel. Immediately his breathing got better. He felt so much better that he asked for food. Later he slept without difficulty. Two days later, he again spat out another tumor. This time he felt great. His condition improved rapidly. About 20 days later he checked out of the hospital. To the doctors' disbelief, the new X-ray film showed no sign of lung cancer and kidney atrophy. His family could not help but praise Dafa's mighty power.

This incident sent a shock wave through our family and friends. It positively validated Dafa's effect. Two people eventually became Dafa practitioners, and eight people quit the Communist Party and its affiliates. The practitioner felt very grateful for Master's salvation and became more diligent.

This experience greatly encouraged me. Like everyone else, I was also shocked by Dafa's miraculous effect on the practitioner. I also improved my understanding of and belief in Dafa. Evaluating the success, three important points comes to mind: this practitioner had a righteous mindset, his family was supportive, and fellow practitioners were helping and encouraging him by sending righteous thoughts.

I barely paid attention to his loopholes during the process of supporting him. It was like rescuing someone who was drowning: we have to get him out of the water first! My mind was pure and simple: I must snatch him from the clutches of the old forces. I went to the hospital every day for a week. I encouraged the practitioner and his family, helped him to send righteous thoughts, and treated his concerns as my own. His family members were deeply moved and were very supportive. I had a strong faith in our Master. I knew Master would save him. My strong faith also influenced his family. When I spoke with them I always said, "My Master said this and that." So my words carried the power of Dafa, and could clear the wrong thoughts in their minds. I would not let them think, "He won't make it." No matter what the doctors said, we would deny it. We all believed that he would make it. So, his family members and I formed a righteous energy field. Master said,

"People within your field may unintentionally have their illnesses healed, since this field can rectify all abnormal conditions. A human body should not become ill, and being ill is an abnormal state. It can rectify this abnormal state." (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)

Several other practitioners and I went to the hospital to send righteous thoughts. We also constantly reminded him to keep his righteous mind and trust Master. As long as we have a true belief, Master will take care of us. As long as the Fa occupies our minds, we can pass any test.

During our own time away from the hospital sending righteous thoughts, we would keep him in our mind and strengthen his belief. His condition got better and better. He gained full confidence to overcome his sickness karma. His faith was getting stronger every day. This practitioner, his family and all other practitioners in the area became one solid group. We formed a strong energy field. The evil elements lost their last space to survive and were quickly eliminated in other dimensions. The miracle happened.

Master had arranged all this. During the entire time, Master's Fa was providing hints and support for my own cultivation. I merely did what I was supposed to. I kept my righteous thoughts when helping the fellow practitioner pass a test. I refused to have doubts in his cultivation status and never dwelled on his loopholes. I also never allowed myself to question whether or not he could make it. I thought that if I had that kind of doubt I would have encouraged the evil energy and magnified the practitioner's tribulation. Such negative thoughts could only increase the negative energy. The evil elements might say, "See, we were right! Even Dafa practitioners thought that way." If we think this way, then even Master cannot help us. Because if our mindset is not right, no one can help us. I think when we try to rescue practitioners from the police, we should remember this principle.

The above has been my own understanding. I decided to write this story because I could not stand watching many practitioners losing their lives to sickness karma. Because of my limited level and poor writing skill, my story may contain mistakes. Please help to point them out to me. Thanks very much.