(Minghui.org) I believe that when a cultivator holds a bad thought, the old forces see this as a loophole and create an illusion, causing the attachment to grow, and making the practitioner move away from cultivation. They try to undermine the practitioner’s righteous belief.
Teacher said,
“What you can do is to reject the old forces. You can’t really alter this system of things that they arranged. Master is able to, but I must not, because if I were to do so at this point, my destroying their things would destroy everything; each and every thing would be ruined. So I try to beat them at their own game—that’s the way to do it. They aren’t able to affect the fundamental things. So as Dafa disciples you should just firm up your righteous thoughts, and do well with what you need to do. If you can manage to really do well in all three regards, nobody will dare to touch you.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference”)
“Question: ...So it seems that the arrangements of the old forces aren't actually very real...”
Teacher: Half of it is correct, because I don't acknowledge them. But I knew that they'd do things this way, so I was left with no choice but to go along with their ploys and turn their ploys against them.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival)
Sickness Karma
Sickness karma is due to our karma along with debts owed from the past, life after life. The old forces arranged for it to appear at a certain time, using the excuse of eliminating karma so that they could cause Dafa practitioners’ deaths.
Some practitioners passed away when they encountered sickness karma or because of the persecution. Other than what Teacher said about special circumstances, such as that they signed a contract with the old forces, the majority of these practitioners were probably not clear as to how the old forces caused the death.
Life and Death Tribulation
I was arrested by police, handcuffed, and interrogated for more than ten hours. Half way through the interrogation I became unconscious and the monitor showed that my heartbeat had stopped.
I was then taken to a detention center, which refused to accept me. As the authorities at the detention center refused to accept me the police left me by the front entrance of the detention center. That was in the middle of the night, and I was having difficulty breathing.
I believed that if Teacher’s plan was going along with the ploys of the old forces, and turning their ploys against them, the end result would be arranged by Teacher. As long as I walked on Teacher's path, I would be alright. So I never thought that the sickness karma was anything other than an illusion. I also did not think of negating the old forces’ arrangements. Nevertheless, Teacher has told us how to deal with an illusion. How we apply our understanding in our cultivation is entirely up to us.
When I was semi-conscious, I could hear what was being said, but I could not move. When I was taken to the detention center, I knew that the doctor tore off the electrocardiograms that he printed earlier. In the ambulance, the nurse told the doctor that she could not detect my blood pressure. When I was abandoned by the detention center entrance, my primordial spirit left my body, and I could see my physical body laying on the ground. At that time, a thought flashed in my head, “Perhaps I have died.”
I then immediately recalled what Teacher said,
“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” from Lecture in the United States)
But I believed that Teacher would not let a practitioner die. I had not studied the Fa well, so all I could remember at the time was the general summary of the Fa. I could not recite Teacher's exact Fa quotes. When I got home and looked up the Fa teachings, I found one of Master's quotes:
“I know all of the suffering of my disciples. The truth is, I treasure you more than you treasure yourselves!” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
This was the Fa with which Teacher encouraged me to pass the life and death tribulation.
When I evaluated the old force actions, I saw that they had planned my sudden death. Teacher taught us to benevolently resolve things. I didn't think of their arrangements, and neither did I have the time to think. I only knew that Teacher definitely did not arrange for me to be in this state. After all, Teacher is the one that makes the final decision. But the key is that the practitioner remembers the Fa principles. If at the time I could not let go of life and death, I would have surely died.
I remembered that some of the police officers were kicking me, but because my flesh body had already lost consciousness, I did not feel any pain. I thought, “Kick more, so that I can pay off my debts.” But they stopped.
Teacher said,
“...even the number of times you would scream while being persecuted and how many blows you would be dealt were arranged by them.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
If the old forces made me pay off all the debts and karma at the time, and they were indeed all my debts and karma, that would definitely not be an illusion. The old forces' goal was that when I could not pass their “test,” they would take my life to compensate for it. They think that only when you pass their test can you remain. If not, just die. But I didn't even think of any old force arrangements – I just thought of Teacher's Fa teachings. This in itself proves that I didn't recognize the old forces’ arrangements.
Teacher said,
“When you encounter ordeals during your cultivation, you have got to cultivate yourself and look at yourself--that doesn't mean acknowledging the ordeals arranged by the old forces and trying to do well amidst the ordeals they've arranged, that's not the case. We negate even the very emergence of the old forces and everything that they've arranged; we don't even acknowledge their existence.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IV)
When we are in the midst of cultivation, we need to clearly understand what the old forces are all about, then do everything based on Teacher's Fa. Let all of ourselves be rectified based on the Fa and measure up to the Fa standards. This is how I understand what it means to walk the cultivation path of Dafa disciples and negate the old forces' arrangements.
