Insights from Breaking Through Illness Tribulations

(Minghui.org) Since 1999, countless Falun Dafa practitioners have been steadfast in their cultivation of Dafa amidst the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution. However, for some practitioners, sickness tribulations pose an insurmountable challenge.

There is a large number of elderly practitioners who are currently battling various “diseases,” and some have even passed away despite their sincerity towards Dafa cultivation. Their departure is a great loss for our cause to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings.

The old forces created “sickness tribulations” to test our faith in Dafa and Master. Their ultimate goal is to deter us, especially some elderly practitioners, from truly cultivating in Dafa. Because of this, helping fellow practitioners effectively deny the CCP’s persecution and the old forces’ interference to break through the illusion of sickness tribulations is a crucial, but challenging task.

I would like to share some of my experiences and lessons learned over the years.

Doing Our Best Without Going to Extremes

Often, we are very anxious when we see fellow practitioners undergo sickness tribulations. We send forth righteous thoughts and share our understandings with them, hoping that they elevate in Dafa cultivation and resolve the situation as soon as possible.

But when we help fellow practitioners, we tend to judge their situations from our own perspectives without considering their thoughts and cultivation status. Some practitioners even completely take charge of the practitioners going through tribulations.

Master said, “Each person has his own cultivation path. As Dafa disciples, it’s only fitting that you think about helping your fellow cultivators suffer less persecution. But as for how to do it specifically, in cultivation, the person’s cultivation state comes into play. If his cultivation state is good, it will be easy to help; if his state is off, it won’t be easy to help. I can only say that you should try your best within your means to do what you should do.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)

A practitioner in our area was diagnosed with cancer, so many fellow practitioners went to see her. Some of them did all of her household chores for her. A practitioner who practiced Chinese medicine prescribed herbal medicine for her, claiming that herbal medicine did not count as medicines. Our volunteer coordinator also organized practitioners to take turns sending forth righteous thoughts at her home throughout the day. Some read Zhuan Falun to her. I gave her a laptop that she could use to watch the videos of Master's teachings.

We all believed that by collectively sending forth righteous thoughts and studying Dafa teachings with her, she would be able to pass this tribulation. But it was all wishful thinking. Annoyed that there were too many people at her house every day, she did not want fellow practitioners to send righteous thoughts or read the Fa to her in her room. We had no choice but to stay in the room next to hers. In the end, she still passed away no matter how hard we tried.

Cultivation is a very serious matter. Her heart was not touched, so whatever we did was useless. When helping fellow practitioners, we can do our best, but we need to be mindful about what and how much we do.

Master said, “Helping fellow practitioners is something that should be done, and there is nothing wrong with not wanting to leave anyone behind. But if they really can’t step forward, well, you’ve done your best.” (“Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York”)

Supporting Practitioners Without Building Dependence

When suffering from serious illness tribulations, some practitioners do not believe that they can overcome them alone, so they ask fellow practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts and study the Fa with them.

A female practitioner was brutally tortured when she was incarcerated. Later on, she developed severe ascites after she was released from prison.

The practitioners in her area were very concerned and often went to see her. She invited practitioners over to read Dafa teachings at her home every day. Everyone gave her advice and suggestions based on their understandings of the Fa. Some pointed out her attachments, and some practitioners brought foods that they believed would help her body.

This practitioner continued reading Dafa books and clarifying the facts of Dafa to people. She even refused to be hospitalized as her doctors recommended. However, she failed to eliminate the fundamental cause of the tribulation: the belief that she was ill. Because of that, her condition dragged on for a few years.

I went to see her and shared my experiences and understandings with her. I suggested that she read the Dafa teachings by herself with a tranquil mind, completely let go of any attachments she finds, and deny the old forces’ interference. I encouraged her to eliminate her desire to rely on others and cultivate Dafa independently, reaching her own enlightenment. I shared that she could overcome her tribulations only through improving her own xinxing.

However, failing to remove her fear of being ill and her dependence on others, she eventually passed away.

Rejecting the Old Forces' Arrangements and Persecution

As soon as we began Dafa cultivation, Master cleaned our bodies and eliminated the root causes of our illnesses. So all symptoms of sickness karma are actually illusions arranged by the old forces.

We must reject the old forces’ arrangements and in doing so, look inward to cultivate solidly. We must not leave any loopholes for the old forces to exploit in their persecution.

Dafa disciples have faith in Master and Dafa, and deny the old forces’ interference. But when symptoms of sickness occur, some practitioners readily fall for illusion and begin to receive treatments for these “diseases.”

One morning at 2 a.m., an elderly practitioner called my wife. She told my wife that her sciatica recurred and that she could no longer bear the pain by herself. She asked us to go help her right away.

My wife told her that we would go see her later that morning, as it was still a bit too early. However, we encouraged the elderly practitioner to send forth righteous thoughts and read Dafa teachings if she could not fall asleep. We also told her to recite the Fa when the pain was intolerable, specifically the quote: “When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun, 2014 translation)

We went to see her later that morning and saw that she was lying on the couch looking miserable. She told us that the severe leg pains that she had suffered before recurred, and it was excruciating. I told her that Master had already cleaned up her body and removed the root cause of the disease, so she does not actually have the condition anymore. I shared my own cultivation experience and how I looked inward to get rid of my attachments.

She wanted to make tea for us. When my wife was about to help her pour hot water, I stopped her. The practitioner limped to make tea for us with a painful expression. Then, she wanted us to stay for lunch and struggled to cook. My wife asked me to cook lunch for us, but I replied that I should not do it because I was not the host. Understanding what I really meant, my wife added that she was tired of eating my food, and would love to try her cooking that day.

While we helped her in the kitchen, we continued conversing with her. After lunch, she walked with us all the way to the bus station, and everything went back to normal as if nothing had happened.

“Yes! When I didn't take it as a disease, I passed the test!” she said.

After elevating to a higher xinxing level, her “sickness karma” vanished.

Overcoming a Sickness Tribulation in 24 Days

A female practitioner started to have menstrual bleeding that would not stop. On the fourth day, she began discharging clumps of blood.

Because her sister passed away with similar symptoms, she was very nervous at first. Nonetheless, she decided to let go of the fear completely and carried on her daily routine in accordance with the Fa.

She did not tell anyone about her physical condition. including her family and fellow practitioners. She read the Dafa teachings consistently and sent forth righteous thoughts for extended periods of time. At the same time, she never stopped going out to clarify the truth and save people.

She searched inward and found out that her mind was occupied with resentments that she had not yet let go of: she resented her mother who treated her harshly when she was young and did not support her cultivation in Dafa; she resented her brother-in-law who remarried soon after her sister died; she resented her ex-husband for lacking a sense of responsibility, and so on.

After finding her resentments and other attachments, she apologized to her mother and began to take very good care of her mother.

After that, she completely ignored the false appearance of sickness tribulation. On the 24th day, the bleeding stopped!

Through this test, she realized that the sickness karma disappeared because her xinxing level had elevated and her faith in Dafa became more solid.

Only By Improving Our Xinxing Can We Overcome All Tribulations

When I was incarcerated for my faith in Dafa, I had symptoms of high blood pressure, arrhythmia, hypertensive crisis, and cerebral infarction.

One time my blood pressure was so high that the systolic pressure was 200-220 mmHg and the diastolic reading was 110-120 mmHg. Because of that, I was kept in the emergency room for three days in critical condition.

I did not take the symptoms seriously at all but regarded being hospitalized as an opportunity to clarify the truth and validate Dafa in a different environment. When I returned to the detention center on the fourth day, my blood pressure and heartbeat all returned to normal.

On another occasion, I had a stroke but was able to get out of bed the next day. The prison doctors and guards were amazed by the power of Dafa.

Illness tribulations are illusory, and they are the old forces' interference to deter Dafa practitioners from our path. Only when our xinxing is truly improved can we overcome all tribulations.

Any attempt to pass these tests without improving xinxing equates to acknowledging the old forces' persecution. It is very difficult to break through tribulations if one's xinxing does not improve.