(Minghui.org) Not long ago I wrote a cultivation experience sharing article about my experience when my parents, also practitioners, encountered tribulations. In the article, I shared about them displaying the fake illness symptoms of a stroke and how I was repeatedly tempered, and grew mature during the process. Although I could not help them overcome their tribulations, my parents’ general condition has improved. I also earnestly resumed my cultivation.
Not long after I finished writing that article, I ran into another test. Because I could not see the truth of the matter, I refrained from thinking too much about it and just treated everything that happened as a good thing.
I believe that Master’s arrangements for us are the best. What Master does not allow will not happen. Whatever happens, there must be a way to resolve it, as the Buddha Fa is boundless.
After my mother started to experience the fake illness symptoms, we invited my uncle—a non-practitioner—to come live with us. My uncle is single, and he likes to smoke, drink, and play mahjong.
My uncle has always tested my xinxing. I felt that, over the years, he had accomplished nothing. My father had always provided for him. My uncle was lazy and stubborn, and this was especially evident when he asked for money. I couldn’t stand seeing him do that. Therefore, deep in my heart, I could not truly treat him as a member of my family.
Then, my father also developed illness symptoms. I went to work every day, while my uncle prepared the meals and did some housework. It went on like that for some time. Although I was able to do many things by myself, having an adult at home made me feel that there was at least a pillar of support in the house.
One day when I got home after work, I found my uncle lying on the floor. Not only had he passed out, but he had also soiled himself and could not move half of his body. By the time I discovered him, it had already been a few hours. I called an ambulance and followed them to the city hospital.
Seeing my uncle on the stretcher, I was unsure of what would happen next, but I was not afraid. In my heart, I kept thinking of Master and kept reciting the two auspicious phrases, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
My uncle was diagnosed with a severe cerebral hemorrhage, but surgery was not advised. He was given conservative treatment but didn’t improve. After having some trouble at the city hospital, I decided to transfer him back to the local hospital, as my parents needed me, too.
I held onto one thought: I am a Dafa practitioner, I should do what I am supposed to do. Under Master’s arrangement, we were able to employ a caregiver the day after my uncle was hospitalized. I went to work during the day and returned home to check on my parents after work, before I went to see my uncle. I studied the Fa and sent forth righteous thoughts at the hospital.
News of a young lady looking after her uncle by herself at night soon spread throughout the hospital. Some people felt that this was pitiful and empathized with me, while others thought that I was strong and admired me. I used the opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to them. I said that I had a strong belief and that the power of belief is great.
Once, I passed by the duty room. A doctor came out and stopped me. She asked, “Are you the niece of so-and-so patient?” I said I was. She said, “You are so young. Why are you so optimistic? It is almost unbelievable.” I joked with her and said that I had already gone through a lot! After that, I clarified the truth to her and even helped her quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations. At the end, she said, “Do you know? I felt that you are full of righteous and positive energy. I seemed to have learned a lot from our conversation.” I was really happy that she understood the truth.
My uncle started to get better and he eventually woke up. However, it became more difficult to help him. I would buy him meals and clean his soiled pants every day. Sometimes, he fussed about all night, and I could barely get any sleep, but I still had to go to work and return home the next day. If not for Dafa, I would have collapsed long ago. When my human notions came up, negative emotions came to the fore.
After more than 10 days of this, I felt as though I could no longer carry on. But no one could take my place. That night as I lay in bed, a feeling of loneliness welled up. No matter how I tried to reject it, I could not let it go. I did not study the Fa properly and could not catch up with doing the exercises. I also kept making mistakes at work. All this made me feel so tired, physically and mentally. Things could not go on like this. I needed to go home.
Initially, my uncle’s hands were so swollen that they could not get him on an IV. Then he said that he did not want the drip anymore. The doctors had nothing else to offer, so they suggested that he be discharged. With the help of other practitioners, we went home.
Once again, due to Master’s benevolent arrangements, the day my uncle was discharged and returned home, a practitioner from the outskirts of town and a local practitioner came to my house to exchange cultivation insights. I was feeling a bit numb. Since that day when I could not manage to get rid of the feeling of loneliness, there seemed to be something stuck in my heart. I just quietly listened to the others share their cultivation experiences and insights.
Their sharing that day was on changing one’s notions. They talked about why “bad things” are “good things.” One of them cited an example: “If you think that money is good and I offered you one yuan, you would want it. If I offered you 10 yuan, you would want it, and if I offered you a hundred yuan, you would definitely want it. Now, what if you think that pain is good. Can the pain be increased? Can the pain be increased even further? Would you still want it?”
The other practitioner talked about a bone she’d broken long ago that suddenly started to ache. She said, “Isn’t that a good thing?” She thanked Master for eliminating her karma. When it ached, she thought to herself, “The more I ache, the less Master will ache. In that case, I will ache more so that Master can ache less.” In the end, she overcame the test.
Instantly, I felt my heart brighten. It felt as though a substance had been removed from me. I thought, “Loneliness is also a form of hardship. Since hardship is a good thing, can I be a bit lonelier? I can! Can I be even more lonely? I can!” They were not just words, rather, my heart’s capacity really expanded. I felt that no problem would be too difficult to face.
Before this, I understood that, for a cultivator, whether good or bad, all things are good things from a conceptual point of view. When something really agitated my soul, however, I would still feel wronged and weep with sadness. That day, those practitioners shared many stories. From that day on, I really changed that notion and felt happy from deep within my heart. I truly experienced the realm of taking hardship as a form of joy. This realm is really wonderful. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
After returning home, I was able to study the Fa and do the exercises normally again. My uncle was recovering. Not only could he walk, but he could also even cook by himself.
This happened over the course of two months. It was as though I had moved up a step. I could feel that a lot of the “self-centered” substance in me was removed in the process. Now, I will think of others' needs first instead of my own. As a Dafa practitioner, I should treat sentient beings well instead of arguing with them.
Without realizing it, I found that the grudges I held against my uncle were also disappearing. One day, he sat there by himself playing cards. I watched him quietly and felt for him rather than against him.
Master said,
“Dynasty after dynasty, the people in each dynasty were a dynasty of people from the heavens. They are representatives from distant cosmic bodies, representing the countless sentient beings there and having come here to form a karmic relationship so that those sentient beings wouldn’t be left out during the Fa-rectification.” (Teachings From a Tour of North America)
After studying Master’s lectures, I understood the preciousness of today’s people more and more, especially when considering the people from China.
During an earlier period, I got lazy and did not cultivate diligently. Now, my parents and uncle are able to do things for themselves. I am able to go to work, and everything has become more and more relaxed for all of us. I do not do all the housework anymore.
I no longer enjoy doing the exercises that long. I no longer study the Fa as much. Now, the attachments are all starting to disturb me again.
I realized that this is the old forces’ new tactic. Because the three big tribulations did not make me collapse, the old forces are now trying to drag me down with the attachment to comfort. I cannot get duped. I must cultivate well because I want to follow Master home.