One Thought Makes All the Difference—for Better or for Worse

(Minghui.org) A fellow practitioner was arrested for practicing Dafa. When she was released on bail before the trial, she tried to hide, but the police arrested her again by tracking her cell phone. The incident appeared to be caused by the unsecured use of her cell phone, but it actually resulted from her negative thoughts. Under tremendous pressure from family issues, she often said without thinking, “Life is so painful. I’d rather endure the hardship in prison.” Other practitioners reminded her to correct her negative thoughts, but she did not take their advice to heart. In the end, she was unjustly sentenced to more than three years in prison.

A young practitioner’s sister was arrested at school and held in a detention center. When she visited her sister, who renounced her faith under pressure, the detained sister said things that slandered Master Li and Dafa. Heartbroken, the young practitioner cried about the change in her sister and told other practitioners two or three times that she could not bear to live anymore. Not long after, she died in a car accident.

Inadvertent negative thoughts, such as “what’s the point of living,” can be easily exploited by the old forces and lead to great losses. We must pay close attention to eliminate negative thoughts quickly.

The Value of Keeping Righteous Thoughts and Looking Inward

Our righteous thoughts are crucial when we are dealing with illness karma. For example, an elderly practitioner suddenly seemed to have symptoms of a stroke when she was doing the exercises at another practitioner’s home. She could not move her arms, half of her body was numb, and the corners of her mouth drooped. She sat on the sofa, sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate interference, and asked for Master’s help. She communicated in her mind with the beings in other dimensions to resolve any issues. After nearly an hour, she declined offers of assistance and walked to the restroom very slowly by herself with her firm righteous thoughts. She gradually regained feeling in the numb side of her body and felt a lot better within two hours.

Every practitioner’s response to illness karma is different. In addition to maintaining firm righteous thoughts, it is very important to look inward.

A practitioner became seriously ill and wanted to see her children before she passed away. Her son-in-law, who is also a practitioner, said to her, “Mom, there are three main causes of illness tribulation: disrespecting Master or the Fa, lust and desire, or using Dafa resources wrongfully. Did you do any of these things?” She looked inward carefully and remembered that in 1999, under the pressure of the persecution, she hid Dafa books in piles of firewood, and the books were eventually ruined. After finding where she’d fallen short, she confessed her mistake in front of Master’s portrait. She recovered shortly after. A change in one’s thoughts can change one’s fate.

Different Thoughts Lead to Different Consequences

When we face persecution, our different thoughts can bring different consequences.

A practitioner went to a community to deliver truth-clarification materials about Falun Dafa. The property manager asked her to sign in at the office before letting her enter. She later realized that she should have left right away. Instead, she followed the manager to the office. He closed the door and called the police. She was later unjustly sentenced to several years in prison.

Another practitioner distributed materials about Falun Dafa to passengers on a bus. Someone called the police, and several police cars surrounded the bus. The practitioner immediately asked for Master’s help so the police wouldn’t see the materials. The police boarded the bus to search all the passengers’ bags but could not find the Dafa materials in the practitioner’s woven bag. The practitioner left the bus unharmed.

In dangerous situations, it is important for us to reject all the evil’s demands. Do not harbor any thoughts of fear or of being arrested. Righteous thoughts at a critical moment often determine the outcome of whether one is persecuted or comes out of the ordeal safely.

Conclusion

Master taught us:

“We believe that one thought can determine the outcome of things, for better or for worse.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

Cultivation is a serious matter. Sometimes errant thoughts seem to be no big deal at first, but they can make a world of difference in the end.