Eliminating Human Notions, and Rectifying Myself in the Fa

(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, but in 2003 I gradually drifted away from Dafa, and perceived myself to be a non-practitioner for a long time. Due to work, I developed arthritis. While hiking in 2012, I found that my arthritis had worsened significantly. The pain in my knees was so severe that I had to limp. To manage the discomfort, I walked sideways up the stairs, and walked backwards going down the stairs.

Responding to Illness Karma with Righteous Thoughts

I resumed the practice of Falun Dafa in 2014. I subsequently experienced intense pain in my legs while eliminating sickness karma. When I bent my knees during the fourth exercise, it felt as if broken glass was piercing my knees, causing me to grunt in pain repeatedly. When I meditated, it felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on my hips and legs, making it difficult to sit. It was excruciating. I endured the pain and reminded myself, “I left Dafa for so many years. Not only did I not eliminate my karma, but I accumulated new karma. If I don’t endure the pain, who will? Come on, I will eliminate you!” I did not stop until I had persisted for an hour. As I held my hands in a conjoined position, the pain was so intense that it caused a cold sweat, and my face tingled and throbbed. My right ankle became red and swollen, noticeably thicker than my left ankle. The phrase “taste the pain” kept coming to my mind. I persevered, second by second. At night, the excruciating pain occupied my thoughts, and I couldn’t straighten my leg. After six months, the pain began to subside, and the knee pain gradually eased. Slowly, without even realizing it, I was completely healed.

Not long ago, a few classmates and I took a 20-mile mountain hike. I was among the first to reach the summit, and also one of the first to return. Several classmates were impressed by me, as they had been exercising regularly, while I had never gone out for exercise. I told them, “This is a result of my practicing Falun Dafa. Over a decade ago, I could no longer climb mountains, but now, I’m at the front of the group.” Everyone witnessed the extraordinary and miraculous power of Dafa, especially because arthritis is typically regarded as incurable.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain on the right side of my buttocks in mid-January 2023. It was mild at first, but it soon intensified and radiated down my thigh, to my calf, and finally my toes. My toes felt numb, and I had no feeling when pinching them. I also walked with a noticeable limp. I was unsure how to define this condition in medical terms. I tried to send forth righteous thoughts, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. A troubling thought occasionally crossed my mind, “Could this be a symptom of femoral head necrosis?” I quickly dismissed this unrighteous thought. I chose to let it go and continued with my normal tasks, doing the three things as usual.

Then one night I was distributing truth-clarification fliers in a residential complex and was chased by the property manager and a young man. I ended up at an apartment building. I went inside and quickly climbed from the first floor to the fifth floor, thinking I couldn’t let them get the fliers. Finally, I hid my bag in the corner of the corridor where cabbage and other sundries were stored. I then knocked on a door. A woman opened it, looked at me, and said, “I don’t know you,” and then slammed the door shut.

I was soon caught by those pursuing me. When we got to the ground floor, the young man asked, “Where’s your bag? I clearly saw you with a bag.” He went back inside to look for it. I sent righteous thoughts to prevent him from finding my bag. The property manager was holding my wrist with one hand while trying to call the police with the other. He struggled to dial the number with just one hand, so before he could finish, I reached out and hung up the call. He tried several times, but couldn’t make the call. Just as he was about to let go of my wrist to make the call, he grabbed my wrist again tightly.

I suddenly rebuked him, saying, “How can a grown man like you keep holding onto a woman like this?” I shook my arm vigorously. He was startled and hesitated for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, I broke free, and without looking back I rushed to the gate of the complex. I heard him shout from behind. I quickly ran out and hopped on my bicycle. I was safe. The next morning, I went to where I had stored my bag. The bag was still there and the fliers were well-kept. I said in my heart, “Thank you, Master, for your compassionate protection.”

Every time I think of this scene, I can’t help but wonder how I could have run so fast with an aching right leg. The pain from illness karma in my leg didn’t hold me back. I later learned that the pain in my leg was a symptom of sciatica, which is medically incurable. But within three months, it was completely gone.

Through these two illness-karma tests, I realized that when encountering tribulations, one must have righteous thoughts and actions, and firmly believe in Master and the Fa. The three things also must not be neglected.

Changing My Notions, Breaking Through My Inertia, and Rectifying Myself in the Fa

After returning to Dafa cultivation, I learned that during the Fa-rectification period, Dafa practitioners must do the three things well, as Master requested. Because I didn’t study the Fa well enough and my human notions were still very strong, my mind wasn’t clear. Although I persisted in studying the Fa daily, my thoughts wandered. I did the exercises daily, but often slacked off. I sent righteous thoughts at least four times a day, but I rarely did the one at midnight, fearing it would affect my sleep and disrupt my health. As I studied the Fa more deeply, I came to understand that clinging to these notions was not true cultivation, and I needed to correct myself. So I adhered to the four prescribed times to send forth righteous thoughts.

Regarding doing the exercises, I felt that doing the second exercise for one hour was too challenging for me. The idea of holding the wheel for an hour seemed daunting, and I only tried it twice. During a group Fa study session, a practitioner said that she does the second exercise for an hour every morning, and I felt inspired. We’re all Dafa practitioners, so why can’t I do the same? I realized that I needed to make a change. One time, during a half-hour exercise of holding the wheel, the music seemed longer than usual. Later, I discovered that it was actually one hour long. I realized this was Master reminding me to make the change, so I began doing the second exercise for a full hour. When I actually committed to it, I found it wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. My own notions had hindered me and magnified the challenge.

I once went to a practitioner’s home in another county on their gathering day. After hearing them share their righteous thoughts and actions to overcome the persecution and save sentient beings, I realized how far behind I was. One practitioner said, “Those who cultivate in the monastery follow the time of morning bells and evening drums, and everyone adheres to the strict rules and precepts. Since a morning exercise time has been established, we should all commit to it.” They consistently did the exercises at the morning time, which struck me deeply. If other practitioners can do it, why can’t I? I realized that I was afraid of hardship. There must be a profound purpose behind the arrangement to do the exercises in the morning. I needed to cultivate away this inertia.

After returning home, I set my alarm, and have been doing the exercises every morning since. Sometimes, when inertia sets in and it feels difficult, I say to myself, “So many practitioners are suffering in prisons, longing for a free environment to do the exercises, but are unable to do so. I have such a relaxed and free environment at home. Why should I fear hardship? Being able to personally listen to Master’s exercise music and follow Master’s voice to do the exercises is so precious and blissful.”

Eliminating Human Notions and Saving Lives Without Interruption

After Master published “How Humankind Came To Be,” our practitioners realized the urgent need to save people and began distributing information about Dafa widely. The negative factors were triggered, and police arrested several practitioners. Faced with this situation, some practitioners felt pressure, and suggested, “Let’s stay out of the spotlight and wait until this period passes.”

Others, however, said, “I never think about sensitive dates or tense situations. I just do what I need to do.” I deeply resonated with this second perspective, and realized that when Dafa practitioners face challenges, we should not stop and wait. Instead, we should shoulder our mission and act with greater rationality and wisdom. Regardless of the bitter cold, scorching heat, or dire circumstances, we must remain steadfast on the path of saving people. We will not rest until the evil is completely eliminated.

For example, a real estate developer once hosted a promotion at a stadium, which attracted many people. Seizing this opportunity, I avoided the police cars nearby and distributed nearly 700 truth-clarification materials in a few days.

Another time, a large shopping mall was holding an event that attracted a big crowd. My daughter, who was home for the holiday, went with me to the mall that evening to distribute truth-clarifying materials. Since we had too many materials to fit in our bags, we each put a portion in our bicycle baskets. We reminded each other to send righteous thoughts and be careful. After parking our bicycles, we agreed to split up to distribute the materials, then meet back after we finished.

I noticed two police cars parked in a conspicuous area, so I avoided them and put the fliers on cars, bicycles, and electric scooters around the mall. After I distributed one bunch of flyers, I went back to get more materials from my bicycle basket. I noticed that my daughter’s basket was empty, which meant she had distributed her materials more quickly than I did. I wanted to ask her to go to a different area, so I kept an eye out for her, while continuing to distribute, but I didn’t see her.

During this time, I spotted two more hidden police cars, and began to feel uneasy. I turned around to look at the police cars several times, but everything appeared to be in order. I continued my search for her while sending righteous thoughts. It was getting late, and people had started heading home. Watching the crowd gradually dissipate, I felt negative thoughts creeping in and began to wonder, “We should have met up by now. Is she okay?” I fought to suppress these thoughts, denying them and tried to clear my mind, but sweat trickled down my forehead.

Amidst the anxiety, I finally spotted a familiar figure, hurriedly making her way to her bicycle. It turned out that a little boy had gotten separated from his mother and asked her for help. He wanted to use her cell phone to contact his mom. Since she did not bring her cell phone with her, she borrowed someone else’s, contacted his parents, and handed the boy back to his mother before returning.

We rode our bicycles home, feeling like triumphant warriors.