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Do Not Lose Faith in Master Amid Tribulations

September 09, 2017 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in mainland China

(Minghui.org) I recently heard that a fellow practitioner had passed away due to sickness karma. This practitioner was a coordinator before 1999 and had done many things for Dafa. After the persecution started, she continued to do the three things and coordinate a Fa-study group.

However, she had a huge tribulation for the past two years: her husband and daughter let her down, and her house was seized by her son-in-law. She resented them for hurting her. Sickness karma later appeared in the form of cancer, and she passed away.

Those practitioners who heard the news were filled with regret. As this practitioner was quite well-known in the area where she lived, her passing caused confusion among non-practitioners and thus created a negative impact when practitioners clarified the truth.

Here is my understanding of why this happened. We should not lose our faith in Master during tribulations so as to negate the old forces’ arrangements.

Why Did This Happen?

We have heard from other practitioners that this practitioner told everyone who visited her at the hospital that she must follow Master home. However, she spoke differently to some practitioners in private: “I've done so many things and done them so well. How did I end up like this?”

A practitioner said that this practitioner had this thought two years before, when she had a small episode of sickness karma. The other practitioner was astonished to hear this and reminded her not to think this way, but she could not accept the reminder at that time. It is unclear if she continued to think this way later.

After we heard this, we understood that, amid tribulations, this practitioner had gradually lost her faith in Master and Dafa. She could not differentiate where the thoughts came from. She had treated the thoughts from the evil as her own, which gave the evil an excuse to persecute her. I think Master must be very sad that he could not help her when she had such thoughts.

After hearing about her passing, human attachments surfaced in some practitioners who were not firm in their cultivation. A practitioner who was in the same Fa-study group said, “She was so firm in cultivation, yet she became like this. I should think about myself and leave myself an out.”

Practitioners who understood why this happened said that the old forces’ arrangement was too evil, as they want to destroy Dafa disciples and many other people.

However, from the behavior of those practitioners, we knew why this could happen. The reason was not because this practitioner did not remove her resentment. It was due to the incorrect state of other practitioners, such as looking for a role model instead of following the Fa.

In order to “test” those practitioners around her and to expose their human attachments so that they can “elevate,” the old forces had to remove her. This had become one of their excuses to persecute the practitioner.

Losing Faith in Master

This practitioner’s thinking reminded me of other practitioners who were in tribulations and gave up on cultivation after having this same thought: I have done so many things, so how did I become like this? I have cultivated so well; why am I being persecuted? I have put in so much effort, so why was I persecuted so badly?

During a tribulation, the evil will separate a practitioner’s rationality and cause them to be unable to find the root cause if they treat doing things as cultivation and do not look within.

Some will gradually lose their faith in Master while in delusion. The old forces will guide them to see more false appearances. If they do not know or are unwilling to look within, practitioners will walk a demonic path. They will treat suffering as accidental and think it's unfair.

With this thought, some will think that Master is no longer looking after them or wonder if Master is really that great. Some might even start to resent Master. If they lose their faith in Master, it will not be easy for them to overcome the tribulation that arises.

There are some who say they must believe in Master and the Fa and negate the old forces’ arrangements. However, they might think differently in their heart, which can be seen clearly by all beings in the cosmos.

I have also heard some practitioners ask why the persecution is continuing and when it will end.

Some people also resent others for not living up to expectations and cultivating so poorly, which “implicated” them. Some do not dare to voice this out loud but are full of resentment for having to suffer so much these years.

Many people hope the Fa-rectification will end this year, and some have this thought every year. Isn't this thinking that they have suffered enough and do not want to continue?

The human world is like a big dye vat, and we are immersed in it at every second. If we do not pay attention to our thoughts, we will drift along with it and become corrupted.

The long-term persecution will weaken our determination to be diligent and forget our vow to save sentient beings. We unconsciously pursue fame and gain in the human world and place more importance on them than on cultivation.

We are attached to our pain and do not focus on the pain of sentient beings. In our mind, we negotiate terms with Master. When we complain about Master, the divine beings in the heavens would glare at us. How can such thoughts have a place in the new cosmos?

If we treat these evil thoughts as our own and refuse to remove them, how can Master help us? If we once again say that we will negate the old forces’ arrangement, isn't this deceiving ourselves?

Many people have talked about “gratitude,” but many of us forgot the hopelessness and suffering we experienced before cultivating. While reincarnating, we have accumulated karma. If we did not cultivate Dafa, many of us would have left this world due to illnesses. Master scooped us up from hell, taught us Dafa, and gave us a divine body.

If not for Master's protection, we would be in danger while validating the Fa. All the things that we have done are for ourselves, because this was written in our vows. Our vows also indicated that if we do not fulfill them, we would be annihilated. What does it count for if we do a little for ourselves?

Some people complain after doing some things, and others become haughty. Without Master's salvation and assistance, we would be in hell because of all the karma we accumulated in every lifetime.

If practitioners treat these evil thoughts as part of themselves, the old forces will exploit our gaps. They feel that these practitioners are not cultivators. In these cases, Master and divine beings cannot help us.

There are some practitioners who think that they were still persecuted despite putting in tremendous effort. The reasons may be complicated, but if the practitioners think that they are doing well, this might be the evil deceiving the practitioners in their minds.

Usually, these people are not willing to look within. They look instead at their strengths and how much better they are compared to other practitioners. They think that they should be waiting for consummation. If tribulations happen, they will become lost.

When practitioners think that they are not in the wrong and there is no need to look within, this is actually interference from the evil. If practitioners become complacent, their cultivation will stagnate. When they become arrogant, they will be on the path to destruction.

The Right Way

For many years, we have seen this phenomenon: those who do the three things steadily are humble and they feel that what they have done is insufficient.

I understand that, when practitioners continue to look within and assimilate to Dafa, the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance will be shown in their actions. They can also understand Master’s difficulties in Fa-rectification. They are filled with gratitude and humility. When they elevate, they see their shortcomings.

For practitioners who think that they are not in the wrong, their levels might be dropping instead of elevating. We have seen that those who have enlightened on a deviated path think their enlightenment is higher than others.

We should be alert if these thoughts appear in our mind: I have cultivated well and have enlightened higher than others. This might indicate that there is a problem in our cultivation, as the evil is deceiving us and wants us to drop down completely after having demonic interference from one’s own mind.

If an unexpected tribulation happens, the practitioner can easily lose balance and fall into confusion. At this time, the evil will strengthen those thoughts: “Look, you have done so well, but you are still persecuted. Your Master didn't protect and help you.”

The evil will also use an ordinary person's mouth to sway a practitioner: “Those of you who have done well are being persecuted. Why didn't your Master protect you?”

This is to evoke one’s jealousy and have one feel that it is unfair, preventing one from looking within and causing one to lose faith in Master. For many years, a heretical rumor has gone around—the better one does, the more one will be persecuted.

Actually, if we truly do well, the evil will not dare to persecute us, as Master and divine beings are protecting us. If we do not do well, the old forces will persecute us if we look outward and resent Master when the tribulation seems too huge to overcome.

In fact, there is only our letting Master down, never Master letting us down.

If we pay attention to eliminating arrogance and demonic interference from our own mind and remove the interference preventing us from looking within, we can definitely find out the reason for the tribulation after calming down to study the Fa. By firmly believing in Master, we will definitely have righteous thoughts to disintegrate the tribulation.

I heard a practitioner share that he was once lost in a tribulation and that the evil seized this chance to strengthen the evil thought, “Master is not helping me,” so as to make him resent Master and completely destroy him. However, he persisted in studying the Fa and thought of his shortcomings.

When he memorized the Fa, Master gave him wisdom, and he had the thought, “There is only me letting Master down. Master has never let me down.”

He recalled that when he had this thought, his incorrect states were immediately removed by a powerful energy. Later, whenever there was a thought of resenting Master, he would recite that phrase again, and the evil would be eliminated.

Regardless of whether we are in a tribulation, we should check if our main consciousness is very strong to remove various bad thoughts and interference. Studying the Fa is the key to whether our main consciousness can remain strong.

The Fa can strengthen our main consciousness. At this moment, we must put in the effort to study or memorize the Fa. We must also look within and cultivate ourselves. We can then maintain our faith in Master and Dafa at critical moments.

No matter how huge or long the tribulation is, we must treat ourselves as cultivators and believe in Master and Dafa. Some practitioners who have sickness karma said, “I do not resent Master. I believe in Master. I'm also asking Master to help me. Why can’t I overcome this tribulation?” I suggest that these practitioners calm down, think carefully, and ask themselves:

1. Do I truly and completely believe in Master? Is there still some reliance on modern science and medicine? Am I leaving an “out” for myself by using various methods to “treat illnesses” if asking Master for help doesn’t work?

If there is any thought of illness, it must be eliminated completely. Anything or anyone who gives oneself an “out” is interfering with you from walking the cultivation path. One must be clear that this is a tribulation and righteous thoughts are needed to negate and eliminate them.

2. What is the basis of asking Master for help? Is it to eliminate my current troubles and pain so as to have a comfortable life? Is this for myself or to validate Dafa? If I have a healthy body, I can better validate the Fa and save sentient beings so that they would not be destroyed because of false appearances created by the evil. The thought of thinking of others comes from a cultivator's perspective.

After cultivating for so long, do I maintain the right idea about cultivation? Do I really want to return to home, or am I satisfied with a good body and a comfortable life? The difference is huge when the goals are different. Master helps those who want to cultivate, not ordinary people. The effect will not be the same if the starting point is different.

We cannot wait for a tribulation to pass before becoming diligent. There are no conditions for being diligent or cultivating. We should treat ourselves as cultivators despite the suffering during tribulations.

We should remove those various human attachments that have surfaced. We cannot underestimate this resentment. If it is not removed each time it surfaces, it will continue to pile up and eventually make one resent Master. We should remove this resentment and treat others with compassion. When our righteous thoughts are strong, Master will be able to settle all grievances.

If we do not look within and cultivate solidly, we will be walking the path arranged by the old forces. Do not be afraid if you temporarily walk on the path arranged by the old forces. Wake up and get back on track by looking within.

If you did not do well in the past, do well now. If you did not do well this time, do well the next time. Get up quickly when you fall down. Master is waiting for you to get on the correct path.

As long as we dare to look at our wrongs and look within to cultivate solidly, it does not matter how long we have taken the path arranged by the old forces. Master will pull us off the destructive path.

We must firmly believe in Master. Master's compassion and tolerance is beyond our imagination. By maintaining faith in Master and Dafa, a Dafa cultivator will be able to overcome obstacles and tribulations, walk the cultivation path well, and finally reach consummation.