Some Thoughts on Xinxing and Sickness Karma

A scientific experiment was once conducted in which a guinea pig was injected with endocrine hormones from a human experiencing jealousy. The guinea pig died. Another experiment was conducted with water crystals, which found that the crystals became clear and beautiful after being exposed to nice words such as "love" and "appreciation"but became muddy and murky when exposed to bad words.

Traditionally, people often said, "Keeping an optimistic mind will keep illness away." In Chinese legends, Pen Zu lived for more than 800 years and Sun Simiao for 160 years. They were cultivators who were pure of heart and did not pursue personal gain or fame. Such stories illustrate among other things that human health largely depends on spiritual and moral cultivation. The mottos in ancient Chinese medicine are: Exultation and sadness hurts the heart; fury hurts the liver; a lustful lifestyle hurts the kidney; and depression hurts the stomach.

The two experiments mentioned above suggest that negative mindsets, such as anger, sadness, greediness, laziness, and zealotry will produce substances harmful to the human body. On the other hand, a kind heart that adopts compassion and thoughtfulness for others will produce energy and substances helpful to human life.

Falun Dafa is a great means for cultivation, simple and straightforward. Master Li said:
"This directly involves our own minds. In order to eliminate this negative thing, you must first change your mind." (Zhuan Falun)

"What we lose is actually something bad. What is it? It is karma, and it goes hand in hand with different human attachments." (Zhuan Falun)

Master also said:
"One's gong level is as high as one's xinxing level." (Zhuan Falun)

My own physical condition has varied. I can feel the impact of my own xinxing (heart and mind nature, character) when doing the three things (study the Fa [the teachings of Falun Dafa], send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and about the persecution to the world's people), even though the impact might seem minimal. In the beginning, I was diligent in Fa study, cultivation practice and doing the three things. Following Master's hints, I steadfastly believe that my sickness karma disappeared. I then focused only on Dafa work and I was not as strict about my Fa study and cultivation practice. I could not maintain my xinxing well. I was persecuted by evil forces that took advantage of my weakness and my sickness karma returned again. As I looked back, I was terrified to find that my mind and daily thoughts were not much different from those of ordinary people. I occasionally could do things well, but my attachments of indulgence and selfishness were still strong.

When we do not study the Fa well, everything in our minds is like the thoughts of an ordinary person. Many questions then linger: Isn't this bad stuff? Can it deliver good messages? Are substances generated from this bad stuff good for human body? Anything in your mind when you drop down to the level ordinary people will remain there. Even though we claim to want to study the Fa more diligently, we do not really remove all the factors that are standing in the way of it. This should become a part of our diligent cultivation.

I was vexed that persistent interference prevented me from improvement in my Fa study. I later realized this interference came about because of my failure to remove all factors that got in the way of my Fa study.

We learn from the Fa that evil forces will utilize our attachments and karma to persecute us. The persecution may be carried out in different ways, with practitioners being sent to labor camps, put under financial pressure, and severely tortured. Such persecution is fatal if it cannot be seriously denied from diligent Fa study and cultivation. In recent years, the evil forces have often used sickness karma to persecute Dafa disciples. Some fellow practitioners have weakened their will in cultivation because they failed to deal with sickness karma correctly.

The cultivation paths and historical reasons are complicated. However, we can fully negate all the evil arrangements as long as we study the Fa well and believe in Master and Dafa. In fact, we should not question our ability. Do we calmly check ourselves to see if we really fulfill Master's requirements? If not, let us do so. A weak will in itself is already a loss of belief in Dafa. This is exactly what the evil forces want.

During his difficult cultivation, Buddha Milarepa never thought badly of the hardships imposed on him by Marpa. Although he, physically and mentally, suffered from hardships in the human world, he was not distracted by any joy or distress. The only things in his mind were belief in his teacher and endurance of sufferings. Those hardships did not weaken his confidence and will in seeking the righteous Fa. His desire for righteous Fa and his stoicism against hardships were so remarkable that even the Marpa of his Marpa praised him as a "great fellow". Looking at myself, I did not cherish Master's compassionate salvation and my life was full of lustful events. The extent of my Fa cultivation can be clearly measured by my steadfastness toward Dafa and secular things in my mind.

Our compassionate Master's explanation for all painful conflicts and distress today will lead us to quickly eliminate human attachments and release constraints from the old universe. It will guide us to properly cultivate on our solemn predestined paths and let us clarify the goal and duty of our lives. It will let us take pride in this solemn predestination and provide sympathy and compassion toward sentient beings. It will make us selfless. Finally, it will lead us to remove ourselves from egotism and enter the new universe. Clearly, we need to cultivate ourselves well in order to be responsible to sentient beings that have placed their hopes in us. Otherwise, we will not be able to be free of the framework of the old universe, even if we are healthy and free from persecution. When we study the Fa well and blend ourselves into the Fa, we will be proud and honoured for this gigantic responsibility bestowed upon us. And we will find later on, that those selfish thoughts were really very miniscule.

Please kindly comment on my present understanding.