All
illnesses stem from our minds. Originally the so-called "I"
didn't exist. Therefore, the concept of "I am ill"
didn't exist. When an illness first begins, if we have a firm
attitude about rejecting it, don't allow the concept of "I
am ill" to come into being, then the illness will run
away immediately.
However,
you're all too weak. You often feel, "Oh! I have a pain
here. I have discomfort there." Frequently, having these
thoughts is like pushing a door open. The door is open only
a little bit in the beginning; however, since you keep thinking
about "becoming ill," the slightly opened door will
be pushed wide open by the power of your negative thinking.
As soon as the door is wide open, the illness will quickly
invade your body. If you always have a clear consciousness
at every moment, and don't allow any bad things to come in,
then nothing can invade you.
Getting
sick is like digging a hole on our outside layer first. Originally,
there's a layer of protective energy covering our bodies.
It guards us against the invasive negative power outside.
When we get sick, it's just like having a hole poked in the
layer of protective energy, so that the illness can directly
enter our bodies, through the hole. That's how we get sick.
If the layer of protective energy remains intact, the illness
can't get in. Spiritual practitioners are generally healthy,
so they don't get sick; whereas, non-practitioners are easily
disturbed by outside influences, and that is equivalent to
opening the door first, and inviting illnesses to come in.
Therefore, if we keep calm, a disastrous atmosphere can be
resolved naturally. Our "fixed karma" can be changed in this
way, just like a light can dispel darkness.
Some
people believe in fortune teller's predictions; like on such-and-such
a date they will get such-and-such illness, or have such-and-such
an accident or disaster. Then they'll have fearful thoughts
in their minds. As soon as they have fearful thoughts, it's
like opening a small door in their bodies, and then all kinds
of bad things can come in naturally.
If
a practitioner has a pure spirit and concentrated mind, the
protective layer of energy around his body is like a diamond
shield, and it can't be penetrated by any illness. Even if
we really have some illness, we shouldn't let it perplex us.
When we know that we're ill, we should practice even more
diligently, and use our power to drive it away. This body
is our house, and we are the owners. Without the invitation
of the owner, how can anyone come in? If you can drive it
away with a firm attitude, no illness will stay. Even if it's
the invasion of a small cold, a sensitive person can feel
it at a very early stage. However, those who don't practice
and aren't sensitive, won't be aware of such things.
If
we want to sense the invasion of illnesses, we must keep an
absolutely clear consciousness, and let our bodies stay in
a highly alert state. Once we feel the invasion of an illness,
we should immediately meditate, recite the Holy Names, and
firmly tell ourselves, "I don't want the illness. Illness
isn't the Truth. I don't want anything that's forced upon
me. I only want the Truth." Then the illness will run
away. Those who have practiced a long time, and have strong
minds, can eliminate an illness in one or two seconds. Those
who don't practice don't have this will power, and therefore
they don't believe that they have healing power.
In
fact, our bodies naturally have resistance to illness, and
can heal themselves. Many doctors tell their patients, "These
medicines are for you. But you should mainly rely on yourself
to cure the illness." It's because we're great beings,
and there's nothing we can't do. However, the amount that
you can do depends on how much you believe it. In other words,
this latent and limitless power can appear differently, because
of the extent that each person applies it.
We
Quan Yin practitioners are more powerful than others are.
This involves the power that we use to drive illnesses away.
If you get ill, it's because you want to be ill. Your mind
may not want it, but your body does. Therefore, we should
educate our actions, speech and thoughts. If certain parts
of our bodies like to be ill, we should gradually teach them
with the correct concepts, like we teach children. If they
don't understand, we can give them some medicine and tell
them, "Okay, you're safe now." When we let our bodies truly
give up the illness, they'll recover.
However,
people normally do the opposite. They try to look after their
bodies in every way, but ignore their spiritual practice.
That's why I teach you to keep your actions, speech and thoughts,
clean. If your thoughts are clean but your body isn't, you'll
be in the situation that your mind is perfect, but your body
is still vulnerable and can get ill. Therefore, we should
use our minds to teach our bodies. We should teach them that
there actually isn't a so-called 'I' who can get ill, to let
them truly give up everything, and give up the idea of "getting
ill," and then they won't get ill.
Illness
is actually not karma. The real karma is our ignorance. Because
of ignorance, we have dark and impure souls. If our souls
are purified, there will neither be God nor Maya, not to mention
illness. Originally, we didn't have illness. Therefore, in
the Heart Sutra, it's stated, "All dharmas amount to
emptiness." They neither arise nor cease, are neither
tainted nor pure, and neither increase nor decrease. Hence
in emptiness, there are no forms, no feelings, no perceptions,
no mental formations, and there is no consciousness; there
are no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
there is no vision, no hearing, no sense of smell, no sense
of taste, no sense of touch. If there is nothing, how can
we get ill?
Because
we cling to our bodies, we have so much trouble. We should
do more Quan Yin and meditate more, and then we won't have
any trouble.
