A patient whom I will call Rita came to me to treat her Parkinson’s disease. In traditional Chinese medicine, Parkinson’s disease is called “trembling paralysis.”
Rita was referred to me by a doctor of Western medicine. She had been suffering from this ailment for three years. Both her hands trembled, but the right one trembled more severely than the left.
When Rita tried to eat, the food always fell to the floor before it reached her mouth because of her severe trembling. Although there were improvements after I treated her for a while, they were always followed by relapses.
After several relapses, I began to carefully inquire about recent events in her life. She related her story to me about events that had tormented her for the past three years.
While she was telling the story, her mood changed from one of tranquility to agitation, then anger, followed by sorrow. It was then that I understood the real cause of her illness and how the affliction arose.
Medicine is not the only way to ward off disease, as the mind and sprit have also been shown to play a role. (Image: via minghui.org)
“My husband and I own and operate a company that transports shipping containers, and we have a villa on an island. Along with our neighbor, we were the only residents of the island, and we shared a common private road. Because the road was in disrepair, we proposed that we share the expenses to repair it, but they declined and we had no alternative but to do it ourselves.
We never imagined that the contractor who repaired the road would inadvertently leave a pile of rocks in the middle of the road, which greatly inconvenienced the neighbors when they used the road.
They thought that we had acted rashly in anger and had it done on purpose. So they closed a gate on their property, blocking a shortcut we had been using to get to our villa. We then had to drive several extra miles to reach our home.
My husband started talking about their actions with foul language, and then in anger cut off their water supply. We had installed the water supply system, and the neighbor connected to it in order to save money.
They almost went mad with anger and cemented a pile of stones in the middle of the road, thus completely blocking our way home. This cost us $2,000 worth of road repairs and we became absolutely irreconcilable enemies. On top of that, the most intolerable thing was that both of us had to seek legal assistance, which ended up costing about $2 million!
For the past three years, we have not been able to live in the villa. And the neighbors cannot live in their home either. Our conflict is now at the stage of a life-and-death struggle. Because the court has not delivered a verdict, we are unable to sell the villa, and we cannot live there, but must keep up the maintenance of the house.”
As she spoke, I could see she was trembling with anger. Her face was red, and she appeared to be on the borderline of collapse.
Seeing her pain and anger, I could see the root of the recurring relapses. Anger adversely affects the liver, thereby causing irritation and more anger. This being the case, it causes discomfort, harming the flow of energy, the spirit, and the body.
It did not occur to her that the fight with her neighbor was nothing when measured against her own life. In fact, with just one thought, the conflict could have been easily dispelled, but now, because of small-mindedness, the dispute continued endlessly with much money spent in vain, and with only constant misery left.
I knew that her illness could not be cured with medicine alone, but rather must be cured from its root. So I spoke to Rita about forbearance, explaining the principle to her.
I knew that her illness could not be cured with medicine alone, but rather must be cured from its root. (Image: Rob Ireton via Flickr)
I told her: “Take a step back, as the sea and sky are boundless, and endure a bit, as even a flower will bloom in the shade of the willow tree.”
After listening to me, Rita said that if she had heard those words three years ago, she would have never allowed the situation to develop into what it was today.
Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance
I talked to her about the principles of “Zhen Shan Ren” (Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance), and about Falun Dafa, a meditation and exercise practice. I also spoke to her about reincarnation and the reciprocating effects of karma.
I also spoke to her about reincarnation and the reciprocating effects of karma. (Image: via Pixabay)
It was the first time she had heard of these principles. “Oh, my! Is it true that we have deviated so far from Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance that such tribulations are upon us? Is it because we have done many bad deeds in our past lives, and now owe lots of debts to others?” she asked.
“Is that why we are suffering such retributions? Is it correct to suppose that they are warnings for us? Perhaps God allows us to be humans so that we can show kindness to others.”
Her hands stopped trembling. As she left, she said to me: “Doctor, you have assuaged my three years of depression and resentment.”
I did not say more, but just watched as she walked away with a huge sigh of relief.
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