(Clearwisdom.net) One night, I suddenly had a grinding toothache. It was so painful that I could not read the Dafa books. I decided to recite Lunyu but was unable to finish the second paragraph due to the toothache. I realized that I must have some problems. So, I looked inward and found that I was attached to the interior decoration of my new house.
I was annoyed with the way my husband had done the decoration. I was aware of my attachments and that I should not be attached to ordinary people's ways. I stopped quarreling with my husband. I comforted myself with the thought that I am a practitioner, otherwise, I would not have allowed him to decorate that way. However, while I was talking about this to other people, I was full of resentfulness and complaints.
The next day, the toothache was gone. I went to visit a fellow practitioner and talked to her about this. She pointed out that I had not gotten rid of the attachment. I knew she was right because I felt oppressed by the attachment. After I finished cooking dinner that evening, the toothache came back. I was in too much pain to eat. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil elements that were persecuting me. I thought that no matter how much it hurt, I would still go out and distribute Dafa materials and save sentient beings; no matter how much it hurt, I would still do the exercises. Teacher mentioned in Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun:
"Cultivation practice must take place through tribulations so as to test whether you can part with and care less about different kinds of human sentimentality and desires. If you are attached to these things, you will not succeed in cultivation."
While reading this part, I suddenly understood. All my confusion vanished, and I wondered how I became clearheaded so fast.
Later on, I searched inward for the cause of my attachment. If the home decoration had been done my way, I would not have had those problems. Seeking comfort is a human notion, and the attachment was not easy to find. We can only achieve the level of emptiness where we are not moved by anything when we give up the emotion of likes and dislikes and completely get rid of all attachments.
A single stick is easy to break, but a bundle of sticks tied together is very strong. It is the same with human thoughts. If one does not pay attention, after a while, a karmic field will form. After it extends deeper into our dimension, it is hard to eliminate.