(Clearwisdom.net) In today's society people view monetary items as extremely important. How much money one possesses seemingly decides his social status. But for cultivators of Dafa, the attachments to money and personal gain are things we are getting rid of. Since 1997 when I started to cultivate Dafa, Master has been continuously guiding me to elevate myself. The following are some of my experiences that I would like to discuss and exchange with fellow Dafa practitioners.
1. Not taking advantage of unfair situations
One time when I went shopping, the cashier gave me change with 50 cents extra; I did not take it seriously at the time and left the store riding my bike. I fell on my way and I suddenly realized that Master was telling me something. I went back to the store and returned the extra money. Later I was twice given extra change, and I returned it.
2. Not to picking up anything left by others that does not belong to me
One night on my way back home after watching a Dafa video tape at a Dafa assistance center, I saw a big electric hand drill left on the road. It was quiet and nobody was around. I realized right away that this was a test, because my husband was an electrician and he needed a power hand drill at that time. I walked away without a second thought.
3. Dropped in a dye vat
I helped a construction team get a building project. They made some money and wanted to share it with me. I politely refused. They then gave me the ceramic tiles left over from the building project. The ceramic tiles were worth 1000 Yuan. At that time my family was building a house and were in need of ceramic tiles, so I accepted the offer. When I was riding my bike home on the day I had the ceramic tiles delivered to my home, at a road crossing, vehicles continuously drove by one after another and stopped me from crossing. I came to realize that I was wrong. I remembered that Master said in "Environment" (Essentials for Further Advancement),
"Every attachment for you to remove in your cultivation practice is a wall, standing there and blocking your path of cultivation practice. "
4. Taking pleasure in helping others
Once I went to visit a friend. It happened that their child had been involved in an automobile accident. They were very anxious about it and were in need of money. I did my best and offered some money in my capability to help them. Another time I visited my relatives; they were in need of money for building their house and were worried about where to borrow the money. I then offered my help and loaned the money to them. I thought that it was not a coincidence that I ran into these situations. It was to see if I could maintain my benevolent mind and to see if I could let go of the attachment to money.
5. Letting go completely at ease
My family built a new house and we paid for it right away. But a year later, a few bricklayers suddenly showed up and said that we owed them 1300 Yuan for the building work. I made phone calls and found out that the bricklayers had wasted time during the building work and their boss had withheld part of their pay. According to the law of society, I did not have to pay them anything. But I am a Dafa practitioner and I should think according to the principles of Dafa. On one hand they were making their living with hard work, with mud all over their faces and dripping sweat; on the other hand it could be that Master was balancing the debt I owed at different levels. I then paid them 1300 Yuan without a second thought. I also used the opportunity to introduce Dafa to them. They were so happy that they did not know what to say. The second day their boss called me and said, "You are really a good person! Let me buy you a meal in a restaurant!" I said, "You don't need to do that, let me buy you a meal. Please remember that Falun Dafa is good!" He kept saying, "Good! Good! It is good! I also want to practice Falun Gong." I came to understand that I had done the right thing this time and it was like I had also gotten rid of a layer of ordinary human attachments. It was just like Master mentioned in "Non-Omission" (Essentials for Further Advancement):
"The Fa has different requirements for cultivators at different levels. Sacrifice is evidenced by one's being detached from ordinary human attachments. If a person can indeed calmly abandon everything with his heart being unaffected, he is actually at that level already."
6. Only look at the heart
My daughter came back home to live with me for about half a year. She asked me to take care of her money. She would take some money when she needed it. Half a year later when she was leaving, she told me that her money was 5000 Yuan short. I thought then that this was not a coincidence; probably I owed her in previous lives. I then gave her the money. But in my mind I couldn't let it go. I thought that I raised her, and she did not give me any money, but instead, she made off with a year's worth of my retirement money. It took me about half a year before I could let the thought go. Master said in "Non-Omission" (Essentials for Further Advancement):
"There is sacrifice in forbearance. Being able to make sacrifices is the result of improving in one's cultivation."
After I let go of my thoughts, my son-in-law came to visit us during the Spring Festival; he gave me 6600 Yuan and said it was a present for the parents-in-law. I then came to realize that this was another test Master had arranged. It was not to have me to lose any money, it was to look at my heart.
The above mentioned experiences made me understand a truth Master taught us in Zhuan Falun,
"... the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments."
Master arranges us to live among everyday people, not for us to live as everyday people, but for us to get rid of the human attachments while living in the society. We should, in the only chance in over tens of thousands of years, direct all of our thoughts and conduct according to the Fa at every moment. Let us not disappoint Master's expectations!
Please benevolently point out any mistakes.
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Category: Improving Oneself
