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The Story of Fourteen Yuan

June 22, 2006

(Clearwisdom.net) One day in April, I went to a store to buy some clothes. After measuring, the store owner told me that it would be 35 yuan. I paid before I got the receipt and went home. After I got home, I thought it was too expensive. Was there a mistake? When I re-calculated it, there was a mistake, but he did not charge me too much, he charged me too little, 14 yuan too little. My first thought was that this was not right. Master told us, "No loss, no gain." I should not take the man's money. I would pay him back when I went to pick up my clothes. However, I also had second thoughts: the store might have made lots of money; it was his mistake, and it was not I who wanted to pay him less, so just forget about it.

This matter preyed on my mind, which made me unable to calm down to study the Fa, do the exercises, or send forth righteous thoughts. When I told a fellow practitioner about this, he said, "You should say nothing. Go immediately and pay back the money. We are Dafa practitioners and we should follow the principle of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.'" In this way, I strengthened my righteous thoughts. I thought this incident had occurred for a reason. Master told us: "The only thing Falun Dafa disciples have a role in is saving people." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago") Isn't it a chance to save people?

So when I went to get my clothes. I thought I should definitely clarify the truth to the store owner, so that he could understand the beauty of Dafa and support Dafa and be saved in the future. When I was almost there, I thought it would better if there was no one else at the store except for the store owner. When I went there, however, the two rooms in the store were full of people. What could I do? I didn't want to lose this opportunity. It is not easy for all the sentient beings to come to this world, because they were waiting for the Fa.

At this moment, an idea came to me. I could talk about this from a third-party's perspective. We have Master, and we have the Fa, what are we afraid of?

When I entered the store, the store owner greeted me enthusiastically, "Welcome. Have a look around. How can I help you?" I answered with a smile, "Let me tell you something. Last time when I came to buy clothes, you made a mistake in calculation." He said immediately, "No, absolutely not." I thought he was afraid of people taking money from him, so I said, "Let's calculate it again." He calculated it again, and it came out to 49 yuan, but he had asked me for only 35 yuan, 14 yuan less than what he was supposed to collect.

I said, "I came here to pay you back the 14 yuan. Before this, I went to see a friend of mine who practices Falun Gong. It was he who told me that I should act according to the principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." He also asked me to tell you: 'Keep in mind that Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good and Falun Dafa is good!"After the store owner heard this, he cried out loud, "'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' is good and 'Falun Dafa is good.'" He also tried to give me two yuan for my bus fare. I refused him. The store owner's wife and sister also kept saying, "Thanks." I said. "You are welcome. You should keep in mind: 'Falun Dafa is good' and 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good.'" They again repeated: "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good! Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is really good."

This incident also made me improve in my cultivation. This is really: "The Buddha Light Illuminates Everywhere and Rectifies All Abnormalities." All this comes from our great Master and the boundless Dafa. Here I want to revisit Master's teaching "Journeying in Dao" (Hongyin II):

Great Dao journeys in the world
Rescues and saves beings in the maze
Washing way attachments to fame, sentiment, and gain
What hardship can hinder the divine

(Provisional translation subject to improvement)