(Minghui.org), By following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I have gradually been cleansed by Master over 14 years of cultivating Dafa. I have changed from being a selfish person who fought for fame and personal gain into a new person. The following are some of my experiences. I want the world to know the greatness of Master and the goodness of Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa.
Prior to cultivation
I was the director and party secretary of our local residence committee from 1994 to 1997, and in charge of environmental health. While patrolling the community one evening in May of 1997, I saw some construction trash piled up in front of a house. An elderly woman with kyphosis and a middle-aged man were inside the house when I entered. I asked them, “Is the trash outside yours?” I told them they had to remove it after they admitted it was theirs. The old woman replied, “We can't.” I fined them 100 yuan without saying a word. She said, “I have no money to pay the fine. My retirement pension is not enough to pay for food.” I said to her, “I have to fine you if you don't remove the trash.” The middle-aged man was her nephew and he paid the fine. I pocketed the money and used the department funds to pay for the trash to be removed the next day. That was who I was at that time.
I worked for a large enterprise that paid well and had good health benefits. Prior to the healthcare system reforms, I could claim reimbursement for any medical costs as long as I had a receipt. Since I had poor health and needed to take a lot of different drugs, I submitted a lot of receipts. I let my family and even relatives who did not have these benefits use my name for their medical expenses. When they did this they would easily be reimbursed. I used my name to get medicines for my two children since the day they were born. I became a “quasi doctor” because I pretty much knew what medicines were good for what kind of health problems. Even though I retired in June 1993 and moved to my husband's hometown when his job was relocated, I continued to submit receipts. Because I still answered to my work unit, I was even more relaxed about submitting false claims. I used my name for my children's medical expenses, and my mother-in-law's nutritional supplements such as ginseng and some medical equipment. It cost the company a lot of money annually.
I also traded stocks and made money from other traders. I only made 400 yuan a month in salary, and my children were unemployed, so I actually didn't have much money to play with. But it consumed a lot of my energy. It was just as Master said, “Live for money and die for power, being joyful or anxious over petty gains.” (“Enlightenment” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
How I Conducted Myself after Practicing Cultivation
After listening to Master's teachings and reading Zhuan Falun, I was inspired so deeply that I couldn't express it in words. According to the Fa standards, I really didn't behave well at all. I immediately remembered when I was a director at the Residence Committee and I took 100 yuan from the woman with kyphosis and kept the money. I felt ashamed and decided to return the money. I visited her that night. I told her, “I am sorry! I have come here to return the 100 yuan you paid for the construction trash.” She did not remember the event as over ten months had passed. Her nephew was also there. I explained, “I fined you 100 yuan for the trash you piled up outside your house. Your nephew paid the fine. Now do you remember?” The woman replied, “We already paid the fine. Why are you returning it?” I explained to them that I started practicing Falun Gong. As practitioners, we follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be good people. We try to be kind and not take advantage of anyone. They said simultaneously, “Wow! Falun Gong is so good.” I felt so relaxed on the way home. I conducted myself this way after cultivating in Dafa.
I then looked inward and realized that I had cheated my company by charging the medical expenses for my family. After I became a Dafa practitioner on March 4, 1998, I told my family, “I will no longer abuse the system. From now on, you have to pay for your own medical expenses.” My daughter has been sick since 2005. She had gone to every hospital in the city for treatment to no avail. Over the past few years, we have spent more than 40,000 yuan of our retirement pensions to pay her medical bills because she didn't have a job. My daughter once said to me, “Mom, let me use your medical card and you can claim the medical expenses. Otherwise, how can we survive with such huge medical costs?” I said to her: “I will not do it, not even for only one penny.” I explained to her, “I am a Dafa practitioner. I have to follow Master's requirements.” Both my husband and my daughter looked at me. My husband did not say a word and my daughter had tears in her eyes. From their expressions, I knew they must think that Falun Dafa is good and Dafa disciples are righteous.
I have practiced Dafa for 14 years. Master purified my body and I am energetic and free of illness. My old work unit no longer pays any medical bills. Although I am not rich, I am very happy and my mind is open and calm. I am a new person since I became a practitioner.
I realized after studying the Fa, that gambling in the stock market did not meet the Fa requirements. I sold all of the stocks I owned. The clerk at front desk said to me, “You bought these stocks during IPO (initial public offer) and not everyone had the opportunity to buy them. You have the potential to make a lot of money.” I replied: “I am a Dafa practitioner. I cannot make money from others.” I felt relaxed after I sold all of the stocks.
I am still a long way from meeting Master's requirements. As a Dafa disciple I fully understand that I have to do a better job in whatever I do. I will firmly remember Master's teachings.
Master said:
“Your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability. (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
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