(Minghui.org) I used to think that when we are angry, whether it is at someone or something, it is our true selves that are angry. However, I changed this notion even before I began to cultivate.
When I was about to close a photocopy shop for the day, a couple walked in and demanded that their document be typed and printed immediately. Since my typing skills were not the best, I told them that I could help out but would be rather slow. They still asked me to type the document.
The couple stood over me, kept criticizing my work, and told me to hurry it up. I felt annoyed but said, “This is a draft. I will correct the mistakes after I review it.” They were quiet for a minute or two, but then the woman began to criticize me again.
Then, the man asked where he could wash his hands. I pointed to a bucket of water. Instead of scooping out some water, he just washed his hands in the bucket.
Although I controlled myself, feelings of anger were beginning to grow. The water was now dirty and could not be used for cooking. What a waste. I felt ready to explode, even though I was still typing.
That was not the end of it, as the man joined the woman in criticizing me. At the end of my patience, I turned around, gave the document back, and told them to find someone else.
They became furious and started swearing at me. I felt wronged and was very upset. Although I did not swear at them, I argued in a loud voice. We yelled at each other so loudly that we could not hear what the other person said.
All of a sudden, I saw a twisted look on the man's face. My mind went blank and then I thought: “It is such a pity that one can feel so angry.” At that moment, I felt as if a huge hand had pulled an amorphous mass of air out of my chest.
All the hateful feelings and anger disappeared without a trace, and I was calm and at peace. I stopped talking back. With no arguing from me, the couple eventually calmed down and left.
My experience showed me that, when angry, a person is under the control of a floating substance. If one is able to overcome the effect of the substance, one would not be angry at all.
The anger comes from outside, not from any part of our true selves. Anger is a human emotion, and such an emotion is not part of our true selves.
The god of emotions was created by gods from a higher level for human beings in this dimension. We Dafa cultivators should go beyond the constrictions of emotion and cultivate compassion. It is of utmost importance to distinguish our true selves from human sentimentality.
A few years later, when I got angry with a fellow practitioner, I recalled the above encounter and immediately sent righteous thoughts. I said to myself, “It is not I who is angry. I don't have anger.”
Immediately, the anger disappeared, just like the previous time. In no time, peace filled my heart. We practitioners should not get angry or be moved by emotions.
I thought about how emotions affect us. Our human body and thoughts are made of many kinds of matter found in the universe. When we cultivators fight with each other on how to do Dafa work or a project while feeling angry, we react just as ordinary people.
From a certain perspective, we can say that it is a demonstration of the evil side of matter from the micro level to the macro level. This is the opposite of the characteristic of Falun Dafa.
Cultivators should eliminate evil matter that do not belong to our true selves.