(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Dafa in 2012. By studying Zhuan Falun and other writings by Dafa’s founder, Master Li Hongzhi, I gradually began to think of others' needs rather than my own. I went from only eating what was cooked for me, to cooking; from being annoyed by family members, to being understanding; and from seeking comfort for myself, to providing it to others.
Before I started practicing Dafa, I played online video games all day long. I had no sense of responsibility for anyone and made my family do everything for me without considering whether my behavior would infringe on them. My parents complained about my addiction to video games, but I didn’t care.
It was a stroke of good fortune that my relatives introduced me to Dafa. Through Master’s writings, I gradually came to understand the Fa, and my attitude changed for the better. With Dafa’s guidance, I began to adhere to Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
After studying the Fa for a while, I stopped playing video games and started to help around the house. Over time, I took on the household chores of cooking, washing the dishes, sweeping the floors, and doing the laundry.
My Dad was in poor health yet he liked to drink and smoke. He was hot headed and if things didn’t go his way, he got angry. He took up playing Mahjong and often didn’t come home until early in the morning.
I was annoyed by his behavior and thought, “Why do you drink and smoke? We aren’t wealthy, yet you go out to play Mahjong every night.”
My attitude towards him was not kind. But after I began to practice Dafa, I became aware of my negative thoughts and began to correct them according to Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I learned to be kind towards my father.
One time when he went out to play Mahjong, I thought about how I should treat him. I decided to prepare dinner. He didn’t come home at dinnertime, so I put the food in the pot to keep it warm. Although he came back very late, his dinner was still hot.
Nowadays I can be kind towards my father. I’m no longer so annoyed by his bad habits and can treat him with compassion.
My family lives in the countryside. Our trash is thrown to the curb for the maintenance workers to pick up. We generate a lot of trash nowadays so I burn what can be burned and put biodegradable waste in the compost. It reduces the amount of trash we generate, saves the maintenance workers time, and benefits our land.
There’s a type of gourd that people in the countryside grow. It can be sliced and dried and people pay pretty well for it. This type of gourd will over-mature easily and when they are picked too late, the outside becomes hard. Old gourds don’t taste as good as younger ones yet most people sell the old gourds anyway.
If we sell old gourds, our customers won’t be happy and will lose trust in us. Thus, I give the old gourds to people who own livestock and only sell the young ones.
I used to be lazy, selfish, and hated hard work. Dafa changed me, and now I work hard and put the wellbeing of others before myself.