(Minghui.org) I used to be a bully in my neighborhood. My wife and I owned a fruit selling business, and I often cheated people by manipulating the scales when they made purchases. I would also fight with people that I did not like. Sometimes, I went to extremes. I once rode my bike to find a person long after he left, just so I could beat him up.
I am the youngest in my family. Growing up, I was spoiled; my parents and siblings always gave me my way. So I rarely considered other people's feelings when I got older.
Even though my wife did most of the work, I often fought with her for no reason, sometimes even physically. My family could not do anything about my mean nature. No one dared to provoke me!
This behavior created karma and brought tribulations to me. I suffered from autonomic disorders. I was often confused, my head felt numb, I had headaches, and I could not sleep at night.
I took a lot of medication, but none of it alleviated my condition. My health became worse, and I was cold all the time, even with warm clothing on. My doctor could not cure me and just encouraged me to stay calm.
I felt desperate, wondering what tribulations I would encounter next!
Falun Dafa spread to my hometown in 1996. I began to cultivate in Dafa and learned the basic principles for being a good person that Master Li (the teacher and founder) taught. I knew I developed incurable illnesses because I accumulated too much karma from my past behavior. I began to follow the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in my daily life. Master cleansed my body, and all my illnesses disappeared.
When I first began to practice, I heard people talking about me behind my back. They would say, “How could such a bad person cultivate?” No one believed I could change for the better.
But I indeed changed after I began my cultivation. Relatives and friends all said I appeared to have turned into another person. I no longer beat or scolded my wife. I respected her, instead, and truly cared for her and my daughter.
My wife once began to yell at me, but I remained calm. I knew I had to endure it, as she was helping me improve. The first time she yelled at me, I told her she just gave me a pound of sugar. When it reached the eighth time, I told her, “You have given me eight pounds of sugar today!” After that, she stopped yelling at me.
Of course it took time for me to improve. Occasionally, I could not help myself and yelled at others. I would regret it afterward. So I worked hard to correct this bad habit of mine.
My wife was respectful of Dafa and supported my cultivation. She helped me distribute truth clarification pamphlets. Eventually, she began to cultivate in Dafa too.
We got along well with relatives and friends. I had some skills and would help the neighbors. When someone’s electric bike or motorcycle had problems, I always offered to fix them. I also helped repair furniture and built carports. I would then be invited for dinner as a thank you, but I usually declined.
Close friends and relatives used to avoid me because of my temper. After I began cultivation, many of them enjoyed coming to my home to chat. We typically had someone stop by every day. My wife and I always welcomed them and served tea and snacks. I took this as a great opportunity to tell them the truth about Dafa.
In the past I often cheated my customers when I sold fruit, creating karma for myself. After I began to cultivate, I eliminated my attachment to greed. I followed Dafa's principles to correct my behavior. Master taught: “You should trade fairly and maintain a righteous mind.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I now get along well with my brothers and sisters. When my father passed away, we divided the inheritance. I did not want to take anything at first, however my oldest brother insisted.
A neighbor told me about someone he knew who owed my father money and suggested that I go collect it from him. I laughed and said, “You needn't tell me that, I will not go after him!”
I later changed my career to become a construction contractor. An unspoken rule of the business was to take kickbacks when buying materials for the customers. My colleagues all did so, and no one felt it was wrong. I, as a practitioner, did not want to take advantage of anyone and refused to take any kickbacks.
Occasionally, I broke customers’ dishes when I ate meals at the construction site. But I always purchased them new ones. I never pocketed extra nails or other materials. My customers discovered that practitioners indeed behaved differently than others. Through these trivial matters, I showed them a practitioner’s realm and validated the goodness of Dafa.
I was arrested several times by the police and taken to a forced labor camp because of my faith. But I always kept a benevolent mind and did not hold any resentments against the police. I treated them as people who needed to be saved.
One time the police drove me home from jail. When we arrived, I invited them to have tea with me. They were stunned to see that the practitioner whom they had persecuted did not hate them, but was so tolerant and kind instead!
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Category: Improving Oneself
