(Minghui.org) I often see my parents argue, and their arguments are usually based on ordinary people’s reasoning. My mother, a practitioner, usually seems to be right.
When my father uses profanity or is being unreasonable, my mother says, “If I'm wrong, you can say whatever you want. But don’t accuse me of being wrong if I’m right.”
I try to mediate when they quarrel. But I kept wondering why my mother did not enlighten and look inward. Why did she hold onto human logic and continue arguing?
I cleaned the house one day and was quite satisfied with what I did. When my sister came home that evening, she said that I’d done a poor job. Her voice got louder and louder.
I was annoyed and thought, “I put a lot of effort into cleaning the house, and you are not happy with what I did. So why don’t you do it then.” She kept complaining.
I realized that, like my mother, I was holding onto human reasoning. Master said,
“When any conflict arises or anything happens, I've told you that not only should the two parties in the conflict look for reasons on their part, even any third party should think about himself--why are you the one who observed it? When you are a direct party in the conflict, that's even more the case, but why won't you cultivate yourself?” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)
I’ve seen so many conflicts between my parents, but I never looked inward. My only thought was to mediate. Obviously, my mother should look inward to improve herself, but since I was there, shouldn't I also reflect on myself? I hadn't enlightened. Instead, I thought my mother needed to look inward.
I understand now that issues arise when we reach a certain level of cultivation. I could be right if I use human logic to measure things. But is my heart moved when others wrong me or complain about me? Can I transcend my human notion of whether I'm right or wrong and improve my xinxing?
As soon as I had this realization, I felt as if a rock were removed from my heart. I am thankful that my parents and sister gave me these opportunities to expand my heart and improve myself. I am grateful for Master’s compassionate arrangement!
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Improving Oneself
