(Minghui.org) When my sisters and I got together with our parents on December 28 last year, one of my sisters whispered to me, “Dad bought you a box of oranges.” My youngest sister said, “He bought it online using my cell phone.” They both said in one voice, “Why did he buy oranges for you but not for us?” I said, “How should I know?”
My Father Buys Our Groceries
When we were young, my dad worked long hours so he never took us shopping or bought us snacks. He is old-fashioned and inflexible. When he got older and retired, he had nothing to do, so he started to enjoy going to the supermarket and buying groceries for a good price. When he bought food for us, whether we needed it or not, he would ask only for the cost of the groceries and wouldn’t accept a penny more.
I gave him 200 yuan and asked him to not buy groceries for us anymore. But he kept buying vegetables and fruit and asking me to pay for them. I felt frustrated, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I didn’t really like the way he did things and felt embarrassed when I paid him for the groceries in front of my husband or other people. However, my husband was always happy that my dad bought food for us, which made my dad work even harder at getting our groceries. I tried to forebear it every time he brought the groceries to our home. Sometimes, I complained a little bit and then my dad would criticize me.
I felt my dad was overbearing, stingy, and inconsiderate. However, he was a mirror that reflected my own shortcomings. I had the attachments of resentment, showing off, looking down on others, and a self-righteous heart.
I changed my attitude and became grateful. I am not picky anymore. As a Falun Dafa cultivator, I just eat whatever fills my stomach. I eat whatever my dad buys for us and thank him every time. He is happy that I behave this way, too. He even took the initiative to ask me what I want him to buy and if there was anything I was short of in the refrigerator. The vegetables and fruit that he bought for us were really inexpensive and fresh. It is true that good or bad comes from one thought.
I became happy after I changed my thinking. I often visited my dad during holidays and cooked different dishes for him. He didn’t ask me to pay for the food he bought. Without specifically thinking about it, the conflict between my dad and me was resolved after my xinxing improved.
The karmic relationships between people are so amazing. Owing debts and paying back money, being treated nicely or badly—these are all due to karmic relationships, and that’s why my dad bought me a box of oranges.
My Mother-in-Law Claimed I Owed Her Money
On New Year's eve, our whole family celebrated the new year with my mother-in-law. When we were chatting, my sister-in-law said that my mother-in-law was confused and sometimes talked nonsense. For example, she would say she hadn’t eaten right after she ate. But she is alert when she and my husband recite “Falun Dafa is good” and she can speak clearly.
My sister-in-law said, “She remembers everything in the past but can’t remember anything that happened recently...” While we were talking, my mother-in-law suddenly stood up and said that I owed her money. I was stunned, and everyone laughed, thinking it was a joke.
She said seriously, “You borrowed about 100 yuan from me while we were out walking. You can pay me back when you have the money.” I had never borrowed money from her. My sister-in-law laughed and said, “I told you that our mom is confused, but you didn’t believe me.”
I knew that she wasn’t confused, so maybe I owed her money in a past life.
After I got home, I thought about this for a long time. The human world is a mystery and people are fascinated by it without knowing what is really happening. After my father-in-law passed away, I bought a two-bedroom condo for my mother-in-law. However, she didn’t appreciate anything I bought for her and always said that my sister-in-law bought better things for her than I did.
I gradually began to feel displeased about her thinking that way. Later, she was reimbursed hundreds of thousands yuan for her house that the government expropriated. She didn’t give us our share. I didn’t say anything but her behavior bothered me. Her daughter spent her mom’s money but complained about taking care of her. I felt unbalanced and visited her less frequently than I had before. I didn’t want to buy her a lot of gifts. Even for holidays, I just made minimal effort.
Seeing my attachments of feeling wronged, resentment, and jealousy, Master Li took this as an opportunity to give me a hint. We know that the law of cause and effect exists in everything that happens. Even though I bought a condo for her, I still hadn’t paid the karmic debt I owed her. How could the creditor be happy?
Life is just a play. I was too involved in the play and forgot that it isn’t real.
Master Protects Me
Before the COVID-19 lockdown, my dad brought me a lot of potatoes, onions, carrots, and fruit. It was almost springtime and I hadn’t asked for these winter vegetables. A fellow practitioner gave me some seasoned radish, homemade bean sprouts, and frozen Tofu. Two days later, the pandemic broke out and we were not allowed to leave the building because our residential community was being strictly controlled.
I came to realize that Master was protecting me. My garage sits diagonally opposite my building. We store meat and fish in the freezer in the garage. However, the pandemic prevention people didn’t allow us to leave the building to get food from the freezer. I was very angry and argued a little bit. My husband told me to not be angry as cultivation is about cultivating oneself.
During the night, I calmed down and looked inward. Influenced by the culture of the communist party, I had become very aggressive and spoke with a strong tone in the past. When doing business or interacting with family members, I was often aggressive, overbearing, indifferent, and selfish. Without getting rid of the attachment to competitiveness, my field was filled with falsehoods, evil, and confrontation. Everything occurs for a reason. Even in a relaxed atmosphere, I didn’t realize how many people I hurt with my words.
I sincerely confessed to Master Li and asked him to help me. I still had a lot of Falun Dafa books in the garage and I wanted to study the Fa more during the lockdown.
After practicing the exercises, I decided to go to the garage. I went downstairs and, seeing that no one was around, I quickly went into the garage and closed the door. I picked up the 10 books of the Collected Teachings Given Around the World, a box of sweet potatoes, and some meat and vegetables from the freezer and hurried upstairs. My husband laughed at me and told me I was acting like I was in a movie.
He said, “Just as you entered the garage and closed the door, a pandemic prevention person came to check the buildings and garage on the side. Right before you came out, he went to another building. When you ran back to our unit, they drove to the garage and didn’t see you.”
That night, the residential community took stricter measures and all the doors of the buildings were sealed off. We both appreciated that Master Li was always by our side protecting us.
Human beings can’t see the truth when they are lost. Human beings think they are in control of everything. In fact, everything is arranged by the higher beings. Actually, gods are in control of everything, although some things may look like a coincidence. During the one-month lockdown, we had plenty of food because I was able to enter the garage without being seen. We truly appreciate that we have Master Li looking after us.
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Category: Improving Oneself
