(Minghui.org) I always thought I was a patient person. Whenever I felt frustrated, I blamed the circumstances. So I never realized I was impatient, or that I needed to eliminate it.
I recently traveled with another practitioner named Jing. Ordinary people and other practitioners complained that she was slow and always took her time.
The night before our departure, I confirmed our meeting place and time, and she acknowledged my message. I then finished packing and went to bed.
I arrived at the airport shuttle station before dawn the next morning. Jing was not there. The shuttle bus was about to leave; should I wait for her or not? I left her phone number at home, and I did not want to disturb others while they were still sleeping and ask for her number. I grumbled: “Can’t you keep a promise?” I felt I needed to teach her a lesson. I didn’t wait for her and boarded the bus as planned.
I thought if Jing did not see me, she would know I left. She could spend money on a taxi, which is faster, so she would make it to the airport on time. I felt this was a just punishment for her not arriving on time. I grumbled, “She was late before we even left. How will the rest of our trip go?”
When we met at the airport, Jing immediately apologized, “I got up early, but because I packed too many things, closing the luggage took more than 10 minutes, so I was late. When I didn’t see you, I thought you already left ... so I took the second shuttle.
I thought, “Can’t you bring fewer things?” But I reminded myself that I’m a practitioner so I didn’t say anything.
Throughout our trip, we never left on time for any of our planned activities. I was either waiting for Jing to pack her belongings or for her to finish working on her computer.
Not wanting to affect Jing’s work and our overall spirit, I kept all my complaints to myself. One day, she was so busy on the computer that we didn’t leave the hotel until afternoon.
Jing had been working all night for two days. I could see she must be tired. While she worked, I took the opportunity to study the Fa.
After I finished, I had a talk with myself. “Why are you so impatient? Because we had agreed on a time, we should keep our word, that is a form of truthfulness. However, she broke her promise over and over again. No, that is not the reason for my being impatient, that is not the root of the problem. Then what was it? Is it because Jing does everything slowly? No. It’s because if we start our days as planned, I would have more time to do what I want to do, such as sightseeing, shopping, etc.
“I did not think about Jing, my mind was only on my itinerary. How selfish! Aren’t playing less, shopping less and buying less what I need to do to decrease my desires? That is actually a good thing! I should go with the flow, and use Jing’s unhurried temperament to expose the attachments I hadn’t previously noticed.”
Immediately, my heart opened. I thanked Master for letting me see my selfishness behind my impatience.
I relaxed and no longer felt agitated throughout the rest of the trip. I stopped being annoyed with Jing. I let her take her time. I sometimes helped her but mostly I let her finish what she needed to do herself. Even though it meant I had to wait longer, I wanted her to realize that she had so many things and she could not leave them behind. She also needed to see her attachments and eliminate them.
The amazing part of this trip was that even though we were constantly rushing, we always made it to where we needed to be.
Whenever I saw Jing trying with all her might to squeeze her luggage shut, I looked within myself to check for things I needed to let go.
By the time we returned home, Jing acknowledged that she brought too many useless things, and she would travel lighter next time. Her mother also said that she told Jing the same thing many times, but she would not listen. Jing became aware of it this time and is taking the initiative to improve. Master Li talked about “Coercion Cannot Change People’s Hearts” (“Coercion Cannot Change People’s Hearts,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)
I found the selfishness in me that needed to be eliminated. I’m also happy for Jing, as she found what she needed to eliminate too.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, Jing!
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Category: Improving Oneself
