(Minghui.org) I repeatedly ran into someone in my village. He always complained about his parents, and said they liked his two younger brothers and mistreated him. His parents gave everything to his brothers, but he didn’t get anything.
He was furious and indignant, as if he had suffered a great deal. In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s, when he was young, the family’s average income was low. At the time, just having enough food was good enough. His brothers, however, grew up in a different time period, so I thought he was being unreasonable and didn’t understand or respect his parents.
In addition, this person thought highly of himself and looked down on others. He always talked about how smart and capable he was. He actually only had a 5th grade education and lacked marketable job skills.
I found myself disliking him, but wondered why I was hearing his complaints. For a practitioner, there are no coincidences. When I looked inward, I realized he was showing me my attachments.
I couldn’t forget the injustices I suffered since childhood and I couldn’t forgive those who bullied me. I also didn’t forget how my parents misunderstood me. I always recalled those unfair experiences.
I once sold tomatoes to someone, but he didn’t pay for them. I resented him and couldn’t let it go for a long time. I sometimes thought, “If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, I would have taken revenge on him.” Sometimes, I would dream that I was fighting with those who mistreated me.
When I calmed down, I thought, “Isn’t this because I have strong resentment? I hated others even in my dreams.” I’ve been practicing Falun Dafa for 27 years, but I still had such strong resentment. The reason was that I never looked inward. I finally realized my attachment by seeing this person’s behavior. I told myself that the attachment was not my true self, and I didn’t want it.
I also saw my strong show-off mentality through this person’s behavior. I often told other practitioners how much Fa I studied each day, how I insisted on doing the exercises every morning, and how many Dafa informational brochures I distributed each week. It seemed I wanted other practitioners to know how remarkable I was.
I often looked down on fellow practitioners. I thought I cultivated better than them because I diligently studied the Fa and did the three things. What was the difference between my behavior and this villager? When practitioners pointed out my shortcomings, I always found excuses and defended myself. I didn’t look inward. These were all manifestations of my ego.
I was able to measure myself against Dafa’s requirements through this person’s behavior. I looked inward, and only then did I find these attachments. I truly realized the seriousness of cultivation.
After I looked inward and identified my shortcomings, I no longer found that person irritable. When I met him again, he didn’t act that way. I knew it was because I removed my attachments of resentment, and the mentality of showing off.
I also realized many people still don’t know the truth about Dafa and how urgent it is to save them.
Everything we encounter happens for a reason, and is related to our cultivation. We have to measure ourselves with the Fa and be genuine disciples.
Thank you, Master, for your compassionate enlightenment!
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
