(Minghui.org) I returned to work in June after my year-long maternity leave. I was assigned to a new department with new responsibilities. I had to work overtime and had a difficult time adjusting. When I got home every day I was busy with housework and my new baby. My cultivation state has not been ideal.
I originally planned to ask my supervisor to adjust my assignment. But it would cause problems for supervisors and other colleagues. I decided to overcome this difficulty with the mentality of a cultivator. Fortunately, studying and memorizing the Fa together online with a fellow practitioner helped me significantly.
The other practitioner is also of the working class. Her son is close to four years old. My daughter is nearly a year and a half years old. Because we were both busy with work and home life, we were not in a good cultivation state. We decided to memorize Zhuan Falun together. At first, she was having a difficult time and progress was slow. I encouraged her. Later, she had a breakthrough and could often recite it quicker than me. Many times, the content of the Fa we memorized that day was exactly the predicament I was encountering at the moment. I am grateful to Master for enlightening me with his teachings.
Let Go of Attachment to Family Ties and Join Group Fa Study
I dreamed that I was in a classroom, and my desk was covered with stickers. Suddenly, the stickers disappeared. Then someone took me to the back door of the school, opened the iron door, and told me that I could leave. But I didn’t want to go out, and I felt like I wouldn’t be able to come back. Then I woke up. I realized that the stickers were sticky, which meant that I was diligent in my practice. When the stickers disappeared, it meant that I had let go of my practice. Walking out of school meant that if I didn’t cherish the opportunity to practice, I would be screened out.
I realized I should go to a face-to-face group Fa study site. I made plans to go to a Fa study site, but the next day when I was at work, I suddenly missed my daughter very much. I had a very heart-wrenching feeling. I hesitated whether to go to the group Fa study in the evening or go home to spend time with my child. I recognized it as interference. I went that night to Fa study and felt great both physically and mentally afterward.
Fellow practitioners told me that there was also a group Fa memorization on Fridays. Prior to going there, I had the same heart-wrenching feeling. I remembered an article on the Minghui website that the police brought the child to a fellow practitioner in prison, trying to use the family ties to make the practitioner give up his practice. The practitioner was determined and refused to renounce his faith. He believed that his child was under the care of Master. The perseverance of the fellow practitioner inspired my righteous thoughts.
While memorizing the Fa with fellow practitioners, I discovered two attachments. One was my obsession with buying clothes online. Many of my old clothes didn’t fit and I needed to wear formal clothes at work. So I often spent a lot of time browsing clothing websites on my mobile phone. It reflected my human attachments such as lust, showoff mentality, and obsession with self-expression. Another was my desire to relax during the holidays, taking my child out to play, and planning a fun time. This is the attachment to comfort, pleasure, and seeking a better life. I tried my best to suppress those human thoughts and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them.
Correct Mentality and Posture When Studying the Fa
Master said,
“Every word in my book is a Falun when it’s seen from a low level, and every word is a Law Body of mine when it’s seen at a high level—even the component parts are individual ones. It’s also different from other books when you’re reading out loud with your mouth. Many people have already developed pretty good gong through cultivation, and even the words that they read out loud have images, what comes out of their mouths are all Falun. In other words, our book is not an ordinary book. Of course, people whose levels aren’t yet adequate still can’t do this. Enabling you to read the book and study the Fa is itself improving you, because we emphasize xinxing cultivation, and having a rational understanding improves a person in and of itself.” (“Suggestions Given at the Beijing Falun Dafa Assistants’ Meeting,” Further Discussions on Falun Dafa)
Master’s teachings made me realize that as long as we study the Fa attentively, even if we don’t understand all the Fa principles, we are still improving.
When I study the Fa, I tell myself to have a respectful heart, sit up straight, and hold the book respectfully. My current state of studying the Fa has improved a lot.
Memorizing the Fa Helps Me Maintain My Character During Tests
Memorizing the Fa helped me control my human thoughts better. I am able to recognize and reject them and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them.
At work, I realized that much of a colleague’s work was assigned to me. I thought it was because she was disabled. But when I saw her playing on her mobile phone while I was overwhelmed with work, I became irritated. I felt resentment and jealousy emerge. I even had the thought of reporting to my supervisor to reassign my work. Then I adjusted my mind and thought that I might have hurt her in my previous life, and Master used this method to help me eliminate karma and improve my character. Gradually, these bad thoughts faded away, and my work efficiency improved.
One time a customer called and scolded me for nearly half an hour. Because I work for an electric power company, I need to call customers when their electric fares are adjusted. But I couldn’t reach some of the customers. So I wrote letters and attached them to the back of their bills to explain the price adjustment. One of the customers happened to be a retired executive of the company. He used a lot of derogatory language to insult me, which hurt a lot at the moment. I told myself that it must be Master giving me the opportunity to improve my xinxing. He was giving me virtue, which was a good thing. In the end, I expressed my gratitude for his guidance.
After hanging up the phone, I had the urge to vent. But I realized that it would cause speech karma. So I read the sharing articles on the Minghui website and was enlightened that we should view things from the opposite side in the human world. I felt better.
I searched within and asked why it happened. I realized that because I was recently praised by my manager and section chief, my superiors had a good impression of me. I became more arrogant and developed attachments to fame and fortune, the showoff mentality, and the desire to prove myself.
A junior supervisor gave me some suggestions for my letter the day before. Although I politely thanked her, I didn’t want to change at all. I felt that my letter was well written. When I was scolded by the customer, I felt that I lost face and was embarrassed. I realized that only when I wrote from the standpoint of helping customers understand the situation, would they accept it with no problem. After looking inward, I no longer felt discouraged.
Conclusion
The temptations in this world can easily distract practitioners. Master’s teachings and fellow practitioners’ sharings are always inspiring. I am still far from meeting Master’s requirements, but I will continue to work hard, cultivate myself, and go home with Master.
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Category: Improving Oneself
