(Minghui.org) I came into contact with Falun Dafa in 2009 when I was 21 years old. But I didn’t study the Fa much, nor did I know how to cultivate myself. I only occasionally clarified the truth to people. Since 2021, I’ve realized the importance of studying the Fa and cultivating my character (or xinxing). I want to report to Master Li and share with fellow practitioners the changes in my family after cultivating solidly for three years.
Changes in My Husband
My relationship with my husband was far from harmonious. He was a truck driver and typically spent half the year at home and the other half working. Eventually, he bought his own truck, but he didn’t put much effort into his work. While out on the road, he gambled playing poker, betting hundreds or even thousands of yuan each time. As a result, he rarely brought any money home.
He was later involved in a driving accident because he was too tired. Fortunately, Master protected him, but it cost him a lot of money. Following the accident, he sold his truck and did not look for another job. I often asked him why he didn’t try to find another job. He replied that he would only work if someone offered him a position.
I told him that he was acting like a big shot and that he didn’t care about family matters or the children. Because I didn’t cultivate myself, I didn’t know how to handle this situation. I often said to my husband, “I want a divorce!”
I rented a stall to sell street food, but I didn’t work hard. I would go out whenever I wanted, so my business naturally struggled. I didn’t make much money, but I was good at spending it. That was in addition to my husband’s accident and the fact that my father-in-law was sick, which left us heavily in debt.
Several Dafa practitioners reached out to me and told me about their experience of looking inward. I gradually became aware of my own issues and realized that I had never tried to eliminate my attachments or cultivate myself before.
The first big attachment I struggled with was lust. A practitioner contacted me without paying attention to safety. Following that, I dreamed that the police came to my home, and I found myself worrying all the time that they were monitoring my phone. I was terrified the police would catch me at any moment.
I shared my worries with other practitioners. One practitioner reminded me to look inward and work on getting rid of the attachment of fear. She pointed out many problems that could not be solved solely through human methods or by focusing on superficial safety measures and said we should actively get rid of the attachment to fear.
Another practitioner casually mentioned that the attachment to lust could be the underlying cause of my fear. After I returned home, I focused on removing my attachment to lust. By the third day, I no longer felt afraid, and the signs of danger had disappeared.
After I let go of lust, I noticed a big change in my mood. I used to feel confused, burdened by our huge debts, and I could not see any hope for the future. But after learning to look inward, I started to become optimistic, and my heart filled with hope. During this time, I also let go of the negative feelings I had about my husband.
That year, my husband found a job as a courier, and he has done that for over three years now. This is a much more demanding job than driving a truck. In the past, he would not have been able to endure such hardship. Many of his relatives find it astonishing that he’s been able to hold onto this job for so long.
Our relationship has also improved. We used to regularly threaten each other with divorce, but now we get along very well. My husband has even started to take care of some family matters.
I attribute this positive change to my practice of Falun Dafa. Dafa has changed me, and my husband has changed as well.
My Husband Is Contacted for More Deliveries
A fellow practitioner often sent parcels via express delivery and had a long-term relationship with a particular courier. When my husband became an express delivery courier, I told this practitioner that my husband could help her at a lower price.
I later realized I had exploited Dafa’s integrity to make money for myself. The usual courier should have earned that money, but I unfairly took the work from him by using my relationship with the practitioner to benefit my husband. That was taking things that did not belong to me and capitalizing on my relationship with a fellow practitioner.
After I told this practitioner that she should use her previous courier to send parcels in the future, my husband was contacted to make more deliveries, more than making up for losing her business.
An Unexpected Job Offer
After I had been cultivating diligently for about a year, I was able to pay off a significant amount of high-interest online loans. These loan companies often deducted money from my bank account without explanation. The deductions did not apply to the loan, leaving me confused about their purpose. On one occasion, about three thousand dollars was deducted from my account without warning, almost making me cry.
While I was paying off the loans, my job transitioned from physical work to office work, and it felt magical. This change was a blessing from Master. One morning, I dreamed that I was dressed like a professional. That afternoon, someone asked me if I would be willing to work for her. From then on, I had a job that didn’t require long hours and paid more than I had earned from my stall in the market.
I used to be afraid to talk to strangers in the new work environment, but I can now interact with them easily. I have become more cheerful, and I have let go of many attachments like saving face, fame, timidity, and feelings of inferiority. I have become more generous and open-minded.
Letting Go of Looking Down on My Mother-In-Law
My husband has an older brother. After my father-in-law passed away, his brother didn’t want my mother-in-law to live with him. They were considering sending her to a nursing home since she had complications from a stroke. But my mother-in-law’s sister didn’t agree to this. My mother-in-law fell not long after she was on her own, so she came to live with us. I took care of her for an entire winter.
I had a negative impression of her at first. I thought she was unclean because she didn’t wash her hands after using the toilet. She didn’t change her underwear for a long time, and her feet were peeling due to athlete’s foot. She also smoked and left burn holes in the mattress. I realized it was wrong to look down on her, so I worked hard to cultivate my xinxing.
After my mother-in-law moved to her home in the countryside, I no longer looked down on her. We became very close, and she affectionately called me by my nickname. She even told everyone that she felt comfortable and at ease with me around.
On the day she left my home, I looked at the dirty little towel she left behind, and I still felt disgusted. In order to get rid of this thought, I deliberately washed her dirty towel with my clothes. That night, as I did the exercises, I felt Master’s blessing. I told fellow practitioners, “If we make a little progress in cultivation, Master will reward us greatly.”
My mother-in-law went back to her hometown in the summer. When winter came, she began experiencing incontinence, which often resulted in her staining her pants and mattress. I felt resentful when I washed her soiled clothes and linens. However, I recognized that I needed to overcome my aversion to filth as part of my cultivation.
One time, after she had an accident, I realized that she didn’t want this to happen either. So I washed her clothes with a calm heart. Remarkably, after that, my mother-in-law was miraculously no longer incontinent.
My mother-in-law has been staying in my home for a long time and repeatedly annoys me in various ways. She is not easy to please and is very picky about food. I realized that, as I became more frustrated with her picky eating, she became more demanding, and I didn’t put much effort into cooking for her.
When I was very upset, I also resented my brother-in-law and his wife for never offering to take his mother for a few days to give me a break. Additionally, they never contributed to her living expenses. Despite being in debt, we have fully supported my mother-in-law.
I’ve been through many trials with my mother-in-law but, recently, all these negative feelings have faded away, and I no longer fault my brother-in-law and his wife. My mother-in-law and I now live in harmony.
I have not done well in helping Master to save people. I can only go out occasionally to distribute truth clarification materials. But I plan to do my best to save more people in the future.
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Category: Improving Oneself
