(Minghui.org) I went to the mall one afternoon to buy a pair of shoes. Soon after I got home my uncle called. He said he urgently needed 3,000 yuan. He asked if I had it.
Let me tell you a bit about my uncle. He’s in his late 70s and his family struggles financially. His son is unemployed and stays at home. Although his daughter-in-law has a job, she never contributes money for living expenses, even though their daughter is in middle school. The family lives on my uncle and aunt’s retirement pensions.
My uncle was an engineer at a large shipyard. Later, to make more money, he left his job and went to a multi-level marketing (MLM) school in order to get into pyramid schemes. He only stopped after his family intervened. He’s very focused on profit and always thinks about how to make more money. Given his family’s current situation he’s even more desperate to find ways to make money. He knows I’m honest because I practice Falun Dafa so he came to me to borrow money.
China’s economy is not doing well, and it’s hard for ordinary people to borrow money from others because everyone knows that borrowed money is rarely paid back. I know my uncle’s desire for money so I told him I didn’t have my bankcard with me or have any money.
But after I hung up I regretted it. I thought, “Didn’t I lie? My bank card is right here. My behavior doesn’t align with the Fa!” Cultivation is very serious, there are no small things. I must hold myself to strict standards. But I already refused him, so how could I make it right? I called my brother and asked him what to do. My brother said, “Just tell Uncle you’ll give it to him in a few days.” I did just that.
Master said,
“There might be instances where something seems to be yours, and people might say so too, and you believe it is yours, when in fact it’s not and in the end it goes to someone else.” (The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I thought, “I firmly believe in Master, so let him have this money. If he doesn’t pay it back, it means I owe him.” At that moment I became calm. When a sudden situation like this comes up, how do I handle it? It’s like answering an exam question—my level is right there; that’s my score. I found my own attachments to profit, my lack of belief in Master and the Fa, my fear of being taken advantage of, my lack of tolerance, and my insufficient compassion.
Before this incident my uncle helped me pay my water, electricity, and gas bills online since I don’t use the WeChat application. During the month of Chinese New Year holiday he asked me for 300 yuan. Later, I calculated it and realized that I was only home for about ten days during the holiday, and there was no way I could have used 300 yuan worth of utilities. I realized he overcharged me for the bills he helped me pay. I felt cheated and resentful because I always respected and trusted my uncle. At the time, I felt that even my own relatives were deceptive, that you can’t be too careful. That morning, I was so negative that I didn’t even want to get up and do the exercises. Fortunately, I immediately realized that the negativity was my false self; my true self would not be negative and my negative thoughts disappeared. But I became quite cold toward my uncle and I didn’t want to interact with him.
Master said, “A wicked person is born of jealousy. Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.” (“Realms” in Essentials for Further Advancement )
When I read this passage of the Fa I felt I wasn’t that kind of person and Master was talking about someone else. I later realized it was about me, wasn’t it? My enlightenment quality is so poor! Thinking about it now makes me feel ashamed. Am I even worthy of being a Falun Dafa practitioner?
I came to the understanding that maybe I treated him this way in a past life and I’m now repaying a debt. In cultivation every person I meet who has a predestined relationship with me is here to help me cultivate and to help me succeed. I should be grateful. This situation came up for me to cultivate away my attachment to profit, my resentment, and to cultivate my compassion and expand my capacity. It’s to teach me to repay a grievance with virtue, to get rid of those dirty human attachments, and to walk out of humanness.
My uncle has long known that Dafa is good. If I don’t do well, he won’t see the beauty of Dafa in me. I must listen to Master’s words and treat my uncle with kindness. No matter how he treats me, I must cultivate myself well and always be compassionate so that my uncle can truly feel the beauty of Dafa from his heart and be saved by Dafa. This is how I validate the Fa.
When he came to my house I treated him with a kind heart as required by the Fa, and he was very happy.
I will listen to Master, and in the limited time we have left, I will do my best and return home with Master. I am grateful for Master’s compassionate salvation!
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Category: Cultivation Insights
