(Minghui.org) The tenant renting my house called to inform me that he wouldn’t renew the lease when it expired in mid-April this year. However, three days later, a neighbor called and said, “You’d better come and take a look. The tenant is tearing everything apart inside your house. He’s using a sledgehammer and cutting something apart with a torch.” My neighbor also asked me not to let the tenant know who told me. I thought, “There shouldn’t be that much in there that he could take apart.” But I decided to go and see for myself.
I was stunned when I arrived. The tenant had torn the place apart, leaving it a complete mess. People were using torches to dismantle the paint booth, cutting through the metal, piece by piece. This paint booth had been built by a previous tenant more than 10 years ago. We agreed that he would remove the existing interior fixtures, build a paint booth, and leave it for me when he moved out. It had cost more than 10,000 yuan to build, using steel tubing, insulation panels, steel plates, and sheet metal, all secured to the concrete floor.
When I arrived, the tenant was nowhere to be found. I immediately told the workers to stop. The man cutting the metal protested, “No, I can’t stop. I paid to collect this metal.” I replied, “This is my property. You can’t dismantle it. Whoever you paid, go ask him for your money back.”
In fact, the man doing the dismantling knew that the property was mine—he was also a neighbor and had been running a scrap business for more than 30 years. The booth was valuable as scrap. I told him, “You know this belongs to me. The tenant can’t just dismantle my property and sell it.” After a lengthy conversation, he reluctantly told his workers to stop.
After some time, the tenant returned. I asked him, “Why are you dismantling my property?” He said, “I’m taking it apart. You didn’t build it yourself anyway.” Everyone in the repair business knew that my property had been rented out continuously, and they knew the tenants who rented it over the years.
At the time, I kept reminding myself that I’m a practitioner and I should not argue with others. So I remained calm and reasoned with him. I said, “This paint booth has been here for more than 10 years, while you’ve only rented the property for three years. You should return the property in the same condition it was in when you moved in.”But he kept repeating: “You didn’t build it, so I’m taking it apart and selling it.” I replied, “Even if I didn’t build it, it still belongs to me. After it was built, you’ve been the fourth tenant to rent the property. Who built it has nothing to do with you.” No matter how much I tried to reason with him, he kept saying, “I’m taking it apart.”
A crowd gathered to watch. At that point, it wasn’t just my attachment to personal interest that I couldn’t let go of—I also felt humiliated and I couldn’t overcome the loss of face. I thought, “My husband has passed away, so isn’t he taking advantage of me because I’m a woman?” All kinds of thoughts went through my mind. “Isn’t this simply someone taking my property by force?” I turned to an onlooker nearby and asked, “What should I do?” He said, “Call the police.” So I did.
The police station was just over 100 meters away, so the officers arrived promptly. After hearing what happened, one officer said to me, “You didn’t build it yourself, so you need to provide evidence that it belongs to you.”
I replied, “This has been on my property for more than 10 years, while he has only rented my house for three years. If you want me to provide evidence, then ask him to provide evidence that he has any connection to the paint booth.”
The first officer remained silent. It was clear that he was taking the tenant’s side. Another officer said, “Isn’t this your house? Just lock the door.” I explained that the lease wouldn’t expire for another 10 days or so. The officer then said, “Take pictures as evidence. Otherwise, once everything has been dismantled, you won’t have any evidence if you decide to take legal action.”
I understood his implication. I had no intention of going to court, but his words were clearly meant to frighten the tenant, so I followed his suggestion and began taking photographs. When the officer who sided with the tenant noticed I was taking photos, he said, “This is a civil dispute. We can’t handle it. You’ll have to go to court.” With that, the officers left.
On my way home, my mind raced with thoughts about what to do next—whom I should contact, or whether I should go directly to the head of the Public Security Bureau. I thought: “Someone is taking my property right out from under me, and the police are even siding with him. Maybe I should file a complaint against the officers too.” I had already contacted the person who built the paint booth, and he said, “What does he have to do with it? Why does he have the right to dismantle it?” He offered to testify for me. After I got home, I kept thinking about what I should do.
After sending righteous thoughts at 6 p.m., many of Master’s teachings came to mind—the part about loss and gain, as well as letting go of the attachment to personal interest. I reminded myself, “I”m a cultivator. Something this serious and seemingly so unreasonable must have happened for a reason. Something that cost more than 10,000 yuan to build has been destroyed. But for a cultivator, everything we encounter has a reason behind it.” With that realization, I decided to let the matter go.
A neighbor later told me an elderly parent of the tenant was sick and bedridden, and that his two children were also ill, one of whom had just undergone surgery. I thought, “Well, forget it. I won’t pursue this anymore. Perhaps this was a debt from a previous lifetime, and this was a chance for me to repay what I owed. It would be great if I could pay off what I owed him. It didn’t matter if the neighbors laughed at me, or I suffered a financial loss.”
For a Falun Dafa practitioner, aren’t these all good things? This is also a good opportunity to eliminate my attachment to personal interest. All things that happen to a Dafa disciple are good. What does a cultivator really want? Isn’t it all about understanding the principle of loss and gain? I calmly let the whole matter go. Once I truly let go, my heart felt so light.
Thank you, Master, for teaching me about predestined relationships and the principles of the Fa. If I were not a cultivator, I can’t imagine what the consequences might have been. How fortunate it is that Dafa practitioners have Master’s protection and guidance! There’s no attachment that we cannot let go of. As long as we have faith in Master and the Fa and remain diligent, we will surely be able to follow Master home. Thank you, Master, for saving me!
Category: Cultivation Insights
