(Minghui.org) In late spring of 2024, my neighbor suddenly fell ill with a strange condition. He spent his days in a vacant haze, only to become wildly agitated at night—shouting obscenities and banging on everything in sight, making a tremendous racket.
Just as you’d fall asleep, his outbursts would start up again. Sometimes it sounded so loud, like thunder; he’d cause a commotion every night, depriving all of us neighbors of any peace. Everyone had reached their limit. Some said he had a mental illness; others claimed he was just pretending to be crazy—there were all sorts of theories.
I Move Out
My neighbors are a lively couple in their 50s. We've always gotten along very well. Whenever I go downstairs, I take their trash bags down too, and I voluntarily clean the hallway during holidays. They're very respectful of me and always call me “Auntie” whenever we meet. It was truly unexpected that he contracted this odd illness.
As a culivator, I need a quiet environment, so this situation naturally disturbed me. What could I do? Ever since childhood, I’ve struggled with timidity. Whenever I encountered conflict or difficulty, I didn’t dare face it head-on and I avoided it.
In this situation, my old mindset took hold once again. I quickly found a place to stay and moved out, thinking that I would come back once the neighbor settled down. Otherwise, I would sell my apartment and buy another one elsewhere. And so I began making arrangements to sell my apartment.
Right after I moved out, I thought it was great; I could finally get a good night’s sleep, and there were no distractions when I studied the Fa or practiced the exercises.
But as time went on, I started to feel that something wasn’t quite right. I found it hard to truly absorb the Fa, and I couldn’t easily achieve a state of tranquility while meditating. I kept having dreams at night, and deep down, I always felt that this wasn’t home.
My rented place wasn’t too far from my home. Every three or five days, I went home, lit incense for Master, or replaced the fruit offerings. Every time I returned home, I felt a deep sense of warmth and familiarity. I came to realize: home was still the best place for me. Having Master’s portrait here feels just as comforting, because the energy field here was good. But my neighbor was still the same and caused trouble every day.
I stayed at the rented place for over two months to avoid my neighbor.
I Was Burned
One day, I cooked a pot of rice porridge in the kitchen using an electric rice cooker. Once it was done, I unplugged it, picked up the pot, and headed to the living room, ready to eat. Somehow, I tripped and fell, and the entire pot of porridge poured onto my legs. I cried out in pain as I hit the floor. The scalding porridge left large, painful blisters on my legs.
After tidying up the mess, I calmed down and looked inward: after nearly 30 years of practice, I had never stumbled so badly—there must be a major loophole in my cultivation. But where was it? I couldn’t figure it out.
At this point, I recalled my own realizations about cultivation: When I have a toothache, I check whether I have failed to cultivate my speech properly; once I identify the shortcoming and correct it, the toothache goes away. When I have a headache or feel dizzy, I examine my xinxing—did a particular situation stir my emotions or provoke my anger? By pinpointing the root cause and making the necessary adjustments, my condition usually improves.
As for the pain in my legs or feet, it may be that I have strayed from the correct path of cultivation—that there is something in my conduct not in line with the Fa. By reflecting on this and setting myself right, I often find it to be effective.
Having insight into cultivation is one thing; realizing what goes wrong in reality takes some soul-searching. Having scalded my legs so badly, could I have strayed from the correct path of cultivation? I had been consistently carrying out the three things—so where exactly was the loophole in my cultivation? I asked Master: “Your disciple truly fails to gain the necessary insight; Master, please enlighten me.”
I lay down to rest for a while, and soon drifted into a dream: a massive earthquake struck, and all the buildings in the entire city collapsed. People were standing among the rubble, talking in terror and looking utterly despondent—and I was among them.
Then I noticed one building was still standing tall. As I walked closer to take a look, I realized it was the very building I lived in. Moreover, a large protective cover surrounded the entire building. Clearly, my home—where I, a Dafa disciple, lived—was completely unscathed. Overcome with emotion, I woke up from the dream.
Returning Home
After this enlightening dream in which Master offered guidance, I realized I shouldn’t have moved out—let alone think about selling my home—because that is where my roots are. With that in mind, I acted immediately: I packed up my things and moved back home.
But my neighbor was still causing such a commotion—he hadn’t changed a bit. He had the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and everyone was complaining. Several families had gotten into fights and arguments with him. Two families had even moved away. What should I do?
I practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so I absolutely must not argue with others or lose my temper—these are the requirements Master has set for his disciples. I thought to myself: If all else fails, I’ll just have to send forth righteous thoughts.
Usually, no matter how much fuss he made, I pretended not to hear him. However, when I was studying the Fa or practicing the exercises, if he kept fussing and disrupted my cultivation, I’d have to resolve it with righteous thoughts.
I didn’t get angry; I just silently said: “Shut up”—three times in a row. In just a few seconds, he quieted down. Or I would say: “Stop” three times, and it worked also, allowing me to study the Fa and practice the exercises normally. I did that daily, over and over.
One day, he was causing a scene again, and I was getting a little annoyed. I thought to myself, “This can’t go on forever, can it? If he keeps this up, sooner or later someone will break down his door!” Sure enough, less than three days later, his door was smashed—I didn’t know who did it, but it was badly damaged. Things were quiet for a few days, but then the commotion started all over again.
I thought to myself, “Go ahead and make a scene! Who knows—maybe one of these days someone will break the window too.” Sure enough, a few days later, someone did smash the window.
A few days later, he was carrying on and hurling abuse just as usual—only this time, even more intensely. I thought to myself, “If this keeps up, sooner or later someone is going to smash him in the back of the head with a brick.” No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I realized: “No, no, no! I must retract that thought! Dafa disciples are here only to save people—we must not harbor any malicious thoughts!”
Within a few days, three middle school students got into a confrontation with this neighbor, threatening to “smash his head flat with a brick.” Fortunately, it was just talk; they didn't act on it. Listening from upstairs, I let out a long sigh of relief: “That was a close one! I did the right thing by retracting that thought.”
The Connotations of Forbearance
After this incident, I became more vigilant: every thought of a Dafa disciple carries energy. From then on, I paid closer attention, cultivated every thought and intention, and maintained the proper relationship between a Dafa disciple and an ordinary person. Whenever I encountered such perplexing situations, I had to cultivate something in myself!
With that in mind, I steeled myself and decided to cultivate “Forbearance!” From then on, whenever I studied the Fa or practiced the exercises, no matter how much he made a scene or yelled obscenities, I wouldn’t send forth righteous thoughts—I just pretended he was singing.
Master told us:
“To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” Essentials For Further Advancement)
Even if people outside were beating drums, I would still calm my mind and study the Fa well—I must cultivate this kind of steadfastness—I must overcome myself! As soon as this thought crossed my mind, my neighbor seemed to go mute that very day; he stopped making a commotion. Only then did I realize: He was actually helping me cultivate!
Closing Remarks
It’s been over a year since then, and he’s only caused a disturbance three times. One time was in the middle of the night: after he woke me, I turned on my bedside lamp to check the time—it was exactly 11:55 p.m., the time for the daily global sending of righteous thoughts. I sat up to send righteous thoughts, and he immediately quieted down.
Another time, it was 3 a.m. When I looked at my watch, I knew it was time to get up and do the exercises. When I got up, he became quiet.
Also, a couple of days ago, while I was writing this sharing article for the Fa conference, some women downstairs were chatting away, making quite a racket. Just as I started to feel a bit annoyed, the neighbor opened his window and began shouting at them—he chased those women off, and then went completely quiet himself.
It’s actually quite strange; jokingly, it’s as if this neighbor has become a “guardian of the Fa,” helping me with my cultivation.
I have come to realize that all of this—every bit of it—was actually arranged for the sake of this Dafa disciple. As for my poor neighbor, I really can’t hold any grudges against him anymore.
Cultivation is truly profound and incredibly wondrous—beyond words! Take, for instance, the “odd illness” that befell my neighbor; if we were to view this as a play, might there be a play within a play, and even more unfolding beyond it?
In reality, Master controls everything. Fellow practitioners, let us cultivate genuinely and earnestly! Only by reaching higher levels can one realize that Dafa is truly unfathomable and beyond reach—it is, in every sense, infinitely precious!
Thank you, compassionate and great Master!Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Selected submission for the 23rd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)
