Take Virtue Seriously and Let Go of Past Resentments

(Clearwisdom.net) No matter what career we have, we should take virtue seriously and follow a high standard of business ethics. That is how things should be in human society, because taking virtue seriously and building up virtue is fundamental for a human being. The master of Falun Dafa, Li Hongzhi, told us in "Wealth with Virtue" in Essentials for Further Advancement,

"Virtue is accumulated in past lives. Becoming a king, an official, wealthy, or nobility all come from virtue. No virtue, no gain; the loss of virtue means the loss of everything. Thus, those who seek power and wealth must first accumulate virtue. By suffering hardships and doing good deeds one can accumulate virtue among the masses."

For a cultivator, virtue is the white substance that really exists. It brings good fortune for a person. The black karma that a person obtains when doing bad things brings him misfortune. Therefore, a teacher should follow teachers' ethics, a businessman should follow business ethics, a doctor should follow medical ethics, an official should follow his/her appropriate code of ethics, and so on. The following is a story of how the renowned doctor Mr. Wan Quan in the Ming Dynasty followed medical ethics and let go of hatred against others.

Mr. Wan Quan, also known as Quanren and Mizhai, was a well-respected doctor in the Ming Dynasty. He was born on Hongzhi 11^th Year (1498 A.D.) in present-day Luotian County in Hubei Province. Not only was he highly skilled in medicine, but he also followed a high medical ethic. He was caring and forgiving. When those who previously had conflicts with him were sick, he tried his best to cure their diseases, treating them as he would as any other patient.

Mr. Wan Quan had a conflict with his fellow townsman, Mr. Hu Yuanxi, when he was young. Mr. Hu's four-year-old son later had a difficult illness, coughing up blood. Over a period of eight months, Mr. Hu hired many doctors, but none of them could cure his son. Mr. Hu had no choice but to ask Mr. Wan for help.

Following the principles of saving others and letting go of past hatreds and issues, Mr. Wan started working on his son right away. After his diagnosis, Mr. Wan told Mr. Hu that he could cure his son's disease, but it would take a month. After five doses of Mr. Wan's medicine, Mr. Hu's son's symptoms drastically improved.

However, Mr. Hu Yuanxi was worried that Mr. Wan might not try his best to help his son because of their past troubles. He thought that one month was too long and that it showed that Mr. Wan did not really want to do it, so he switched to another doctor, Mr. Wan Shao.

Some people talked to Mr. Wan Quan and said, "Since Mr. Hu does not want you to treat his son, you should just leave him alone and not be bothered." But Mr. Wan Quan replied, "He has only one son. No one but I can cure his illness. If I leave, Mr. Hu will not come to me for help again. But then his son will be in danger. If his son dies, even though I did not kill him, I would still liable." So he said, "I need to stay here to see how the other doctors do. If they treat him properly, I will leave. But if they are doing something wrong, I will try my best to stop them. If I cannot stop them, then I will leave."

When Mr. Wan Quan saw Mr. Wan Shao's prescription, he knew it was not correct for the boy, who might be in danger if he took it, so he pointed this out. However, Wan Shao refused to listen and insisted that his prescription was correct. Mr. Wan Quan told Wan Shao in all seriousness, "I am not jealous of you. I am just concerned for the boy."

Seeing that nobody would take his advice, Mr. Wan Quan decided to leave. But he was still very concerned about the boy. Before his departure, he touched the boy's head softly and said to his father, "Let him take a small dose of the new medicine first. What will he do if his disease comes back?"

After taking a small cup of the medicine, the boy's symptoms returned even worse than before, exactly as Mr. Wan Quan had predicted. The boy cried, "Mr. Wan Quan's medicine was better. The new doctor tried to poison me."

Mr. Hu Yuanxi was very regretful and went to ask Mr. Wan Quan for his help again. Mr. Wan Quan did not let Mr. Hu's previous treatment and attitude disturb him. He told Mr. Hu, "If you had listened to me earlier, this would not have happened. Now if you really want me to treat your son, you need to trust me completely. Please give me a month and I will take care of him."

Mr. Hu Yuanxi gave his son to Mr. Wan Quan's care. It took only 17 days for the boy to completely recover. Mr. Hu's family was very grateful to Mr. Wan Quan.

October 1, 2007