(Minghui.org) One of our local Falun Gong practitioners (referred to as A) was in her 60’s and was very healthy. However, she passed away at the end of September, 2014. She began vomiting at 2 a.m. and passed away at 5 a.m.
The other practitioners were shocked and everyone asked why? How could the situation deteriorate so quickly that A didn't even have time to ask for help or look within? What caused the old forces to persecute her so badly? Practitioner A did have attachments to her husband and son but it didn't seem like that would have been the reason she suddenly passed away. After we talked it over, everyone concluded that the reason she suddenly passed away was because she made a profit from selling incense to other practitioners, which greatly violated the principles of Dafa.
She sold incense for over a year but kept saying that she wasn't making any money on it.
Another practitioner had sold incense, but when some practitioners told her that making a profit from doing that wasn't right, she couldn't understand. Several days later she was arrested and imprisoned. After she was released she told practitioner A where she could buy incense. Practitioner A contacted the incense manufacturer and repeatedly bought hundreds of boxes of incense. Another practitioner gave her money to help her out, and that practitioner was also selling incense to other practitioners.
Practitioner A had many practitioners helping her sell incense. She gave each of them two cases of incense as a gift. Practitioner A said that the incense was produced in a practitioner’s factory. She said that some homeless practitioners worked for him, as well as the orphaned children of practitioners who had been persecuted to death. Practitioner A said that she was selling the incense to help pay to raise the orphans.
She also claimed that fellow practitioners went overseas to see Master and Master agreed with the selling of the incense. A said she wasn't making any money by selling incense and only earned enough for travel costs and telephone fees. Whenever practitioners went somewhere to send righteous thoughts, she would bring a written introduction about her incense to pass along to other practitioners.
Fellow practitioners trusted her and many of them bought the incense from her. Practitioner A also wrote some truth clarification words on currency. Several days before she passed away she complained that she lacked travel fees to make the truth clarification paper money bills. Some people prepared 500 yuan for her, but she passed away before she could get it.
No one knows how much money practitioner A made from selling incense. When the owner of the incense factory was contacted (he is also a practitioner), he told us the price of the incense. Based on his prices, we knew that A could earn 30-plus yuan by selling one pack of the most expensive incense. She would earn 10-plus yuan by selling one pack of the middle grade incense. By selling one pack of the lesser grade incense, A would earn five yuan, and could earn two yuan on the lowest grade incense. The factory owner said he did not have any orphans working for him and that he never went overseas to see Master, let alone getting Master’s permission.
One disciple asked Master in Master's Fa teaching,
“Disciple: Some practitioners got to know many Dafa disciples around the world via Dafa projects, and then started their own businesses. Should that be considered interfering with Dafa disciples?
Master: Yes. If you use Dafa’s resources to make money for yourself, then what you are doing is no different than persecution. You will realize this in the future. This form of interference depletes Dafa disciples’ resources. Resources are limited, and they are meant to be used for Fa-rectification and saving people. In the future, there will turn out to be serious consequences for this.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
The factory owner also said he had ten plus dealers in northeastern China and said that some were also Falun Gong practitioners. It's possible there are others like A, who are selling incense among Dafa practitioners to make money. These people are in a very dangerous situation if they don't quickly realize how serious this issue is. However, practitioner A’s death awakened another practitioner who was selling incense to practitioners and she could then correct her mistake.Master said:
“Those who are attached to money seek wealth and feign their cultivation. Undermining the practice and the Fa, they waste their lifetimes instead of cultivating Buddhahood.” (“Cultivators’ Avoidances” in Essentials For Further Advancement)
A's sudden death may have been the result of other reasons, but we really need to look within. Maybe we still have the attachment of pursuing interests that we need to let go of.
I personally feel that the attachment of sentimentality is still too strong between some practitioners. If we see someone doing something inappropriate, we should kindly point it out instead of hiding it, afraid of offending others.
Also, local fellow practitioners hadn't studied the Fa well and they didn't immediately realize that A was doing something wrong.
I wrote this article after discussing what happened with other practitioners. It's not my intention to blame practitioner A. I feel very bad about what happened to her. I hope that practitioners who read this article can remind each other about this issue. I also hope practitioners who are doing business will pay attention and walk on the right path. We should all try our best and study the Fa well. I welcome any feedback if I've said anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
