(Minghui.org) After I began to practice Falun Dafa I donated the gifts I had accepted when working for my former company to charity, and I stopped accepting gifts. When my workplace was allocating an apartment unit, I let other people take first pick.
When I am on a business trip, I keep my personal and company expenses apart. If I was treated by using company expenses, I either paid it back or found another way to compensate my company.
When my husband passed away in a car accident, the traffic police ordered the driver who hit him to give me 150,000 yuan as compensation. I thought “he lost his car as well as all of his valuable personal belongings that were in the car. Therefore, I don’t want anything from him.” This action spread among employees in the police department.
Alarmed by Attachments
I thought I had completely let go of self-interest but, during a recent Fa-study I realized that I hadn’t truly let it go. I still bargained with grocery sellers. I couldn't let it go if a coworker owed me and didn't pay me back. When I heard that the driver who killed my husband drives a Mercedes now, I felt unbalanced in my heart.
Though I live a very thrifty life, these thoughts still alarmed me and made me think. I was trying to give up personal interests, yet I still had a strong show-off mentality. I came to realize that with a strong attachment to validating myself, I had not truly let go of self-interest.
In cultivation, one cannot fake things and there are also no small things in cultivation. Small things demonstrate a cultivator's xinxing and realm. It was through the small things that I was able to see my attachment to self-interest, as well as my show-off mentality.
I came to realize I needed to get rid of these attachments. For example, when I was grocery shopping, I would only buy the product if it was on sale.
When I made a deal by bargaining, wouldn't I have to compensate the gain with virtue? If someone owes me money, didn't it happen for a reason? Why should I brag about what I gave for Dafa? Wasn’t it something that I obtained through Dafa cultivation?
It is because of Master's compassion and the mighty virtue of the Fa that I was able to let go of material benefits. I should feel grateful to Teacher, rather than show off. There is nothing to show off for a little piece of wood in front of a gallon of molten steel.
I hope practitioners can learn from my lesson and not neglect any small things in their cultivation. The “small things” truly display one's xinxing as well as a practitioner's realm.
Category: Improving Oneself
