(Minghui.org) My 80-year-old mother is a retired army officer. She lives with my divorced younger sister who is 50. They live in a single-family house in the countryside and take care of my sister’s child who is unable to attend school due to illnesses. Due to her frequent business trips, my sister is seldom home. Despite my mother’s disagreement, my sister decided to hire a housemaid to help with chores.
My mother is a Falun Dafa practitioner and abides by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She is considerate of others and looks for her own shortcomings during conflicts. Despite my mother’s disagreement about hiring a housemaid, my mother decided to go along with my sister’s decision so she could have peace of mind while she works.
My sister arranged for the housemaid to clean the house, shop for groceries, prepare meals and take the dogs out for walks. However, my mother’s daily routine was disrupted once the housemaid arrived. The housemaid was about sixty years old. She never received any education, was hot-tempered, and refused to listen to anyone. My mother, on the other hand, was well-educated and always did her work very carefully. She worked in the military’s education department for nearly her entire life. How could these two people with such different personalities get along?
My mother looked down on the housemaid. The housemaid did not know how to use electric appliances, broke many of our glasses and dishes, burned the wooden floor and furniture, and cooked bland meals. If my mother reprimanded her, she got upset and made excuses for herself.
These conflicts with the housemaid escalated and made my mother angry. Although she understood that Falun Dafa practitioners should endure, my mother could not bring herself to do it. She no longer smiled at the housemaid. Despite the unhappy atmosphere, my mother knew not to start an argument with her or make matters worse. She endured each day with a bitter face and felt uncomfortable.
My mother complained to me when I visited her. After observing her closely for a couple of days, I told my mother, “The housemaid is very honest and still has some Chinese traditional cultural values. She knew I was a guest and wanted to prepare some new dishes instead of eating the leftovers. She also politely talked to us and sat on a stool instead of sitting on the couch.”
My mother and I knew to abide by Master’s teachings. We needed to view conflicts as a reflection of our own attachments instead of pointing fingers at others. My mother came to the understanding that she always looked at our housemaid’s shortcomings but did not look at her good traits. Focusing on her shortcomings made my mother narrow-minded.
In reality, my mother’s own shortcomings were only gradually eliminated after she began practicing Falun Dafa. Then, how could she judge the housemaid when she was an ordinary person? My mother did not adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance during the conflicts between herself and the housemaid.
My mother admitted that when things around the house got busy, she didn’t have time to study the Fa. When an environment changes, it often means that one’s capacity needs to expand and that it’s time to take on greater challenges. This is how a Falun Dafa practitioner should conduct oneself! As a third party witnessing these conflicts, I realized it was time for me to upgrade myself by looking inward and reflecting on my own cultivation.
As cultivators, we should adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and not nit-pick at the housemaid. My mother began to take things lightly and the smile returned to her face after we discussed our cultivation experiences. She no longer reprimanded the housemaid and was considerate of her. My mother also volunteered to prepare meals and regarded the housemaid as her own daughter by caring for her and praising her.
The housemaid was amazed and had a doubtful expression upon seeing the changes in my mother.
In most families, housemaids quit or are fired when problems escalate. Such is not the case in our family. My mother has become more compassionate and the housemaid, who was not that good at expressing herself, kept praising my mother from the bottom of her heart, “You are a good person! You are a good person!”
I told mother that we should let the housemaid know that we are Falun Dafa practitioners and clarify the truth about the persecution of Dafa.
My mother started by telling the housemaid that one should be a better person by being truthful and compassionate, and be able to endure and tolerate things. She also asked her to say, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The housemaid agreed and was no longer doubtful of the sudden change of attitude in my mother. The housemaid was more relaxed around us and started to laugh and chat with my mother. The housemaid told us her mother passed away. She wanted to treat my mother as her own and call me “sister.”
When I went to visit them again, the housemaid prepared some of the best dishes. She also packed up the leftovers and told me to enjoy them when I returned home.
I went to visit them at the end of last year and told her, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and ever since I practiced Dafa, I did not need to take any medications for over 20 years. Dafa has changed me for the better and I am able to tolerate my husband’s bad temper. Falun Dafa promotes Truth-Compassion-Forbearance while the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) stands against those principles. They persecute Falun Dafa and Falun Dafa practitioners by doing forced live organ harvesting. One will be punished by the heavens if one follows the CCP.”
The housemaid listened attentively with her eyes wide open.
When I said that some people reported Falun Dafa practitioners to the authorities to gain fame and profit, she shook her head and said, “I wouldn’t do that!”
My mother called me a couple of days ago and said that she might have twisted her ankles while catching a bus. She began to worry about not being able to walk up the steps. On second thought, she said, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I will ask for Master’s protection.” She began to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” while riding the bus. She forgot all about her ankles when she got off the bus. The next day she realized that her ankles were no longer swollen nor red. She knew Master protected her and she told my housemaid about it. She reminded the housemaid with a sincere heart, “Please remember to recite the nine special words! It really works!” The housemaid was happy when she heard my mother’s ankles were fine.
I recently called to chat with my mother and she told me that the housemaid improved. She now does the household chores carefully, cooks better meals, and learned to do many other tasks around the house. They were very happy together. The housemaid started to dislike going back home because her daughter-in-law does not clean the house. She said that she prefers staying with my mother.
Both my mother and I knew that Dafa brought warmth, blessings, confidence, and happiness to the housemaid!