[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] I Set Aside Self-interest and Place Others First Because I Practice Falun Dafa

(Minghui.org) I’m 65 years old and I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for 27 years. Throughout my cultivation journey Master Li has protected me and given me hints, and Dafa guided me. I’d like to tell you about my experiences of taking wealth lightly, and kindly dealing with others at work and at home.

Being Honest at Work

I sold underwear in a shopping mall. There were six underwear counters in the mall. The owner of my sales counter trusted me and never counted the goods, while the owners of the other counters counted goods once a month. We sales associates were paid a salary plus commission every month. When there were fractions in our payment, the owners rounded up. I always returned the extra money to the owner. He happily told the others, “Look, my sales associate does not want extra money.”

I did not change the record when I sold goods. I recorded the actual amount of money for the goods I sold. A woman came to my counter to buy some underwear and she wanted a certain color. I took out a good quality pair of underwear, and the price was 25 yuan. But the woman went to the counter next to mine to look at similar items. The sales associate sold her a pair for 38 yuan, but the quality was not as good as what I showed the woman. She bought it because she thought that a higher price meant a better quality item.

Before we left for the day, the other sales associate asked me, “How were your sales?” I said, “My sales were low, but you sold some underwear for 38 yuan.” She said, “Don’t say that. If the boss doesn’t see the sale in my record, what will happen?” I thought to myself, “You clearly sold it for 38 yuan.” I realized she didn’t record 38 yuan in the ledger. She wrote a smaller amount and pocketed the difference. Her boss later dismissed her.

If I lost any goods, I told the boss. One day, it was almost time for the mall to close. Some of the other associates went to the bathroom, and some went off to buy things. Only one associate and I were left at the sales counter. There were few customers in the store at that time, and one came to buy underwear. I took out two sets but she was not satisfied with them. I took out two more for her to choose. She chose one that she was satisfied with, and the others were piled on the counter. When I picked up the clothes on the counter, I found that one set was missing. At this time, the other associates came back. I said, “One set of underwear is gone.” Some sales associates said, “Don’t tell the boss.” I responded, “I must tell the boss.”

When the boss came I told him what happened. He said, “Forget it.” I said, “No, when you pay my salary, please deduct the amount.” He was very moved and said, “There are hardly any people like you now.” Seeing that I insisted on paying for the loss, the boss deducted the invoice price of that item from my salary. At that time, if we worked every day, we could earn 800 yuan per month. I only worked part time and my monthly payment plus commission was about 400 yuan.

Once, the boss’s mother was hospitalized and she was in the same ward as a policeman’s mother. The policeman and my boss were visiting their mothers and chatted. The topic of Falun Dafa came up. My boss said that Dafa practitioners were all good people. He told the policeman and the others about me and the above incident. Someone asked why he promoted Falun Dafa. My boss said that practitioners were really nice people and he wasn’t afraid to tell everyone. This happened during the peak of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, so it was amazing that my boss stood up for Falun Dafa.

My Extended Family

My husband is the fourth of six siblings, and has three older brothers and two younger sisters. We lived closest to my mother-in-law’s home. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, my mother-in-law and I didn’t talk or visit for two years. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I often gave them nice food and helped my mother-in-law with bathing. My mother-in-law often told relatives that I changed after I practiced Falun Dafa. I often reminded her to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” My mother-in-law truly believed that Dafa is good.

After my mother-in-law passed away at the age of 86, I cooked and delivered meals to my father-in-law every day. He tried to give me money, but I declined. I told him, “I am just following Dafa. Respecting the elderly is what we should do.” My father-in-law didn’t believe me and thought I wanted something from him.

He had money, but he was reluctant to spend it. Once, I cleaned the windows in my father-in-law’s house, but the window sash could not be moved because the pulleys were blocked. The screen and the outer frame were taped shut. I asked someone to replace the windows, install three screens, and change the pulleys. My father-in-law was afraid that I would ask him to pay, so he did not agree to the upgrades. I said I would pay for them. After the windows were fixed, my father-in-law was very happy.

I took my father-in-law’s clothes and bed covers and sheets home, washed them, and returned them. Once, he wanted some roasted eggplant, but I didn’t know how to cook it, so I made stewed eggplant. When I brought it to him, he said, “It’s not good.” So I went to the restaurant to buy what he wanted. He loves sweet and sour fish, so I often ordered it from the restaurant for him.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we overcame difficulties and took good care of my father-in-law. My older brother-in-law was touched and thanked us.

My father-in-law gradually realized that we treated him well. He told my husband, “I’ll give you the house.” My husband declined. My father-in-law then wanted to give us money. My husband declined that too and I told him we didn’t want anything from him.

My father-in-law was bedridden for six months after he became ill, and his five children discussed taking turns caring for him. Because one of his sons had had lung surgery, he was not assigned a shift. As for his two daughters, the older one worked seven shifts and stopped coming, and said she had a heart attack; the younger one worked a few shifts but also stopped coming. Instead she went on a group tour, took photos and posted them on social media. My father-in-law was very sad about that.

My oldest sister-in-law lived in her parents’ home after she got married. She didn’t return to her own home until her daughter went to junior high school. When her daughter went to college, my father-in-law paid for her daughter’s tuition, and she often asked my father-in-law for money. When his two daughters were hospitalized, my father-in-law paid the hospital bill. He also paid the premium for their insurance. His first daughter lost her job the year I did, and my father-in-law paid for her insurance for eleven years. When my father-in-law was sick and bedridden, they did not come take care of him. How could he not be sad?

Because of these issues, my husband had a lot of resentment towards his parents. At the beginning, when I delivered meals to the old couple, I bought vegetables, cooked them, and delivered the meals, but my husband never helped. I often told him, “What you do, good or bad, is watched by the divine. Good deeds will be rewarded and evil meets with retribution. This is the law of heaven.” This is the principle I realized in Dafa.

When my husband was about to retire he said, “Why don’t I feel sorry for my wife?” Inspired by Dafa he finally developed a kind heart. After he got off work before, he watched others play chess. After he retired, he took over the shopping, cooking, and delivering meals, and became the main person taking care of the elderly.

One day, my father-in-law gave my husband all the money he’d saved over the years and the house certificate, and told him not to tell anyone. When my husband told me, I said, “You have to tell the other siblings about it.” My husband said, “I’ll keep it first, and give it to them later.”

My father-in-law died at the age of 97. After the funeral, my husband told his other siblings about his father’s money and house certificate. After all the expenses were deducted, there was 560,000 yuan (US $77,702) left. I told my husband, “Let’s give up the inheritance rights. We don’t want the money or the house.” My husband said, “They won’t understand if you do this. Let’s not make special arrangements. Let’s divide it equally.” I said, “I won’t force you. If they want to give you more, you can’t take it. We took care of the elderly but not for money.” My husband agreed.

The siblings discussed the situation. The wives of my husband’s two brothers went along for the meeting, but I didn’t, because I’m a cultivator and I take money lightly. Someone suggested we be given an extra 10,000 yuan for taking care of my father-in-law. My husband said, “I didn’t take the money when father was alive, so I don’t want this 10,000 yuan either.” In the end, they divided it equally.

Afterwards, my second sister-in-law called my husband and said she wanted to break off relations with him because she didn’t get any more money and she was at a disadvantage compared to her sister. She also called the other brothers to break off relations, and the brothers were all upset.

After hearing this, I felt a little upset too. The past events kept coming back to me: How many clothes did I give you? Once, she said that a dress didn’t suit me so she wanted it. But it was a new dress my sister had bought for me. I said, “If you like it, you can take it.”

It was almost the Chinese New Year, and my daughter bought me a coat. My sister-in-law happened to come to my home; she liked the coat and wanted it. I said, “I’ll give it to you then.” She called my daughter and said, “Your aunt took it!” My daughter was so upset that she cried.

Every time my sister-in-law was hospitalized, I visited her and gave her money. Her brother and I took care of her parents for more than 20 years. We didn’t ask for extra money, but she not only didn’t thank us, but also wanted the family to sever ties with us. I thought, “I am a cultivator. I can’t behave like her.”

My father-in-law’s house was sold. My sister-in-law got 10,000 yuan more than the other siblings and felt satisfied. My husband’s elder brother thanked us for taking care of their father and not asking for money.

One of my neighbors said, “Your in-laws are lucky because you practice Dafa, do the right thing, and take personal interest lightly. Otherwise, your in-laws would fight like others. Dafa is truly great.”

I also gave up my inheritance rights for my mother’s house and transferred the house to my younger brother.

One day, my husband and daughter talked about my father-in-law’s family. My husband said, “Our family is okay. We didn’t call the police like other families did.” My daughter said, “Our family is okay because you and my mother didn’t argue and didn’t take any extra. Otherwise, they would have fought like hell.”

My husband said, “I’m very grateful to your mother for this.” I said, “Don’t thank me, thank Dafa. I can do this because I practice Dafa.”

Yes, Falun Dafa changed me. I follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I listen to Master’s teachings and treat people kindly. I am grateful for Master’s compassion and salvation!

(Selected submission in celebration of 2025 World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)