My Understanding of Borrowing Money Between Practitioners

(Minghui.org) Cultivation is serious, and I feel the relationship between Falun Dafa practitioners goes beyond everyday society’s friendship. Master asks us to cultivate true compassion instead of an ordinary person’s sentimentality, so we should measure our words and behavior with Dafa’s principles—do we long for the warm sentimentality in everyday society, or are we constantly improving?

Practitioners remind each other to follow the Fa (teachings) in our daily lives. When practitioners’ attachments, human notions, or sentimentality are exposed, various thoughts may surface that could interfere with our righteous thoughts. The old forces may use this to create barriers between us, and prevent us from working together or weaken our efforts to save people. When other practitioners do well, we should learn from them; when other practitioners have not done well, we should point it out. Otherwise, we are not responsible for them.

Master often tells us to read the teachings together. My understanding is that doing this will allow us to remind each other and help each other. If we consistently look outward instead of inward, assume we are superior, or resent those who provide feedback, how can we cultivate and improve? I think we should unconditionally examine ourselves when conflicts arise. This will help us identify and let go of our attachments, so we can meet the criteria and return with Master.

Some local practitioners casually borrow money from other practitioners. But the old forces could take advantage of this, and these practitioners may be harassed or arrested. Unfortunately, many local practitioners have not realized this.

Some practitioners borrow money from other practitioners so they can buy an apartment, pay for their children’s weddings, or pay off their children’s debts. I recently heard a practitioner borrowed money from several practitioners because his adult child is in a financial crisis. I think this is inappropriate because our money is Dafa’s resources. Other than paying for their basic expenses, most practitioners use their money to produce materials to help save people. From articles published on Minghui, we can see Master has set a good example for us when he first introduced Dafa in China, as well as his life overseas.

But some practitioners want to move from a small apartment to a bigger one, want their children to have a large wedding, or worry about their children’s debts. Because they cannot afford these things, they borrow money from other practitioners. By doing so, they are redirecting Dafa resources for their personal use without realizing it. Please think about this—when we borrow money from other practitioners, are we following Dafa’s teachings? Practitioners’ experiences were published on Minghui about the lessons they learned regarding this. We should let go of human notions and learn from others’ experiences.

The bottom line is, when a family has financial difficulty, even everyday people think about what caused it and adjust themselves—for example, they spend less and avoid unnecessary expenses. Practitioners should not borrow money from other practitioners to improve their lives. Instead, we should examine ourselves and see which attachments led to these problems. It could be greed, attachment to material interest, or strong sentimentality for our children.

Some practitioners have certain attachments, which cause long-term family issues. They casually borrow money from other practitioners, hoping to “solve” the problem. But aren’t we walking on a path to the divine? If we interfere with fellow practitioners’ cultivation or their efforts to save people, what tribulations have we brought to ourselves or our families? Plus, when this continues, it could be harder to correct the family environment, and if this repeats, it may even form a vicious cycle. The root cause is ourselves—our own attachments. Such practitioners are often harassed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. When this happens, they often attribute the reason to others instead of looking within. When other practitioners point this out, they refuse to accept it and even show resentment. This is very serious.

As practitioners, every step we take is serious. This is our cultivation, and we need to be strict with ourselves. Cultivation is sacred, and our path is narrow. Whether collaborating with other practitioners or helping save people, we should be considerate of others and have a higher standard for ourselves. Master has sacrificed tremendously for us, and we cannot fail. Please look within and make the best use of the remaining time.

These are my understandings. Please point out anything that’s inconsistent with Falun Dafa’s teachings.