Practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in Daily Life

(Minghui.org) Recalling my path of cultivation over the past two decades as I assist Master in the Fa-rectification, I have been progressing steadily under his benevolent, constant protection, and enlightenment.

I am an introvert who is cautious in everything I do. I am not good at interacting with people and am a humble person, so I seldom interact with others. More than two decades ago, I accidentally heard someone say that there was a book called Zhuan Falun, which they said was very good. It teaches people to abide by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to be good people. The words “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance,” immediately touched me deeply. Since then, I have obtained the Fa.

A Test

I went through a test when I had just obtained the Fa. The company that I was working at was the first state-owned enterprise to go bankrupt in the city. To make a living, I got a job outside of the city. One day, while I was riding my bicycle to work, I saw a fifty yuan note on the ground. This was equivalent to a third of my monthly salary at the time. I was still renting a room and my child was in nursery school, so it would’ve been a lot of money for me. If I had not obtained the Fa, I would not let this chance go. At the time, although I had just obtained the Fa, the first thought that came into my mind was the principle about loss and gain in Zhuan Falun. As a result, I did not waver. Similar incidents occurred a few times after that.

I subsequently worked at a relative’s small company near my house. As there were only a few employees, we need to voluntarily help with all sorts of company matters such as the daily housekeeping in the office, customer reception, monthly company business and tax reports, cargo handling, etc. During my free time, I also voluntarily reached out to new customers so that the company could bring in more profit. During the process, there were also problems that the boss did not know how to resolve, and I actively helped think of ways to meet the customers in person and communicate with them.

The boss and his friend, Acheng, later collaborated on a business, and I independently completed all the jobs such as gathering samples, choosing samples, explaining the nature of the products to the customers, delivering the goods, issuing receipts, and all other trivial matters. After that, Acheng voluntarily told my boss, “We only got connected to get this business set up. All the work behind the scenes was being painfully completed by your employee alone. Let’s each give ten percent of our profits to your employee.” However, my boss immediately rejected the proposition. At the time, I was a little moved by that, but I later realized that this was a test of my attachment to personal gain.

The test then progressively escalated. There was a young employee at our company whose husband was a soldier stationed far away. She had to look after her child, and would often arrive late and leave early. When her child was ill, she had to take time off to look after the child. Not only that, she also took two months of leave to visit her husband every year. The number of days that she worked in a year was far less than others, however, her year-end bonus was the same as mine. She also found it unbelievable, and said to me, “You see, apart from the financial matters, you even cycle around to look for new customers, find materials sources, deliver goods, chase after debts, etc., for the company, but our salaries are about the same and the manager treats me much better than you. On top of that, you are his relative. This is really a little unfair to you. I really respect you. This is all because you’ve learned Dafa. If you were an ordinary person, you probably would have quit long ago.”

I knew this happened to me to see if I could let go of jealousy and personal gain at work. Through this matter, sentient beings also saw the demeanor of a true cultivator of Dafa after my xinxing improvement. Through this matter, this colleague who does not cultivate witnessed how Dafa improves peoples’ character, and how Dafa benefits society.

I often clarify the truth to customers and their friends during work. I explain to them how Master teaches people to be good based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I also talk about how to maintain compassion even when things don’t go your way, and how to treat all people with sincerity. I also discuss how to be more understanding and compromising to the people around us, and how we can be more inclusive when we let go of selfishness. All these people agree with Dafa’s principles and quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, choosing a bright future for themselves. Some of them told my boss, “This employee of yours is even better than you.”

Eliminating My Attachment to Sentimentality

After the start of the CCP’s persecution of Dafa, my family strongly opposed my cultivation, as they had been frightened by the Party’s past campaigns. They initially threatened to cut all family ties with me, and even said that they were going to tie me to a tree and drench me with cold water during the winter. When I watched them perform their drama, I was heartbroken. I knew deeply that my mother had gone through a lot of hardship to bring me up. However, how can a cultivator who has obtained the Fa be wavered by these mundane family relationships? I kept reciting Master’s poem:

“Confident and magnanimous,I rectify the colossal firmamentHuge is the adversity that accompanies meas I journey Heaven and EarthCredit and honor are not what is on my mindAs I rectify heaven, rectify earth, and rectify all livesTrue thoughts, a grand wish, a diamond-like willRecreate with one thought the enormity”(“In One Thought,”Hong Yin II)

On the surface, I was calm, and my heart was steadfast. I remained humble as I explained Master’s Fa principles on how to be a good person, and I exposed the CCP’s lies that were being broadcast on television. Everyone saw the physical and mental benefits that I had gained after practicing Dafa. My family had no choice but to acknowledge all that I had done, and this drama quickly passed.

Not long after that, my child had a problem with entering college due to the CCP’s implication policy in the persecution. My husband started to wreak havoc and smashed things, and the walls and floors were covered by food and fragments of our pots and pans. My husband said, “I see that you have no compassion. You are only cultivating for yourself. However, this concerns our child’s entire life, and his future. You are just selfish. You only think about yourself. If you insist on doing that, we should just get a divorce.”

I thought that with all the years I had been cultivating, I couldn’t let my husband have a negative view of Dafa. I said, “I am not wrong for abiding by Dafa’s principles. It is not that I am not compassionate, however, if you think that this is for your own good, I will agree to the divorce. However, this was never my intent and I do not agree with your thinking.”

In the end, he said, “If I didn’t think you were a good person, I would have divorced you long ago.”

Later at our child’s wedding, my husband sincerely told the more than 200 guests that he was very fortunate to have found a virtuous and gentle wife, and he still wants to be with me in his next life.

Dafa practitioners need to put themselves in others’ shoes when dealing with conflicts, or encountering a variety of grievances and pain in our daily lives. We need to be understanding and tolerant and reflect on ourselves to see where we did wrong and always remind ourselves that we are cultivators.

On the path of my future cultivation, I will continue to cultivate in a down-to-earth manner and make sure that my speech, actions, and thoughts are befitting of a cultivator. At the same time, I am grateful to all the people who have harmed me, as they helped me let go of notions and attachments formed in the mundane world when I met with conflicts or matters that went against my wishes, leading to improvement of my character. Walking through these tests with Dafa in my heart is the most profound gratitude I can show to our benevolent Master who has saved us!