It Seemed I Was Helping a Fellow Practitioner But I Was the One Being Helped

(Minghui.org) I’m in my 70s and I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for 28 years. Master Li has been watching over and protecting me every step of my cultivation journey. I’d like to share a recent incident that compelled me to look inward and examine myself. Please kindly point out anything improper.

It was after the Chinese New Year, and I was delivering truth-clarification materials to other practitioners. When I arrived at Fang’s home, she asked, “Could you help find someone to study the Fa with me every day? My cultivation state hasn’t been good and my vision has become blurry.”

Fang is 88 years old and is a retired school teacher. She used to host a Fa study group at her home, but was left by herself after one practitioner passed away and another moved out of town to care for an elderly family member. I immediately agreed to help her.

I then went to Lin’s home. After I told her about Fang’s request, Lin and I adjusted our daily routines and began going to Fang’s home after dinner to study the Fa and do the exercises.

Lin and I are neighbors and we began practicing Falun Dafa on the same day. We’ve gotten along so well over the years that we’re like sisters. One day, when Lin wasn’t there, Fang said to me gently, “We need to pay attention to our tone. Isn’t it wrong to speak harshly to others? Can we truly complete our cultivation like that?” I was too embarrassed to say anything in response.

I realized I’d been speaking to Lin casually and often criticized her, saying, “Master taught us to be, ‘...full of great aspirations while minding minor details.’ (“Sage” in Essentials For Further Advancement) So why are you always so careless?”

Lin often responded saying that she understood my point, but couldn’t I say it nicely, as my tone was unpleasant.

I thought, “I’ve pointed this out to you so many times, and you’re picking on my tone instead of addressing the issue.” Now I realize I was the problem.

Lin was careless about some trivial things, but she had many outstanding qualities, including being extremely steadfast in her belief in Dafa.

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa, she, a veteran CCP member of more than 30 years, firmly chose Dafa over the CCP and publicly quit the CCP at a Party conference hosted by the neighborhood committee. This happened before the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published. This wasn’t something anyone could do without deep faith in Master and Dafa.

She was also great at letting go of fame and personal interests. After her mother-in-law passed away, she invited her father-in-law to live with her family until he passed away 10 years later. During those 10 years, none of her husband’s eight siblings contributed a penny, and in fact, they enjoyed her hospitality while visiting their father. Relatives and neighbors were impressed by her selflessness and generosity.

I have fallen far behind in this regard. I should not always focus on her small flaws. Isn’t this simply a manifestation of Party culture?

What right do I have to yell at my fellow practitioner? Doesn’t this clearly show that I still have strong elements of Party culture? Besides, now we are cultivating and studying the same Fa in this human world, once we complete cultivation and are in charge of our own celestial bodies, the chance for us to meet again will be extremely slim. Why don’t I cherish this time spent with my fellow practitioner?

With the old forces watching practitioners closely and looking for loopholes to persecute us, hasn’t my disrespect toward my fellow practitioner saddened Master and pleased the evil? This means I have in effect joined forces with the old forces! The thought gave me a cold sweat. Taking this opportunity, I’d like to sincerely apologize to Lin, “I’m sorry.”

On the surface, I was helping Fang, but in reality, I’m the one who benefited!

In my understanding, benevolent Master has been watching over me and enlightening me at every moment. Seeing that I could not see my own faults Master arranged for me to connect with Fang and used her to wake me up, revealing my deeply hidden attachments of aggressive speech, overbearing behavior, competitiveness, and showing off. These were reminders to remove these attachments and improve.

I will keep Master’s teachings close to my heart and treat everyone with compassion. I will strive to disintegrate any interference, save sentient beings, and walk the path Master arranged for me.

Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!