Dafa Cleansed Me and Taught Me to Treat Others with Kindness

(Minghui.org) I am a teacher at a primary school which is located in a village. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I was just like most other ordinary people. I was being swept along by the torrent of a fast moral decline, placing great emphasis on material interests, envying the wealthy lives of others, and dreaming of getting rich overnight. When I obtained a little bit, I felt overjoyed. Even if I picked up one cent from the ground, I would feel excited. I sought all opportunities to satisfy my desire for monetary gains.

I remember the year before I obtained the Fa—1996, there were two primary school textbooks that formed a set. The price that was printed on the books was for the whole set, not just for one of the books. After discussing with the other teacher, who taught the same class, we collected the textbook money by treating that price as the price for one book. That means that we collected double of the actual cost. However, not only did I not feel guilty about such a shameless act, I was even smug about it, thinking that since others could do it, why couldn’t I? My conscience had long been lost in this materialistic social environment.

Fortunately, I started practicing Falun Dafa in May 1997. I learned that a person’s fame and gains in life are all determined by one’s fate, and returning to our original, true selves is the true purpose of life. Master taught us to follow the Dafa principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance at all times. We must treat others with kindness, and be considerate in whatever we do. We must also place less emphasis on fame and gains, as “virtue” is the most precious thing. Dafa awakened my true nature and changed my understanding of the world, especially my notion about monetary gains. I wanted to go against the flow!

At Work

At work, the first thing that I had to do was to return to the students the extra textbook fees that I had collected from them. However, I wondered how would I do this? The teacher that collected the money with me was an ordinary person, and I had just started cultivating. I was still a new practitioner, so I felt somewhat lost and helpless in the face of such an issue. Nonetheless I had a righteous thought in my heart, “I must return the money!” After giving some thought to the issue, I employed a method that did not involve anyone else. I found a proper reason to return every bit of the money back to the students. After completing this task, I felt at ease. I was sure that I had truly started cultivating! Although the Chinese regime started the awful suppression on July 20, 1999, I still did not forget Master’s teaching, which maintained my compassion.

Before the persecution was launched I was nominated as a role model every year. After the start of the persecution, I was no longer able to earn any honor due to persisting with my cultivation. However, I did not place emphasis on that, because fame and gain were just temporary things. I just thought about how to shape myself based on Dafa. I agreed to teach the messy and unpopular classes that no one else wanted to take, and I helped out without any hesitation if anyone asked for help. When the school had group tasks, I was the first to register for it. After class, I also provided free tutoring for the students with poor grades. Apart from teaching, I also helped the school with other extra work. These tasks were usually paid work in the other schools, but I did not ask for any rewards no matter how much I did.

One girl in the school was from another city. For over a year, she cried every day and was unwilling to study. Her guardian (actually her grandmother) tried all sorts of ways to encourage her, but to no avail. When she was transferred to my class, she seemed to be a changed person, as she would come and go happily every day. Her grandmother transferred money to me through the school principal as a form of gratitude, but I did not accept any of it.

When there were benefits for every teacher, I let others choose the ones they wanted first. There was one time when the rewards were short by one share, and they did not know how to resolve this issue. The principal was worried because no matter who he gave it to, someone would be unhappy. Some suggested drawing lots, while some suggested distributing according to the class results. However, there was one teacher who had just been transferred over from a foreign school, so there were no results. It was also quite a shame for him to be transferred away by another school. If he even had to watch everyone get a reward while he got none, he would be so sad. So I did not think further and told the principal resolutely, “I’ll give up my share!” The principal sighed in relief and was touched, “We are lucky to have such a good person like you. Thank you! Thank you!”

After that, a teacher who stood up for me, complained, “Why don’t you wait until you receive the reward before you give it up? Who will appreciate you for what you have done?” I smiled calmly and replied, “I don’t pursue the gratitude from others. I am fine as long as they are happy!”

In the Family

I also try my best to abide by the Fa in my family life. According to our local traditions, every year there is a time when everyone pays respect to their ancestors. The brothers receive the sisters who return to their maternal homes for the ceremony, and the brothers usually take turns receiving them. My husband has an older brother and a sister. When I see that his brother’s family is very busy with their farming, I voluntarily receive my sister-in-law, such that his brother almost never has to worry about receiving their sister for the past few years.

When I went back to my maternal family one year to pay my respect to the ancestors, I happened to do so on the same day as my husband’s family. As my maternal family is from this village, I returned immediately after the ceremony. My mother-in-law passed away last year and she is the last elderly person to pass away in the family.

During the past few years, we did not let my husband’s family fork out a single cent for my mother-in-law’s hospital and medical bills. Whatever she needed, we fulfilled it without telling anyone. There was one year when I helped my mother-in-law wash her blanket and mattress, and she told others that I exchanged her cotton blanket with a poor quality one. However, I did not take it to heart. A year later my husband’s sister said that my mother-in-law was confused and was mistaken about the blanket.

After my mother-in-law’s demise, we received 40,000 yuan of inheritance. My husband discussed the issue with me, “Both of us have our pensions, while my bother and sister have been farming all these years and their recent harvest was truly bad. As they grow older, their health is getting worse. Once they can no longer do labor work, they will have no more income. We should forgo this inheritance and give it to them.” Hearing that, I readily agreed. With Dafa’s guidance, my family did not really have any conflicts.

When I go to the supermarket to shop, the shop owner has miscalculated the sum more than once. Every time he gives me extra change, I return it to him. One year, I bought a pair of cotton pants for my mother-in-law from an online store. But when the package arrived, there were two pairs in it. I talked to customer service and paid them for the extra pair of pants.

Falun Dafa is a highly virtuous practice that hasn’t been seen in an eternity. Its principles are so profound beyond our imagination, and refreshing. They cleanse our souls. When I start talking about my experience over these more than 20 years of cultivation, there is so much to talk about that I can’t stop talking.

This sharing only touched on how I changed my understanding about monetary gains, and it has already transformed me. It is Master Li Hongzhi who scooped me up from the filth of the world and cleansed me! This is Dafa’s mighty virtue and Master’s salvation. I want to praise Dafa and Master to the whole world!