(Minghui.org) I don’t have much money but I feel spiritually rich, and I don’t worry about money. Practicing Dafa helps me understand the true meaning of life. I now understand cause and effect and maintain a calm, content mindset because what Dafa bestows me with is eternal fortune.

Taking money lightly does not mean giving it up. My family has had more income since 2004. With the help of other practitioners, my husband and I ran a small business with limited profits. We managed to accumulate some savings in the bank after three years.

I had a vivid dream one day. My family lived on the third floor of an old building, and I was looking down from a mountain slope. I did not understand what it meant. I heard that a practitioner planned to sell an apartment on the third floor of a building two days later. The building looked old and dilapidated and was built several dozen years ago. Two of the neighbors were practitioners. I thought it would be a convenient place to have group Fa-study, so we decided to buy it. My current apartment was on the first floor of a building, and an elderly practitioner couple wished to buy it. Thus, within a few days, three families finished closing the sales of these homes. The selling and buying process seemed prearranged. Less than two years later, the old building was torn down. We were compensated with two new apartments that required some additional costs.

My brother-in-law asked my work unit to allow me to return to work, and I went back to work. My family’s financial situation improved. Because of the type of work I was doing, I retired at age 45. My husband found a job too. We had some savings and decided to give 30,000 yuan ($4,356) to a Dafa project that raises awareness of the persecution.

Some practitioners in another locale were arrested last year. I donated 13,000 yuan ($1,888) to the efforts to secure the release of the practitioners. My husband and I had the lowest salaries in our area. My current pension is a little more than 2,500 yuan ($363) and my husband’s is just over 2,000 yuan ($290). We practice Dafa and save a lot of money because we don’t smoke, drink, gamble, or have medical expenses. I don’t deliberately save money; I simply set aside whatever is left over. If I need funds, I dip into my savings. My husband works in a technical trade and sometimes takes on odd jobs to earn some extra money. He has given 1000 yuan or 2000 yuan to Dafa projects. We don’t seek merit by donating money, we think of saving people.

Master said:

“In the future, Dafa disciples will see that everything Dafa disciples did was for their own sake. What are saved are their own sentient beings, what they’re consummating are their own paradises and sentient beings, and they’re establishing mighty virtue for themselves—all these things are done for Dafa disciples’ own sake. Not a single thing you’ve done is for Master, and not a single thing you’ve done is for anybody else.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume III)

I lead a frugal life. I eat simple foods, and I shop at discount stores for most of my clothes—usually spending around 100 yuan ($14.50). Occasionally, I might buy something slightly more expensive, but my only aim is to dress decently. I sometimes joke with other practitioners, “I feel uneasy if I spend more than 200 yuan on clothes.” Master has helped me overcome difficulties. I live well now and have a bit of savings. Tempered by hardships and the emotion of family ties, I have emerged stronger. I often find myself in a state of seeking nothing, free of concerns. It is as if the emotions, the beautiful scenery, and the allure of material wealth and money all lie far away from me.

I have been paying attention to studying the Fa, and have recited Zhuan Falun from memory four times. I also memorized Hong Yin and its subsequent volumes. I memorized some of Master’s articles, but forgot them after not reciting them for a while. Solid Fa-study and reciting the Fa has enabled me to pass tribulations. I always do the five exercises in the morning, and I participate in group Fa-study in the morning and evening. I also go with other practitioners to other areas to validate the Fa, and shoulder what I can.

The persecution has been ongoing for 26 years. Dafa practitioners use their own money to raise awareness and save sentient beings. Of course, practitioners with better financial conditions have contributed more. I estimate that I have contributed nearly 80,000 yuan to efforts to save sentient beings ($11,617) since the persecution began. This is a large amount for my family with our low income. But we gave it without hesitation because we made a vow to assist Master to save sentient beings.

Recalling my 28 years of cultivation, I have experienced highs and lows, and Master has suffered a lot for me. I appreciate Master beyond words.

Dafa makes me full of kind thoughts. I will walk on the journey of assisting Master to save sentient beings more steadfastly, and will help more people learn about Dafa. From giving 100 yuan initially to more than 10,000 yuan to Dafa projects, I know that all this was done for myself, as it was my prehistoric vow. Everything that I have is a Dafa resource.