(Clearwisdom.net) Yesterday, fellow practitioner Amy (pseudonym) joined our group Fa study again and shared her cultivation insights. The following is a collection of the stories she has shared with us.
First Story: A Telephone Bill Payment Lost and Recovered
One day Amy went to the phone company to pay her phone bill, but the next day her landline was terminated. When she inquired with the phone company, she was told it was because she had a delinquent balance of eight yuan. "But I paid the balance of 50 yuan yesterday," she said. She then showed them the receipt. After a long time, the staff still could not find her latest payment record. In the end, they told her, "Why don't you start a new account?" They meant she might as well ignore the delinquent balance of eight yuan.
Amy decided it was a test of her attachment to self-interest, so she explained to them, "I must follow my faith. I am a cultivator who must follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I will pay another 50 yuan in my existing account." Since her landline was restored, she makes calls, but has not received a bill for two months. This means the payment record of the 50 yuan must have somehow reappeared in her account.
A new fellow practitioner commented, "If I were you, I would insist that they find the payment record." A veteran fellow practitioner commented, "If the phone company told you to ignore the delinquent account, then you might as well." Fellow practitioner Bridget (pseudonym) commented, "That is how an everyday person reasons, not how a cultivator reasons. Amy upgraded her xinxing level when she let go of her self-interest." I thought, "I saw my attachment to self-interest through Amy. If she had not shared the story, I would have thought that I already let go of the attachment."
Second Story: Searching Inward After Taking Two Big Falls
One day Amy decided to travel to a village for an experience sharing gathering. Practitioner Adam (pseudonym) offered to give her a ride on his motorbike. Because Adam is a new driver, Amy didn't trust him. Adam then took Amy to Brandon (pseudonym) and asked Brandon to take her instead. Instead, Adam carried materials on his bike. When the three of them were about to take off, Brandon's wife asked him to take her to the paddies, so they decided to rendezvous at the paddies.
Despite a shaky ride, Adam managed to carry both Amy and the materials to the paddies. However, Brandon had already left before they got there. Amy had no choice but to trust Adam. They could see Brandon in front of them, but could never catch up with him. Finally Amy and Adam were about to cross a river. Amy wanted to use the foot bridge, which was too narrow for vehicles, and have Brandon cross the river on the bike under the bridge, which would slow them down a little. Adam challenged her, "Aren't you a divine being? Why are you afraid of riding on my bike?" Amy said, "You are right. I am a divine being. Let's cross the river." Finally they crossed the river, but they hit a mud bank as soon as they reached the other side, and Amy's foot got stuck in the mud. It took them a while to free her foot and continue the journey.
Finally, when they arrived at the host’s house, Amy took a big fall as she entered the door. The host explained, "The thresholds in the village houses are higher, so people from the cities are more likely to trip and fall." Amy turned and looked at the threshold. "It is higher," she said, trying to comfort herself.
Before she knew it, Amy took another big fall. This time she felt a lot of pain in her lower body. She also felt as though her ankles had been strained. She sat on the ground and wondered what went wrong, but she was at a loss. Brandon happened to arrive then. As soon as Amy saw Brandon, she became furious. She pointed her finger at him and shouted, "You lied! You promised to give me a ride, but you left!" She shocked herself. She realized that she had an attachment to fear and grievance, but she was determined to eliminate them. When she identified her attachment she felt some sort of fluid fly down her lower body to the ground. She then felt as good as new. It must have been Teacher eliminating the bad elements from her body.
Third Story: Eliminating the Attachment to Hygiene
One day Amy traveled to a destitute village for an experience-sharing gathering. The host, practitioner Cecilia, (pseudonym) was worried that Amy might not be able to cope with the harsh environment, but Amy promised that she would endure any hardships the village endures.
When Cecilia's husband returned from the paddies, he put his feet in a wash basin, which he used to wash his feet and face. Amy was shocked. She thought, "I am leaving at dawn tomorrow. I am never going to wash my face in the morning in that basin." The next morning, she fled from the village with an excuse. She knew she had an attachment to hygiene, and she was determined to eliminate it. She said to Teacher, "Teacher, you have arranged an opportunity to eliminate my attachment, but I fled from it. Next time I shall eliminate the attachment. Please give me another chance."
She again stayed overnight at Cecelia’s house. This time she saw Cecilia and her husband use the same wash basin to cleanse their feet and lower bodies. Moreover, they used the same towel they used to wipe their feet to cover the breakfast. They also used the foot towel to wrap pancakes and baked yams. This time she thought, "Teacher, I must eliminate my attachment today." She deliberately took the pancake that was in contact with the foot towel. When she ate the baked yam, Cecelia’s husband suggested that she might remove the yam skin. She replied, "I normally skip yam skin, but today I feel like eating yam skin." She was perfectly fine afterward. She managed to eliminate her attachment.
After Amy shared her story with Cecilia, Cecilia told her, "We use different wash basins for our faces, hands, and feet. We also use different towels for our hands and feet." It turned out she had misunderstood them. These misunderstandings were designed to eliminate her attachment.
Teacher said,
"Our practice has a focus and truly points out those attachments. By abandoning them, one will make very rapid progress in cultivation." (from Lecture Five of Zhuan Falun)
Amy's stories of cultivation helped us learn how to search inward. We felt we had fallen behind.
Bridget also shared a story. Her husband gave up practicing Falun Gong due to his fear of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His illness then returned, so he started buying a lot of supplements and over-the-counter drugs. He spent almost all of his wages on supplements and drugs.
Bridget used to control the finances, but she let go of the control after she started practicing Falun Gong. At first Bridget's husband would tell her where he kept the money. In the past year he stopped telling her. He also didn't tell her how much their son gave them for Chinese New Year. Bridget could not find any money when she needed it. One day her husband complained of a headache and asked to go see a doctor. This time Bridget scolded her husband, "You think I am easy to take advantage of because I practice Falun Gong! You changed the secret place for the money. You won't tell me how much money our son gave us for the Chinese New Year! You spend all the money on medicine! If you should need money, where will I find it?"
Teacher said,
"In cultivation practice, there may be two scenarios when dealing with specific conflicts or when others treat you badly. One is that you might have treated this person badly in your previous life. You feel in your heart that it is unfair, 'How can this person treat me like this?' Then why did you treat this person that way in the past? You might claim that you actually did not know it at that time, and this life has nothing to do with the other life. That does not work." (from Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun)
Bridget remembered that she was quite strict with her husband when she managed the finances. It is not a coincidence that he should do the same. “I am wrong. Teacher, please remove my attachment to belligerence. I do not want it."
Amy asked what else Bridget had done to resolve the conflict. Bridget said that her husband gave her the 5,000 yuan that their son had wired them from overseas and promised to stop buying drugs. He also promised to deposit 500 yuan of his wages into their joint account. Amy said, "See how much your husband has changed when you have only cultivated half way." We all looked confused at Amy. Amy explained, "Teacher said, '[...] matter and mind are one thing.' If I have only identified my attachment, but failed to eliminate it in action, then it will continue to exist and surface one day. If you apologize to your husband and admit you didn't behave like a cultivator, then you have cultivated all the way."
Afterward, fellow practitioner David (pseudonym) delivered a batch of blank DVDs that would be recorded with important facts about Falun Gong before we distributed them. I told David that Evan (pseudonym), who was in charge of burning DVDs, had found a job that would require him to work 12 hours a day. Therefore, he would no longer be able to burn DVDs. David asked, "Will he get a lot more money from working long hours?" "Yes, he needs money to pay for his son's wedding." [In East Asia, it is the groom's family who pays for the wedding.]
It suddenly occurred to me that I should tell David about a fellow practitioner's suggestion. "When you buy photo paper for DVD covers, buy single-sided paper. It is a waste of money to buy double-sided paper. I heard it costs twice as much. A fellow practitioner suggested that I use single-sided paper for DVD covers and leave the double-sided photo paper for printing [Falun Gong] calendars." David said, "I have already bought a batch of double-sided photo paper. Why don't you just use it. Besides, it is not expensive. It costs only 10 yuan per pack and 2 cents per sheet." Suddenly he sighed and said, "You... [Sigh] I will settle the balance after I make the next purchase." I replied, "I am not in a great hurry to settle the balance."
After David left, I finally realized David had looked upset. Perhaps he was worried about paying for his son's wedding as well. After all, his son had come of age. I then realized that I should search inward. I think I must have hurt his feelings when I suggested buying cheaper paper. He might have thought I was blaming him for over-spending. David is completely devoted to clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. His wife has been sentenced to more than ten years in prison. His son has difficulty finding a bride because he did not have enough money to pay the bridal money and for the wedding. All I did was pick, pick, pick. How could he not be offended?
I hadn't meant to accuse David of over-spending. I intended only to share a fellow practitioner's suggestion, which was to be economical when it comes to spending money donated by fellow practitioners to produce Falun Gong materials. We all know we should save money. No Falun Gong practitioner will be frivolous. I shall never allow anything to ruin our one-body. I shall apologize to David in his next visit. I must also thank him for his contribution. Although we all work tirelessly for the common goal of saving people, I should thank him for his contributions!
We had a wonderful experience-sharing gathering today. I have learned how to search inward. Isn't this what upgrading xinxing is about? I would like to thank Teacher for His compassion. He must have arranged for Amy to come and help me and others enlighten. Thank you Teacher! Thank you fellow practitioners!
Category: Improving Oneself
