(Clearwisdom.net) I asked, “When?” He replied, “A short while ago.” My first question was, “Was the computer stolen?” The computer was the most valuable thing in the house. He replied, “Your daughter-in-law's platinum ring and gold necklace were stolen.”
I was certain that this incident was meant to stop me from going to the experience sharing conference. It intended to pressure me to return home. I turned off my cell phone immediately to stop any further messages from interfering with me.
I returned home in the afternoon. Some practitioners from outside the village were talking with my daughter-in-law, who was crying. I said instantly, “Don't cry! I will give you 1,000 yuan when your father-in-law comes back.” My husband works in a coal mine and comes home for holidays. My daughter-in-law smiled through her tears.
The issue was settled, but whenever I saw the guy who stole the ring and necklace, I would make a long face at him. No matter how I looked at him, I felt really angry. I thought I was a practitioner so nothing was accidental. I associated it with a story I had once heard. There was a thief who broke into almost every house in the village and stole many things, but he never broke into the home of the richest family. Later the thief was arrested. The county official who interrogated him asked, “Why didn't you burglarize the richest family's home?” The thief said, “Yes, I did want to break into that home and steal, but there were gods in golden armor standing on the ridge of the roof, so I could not get in.” The reason for that was that this family always helped others, so their home was protected by gods.
I thought, “I am a practitioner and have the protection of Teacher's law body. Besides, I also have the protection of the guardian gods of the Fa. Then why had things been stolen from my home? There must be cultivation issues, because everything happens for a reason for a cultivator.”
About a month later, when reading one of Teacher's new articles at a practitioner's home in another village, something Teacher said touched a chord in my mind. Teacher said:
“This especially holds true in the Fa-rectification period, where all of the cosmos’s beings, both positive and negative, want to be saved. And that includes even the unimaginably massive gods at the highest of planes, as well as, notably, the sentient beings of their worlds. It is because of this that they have managed to have a presence in the human world, and in the Three Realms. Could they forgo this once-in-eons opportunity to be saved? 'You have to save me'—they all utter this, imploring to be saved. But the way this comes across is not what one would expect by using the kind of reasoning and comprehension found in the human world, such as how you must be courteous and humble when asking for help—'As you are here to save me, I must first express my gratitude toward you, and I will do my part to make it easier'—it’s nothing like that. As they see it, 'If you are to save me, you have to reach my level first, and you must have this measure of mighty virtue before you can save me. Without such mighty virtue, without having reached my stature, how could you save me?' So they would have you trip and fall, suffer, and eliminate your attachments, after which, with your mighty virtue having been established, you will have cultivated to that level and be able to save them. That’s how they want to have it.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”)
Teacher also said:
"But in reality, what human society takes to be truths are, from the perspective of the cosmos, inversions of truth; when humans go through hardship and suffer it is so that they may pay off karma and thereby have happiness in the future. ("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be")
From this Fa principle I enlightened that the divine beings at higher levels were waiting for me to elevate to a higher level before saving them, so what else was there that I could not let go of? No matter how big the tribulation was, I really did not care. At that moment I felt warm in my heart and very comfortable. I knew Teacher had helped me remove some bad substance. After that, I let go of my hatred of the thief.
One day after returning home from a fellow practitioner's home, I found the stolen articles in my yard. The thief had thrown a box over the wall. My daughter-in-law opened the box and found everything was there, nothing missing.
There was another incident that helped me let go of the attachment to personal gain, admittedly a heart-wrenching matter.
An elderly practitioner who lived in my village needed more living space. Since he was still deeply immersed in sentimentality, because he had many sons and grandsons, he was always looking for more space to built a bigger house. He was the grandfather, and he wanted to support his sons and grandsons. He bought residential land to built a house for his second grandson. The piece of land was adjacent to mine and mine was in the rear. He wanted to buy my piece of land, but my family was unwilling to sell. To force us to sell the land, he laid the foundation at the entrance leading toward my land, attempting to block the exit to my land.
I was so worried that I cried. I asked my husband what to do. He said, “File a lawsuit.” I thought that such conflict among practitioners should not be taken to court. If I tried to resolve the issue via a lawsuit, how would other people look at Dafa and my fellow practitioner? No matter what, he still represented Dafa. Suddenly a sentence of the Fa came to my mind,
“When one is attached to nothing, the path underfoot is naturally smooth.” (“Unimpeded” from Hong Yin II)
I asked myself how the issue could possibly become smooth, because it had already escalated and I was on the losing side. Although I said this with disgruntlement, I did look within, which was a heart-wrenching process. I also tried to take the stand, “If you want to take it, show me your resolve.” Gradually, I enlightened to another Fa principle. Teacher said,
“Real Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference” from Guiding the Voyage)
Since we must be responsible for all righteous elements, we must correct all that is discordant. As practitioners we are the role models for future generations, so we can't let people say that a practitioner blocked or cut off other people's right of way. I put out of my mind the thoughts of whether we would sell or not sell the land.
After having enlightened to the Fa principle,
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
the practitioner demolished the foundation and no longer closed off the right of way to my land.
After finishing writing this article, I felt very relaxed and happy. The feeling I experienced was beyond description.
Thank you, Teacher, for helping me eliminate attachments and giving me the opportunity to speak what was in my heart.
Category: Improving Oneself
