(Minghui.org) I wanted to get my driver's license last spring, and I needed to pass the driving test. In order to get through it easily, I asked one of my fellow Falun Dafa practitioners to be my driving coach. She agreed to do it the following Sunday afternoon.
I had a vivid dream that Sunday morning. I dreamed that she and I were arrested and detained. That dream was so real that I knew it must have been a prediction. I had previously had dreams about being arrested. After I woke up, I sent righteous thoughts to get rid of the interference.
However, this time the dream was so real that I could not calm down after I woke up. I looked within but failed to find the reason. I still met with that practitioner later that day for my driving instruction. I came home safely that evening, so I forgot about the dream.
I made an appointment with that practitioner again for the next Sunday to continue the training. She had some Dafa materials in the trunk of the car, which she planned to deliver to other practitioners before teaching me to drive. This time we were arrested. The scene and our behavior were exactly the same as in the dream. I was very regretful but still did not figure out the reason for our being detained.
We were both quickly released, but one of my USB flash drives was confiscated and had not been returned. I did not miss any work due to the incident, so I thought that maybe that fellow practitioner and I did not have any big shortcomings.
I obtained my driver's license. One day I found that my car needed maintenance. An elderly fellow practitioner knew a mechanic whose prices were reasonable. The practitioner said that they were on very friendly terms. I asked that practitioner to take me there. The practitioner warm-heartedly showed me the way, and even stayed at the garage for a while. It cost him nearly a whole afternoon because it was far away from his home.
I planned to thank that practitioner later, but for various reasons, I didn't do it. That practitioner said I did not respect him since I did not say anything after he helped me. He taught me a lesson in front of his family members. He was really mad and did not want to talk to me anymore.
I thought that this was because of my lack of courtesy. Actually I was trying to pay a thank-you visit to him but was blocked by some invisible force.
One day I suddenly realized that I had unconsciously taken advantage of Dafa when dealing with these trivial matters. Those two incidents were not arranged by Master. They were my own pursuit of self interest.
The next time my car needed work, I found a mechanic nearby. After my car was fixed, I helped the manager and three of their staff members to quit the Chinese Communist Party. They were grateful, and waved good-bye again and again. From this experience, it reminded me that when I had taken advantage of my fellow practitioners the last time, I had also lost a good opportunity to awaken the people I needed to save.
During cultivation, practitioners may treat each other closer than our own family members. We can easily confuse our relationships with other practitioners. The relationship among practitioners is neither friends nor family, but only fellow practitioners. It was through Falun Dafa that we got to know each other.
We can only ask for fellow practitioners' help for the purposes of cultivation or Fa-rectification. We should not use fellow practitioners' time to help us with personal matters. It may seem trivial, but actually it is very serious. Master told us,
“There have also been cases where someone didn’t take some minor things seriously in his cultivation, and they turned into major problems.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)
After I realized my problem, I remembered the USB flash drive taken away by the police that belonged to a fellow practitioner. She is wealthy and had several USB flash drives and one of them was not being used. I asked if I could have it for my job. We knew each other well, so she happily gave it to me.
When I was arrested by the police, only the flash drive was take away and the other truth clarification materials that I had they did not find. On the surface, it was because I had recorded some truth-clarifying materials onto the flash drive and forgot to delete it. The real reason was that I used my fellow practitioner’s property for my personal work, rather than Dafa work.
I was really shocked after I clearly understood this issue. Cultivation of Dafa is very serious because the old forces are watching each and every one of our thoughts. The relationship among practitioners has to be only for cultivation and not for matters among ordinary people. It is okay for our relatives and friends to help us with personal things; but not for our fellow practitioners. Fellow practitioners do not have this obligation.
There is another situation that I mishandled. Our local coordinator considered that my whole family relies on my salary, so she took out 2,000 yuan that had been donated by fellow practitioners, and gave it to me to make truth-clarification materials. My financial situation was not bad, so I refused. She insisted that I take it, so I finally agreed.
After I took the money, I recorded each amount that I used for making truth materials to avoid accidentally using it for my personal expenses. I wanted to make sure every bit was used for a Dafa project. But since I lost some money in my daily life I ended up using some of that to make it up. Afterwards, I realized I should not have taken the practitioners' money and finally returned the whole amount to the fellow practitioner. Shortly after that, I got a project outside of my city, and received a big monetary award when it was finished.
My fellow practitioners gave me money to work on Dafa projects, and on the surface, it didn't appear to be wrong, but it was wrong to accept it. Why? Because I have the ability to make a living and support my family; plus I had a lot of savings. Although this year the economy was not so good, my family was not much affected. We still enjoyed a good life. I still had the ability to financially contribute to Dafa projects, so how could I accept money from fellow practitioners?
This seemingly trivial thing is actually not a small matter, but it was overlooked at first. My lesson was big enough to make me realize how serious our cultivation is. I hope my experience is also helpful to my fellow practitioners.
Category: Improving Oneself
