My Understanding of Self-Interest

(Minghui.org) I have a new understanding of self-interest from a small matter that enlightened me.

Many fellow practitioners working on projects are now living together. My roommate suddenly turned on the light while I was sleeping one morning. She said she wanted to organize her luggage. I was woken up by the light, as just a little bit of brightness disturbs my sleep.

I was not pleased and murmured, "Can't you turn on the small lamp?" I felt that something was not right after saying it. I knew that my words were motivated by selfishness, although I was not clear about my exact attachment.

When I was studying the Fa later, I suddenly realized that the so-called self-interests are not limited to money and material things. The words “interest” and “benefit” appeared in my mind. Suddenly, I realized that “interest" can be understood as something that is good for oneself or convenient for oneself. "Benefit" can also be understood as something beneficial to oneself. When my roommate turned on the light, it affected my sleep. That is, doing something that was not good for me, then naturally it harmed my interests so I was not happy.

Of course, through this matter, I need to re-examine whether I need to let go of my interest to money and material things even further. Although my family is not that rich, I have donated money to support several projects to validate the Fa over the years. I have never taken advantage of others. When I purchased clothes for fellow practitioners, I did not profit a penny. I generously gave clothes to fellow practitioners experiencing financial difficulty. It was all my offering. I am very calm as I think about it.

However, when others, mainly fellow practitioners, seemingly took advantage of me, I found that I would feel it somewhat unfair. This shows that I am still very attached to my self-interest. Would cultivators in the past have felt it unfair when their interests were harmed? On the surface, it seems that fellow practitioners take advantage of me. Actually, they are helping me to get rid of the attachment of self-interest.

I realized that as a cultivator, not only do we need to take the interests of money and material things lightly, but we need to take any interests lightly as well. Regardless of whether we give something away or others offer us something, our heart should not be moved. This is truly taking self-interest and money lightly. Then we can become a life that is completely for others, and enter the new universe.