(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners live among and with people who don't practice Dafa. Therefore, when our personal cultivation is lacking and we do not pay attention to cultivating our thoughts, we might act just like a non-practitioner.

Several days ago, the school where I work required teachers to submit a teaching plan. An elderly colleague asked me to prepare one for him, so I gave him an electronic copy of the semester lesson plan. Before he handed in this lesson plan, he asked me to organize it for him according to the hours in the work day, which was giving him a complete teaching plan ready to hand in.

This request brought out negative thoughts in me. I thought, since the salary for a lesson plan is given according to the class time spent on it, wouldn't this be like me doing the work, but him getting paid for it? I was not happy about it, but, because I am a cultivator, I prepared the plan for him anyway.

Shortly afterward, several colleagues were talking about the lesson plans. Because I didn’t think to rein in my indignant thoughts and hadn't gotten rid of them earlier, I interjected, “Not only did Mr. Zou ask me for a teaching plan for the whole semester, he also asked me to organize it according to the work day. This is like me preparing a good meal, and then throwing it away.”

After I heard my colleague reply in a squeaky voice, I realized how wrong I was. Wasn’t this belittling Mr. Zou and elevating myself? Resentment, accusation, and jealousy are not only words, they refer to many common attachments. Was I behaving like a cultivator? The ancients advised: “Do not boast about your own strengths nor expose others’ shortcomings.” Weren't my words even less than what an ordinary person would see as appropriate?

This incident also reminded me how, at present, Dafa practitioners use various methods to clarify the truth in different environments, and validate Dafa. The identities of practitioners have also been mostly made public. Then, Dafa practitioners are not only the focus of gods and Buddhas, but also examples on the big stage that is this world.

People are assessing Dafa through the actions of practitioners. Therefore, I must pay attention to my own actions, and not bring a negative impact on Dafa through my words and deeds.