(Minghui.org) There are many things yet to be explained by modern science. Our understanding of the universe is still very elementary. Whether it is a pandemic of a novel coronavirus or a world crisis, things may appear to be beyond our control, yet miracles can happen when we keep our thoughts righteous and kind.
One Thought Makes All the Difference
There was a man named Yuan Zishi who lived in Shandong Province during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 A.D.). He once lent 300 pieces of silver to a friend who traveled south to Fujian Province and landed a lucrative position in the local government. A few years later, war broke out in Shandong Province. Yuan lost all his fortune and fled with his family to Fujian Province to find his friend.
But his friend denied that he had ever borrowed money from him. Destitute and with no hope of ever being repaid, Yuan begged his friend to lend him some money so that he and his family could get through the Chinese New Year. His friend promised to loan him some money on New Year's Eve, but he never did.
Full of rage, Yuan found a knife and sharpened it all night long. At dawn, he walked to his friend's house, knife in hand. A Taoist monk in front of a temple saw Yuan passing by. The monk's celestial eye was open and could see things in other dimensions. He saw Yuan was being followed by menacing demons holding swords and knives.
A short while later, Yuan came back and passed by the monk again. This time, he was followed by divine beings with gold crowns and jade accessories. They carried flags and looked pleased.
Dumbfounded by the transformation, the monk approached Yuan and asked where he had been. Yuan confessed that he had planned to kill his treacherous friend but had a change of heart when he reached his door. He thought, “He has an elderly mother and a wife. If I kill him, his family will suffer the same miserable fate as mine. I have already tasted that struggle. How can I subject others to the same misery?” So he gave up the thought of revenge and headed home.
The monk congratulated Yuan, saying, “You are bound to be blessed with good fortune. Divine beings already know about your change of heart.” Soon, Yuan's fortune indeed turned around. He also learned that everything that had happened to him was the result of his deeds from the previous life.
As people say, “Bad thoughts will attract wicked demons and kind thoughts will attract divine beings. The laws of Heaven are just.”
The Good Fortune of a Police Station Director
There is another story from recent times of a newly-appointed director of a police station in China. Being new at the job, the man worked very hard to show his competence and spared no effort in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in order to gain political recognition.
In a little over six months, the director was indeed recognized by his superior for his efforts in persecuting Falun Gong, and he was honored in an awards ceremony. Just as he was feeling pleased with himself and looking forward to a promotion, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was devastated and in despair.
He then remembered what some Falun Gong practitioners had told him: “It is a heavenly rule that good deeds will be rewarded and vile deeds will be punished,” and, “It is a crime to persecute Falun Gong.” He wondered if he was being punished for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
One evening, he went back to his office and took home some Falun Gong books and booklets he had confiscated. He read them carefully. The more he read, the more he realized that Falun Gong was good, and the more he regretted what he had done.
In the run-up to his surgery, he watched Falun Gong informational videos whenever possible. He even asked local practitioners to explain things to him that he didn't understand.
People at work started to notice that he’d changed. When someone reported a Falun Gong practitioner, the director pretended not to hear. When asked to send a police car to arrest Falun Gong practitioners, he would say, “Where am I going to find a car? Don't make trouble for yourself, let them go.” He returned money that had been extorted from practitioners and used his connections to help an elderly practitioner get medical parole instead of being sent to prison. He did many such things.
Gradually, the director noticed that his chronic stomachache had gone away. His appetite returned and so did his strength. When he went back to the hospital for a pre-op exam, he was told that he had recovered from stomach cancer. He exclaimed, “One is blessed by knowing the truth! I am lucky that it was not too late for me, or else my life would have been over!”
There is a saying, “The appearance stems from the mind, the environment changes according to the heart.” Many people may feel anxious, scared, resentful, or hopeless in the face of natural disasters or human calamities. Such emotions are normal, but they don’t help much under such circumstances. On the contrary, those strong emotions might cloud our judgment and make the situation worse.
In today's world, knowing that “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” may just be what we need to get through the troubles we face.
Category: Perspective
