(Minghui.org) I have practiced Falun Dafa for over 20 years, but I am still far from meeting Master’s expectations. I have many hidden, human attachments. For example, I am attached to self-interest, especially trivial material gains. I want to expose this attachment and eliminate it.

I went to the market to buy goose eggs in May 2020. It was very busy, and I was in a hurry. I noticed a woman selling goose eggs near the entrance, so I asked her how much they were. She said, “Three yuan each.” I said, “They are small. They aren’t worth three yuan.” She said, “There are some bigger ones.” “Well,” I said, “how many do you have?” She said, “26 eggs. That’s 78 yuan.” I bargained, “How about 75?” “That’s fine,” she said. I didn’t check the eggs and went to other vendors to buy more eggs. I bought 60 in all.

After I got home, I opened the packages of eggs and began transferring them to another box. I noticed the eggs I'd bought from the first vendor were much older than the others. The shells had yellowed. I thought that these eggs could be bad or unfertilized eggs. I checked one against the light. The yolk looked dark. I worried it might be rotten. I cracked it open. It was indeed black and rotten. I checked all 26 eggs against the light, and 12 of them looked bad.

I took those eggs back to the market the next morning to exchange them, but I couldn’t find that vendor. I asked a neighboring vendor why the woman wasn’t there. The vendor recognized me and said, “The eggs she sold you yesterday were unfertilized. She was afraid you would come back, so she didn’t come today.”

Another vendor said, “She tricked you. You should scold her.” I said, “Scolding doesn’t do any good. I practice Falun Dafa. Our Master teaches us to be kind to others and look within. It wasn’t entirely her fault. I argued that those eggs were small and paid her three yuan less than what she asked. If I had paid her the full amount, the situation might have been different. Anyway, it’s just a few dozen yuan. I don’t mind.” I wasn’t angry with her and went home.

When I got home I cracked open all the eggs that I'd thought were bad. It turned out that none of them were actually bad. It was amazing. If I hadn’t bargained, there wouldn’t have been a single bad egg. The hint was very clear that I should eliminate my attachment to trivial gains and self-interest.

Cultivation is a very serious matter. The eggs didn’t look like a big deal on the surface. But I treated it very seriously. I always thought I didn’t have the attachment to self-interest because I didn’t take advantage of others. But I was wrong.

I operate a small family-owned grocery store. Many customers bargain on the price. I usually let them name their own prices. Sometimes I only make a profit of 0.5 yuan on a case of premium cigarettes. Due to the location of the store, most of my customers are from out of town. I think they have predestined relationships with me and I should save them. My purpose is not to make money but to clarify the truth to them. I take money very lightly. 

However, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have an attachment to self-interest. My attachment was exposed through my experience with those goose eggs. I must eliminate this attachment as soon as possible and do well in cultivation.