Corrupt Attachments Exposed During Pandemic Lockdown

(Minghui.org) The COVID pandemic showed up suddenly, and our residential subdivision was locked down overnight without having the opportunity to be prepared. Two things happened at the time. It was a shame that I didn’t handle them like a practitioner. I hope my sharing can help fellow practitioners to look within if they have the same attachments.

Panic Buy

All residents were forbidden to leave their apartment buildings during the lockdown. My son and daughter-in-law couldn’t go to work, and my granddaughter couldn’t go to school. The vegetables we had in the refrigerator helped us survive the first few days. Then, my son joined a chat group where you could buy vegetables online. Variety and quantity were limited, but we didn’t go hungry.

The problem was the lack of potatoes because everyone in our family likes them. I thought about potatoes every time I cooked, and I told myself to buy a big bag of potatoes as soon as one became available, so I could keep enough potatoes in stock.

The gate of our apartment building was opened after it was closed for over a month. People could go out of their apartment buildings and move around inside the subdivision. One afternoon, I heard that someone was selling vegetables on the ground floor of the apartment building to the west of us. I hurried there and saw several people buying produce through a window. 

I bought a five kilogram-bag of potatoes, big and fresh. I was very satisfied and began to wonder if I should call some friends, or buy some fresh vegetables for them. I didn’t make any phone calls in the end as we were not allowed to go outside of our subdivision. Instead, I bought another five kilograms of potatoes in case I needed it.

My son wanted some other things so I went back to the produce seller again. A long line of people formed from the window. I saw many people were disappointed that potatoes were sold out. I felt uncomfortable when a woman sighed that she only wanted some potatoes but she was too late.

Afterward, I looked within at why I felt uncomfortable. First I found greed. Supply was limited during the lockdown, but I purchased two bags of potatoes. It was a fair trade according to everyday people’s principles, but it wasn’t what a Dafa practitioner should do. The problem was the intention to buy more and satisfy my own need before others. Had I bought one bag less, another family could have a potato dish on their table. Besides, I couldn’t eat that many potatoes for a while, and I would have the opportunity to buy them again.

Second, I found qing. At one time, I wanted to bring some fresh produce to this friend and that acquaintance. On the surface, it seemed that I had other people in my heart and I thought of others, but it was “qing.” The hidden selfish thought was that I would pay back some favors or earn some favors.

A Bag of Instant Noodle

We had a few packs of instant noodles in the pantry and they became something precious during the lockdown. Sometimes I was hungry at noon and thought of eating one bag, but I always suppressed the desire and kept the noodles for my children. One day, a young man in our building put a message in the chat group begging for a bag of instant noodles along with a drooling emoji. My son immediately granted his wish, put a bag of noodles in the elevator, and pushed the button to the young man’s floor. My heart felt a sting at that moment.

Had he begged me for a bag of noodles, I would have given it to him, but reluctantly, because I had to battle my heart first. I saw selfishness in me again.

There is no trivial matter in cultivation practice. These seemingly trivial things in life exposed qing, selfishness, and greed, which reflected the problem in my cultivation. Since these corrupt attachments were exposed, besides feeling disappointed in myself, and admitting my mistakes to Master Li (Dafa’s founder), it was time to get rid of them.