Changing My Notions and Cultivating To Be Altruistic

(Minghui.org) I understood from studying Master Li’s teachings that the requirements for Falun Dafa practitioners was to break away from the selfish nature of the old cosmos and reach the selfless state of the new cosmos. However, for someone like me who used to be very selfish, cultivating like this was extremely difficult. No matter what I did, I would notice my thoughts becoming selfish.

Master enlightened me with the help of another practitioner. The foundation of everything I do must be altruistic. I made this shift in perspective my cultivation goal, diligently searching within to identify any selfish thoughts and slowly rectifying them little by little. I would like to share my recent cultivation experiences in this regard.

Eliminating Selfishness in My Day-to-Day Life

My father-in-law is 92 years old, and my mother-in-law is 89. They’ve always been taken care of by their younger daughter. They were very dependent on her, and I understood the hardship she had been through. Although they’ve never asked us for financial support, after practicing Falun Dafa I understood that we should proactively contribute to their upkeep. So every Chinese New Year, I’d prepare a red envelope with cash in it, and every year we gave them more—from a few thousand yuan at first to over 10,000 yuan now.

My husband also has a brother and an older sister, and we never compare ourselves with how they supported their parents, nor did we let them know what we did, not wanting to embarrass them. This naturally fostered a harmonious atmosphere within our extended family.

At the Chinese New Year last year, I stayed at my in-laws’ house so my sister-in-law could rest for a few days. My husband stayed at home. My in-laws lived on the third floor. One day, my father-in-law said to me, “We’re old, and our legs aren’t so good. Going up and down the stairs is hard for us, so we’d like to move into an apartment with an elevator. I have some savings, and I plan to sell your sister-in-law’s house. With the proceeds from that, we’ll see what we can do.”

I responded, “Okay. Feel free to talk it over with your eldest son, but I’d like to contribute a portion. We have no expectations of inheriting the new apartment you are buying, so there won’t be any disputes over family property. Don’t worry. Just go ahead and make the arrangements.” He was so moved that he broke into tears.

Not long after I returned home, my sister-in-law told me the issue with the house had been resolved. Her property was sold and a new one was purchased, and all went well. She asked me to chip in 50,000 yuan. When I asked her if that was enough, she replied, “Not really, but we’ll find a way to cover the rest.”

I said, “We’ve actually set aside 100,000 yuan for you. You don’t have to borrow from someone else, and you don’t have to rush to pay us back either. The house will be yours in the future, and we won’t fight over it.”

Dealing with problems from the perspective of “thinking of others” not only helps others to feel balanced, but also allows me to elevate in cultivation. I am truly thankful for the guidance of Falun Dafa, making me realize that the process of eliminating selfishness is also a process of purifying myself.

Shaping Our Way of Thinking in Truth-Clarification

It took me quite a bit of effort to make the breakthrough in clarifying the truth. Mainly it was my fear and attachment to vanity at play. It came down to the fact that my selfishness wasn’t removed. I failed to be responsible and didn’t reach the realm of altruism in my cultivation.

From the Fa, I came to understand that only by using my selfless, kind thoughts could I walk my cultivation path in an upright manner and truly help Master to save people.

As I began to cultivate solidly, I was able to make a breakthrough little by little. Guided by Master, I accumulated some experiences, so that people who listened to the truth about Dafa could accept it. After they changed their attitudes about Dafa, they decided to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations.

One time, I ran into a property management employee in a high-end residential area. During our conversation, I learned that he had a relative who practiced Falun Dafa, so he knew a lot about it. He had served in the military and had joined the CCP, but he simply refused to quit the Party.

I tried to persuade him and explained things clearly. Finally, he said, “Don’t bother talking. I’m too stubborn. I will not quit!”

Even his relatives couldn’t change him in all these years, so I had to give up. One day I unexpectedly ran into him at the entrance of an apartment building. We smiled, and I thought, “I shouldn’t give up. He is a predestined person, and Master has arranged for us to meet.” I put aside all my negative thoughts and my so-called dignity and asked him, “Do you agree with what the CCP has done?”

Unexpectedly, he replied, “Who would agree?! Nowadays, who doesn’t curse it?!”

I said, “If that’s the case, why don’t you quit? You are part of it. When other people swear at it, aren’t you part of it? When heaven eliminates it, won’t you be impacted? No matter how stubborn you are, you have to know when to back down.”

When he didn’t respond, kind thoughts bubbled up from the bottom of my heart. I put my palms together in front of my chest and said to him in all sincerity, “Please quit!”

This time, he quickly said without the slightest hesitation, “Sure, I will quit!” I knew that it was Master who saw that I didn’t want to give up on him and had the true thought to save him, so Master dissolved the evil spirits behind him, unlocked his heart, and saved this precious being.

Eliminating Selfishness When Putting My Heart Into Helping a Practitioner

Last year, when I was passing out truth-clarification calendars, I ran into a man in his 70s. After he took one from me, he told me that he used to practice Dafa, but, “I stopped after I was released from detention. Now I’m addicted to alcohol and totally slacked off [in my cultivation]. It would take me quite some time to get through Zhuan Falun even once. Besides, I often check on my cell phone and watch TV, and I seldom have any contact with practitioners.”

When I heard that, I became worried. I challenged him, “How can you still drink? Master has lectured in the Fa that practitioners cannot drink alcohol. When you are drunk, you become muddle-headed, your main consciousness is not clear. Please quit! Master is still waiting for you, otherwise you wouldn’t have met a practitioner like me today.”

Tears came to his eyes, and he told me some of his cultivation experiences, as Master had opened up many of his supernatural capabilities and had been looking after him. I asked him to treasure this precious opportunity.

When we parted ways, I had only gone a short distance away when he called out his address, but I didn’t remember it. I’d been in this situation before, agreeing on a time and place to meet, only to have the other party not show up when I’d gotten everything ready.

I remembered falling behind in cultivation in the past. Given the selfless help of other practitioners, I returned to cultivation despite many difficulties. Without their help, Master’s new articles, and all kinds of informational materials that practitioners gave me, it would have be even harder for me to resume cultivation. The beings who have left the Fa are the ones who need help from others the most. Master doesn’t want to give up on any disciples. I couldn’t be this irresponsible. So I made up my mind to let go of those selfish thoughts of being afraid of hassles or wasting my time. Whatever the outcome, I had to make every effort.

I made some time and went to the man’s neighborhood, but I couldn’t find him. I really regretted not writing down his address that he tried to give me. A few days later, I was still thinking about him, so I asked Ms. Liu to come with me to look for him, but with no luck. She said, “Since you can’t find the address, just let it go. If you are destined to find him, you definitely will.”

I felt a bit disappointed, but then something miraculous happened. It only took me a few steps before I bumped into him. Though he was a bit drunk, he recognized me immediately.

Later, I brought him my Dafa books to prompt him to quit drinking and study the Fa. He managed to quit drinking for over 40 days but later started to drink again, even though not as much, which really disappointed me, and I wanted to give up on him at one point.

In the process of helping him, I continued to eliminate my selfish notions, such as anxiety, being anxious to change others, forcing my own notions on others, curiosity about others’ supernatural capabilities, not caring about others’ feelings, and other notions that didn’t comply with the Fa.

By constantly rectifying myself, I sincerely apologized to him. I gradually came to enlighten that one should not have the attachment to pursuit. Every disciple has Master watching over him or her. Only by having a sense of responsibility and kindness come forth will I be able to help others. Otherwise, my selfish, negative thinking might actually do more harm.

No matter what we run into, as long as we follow Master’s requirements, think of others, and eliminate our selfishness, Master will create opportunities to help us succeed at what we are doing, including the petty things in our day-to-day life. The process of eliminating my selfishness is also a process of cultivating myself.

I understand that I am still quite far from Dafa’s requirements, but I will try my best to get closer to this goal, let go of my selfishness, cultivate to be altruistic, and accomplish my mission in assisting Master in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings.