Different Attitudes Lead to Different Results

(Clearwisdom.net)

[Editors' Note: In both Western and Chinese culture, the principle of karmic retribution, that is, being held ultimately accountable for one's own actions, is widely accepted. The fundamental teaching of Falun Gong is the characteristic of the universe, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The universe will reward actions that are in harmony with this principle, while committing bad deeds will incur karmic retribution. Stated another way, good deeds will be rewarded with good, while evildoings will meet due retribution. Articles such as this one are meant as a compassionate reminder of this principle to those who would commit wrongdoing. While many of those who persecute Falun Gong are merely "following orders," the universal law requires that they, too, be held responsible for their actions, and that only by reversing their course of wrongdoing may they escape karmic retribution.]

These are true stories about three families in Northern China. Their real names are not quoted out of consideration for their safety.

Jiang Zemin began to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Like everybody else in China, the members of these three families were forced to be involved. They played different roles, and, of course, had different consequences.

Family A:

The eldest child in the family has a small business. He didn't believe the fabricated stories and propaganda from the media. A few times he even stopped family members from making inappropriate comments about Falun Gong. In the last two to three years, he had a stable and growing business, and made a considerable amount of money.

The second child is a college graduate and also owns his own business. After July 20^th, 1999, he was brainwashed by the state-controlled media and refused to believe the true facts of the persecution. Last year, he had trouble with his business and was also involved in a lawsuit. His business declined and hasn't recovered yet.

The third child is a college graduate and a business administrator. She has an objective and understanding point of view towards Falun Gong. She not only doesn't comment on Falun Gong, but also stops others from making inappropriate comments. At a young age, she is now managing multiple companies, and is famous in her industry.

Family B:

The eldest son is a worker. He ignores the propaganda from the media, and his wife and children understand, support, and sympathize with Falun Gong. He is not as well off financially as his siblings, but his family members are leading a happy and relaxed life. The man and wife are both over 50 years old, but they both hold stable jobs and have stable incomes, while layoffs are common nation-wide.

The second son is a public servant, and believed the TV and newspaper's poisonous propaganda. He also followed the instructions of his superior, trying to persuade his relatives to give up practicing Falun Gong.

The third son owns a small business. He also believed the propaganda from TV and newspaper and also helped his second brother to convince their relatives to give up practicing Falun Gong.

The second and the third sons are the most affluent of the siblings, but the quality of their lives is the worst. They are both in their forties, but they are suffering both mentally and physically, taking a lot of medicine every day, and look exhausted. Their family life is bad. They are having difficulties in their careers too. The second son was relieved from his post last year, and the third son's business has suffered from a lot of troubles.

The fourth son of the family is also a small business owner. After July 20^th, 1999, he partially understood Falun Gong's truth. His spouse began to understand the truth about Falun Gong after Falun Gong practitioners' clarifying the facts to her. The couple has a restaurant, and their business is doing well. They work hard all year round and are very busy.

Family C:

Three siblings, only the second one does not practice Falun Gong.

The second son of the family is a staff member of a company. In the past few years, his three different attitudes toward Dafa led to three different consequences. Before July 20^th, 1999, he did not practice Falun Gong, but he praised it to everybody he met. In those years, he had a good personal life and his career was also taking off. His boss liked him, and he managed several departments. Then, after July 20^th, 1999, because he was brainwashed by the media's propaganda and afraid of being affected by his family members' practicing of Falun Gong, he began to try to persuade his family members to give up practicing. His luck changed dramatically. He got a new boss who is against him all the time, picks on him frequently and changed his job. Just as he described it, he was having bad luck all the time in the last two years. Around the 2002 Chinese New Year (February), his relatives who practice Falun Gong clarified the facts to him repeatedly, and he changed his attitude. He declared, "I promise that I will never say that nonsense again." Almost at the same time, his boss was replaced. I met him a few days ago, and he told me that he felt much better now; his new boss understood him, and coworkers supported and sympathized with him.

These stories illustrate that with respect to how people treated Falun Gong, different attitudes resulted in different consequences. Different attitudes even in the same person led to different results. To be responsible for our current and future life, shouldn't we reevaluate and think about this seriously?