(Clearwisdom.net)
From the beginning of my cultivation, I understood that cultivation is a serious matter. We should be strict with ourselves and strive forward diligently.
My grandfather was over eighty. Every day, we used to go to the practice site to do the exercises and study the Fa. After practicing for a short period, I found that not only he could hear again, but he could hear others clearly. He had suffered from a hearing problem for a long time. Even if you spoke close to his ear, you had to speak very loudly before he could hear what you said. He told me one afternoon that as he took a nap, he was awakened by a loud sound in his ears. Ever since then, he could even hear soft sounds.
But, after a while, I found his hearing became poor again. I asked him why. He said a person had commented to him, "Maybe your hearing was poor because of a build up of earwax. It is possible that the day you heard the sound in your ears, it was the earwax falling out." Upon hearing that, my grandfather hesitated and half-believed him. One thought brings different results. Because of that thought, his hearing became poor again.
I told a relative this story. He couldn't understand that if our Master were so benevolent, why he wouldn't forgive my grandfather. I said if you don't cherish what you are given, the opportunity would be gone and never come back. Even in the ancient cultivation stories, we can see that cultivation is a serious matter. At my grandfather's old age, it was a hint to him that if he was not strict with himself, what he lost would not just be limited to good hearing but to the opportunity to cultivate.
My grandfather's enlightenment quality needed to improve. Although Master gave him hints many times, he did not come to a good understanding on some issues. He kept practicing cultivation, but he firmly held onto the notion that human beings must die. He had practiced cultivation in Buddhism for dozens of years. He saw that no matter how well one cultivates in Buddhism, he or she would die. Since I was forced to leave home due to the persecution, I have not seen him again. I heard that my family opposed his practice of Falun Gong and took away all the audiotapes of Master's lectures. My grandfather kept doing the exercises, but he did not ask for those tapes back. Later, he passed away peacefully.
I cried many times. I regretted that I didn't help my grandfather enough in his cultivation, and I felt sorry that he missed the opportunity to improve himself and left the world early. Compared with those who do not know the truth of Dafa, my grandfather is lucky. After all, he knew Dafa is good and he cultivated in Dafa. Many of those who do not know the truth about Dafa are the lords and kings of those huge cosmic bodies. They represent countless sentient beings. I should be as compassionate to them as I am to my family. I should tell them the facts about Dafa and therefore give the sentient beings that they represent a chance to be saved. From now on, I will regard the people of the world as my family and redouble my efforts to clarify the truth about Dafa.
July 7, 2003
