(Minghui.org) Both my wife and I practice Falun Dafa. Our jobs require us to deal with company money and assets. In particular, my job is to audit construction project accounts.
Practicing Falun Dafa has helped me gain a deep understanding of eliminating attachments to personal interests. I would like to share my experiences in this regard.
Behaving in Accordance with the Fa
People frequently came to our home and gave us gifts, especially when construction projects were close to being completed. I was also invited out to dine at restaurants. I accepted these things before I started practicing Falun Dafa.
After I obtained the Fa however, I realized that many things I did before were not in accordance with Dafa's teachings. For instance, I used my power for personal gain. I hired relatives and paid them full-time wages for very little work, and I accepted people’s invitations to take me out to dinner.
When I realized that I shouldn't do these things, my wife and I changed our behavior and strictly disciplined ourselves in accordance with the Fa.
Cultivation is serious, and we should do it well once we realize our shortcomings. Our behavior also reflects whether or not we believe in Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.
The official of the construction company gave me a Motorola pager, which cost a few thousand yuan at the time. But realizing that I should conduct myself in accordance with the Fa, I returned the pager.
Everyday Peoples Gains Are Worth Nothing in Cultivation
I dealt with money in my job, but quickly let go of the attachment to the gains that I could obtain from my position.
When the persecution of Falun Dafa began, I went to appeal in Beijing. The police wanted to put me in prison, but an officer said, “Your boss came here and asked us not to detain you. We were told that you are the only good person in the company. How many years have you been doing the company's budgets?”
I told him that it had been over ten years. He wanted to know how much I had lost by not accepting gifts and bribes over that time. I told him, “I practice Falun Dafa. I haven't lost anything.”
Not Affected By Pressure
When a group of business people from Jiangsu Province visited our company one time, my boss invited me to join them for dinner.
There were 22 people sitting around two tables. When people started drinking wine, the visiting boss announced, “I will drink first to show our respect to you.” He drank two glasses of wine, then asked, “Did everyone have a drink?”
I was the only one who didn’t, so a co-worker said, “This person doesn’t drink alcohol.”
“Why don’t you drink?” one of the visitors inquired in amazement.
“I practice Falun Dafa,” I replied, “so I don't drink alcohol.”
The visiting boss then filled two more glasses and drank them up. He said, “Let me say something, and then you can think about whether you should drink or not. I am from Jiangsu, a thousand miles from here. I am older than you. Let’s say I have late-stage cancer with just a few more days to live: Do you think I should drink?”
After hearing what he said, I knew that I would be viewed as being disrespectful if I didn't drink the wine. Everyone was waiting to see what I would do.
As I was thinking of how I should respond, I remembered that Master said,
“But after you quit drinking alcohol you shouldn’t drink again.” (Lecture Seven in Zhuan Falun)
So I made up my mind that no matter what happens I wouldn't drink the wine.
As soon as I made that decision our company's driver took my two glasses of wine and drank them. The boss from the visiting group said, “You have a good relationship with others—even the driver will drink for you.”
At subsequent parties, others provided a non-alcoholic beverage for me, and I was not asked to drink alcohol.
My understanding is that we should restrict ourselves when cultivating. As long as we meet the Fa's standard, this kind of tribulation won't bother us much. However, if we let go of an attachment slowly and reluctantly, the tribulation will occur repeatedly and we will experience more troubles.
Category: Improving Oneself
