Getting Rid of My Attachment to Benefits While Managing My Business

(Minghui.org) I started cultivating in Dafa in 2003. After I took up the practice, I gradually learned that human beings have too many attachments. Fame, benefits, and relationships: all these things are influencing us all the time.

I still remember when I was a student, many people asked me, “You are so young. Why do you want to practice Falun Dafa?” At that time, I had not gone through many xinxing tests.

I had thought that I did not place much emphasis on money because I hadn’t experienced stress back then. Six years ago, however, things got stressful when I left my steady day job to open a small business at the market. I could no longer rely on a check from my employer every week. That made me realize that I actually placed great emphasis on money and material benefits.

My business involves the buying and selling of farm products. In the initial phase, although it was just simple buying and selling, there were always xinxing tests. For example, when I first started the business, my shop was a mobile stall. When I rushed to the market early in the morning, I saw that the location where I often set up my stall had already been taken by someone else. With no other slot available, I would not be able to sell my goods. At this time, many negative elements caused me a lot of heartache. This was especially true when I had a whole vehicle of goods that I needed to sell that day.

After looking within, I learned that this happened because I did not do things righteously. For example, I wanted to set up my stall in an attractive location, but it was prohibited to do business there. Then again, I would sometimes leave home extra early to get that spot and would skip up the 6 o’clock global time for sending forth righteous thoughts. I knew that this was wrong, but my attachment to benefits still had sway over me. I did not follow what Master said,

“…Let each and every thingbe measured against the Fa.Only then, with that,is it actually cultivation.”(“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)

I had been operating my business at that location for three or four years. Later, even a nearby homeowner said, “It’s OK. You don’t need to pay me for setting up your stall here. This is your spot.” I really thought that this location was mine, so when someone else set up there, I would feel as though something that belonged to me had been taken over. Then a police officer gave me a ticket for parking illegally. At that time, I had Dafa materials in my car. I usually gave them to my customers. When the officer was writing me a ticket, I suddenly realized that I could not give the police officer a flier as that would be defaming Dafa. It was then that I truly realized how big a mistake I had made operating my business at this location.

After realizing this from the bottom of my heart, I rented a location where doing business was permitted. However, there were still tests. According to what ordinary people say, if you move to a new location, you have to start building up your customers from scratch. However, I understood from the Fa that if my business wasn’t doing well, there must be some things that I did not do righteously. Therefore, I asked myself if I would return to the original location if I really had no business at the current location. My answer was no. I had made up my mind not to walk the wrong path again. However, I still didn’t know why business didn’t improve.

One day, when I was handing my wife enough for our daily expenses, I suddenly understood a Fa principle that Master said:

“We believe in letting things happen naturally. We know that we won’t be deprived of what is rightfully ours, and shouldn’t labor to get what is not. But not everything is completely set in stone, of course. And that is what makes wrongdoing possible—the very fact that some things may be subject to change. You, however, follow Dafa, and so you needn’t worry about people taking what is rightfully yours, for my spiritual bodies will be looking after you in the normal course of events. So we believe in letting things happen naturally. There might be instances where something seems to be yours, and people might say so too, and you believe it is yours, when in fact it’s not and in the end it goes to someone else. From this it will be seen whether you can let it go. If you cannot, it means that you have an attachment. We use this approach to rid you of your worldly wants, for that is what’s most important. Everyday people lack this perspective and so they contend over things.”(The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I finally realized why, no matter how much I earned every month, I didn’t manage to save much. Apart from not taking a righteous path, I had this hidden attachment. Actually, when I pay someone for something, be it the school for my child’s fees or the person who delivers my goods, I have been only temporarily keeping the money for them—they will take it back when they need. How much money we earn is arranged. So it should be easy for me to let go of any material benefits in ordinary human society.

When a cultivator runs a business, his attitude should be very different from that of a non-practitioner.

For example, when we get our goods, we sometimes meet with farmers who have already packed them for us. Most people try to pick the box that looks the best for the same price. My thinking is different. I just pick a box at random and let nature take its course.

In actuality, the quality of goods we get has already been set long ago. Our destiny that has been arranged will not change if we try to pick and choose.

Over the years, there were many times when I took the leftover goods after others finished choosing, the quality of the goods that I got was better overall. Whenever I see others quarrel and fight and both parties say they were gypped, this thought comes into my mind: I am lucky that I cultivate. If not, I might be just like them.

When I go to the market to do business, the roles are switched. Sometimes when certain goods did not look so pretty and customers didn’t want to buy them, my attachment to fame and gain would be triggered. Initially, I would have this silly thought that if I had known earlier, I would just take a look only instead of buying it. When I looked within to see why I was not happy, I realized that it was this attachment to benefits that was at work again. I thought that if I sell suboptimal goods for less, I would not be able to meet my target profit.

Although I knew that I could price them according to their quality, my attachment to earning money would still be tugging at my heart. Sometimes when I knew that customers were not going to like a certain batch of goods, I could only lose money and all I could do is give them away for free.

These xinxing tests, which sound very down-to-earth, often appear during transactions. However, when I abide by Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to do things, I gradually care less about these trivial things. Although the process of smelting my xinxing is hard, at least I now have direction.