Discovering the “Modern Thought and Ways” in Me

(Minghui.org) In the poems and lyrics of both Hong Yin V and Hong Yin VI, Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) has many lines about humanity being affected by “modern thought and ways.” As I memorized the poems, I came to a deeper understanding of what Master wrote about the harm of atheism and evolution, but I was still not too clear about what exactly was modern thought and ways.

I used to think that they were something common among non-practitioners and as a veteran practitioner myself, I probably no longer had such “modern” behaviors. But an incident that happened a few days ago changed my thinking.

While passing by a new pharmacy, I got a flyer about the promotion for its grand opening. It happened that my husband needed some insulin, so I went inside to see what they had.

The manager told me that they had insulin for 65 yuan for each injection. The price was already 25 yuan cheaper than what we usually paid. But I still tried to bargain with him, “Can you give me an even lower price?”

He asked me how many injections I intended to purchase and I said ten. He promised to give me an even better price if I made the purchase that day. I agreed and said I would return after I went home to fetch my medical insurance card.

I told my husband about it and he said it sounded like a good deal. He went with me this time because we happened to have plans to visit his sister and have dinner together later that day. I told him that we should at least ask another pharmacy to compare the price.

There was a chain pharmacy near our home. I went inside and asked for the price of their insulin. The salesperson said it was 70 yuan each.

“Do you have any discount if I get ten?” I asked.

“If you get ten, I can do 68 yuan.”

I thought it was still more expensive than the first pharmacy I checked, so I left.

The salesperson came after me and asked, “How much are you willing to pay?”

“The new pharmacy down the street charges 60 yuan.” I blurted out, assuming it was the price I’d get.

“All right, I can sell it to you at this price.”

I wasn’t expecting that she agreed so easily. But I still said, “Let me think about it.”

I then went to the new pharmacy with my husband. The employees there said their manager had left, but they could do 63 yuan each. I bargained with them again, “The pharmacy down the street only charges 60 yuan.”

“We’re sorry, but we can’t give you that price,” one of the employees said.

As I was talking to them, my husband shouted at me, “You are lying and immoral! How can you claim that you are an honest person?”

The employees there were all stunned. I quickly left with my husband. He was so angry that he didn’t want to have dinner even after we arrived at his sister’s home.

I knew I must have made a big mistake. But how? I looked back at the process of how I bargained with the two pharmacies and the little lies I told to try to make them bring down the price. Even after they lowered the price, I was still not satisfied and asked for more discounts.

I did all the calculations so naturally without realizing it. That’s why my husband blamed me for being dishonest.

I used to think that I had given up my attachment to monetary gains. When my husband’s siblings asked me to borrow from me hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy cars and houses, I said yes without hesitation. When they failed to return the money, I didn’t go after them. At work, I was also able to take personal gains lightly and not fight with others. But why was I so attached to such petty gains and spent so much time trying to get the lowest price?

This incident enabled me to see clearly how deep such “modern thought and ways” still existed in me and controlled my thinking. The incident also helped me gain a deeper understanding of the Fa and the importance of removing the “modern thought and ways” in me.