My Experience of Eliminating the Attachment of Jealousy

(Minghui.org) I would like to share my cultivation experience in taking my daughter to attend a dance performance.

My daughter has been learning Chinese ethnic dance at a dance school since she was in preschool. This school was established by a former colleague of mine, and over the years it has grown to be quite successful. It is the largest dance school in the region and is quite popular in our area. The school raised the dance tuition by a lot last year and was more expensive than other dance schools.

I was quite upset when I was paying the dance tuition. I thought to myself, “What right do you have to raise the dance tuition so high?”

In reality, I knew clearly why the tuition was raised. The dance teachers at the school teach well and the school has good management skills. As a result, many parents were willing to pay the higher amount to enroll their children in that particular dance school.

I thought again, “Why am I nitpicking? It is my choice to enroll in the dance program and no one is forcing anyone.”

There was a big dance recital at the end of last month. I was quite dissatisfied with the whole process. It caused a lot of trouble for parents. We had to spend money and transport students into the city for the recital. I also blamed the school because I needed to take a day off from work. I also felt spiteful at how the school was using the children as “free” advertising for the dance school.

The biggest reason for all the dissatisfaction was because I was jealous of the success of my former co-worker’s dance school. My attachment of jealousy was hindering my ability to be rational. I also overlooked the strengths and the positive side of my coworker. This is the reason why the attachment of jealousy is critically important to eliminate.

It was much easier for me to eliminate the attachment after looking within, and I also became more rational.

I brought my child to the dance recital at the city’s exhibition center. I truly admired my former co-worker for what he had accomplished so far. It was not an easy job to organize such a big production. She patiently reminded parents about things to bring and everything they needed to prepare for the recital. The dance rehearsals, program books, dance costumes, stage lighting, backdrops, and dance music were are meticulously organized. How the children entered and exited the stage, curtain call formations, and audience member’s seating charts were well planned. In addition, there were also five video cameras doing a live broadcast and taking pictures of children’s performances. It was evident that everything took a lot of time and effort to ensure a successful performance. I was only seeing how my former colleague made a lot of money instead of seeing how much time and effort she had put into the event. Only then did I realize how much hard work she had put in to prepare for the recital.

Upon thinking about it I applauded her from the bottom of my heart, and my face was covered with tears. I truly admired my former colleague. It is not an easy task to lead and manage such a large dance school. It was also not an easy task to keep the dance teachers up to par for the past 20 years.

The principal (my former colleague) alongside with the dance teachers and students took a profound bow, and tears covered my face. I gave my former colleague a thumbs up!

I was no longer jealous or dissatisfied, and no longer nit picked her shortcomings. I began to understand, admire, and praise her success. I was able to experience the sweet feeling after no longer being jealous.

I also understood a paragraph of Master’s lectures.

Master said:

“If you can’t rid yourself of jealousy it will undermine all of the work you have done on your character.” (The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun)

Jealousy blinds one’s perception and makes one oblivious to everything around them. Most importantly, one will not have righteous thoughts, and cannot rationalize. When the attachment of jealousy is severe, evil thoughts will surface and one will no longer have compassion or righteous thoughts.