Cultivating Myself While Feeling Wronged

(Minghui.org) I have been working as a housekeeper for my aunt for 14 years. She is an 83-year-old retired primary school principal. I got along very well with her family throughout the years, as I always followed the teachings of Master Li, Falun Dafa’s founder. I look inward, think about others’ needs first, and do good for others. The people around me feel that Falun Dafa practitioners are morally noble, upright, and reassuring, and they understand that Falun Dafa is righteous.

Lunch for full-time housekeepers is usually provided by the employer. However, I brought my own lunch every day for more than 10 years to save money for my aunt. I used appliances, like an air conditioner, carefully and only according to my aunt’s needs. I did everything as I would in my own home. I do daily cleaning in the house and keep the indoor environment fresh, clean, and translucent, which made her and the whole family happy. They praised me repeatedly: “We hired several people in the past, but none were as responsible and problem-free as you. You are really different from others.” Her two sons and daughter-in-law were both officials. They knew the truth about Dafa, but they didn’t say it explicitly.

One day before the Chinese lunar New Year in 2021, my aunt told me that she would give me half a day off the next morning, and that I just needed to come at 1 p.m. to prepare a New Year’s dinner for their family of seven, making dumplings and cooking six dishes. Considering that I might not have enough time just in the afternoon, I decided to go to my aunt’s house the next morning to start preparing lunch and dinner. As soon as I walked in, my aunt was not happy to see me. She had given me half of the day off, yet I still came in the morning. She said that I made her feel that she was not keeping her word. No matter how I explained it, she was not happy. I felt aggrieved and cried while working in the kitchen. I felt upset and didn’t say a word as the two of us ate lunch. Then I started to prepare their dinner. After a while, I finished my work. I said goodbye coldly and hurried home to prepare my own family’s New Year’s Eve dinner.

After dinner, I still felt upset in my heart. After putting away the chopsticks and bowls, I sat on the bed in a daze. It seemed difficult to get rid of the aggrieved feeling in my heart. At this time, Master’s teaching suddenly flashed into my mind: 

“As a cultivator One always looks for one's own faults’Tis the Way to get rid of attachments most effectivelyThere’s no way to skip ordeals, big or small[During a conflict, if you can remember:]“He’s right,And I’m wrong,”What’s to dispute?”(“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong”, Hong Yin III)

Master’s teachings have powerful energy, which immediately lifted my spirits. My mind suddenly shifted from looking outside to looking inward. What my aunt said something about making her words seem “empty and false”... doesn’t this word “empty” correspond to “untrue?” Doesn’t this word “false” correspond to not being true? Is this because I didn’t practice true cultivation and Master used my aunt’s words to enlighten me? Master has repeatedly taught us that no matter what we do, we must think of others first and consider issues from the other’s perspective. My mistake in this matter was that I didn’t tell my aunt in advance why I wanted to come to work in the morning, so she could understand it before I came. Besides, my aunt was probably giving me the time off to express her satisfaction, sympathy, and gratitude for my work. She meant well, but was confused by my behavior.

I apologized to my aunt as soon as I arrived at her home the next morning. However, my aunt apologized to me as well for asking me to do too much cooking in the afternoon. We both shed tears. I told my aunt that I would take care of her like I take care of my own mother who is 88 years old, because my Master has clearly told us to be kind to everyone. My aunt said, “When I see you reading that book – Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, every day, I think it must be a good book. That is, a righteous book! Can you find a copy for me to read?” I gladly agreed.