(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner on the path of gradual enlightenment. When I started cultivation, although I read the teachings and did the exercises, I did not understand the magnificence and beauty of Dafa, nor did I understand how to cultivate. As my understanding deepened, I became steady in my cultivation.
Practitioners Do Not Act Like Ordinary People
My husband, who is not a practitioner, and I owned a restaurant. After two years of hard work, our business began to thrive in 2005. Our customer base kept expanding.My husband had trouble dealing with the success and attracted some “fair-weather friends,” who were a bad influence on him.
They drank, went out to eat together, and played games. They were just interested in his money. When I warned him about them, he listened to me at first, but he later ignored me and often stayed out all night. He then started inviting them to our restaurant for free food and drinks.
When we had a lot of customers one day, he claimed that I intentionally did not wait on their table fast enough. I tried to explain, but he yelled at me and beat me in front of our customers. I broke into tears, ran out of the restaurant, and wanted to go home. I asked myself how could he do this to me, especially since I had not argued with him and had tried to forbear.
Instead of going home, I went to see a practitioner. I felt that Master had led me there, and I told her what had happened. She was sympathetic and comforted me at first. After I calmed down, she said, “We are not ordinary people, we are practitioners. We should conduct ourselves according to Master’s teachings.” Her words made me feel ashamed.
When My Attachments Diminished, My Husband Changed
I had to agree with what the practitioner said. The restaurant was doing well, but my attachments to fame and money had grown tremendously. I was not reading the Fa or doing the exercises, plus I was not taking good care of my husband. I had followed the old forces' arrangements.
Because of what had happened between me and my husband, I knew I had to discard my attachments to fame and gain. Once I understood that I should correct myself according to the Fa, my anger and resentment disappeared, and the conflict was resolved.
Most likely, my husband realized that his “friends” were just using him for free food and drinks. He stopped seeing them and returned to his old self. He also quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates.
I am grateful to Master. He gave me a hint through my husband’s conduct and helped me discard my attachments to fame and personal interest.
A Tribulation Illuminates More Attachments
We had a three-year contract with our landlord and had negotiated a provision to extend the contract for an additional three years. The landlord had also promised that we could rent for as many years as we wanted. So, before we opened the restaurant, we renovated the site at our own expense.
However, two months before the contract ended, the landlord raised the rent significantly, even though we wanted to extend the contract for another three years. We decided to vacate, and my husband asked the landlord to partially reimburse us for the renovations.
The landlord refused, saying, “You don't want to extend the contract--it is not because we don’t want to rent to you.” Several days after we moved out, the landlord and his son-in-law opened their own restaurant in that location.
We realized that the landlord had raised the rent to drive us out once he realized that our restaurant was prosperous. My husband got angry, wanted to confront him, and was going to hire people to wreck the restaurant. I explained several Dafa principles to him, and he calmed down.
I knew that Master had used this incident to help me to discard my jealousy and attachment to wealth.
Improving Xinxing
I talked to someone about the CCP, its corrupt practices, and how the CCP has destroyed the values of the Chinese people by orchestrating class wars. I also spoke of the frequent disasters occurring throughout China and the destruction of our ecological system. The CCP has devastated traditional Chinese traditional culture, society now lacks moral constraints, and social chaos can be seen everywhere.
When I said that heaven will eliminate the CCP, he responded, “Win and you are king; lose and you are the outcast. No matter how bad the CCP is, it won the country.”
This remark did not move me. I spoke of the Japanese invasion of China. When the regular military fought the Japanese army, the CCP had ample time to expand its armed forces. I then explained that when the Japanese surrendered, the CCP stole the country with the help of the Soviet Union.
I told him much more, and, in the end, he quit the CCP.
Overcoming Sickness Karma Through Faith in Master
I twice experienced sickness karma. In both instances, my husband wanted me to go to a hospital for treatment. I explained that, as a cultivator, I knew that I had to pay for wrongdoing, and as long as I firmly believed in Master and Dafa, the old forces could not touch me.
When I had severe illness symptoms, I found many deeply hidden attachments, including my show-off mentality, competitiveness, zealotry, and sentimentality. I sent forth righteous thought to eliminate them as soon as I found them. My symptoms gradually disappeared as my xinxing improved.
Each time I let go of an attachment, I became lighter, walked faster on my path cultivation, and the scenery became more beautiful.
There are no words that can express my gratitude toward Master. Only by diligently cultivating myself and moving forward in cultivation can I be worthy of Master’s salvation.
Category: Improving Oneself
