(Minghui.org)
Attachment to Self Interest
There is a small alley between my neighbor's house and mine. My neighbor is an old lady who lives by herself. Her son's family live in the city and her two daughters live in their own homes in the same village.
We needed some construction work done to our home in 2008, and used the alley to temporarily store sand and rocks. Our neighbor had just finished some construction work of their own, and used the alley for the same purpose. Some small rocks remained after they had finished.
Not long after our work was complete, the neighbor’s son looked very unhappy and asked me to come over. I wondered why he looked so serious. I smiled and asked what was wrong.
“Look at what you've done!” he exclaimed. “You used our rocks and didn't even ask us. That was a truckload of rocks. I thought you were a good person. How could you do such a thing?”
He kept shouting at me, and didn't give me a chance to respond. My face felt hot and tears filled my eyes. I’d never been spoken to like this before.
However, I didn't answer back after thinking of Master's Fa.
“If you compete and fight like an ordinary person, you are an ordinary person. If you outdo him, you are even worse than that ordinary person.” (Zhuan Falun)
When he finished talking, I calmly replied, “It's my fault. Perhaps I covered our rocks with yours and then used up your rocks as well. Don t worry, I'll pay you back.”
I later gave his mother about 200 yuan, and thought that was the end of it.
Ms. Xia, who lives in the house opposite, came to see me the following day. I hadn’t really let go of the incident with my neighbor, and told her the story.
When I had finished telling her what had happened, she commented, “She gave the rocks to her eldest daughter. I saw it happen. Let's go and talk to them about it.”
I felt even more wronged when I heard this, and thought that I had been cheated. I complained a little bit in my heart, but then remembered that I am a practitioner and should follow Master's teaching. The incident arose because of my attachment to personal interest.
Once I denied this wrong thought, I felt relieved instantly.
“Don't worry,” I told Ms. Xia. “I'm not angry anymore. It's over. Maybe she simply forgot what she did.”
Eliminating the Attachment of Jealousy
When I was having a meal with my husband one time, he told me how his nephew had fallen off his motorbike and was badly hurt. I asked, “I never knew he had a motorbike. When did he buy it?”
My husband didn't answer, so I repeated the question. He ended up telling me that my father bought the motorbike and it had cost 8,000 yuan. My son and I were apparently the only ones that didn't know.
I thought it was unfair, as my own son didn't get anything. I knew such a thought wasn't right, and showed my attachment of jealousy.
Master said:
“The issue of jealousy is very serious as it directly involves the matter of whether you can complete cultivation practice. If jealousy is not abolished, everything that you have cultivated will become fragile. There is this rule: If in the course of cultivation practice jealousy is not given up, one will not attain Right Fruit—absolutely not.” (Lecture Seven in Zhuan Falun)
I needed to let go of my attachment, so I just told my husband that I wasn't aware, and let it pass.
While having a meal with my son another day, I mentioned the story to him. He wasn't bothered either.
If I didn't practice Falun Dafa, I would have handled the issue differently. Now that I am a practitioner, Master's Fa guides my every step.
Category: Improving Oneself
