(Minghui.org) I recently heard that some practitioners borrowed money from other practitioners, ranging from 50 to 200 thousand yuan (roughly 7 to 30 thousand U.S. dollars). Most of them needed the money to start businesses. When the businesses failed they didn't return the money, even though many years passed. I knew it wasn't coincidental that I heard this.
We all read the Fa. The reason Master asks us to keep reading the teachings is because they serve as our reference for our speech and behavior, including every thought. Master clearly stated, “What is owed must be paid for.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun, 2000 Translation) Every practitioner knows this principle. Everyone-both practitioners and non-practitioners need to repay what they owe. Once you've become a practitioner, it doesn't mean you don't have to repay your debts. For an everyday person, if he cannot clear his debt in this life time, then he will have to pay in another life time. Falun Dafa practitioners will not reincarnate. If we want to consummate and return to our true homes with Master, we must repay our debts.
Fellow practitioners, how can you repeatedly postpone repaying your debts? Isn't it one of our goals to eliminate all the unrighteous factors that we accumulated in previous and current life times? Isn't owing debt one of these factors? We even need to repay those debts that we created unknowingly. What about the debts we knowingly accrued? Doesn't owing debts add tribulations to our cultivation, yet some aren't willing to pay.
For a practitioner, improving one's level is most important. Every step in this process is due to Master's efforts. How can we not cherish the opportunity to cultivate? When the Fa-rectification ends, yet you still have debts, it will be too late for regret.
Repaying Debt from a Previous Lifetime
In 1992, my sister's boyfriend asked to borrow 30 thousand yuan, which was a large amount back then. Soon afterward my sister broke up with him. I began practicing three years later. When my sister learned that he hadn't paid me back she took me to his house. He wasn't home, so we talked to his parents. The father had a stroke, and the mother was also sick. The family's financial situation was terrible, so I decided not to mention his debt to his parents.
Although I didn't complain, I felt uncomfortable. But as a cultivator I knew everything happens for a reason. I told my sister not to feel bad, because maybe I owed him from a previous life.
That night I dreamed that I was the son of a wealthy family. One day a hunter who was selling rabbits he caught stopped by. I took one, and went into my house without paying. That hunter was my sister's boyfriend in this lifetime.
Through this incident I understood that one must pay for whatever we owe. My sister's boyfriend failed to pay me back in this life, but it was because I owed him from a previous life.
Master uses all kinds of approaches to eliminate our karma and help us improve. How benevolent Master is! How can we not cherish every cultivation opportunity?
Return Fellow Practitioners’ Money
I was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in 2007. While I was incarcerated my daughter entered a good high school. She attended three years of high school and two years in college while I was away. A large portion of her expenses during those five years was paid by local practitioners.
After I was released in 2012, my sister told me fellow practitioners paid about 40,000 yuan (6,000 U.S. dollars). I was very touched. I know that they save money to make truth-clarifying materials to save people. Yet they selflessly helped my daughter.
I wanted to open a factory and I needed money. But I knew that I should prioritize reimbursing fellow practitioners. Master said, “Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin, Translation Version A). So, instead of opening the factory I used the money to repay fellow practitioners. I knew that they needed money to save people. We should spend our money on what's most important. If we waste money we may be making karma.
Immediately Paying Off Our Debts
After I was released from prison in 2012, I wanted to start a clothing factory. I met a practitioner in prison and she agreed to be my partner. She helped me rent trucks, set up the machines, and remodel the facilities.
I was very busy with this for a few months and I simply didn't have enough time to do the three things. Master said, “...made cultivation your only priority.” (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference) I realized I must stop pursuing making big money. Instead I should focus on cultivation and saving people.
I shared my thoughts with the other practitioner. I suggested that she open a small clothing store. She said that she didn't even have enough money for the rent, which was only 500 yuan a month (70 U.S. dollars). I realized that she didn't have any income or savings. The deal I made with her was that she would work in my factory and I would feed and house her. Her words made me feel guilty because I didn't think of paying her a salary.
I recalled that local practitioners financially supported my daughter when I was in prison. Why I didn't I help her? She did a lot to set up the factory. She deserved a salary. I felt ashamed—I didn't even want to pay her. Compared to the practitioners who helped my daughter, I was very selfish.
I gave her 7,700 yuan(roughly 1100 U.S. dollars). Seven thousand was for three and a half months salary, and the other 700 was to pay for transporting the machines. She refused to take the salary, and only agreed to take the 700 yuan. I insisted and told her that she could use the money to start a small store. She finally accepted. I felt good and I knew that I made big progress in my cultivation.
The Fa helped wake me up. I felt grateful that Master's teachings guided my speech and behavior.
Punished for Taking the Money I Don’t Deserve
One day in 2012, I bought some vegetables at a super market. When I checked out, the cashier checked out three of her friends who were behind me. I was in hurry, but the cashier chatted with her friends. I didn't realize that Master was using her to help me eliminate my impatience.
When it was my turn, she made a mistake, and undercharged me five yuan. I thought it was a chance for me to get revenge, so I didn't point it out and left. I then got a phone call from the chief of the local government financial office, who told me to immediately come to his office. The office was processing my case.
Since it was urgent, I thought that I should take a taxi instead of the bus. The taxi cost six yuan. When I got there, there was a note on the chief's door that he would be away from his office starting at 8 a.m. I checked my phone, but I didn't see any missed phone calls. I took the bus home, which cost one yuan.
When I got home, I realized that Master was pointing out where I needed to improve. Master used everyday people to help me eliminate my attachments to being competitive, seeking revenge, and to money. My behavior was horrible, which exposed all kinds of attachments. At no point did I look inward! I knew I disappointed Master.
My Attachment to One Yuan
I was so busy running my store in 2012 that I couldn't focus on reading the Fa or saving people. Gradually I redeveloped my attachment to making money. This led to another incident.
One day, my daughter and I took the bus home. She paid two yuan for both of us. We later realized that each passenger needs to pay two yuan. She was about to give the driver two more yuan when I stopped her. I said, “It's okay. We didn't know, so it wasn't our fault. We'll pay the full amount next time.” She said, “Mom, no loss no gain.” I replied, “Yes, I know.”
Later we needed to transfer to another bus. After we got on that bus, we realized that it was going in the opposite direction. When we finally got home, I was very upset. I felt guilty and ashamed of myself. I blamed myself for not learning my lesson from previous experiences. I knew this was a serious xinxing problem - not just an issue of a few yuan. I once again failed to follow the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. How was I different from an everyday person? Was I still a practitioner? I realized that my xinxing level had dropped to the level of an everyday person, or even lower.
When I dug deeper, I realized that it wasn't merely an issue of attachment to money. Behind this attachment, there was egotism. I could not take criticism, and I liked to give other people orders. For example when my daughter suggested to pay two more yuan, I stopped her but not because I cared about the money. It was because it was her suggestion. If I had suggested it first I would have told her how high my xinxing was. But since she mentioned it first I didn't have a chance to show off. I still wanted to maintain my authority, so I stopped her. When she used Master's words to remind me, I just said, “Yes, I know.” Behind my reply was my hidden vanity and ego. I'd always been the boss and I was used to giving orders - especially in my family. Through this incident, I realized that I hadn't reached Master's criteria for us. I wouldn't keep up with the Fa-rectification if I didn't get rid of these attachments.
I told myself not to lose the opportunity to cultivate because I was so attached to money. Master said, “The master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you to practice cultivation.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun, 2000 Translation) When I first began practicing I tightly followed Master's teaching. But later because of my attachment to making money, I slacked off in cultivation, and forgot Master's words: “...made cultivation your only priority.” (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference). All of these incidents exposed my ego. I knew I shouldn't keep ignoring my cultivation issues. If I kept ignoring them I would drop all the way to the bottom.
Master said, “The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Driving Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II) I deeply believed that only by focusing on saving people would I eliminate my attachment to making money so I closed my store.
After I closed the business, I calmly read the Fa. Besides passing out truth-clarifying materials and clarifying the truth, all I did was study the Fa and do the exercises. In three months, I rectified myself. I then found a part time job at a buffet restaurant.
The reason I wrote this article is to tell those practitioners who owe debts that Master told us, “What is owed must be paid for. Therefore, some dangerous things may occur in the course of cultivation practice. When these things take place, however, you will not be scared, and neither will real danger be allowed to happen to you. ” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun, 2000 Translation),
My understanding is that our lives won't be in danger, but only if we follow Master's teachings. We shouldn't be attached to personal gain which cloud our thoughts and make us lose the opportunity to cultivate and improve.
Please correct me if I've said anything that does not accord with the Fa teachings.
Category: Improving Oneself
