(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. Whenever I notice other practitioners’ shortcomings I know I should look inward. However, I did not look within unconditionally. I always felt that even though I needed to look inward, there was also room for fellow practitioners to improve.
A fellow practitioner, who is also my colleague at work, had a conflict with another coworker. She did not control herself well, and afterwards she wept. I compared my cultivation with hers—I felt she hadn’t handled the situation well, but I also thought I cultivated better than her because I hadn’t encountered any conflicts at work. It didn’t take long for the same thing to happen to me. I did not cry. Instead, I fiercely argued with the coworker.
Afterwards, I realized the conflict between the fellow practitioner and our colleague was a mirror for my own shortcomings. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity and did not look inward.
One practitioner always makes sarcastic comments about others. I felt she should not speak that way and I complained about her to my mother. My mom looked at me seriously and said, “You do the same thing.”
I was shocked and examined my behavior. I thought I was an honest and open person. I never thought I was sarcastic.
One day, My mom showed me a recent photo of my sister-in-law. I noticed my sister-in-law changed to a pair of over-sized glasses. I immediately said, “Wow, look at the size of her new glasses. Imagine how huge her next pair will be! Maybe her next pair will be as big as her entire face!” I laughed as I made these comments about my sister-in-law. My mom looked at me very seriously after I said this. I stopped laughing and realized what I said was inappropriate.
I remembered a fellow practitioner was also upset when I made a joke about her. I thought it was just for fun, but what I said hurt her.
A practitioner once told me that she was not sure if she was being sarcastic. Since she always made sarcastic comments about everyone, I thought she was doing it deliberately.
Now I realized that it was not accidental that I heard or saw other practitioners’ shortcomings. Until that moment I did not realize that fellow practitioners provided me with a mirror to see my own attachments. I never asked myself why I noticed other people's shortcomings. It was because I also had the same issues.
After I had this realization, I began to proactively improve my cultivation. I finally understood what it meant to look within unconditionally. As practitioners, we should know that anything that happens around us is directly related to our own issues—we saw or heard about it so that we can improve. I understood that conflicts provide us with opportunities to make progress and improve.
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Category: Improving Oneself
