(Minghui.org) I'm a Falun Dafa practitioner, and the practice's principles have taught me to take material gain lightly.
My father lived with my older brother, and moved to my house after my brother died. He told me that his daughter-in-law had kept him at his oldest son's house because she expected to inherit his house, property and woods. However, my father had taken my brother and his wife out of his will and made me the sole inheritor. He trusted me because I am a Falun Gong practitioner.
I did not like the idea of being the sole inheritor because I have witnessed many conflicts when it came to inheritance. Therefore, I suggested that he split all he owned between us siblings and my sister-in-law.
My father died and in his will, he split his property between me and my siblings, without a penny for my sister-in-law.
Letting Go of Material Interests
My sister-in-law visited us and said that she had taken good care of my father and being a widow, she lived a difficult life. Her children had come along too and spoke of the hardship they had to endure since my brother died.
I tried to stay out of it, but it was impossible. My sister-in-law seemed to know what was on my mind. She treated me like a stranger and ignored me whenever we came across each other. I felt very bad because I had told them about Falun Dafa, and they quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates. I was worried about what she would think of me and Falun Dafa.
Everyone counseled against giving her anything. I knew that the final decision was mine, and because of my influence in the village, my sister-in-law wouldn't be able to change anything without my agreement.
I decided to let go of the attachment to personal gain. I told my family that our sister-in-law was a widow and had to raise her children, which was not an easy task. We should do our best to help her.
We couldn't come to an agreement at first, but later we decided to hand over the entire inheritance to our sister-in-law. My family said, “All right, then. We know you are a goodhearted person and we trust your decision.”
A villager asked me why I handled the situation as I did. I said, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Otherwise, I wouldn't have handled the situation as I did.”
My sister-in-law was very moved and told others, “I'm so glad that we have a Falun Dafa practitioner in the family. Without him, this situation could have caused a terrible rift in the family. We are so fortunate.”
Category: Improving Oneself
