(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in October 2007. Within 18 months, I encountered a major xinxing test.
A villager came to my house and said: “The land you've farmed is mine. I developed it 30 years ago. I stopped working on it after the production team disbanded years ago. I will take my land back.” Then, he walked away.
This information came as a shock and I could not accept it. I felt like my head was swelling, and my heart pounded. Feelings of resentment, attachment to self-interest, and competitiveness suddenly surfaced, and I could not take it! When I calmed down, I remembered Master's Fa.
Master said:
“Therefore, from now on when you come across a conflict you should not consider it a coincidence. This is because when a conflict occurs, it will take place unexpectedly. But that is not a coincidence—it is for improving your xinxing. As long as you treat yourself as a practitioner, you can handle it properly.” (Lecture Four from Zhuan Falun)
I sobered up immediately: Wasn't my thought the same as an ordinary person's thought? If I really acted like that, the consequences would be unimaginable. I knew that it is dangerous to deviate from the Fa. I decided to follow Master's words to solve the conflict with a practitioner's standard of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.
So I spoke kindly to the man and patiently explained the current land policy. I pointed out that his claim to the land was not legitimate. But no matter what I said, he refused to listen and insisted that he owned the land. I wondered what to do.
Master said,
“If we encounter these problems, we should not compete and fight like others. If you do what that person did, aren’t you an ordinary person? Not only should you not compete and fight like him, but also you should not resent that person in your heart. Really, you should not hate that person. If you hate that person, aren’t you upset? You have not followed forbearance. We practice Zhen-Shan-Ren, and you would have even less compassion so to speak of.” (Zhuan Falun)
Master's words hit me like thunderbolt. When I saw my resentment, attachment to self-interest, and competitiveness I realized that my human thoughts were hindering the solution to this conflict. I wanted to completely eliminate them!
As soon as I realized this, I immediately felt better. The pressure was gone and I relaxed physically and mentally. I was filled with compassion. I decided to let the man have the land. I thought: “I want no regrets; I'll be clear-minded and knowingly lose in terms of self-interest.”
After I gave up the land, many people, especially my daughter and son-in-law were against my decision. They tried to reason with the man, so I patiently explained to them about karmic retribution – of good and evil receiving their just consequences – and suffering losses to repay debts. Finally the conflict was resolved.
I need to remember to follow Master's teachings whenever I'm trying to resolve a conflict. The Fa helps me remember that I am a practitioner, and I can calm down, let go of my human attachments, and stop defending my interests. My xinxing will improve as well at such a time.
Cultivating solidly is helpful to every practitioner's improvement. Let us temper ourselves and improve by solidly cultivating.
Category: Improving Oneself
