(Minghui.org) I worked in a large state-owned enterprise before I retired, and my retirement income was just 900 yuan a month. My son was in college and my parents needed our financial assistance, putting us into debt. To supplement our retirement income, I accepted a job in another city.
After my parents passed away and my son graduated, I was hoping to take it easy. But, my son told us that he wanted to buy a house in the city. Although he earned a high salary, his income was not nearly enough to buy a house. In China, most parents help their children buy their first homes. Unfortunately I had no savings, so if I wanted to help my son buy a house, I had to continue working.
An Attachment to Sentimentality and Reputation
I worried, because other practitioners were busy talking to people about Dafa and the persecution and I wanted to participate. How could I explain this to my family? I worried that my family and relatives would have negative thoughts about Dafa if I was not working, especially since I was in good health. They would say that I was selfish, only interested in practicing Dafa and did not take care of my family. I worried that I would lose face by not helping my son. Besides, I could not let go of my attachment to my son.
I went to job fairs but was not ready to go back to work. When I checked my bank balance, I was unhappy with the amount. This went on for two years.
Pressure from my son about going back to work did not help either. He mentioned that one of his classmates had bought a house, but his parents only contributed 100,000 yuan. I didn’t correct his wrong expectation about parents having to contribute money for a home purchase. Instead, I felt bad as though I'd done something wrong and I felt ashamed. My sentimentality had made me irrational.
Changing for the Better
In the meantime, there were more and more local events to clarify the facts about Dafa. I became busier, so I had no energy or time to think about making money. In the process of doing the three things well, my thoughts became more rational.
Master said:
“Someone may say, ‘I’ll earn some more money to settle my family down well so I won’t have to worry about anything. Afterwards, I’ll practice cultivation.’ I would say that this is your wishful thinking. You are unable to interfere with the lives of others, and neither can you control others’ fates, including those of your wife, sons, daughters, parents, or brothers. Can you decide those things? Furthermore, how will you practice cultivation if you do not have any worries or troubles?” (Zhuan Falun)
Everything we have came from Dafa – including good health. I should not use my precious time to make money to satisfy my family and my son’s needs.
I finally told my son, “I am getting older and can’t make money for you anymore. I’ve brought you up and supported you through college and we’ve given you the ability to make money yourself. We deserve a break. I know that we haven't been able to give you much money, but we’ve given you all that we had.”
After this, my son stopped mentioning my going back to work to help him out financially. He found a girlfriend from a wealthy family. She owns a big house in the city. As long as we conform to Dafa’s requirements, Master always arranges the best for us!
Wasting Time Is Selfish
Working and making money has occupied most of my time even though I am a practitioner. Yet, we should not casually waste our time. It’s selfish and wastes Dafa's resources. From the day we started cultivating, Master arranged everything for us.
We should always remember that we are cultivators, as otherwise we may get entangled in attachments. The old forces may use our attachments to persecute us. Their arrangement is to keep us busy and thus drag us down, causing us to lose this precious cultivation opportunity.
Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) system, corruption has drained people and it is hard for most families to make a living. We practitioners in particular have suffered financially during the persecution. It’s really hard to cultivate in this complex environment.
Master said:
“The complex environment, in my view, is instead a good thing. The more complex it is, the greater the persons it will produce. If one can elevate oneself above and beyond it, one’s cultivation will be the most solid.” (Zhuan Falun)
Fa-rectification will end soon and we should devote ourselves to doing the three things as much as possible. We must not allow attachments to sentimentality or money to slow our efforts and steal our precious time.
Category: Improving Oneself
