(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa when I was 10 years old and I know Master has been protecting me all this time. However, it’s only been in recent years that I have come to understand what it means to truly cultivate, and that’s when I saw how strong and stubborn my attachments were. I’d like to share how I eliminated my attachment of resentment.
A new female employee started at my workplace one day. She often made thoughtless comments, wasn’t very friendly and complained a lot. When I trained and guided her, she didn’t show any appreciation.
I had to work with her every day—that was very hard for me and we weren’t very efficient when working together. I told my mother (who is also a practitioner) about this employee and she replied: “Isn’t she your mirror image?”
I was shocked by her response. Then it dawned on me that Master was helping me enlighten through my mother’s words and my heart felt lighter.
When I thought about it more, I realized this new employee’s words, deeds, and thoughts really were just like mine. Her tone of voice, attitude, and resentment were written all over her face. She got upset if given extra work and would complain to anyone and everyone. She was also moody and irrational. She was indeed the mirror image of me and I felt so ashamed.
When I took a serious look within, I found deeply hidden resentment that I’d been harboring for years. Perhaps this explained why I had chronic chest pain and shortness of breath, as if a giant rock was pressing on my heart. I often woke up in the middle of the night with chest pain. All my attachments were also reflected on my face—I looked spiteful, and had a sickly complexion.
I realized I’d been resenting my parents. I felt they hadn’t given me enough attention, never encouraged or praised me, and were very hard on me if I made mistakes. I didn't like their strict standards and even though I knew what they said was right, I didn’t want to hear it.
I would easily get discouraged when I ran into difficulties. I would be hard on myself, and feel like a failure. Whenever my supervisor gave me extra work, I would feel upset inside, even though I didn’t say anything out loud. I felt it was unfair that I had to do extra work. Whenever my co-workers needed my help, I would wonder why they kept bothering me, instead of doing their own research and working things out for themselves.
If I was treated unfairly, I pretended not to be upset and instead laughed and talked sarcastically about it with others. When others took credit for my work, I felt bitter inside and it was really hard to bear!
Even though I studied the Fa every day, I was blind to my own stubborn attachments. I knew that a practitioner should cultivate away each and every attachment. I needed to distinguish between my own thoughts and the notions that were not part of my true self. I asked Master to strengthen me and help me eliminate those beings that manipulated my emotions. Meanwhile, I intensified my Fa study and strengthened my righteous thoughts.
Dafa helped me understand the karmic relationship between people, both my family members and others. Whether they treated me well or not all depended on my past deeds. I should not use my human feelings to measure things, which encourages resentment to grow.
I made up my mind to change myself when I felt annoyed by people. I would check what kind of human thinking triggered my negative feelings and eliminate it. After letting go of my resentment, I realized that I was less concerned about loss and gain and was able to let things happen naturally. I understood that nothing happens in cultivation by chance; no matter how trivial something seems, it can help reveal and reflect my deep-seated attachments.
When that new employee started complaining to others again, I stopped looking down on her. I reminded myself to eliminate my resentment and negative thoughts. When others were jealous about my work performance, I kept a humble attitude and offered a helping hand whenever I could. I feel grateful to Master for arranging this new employee to help me improve my xinxing, and be more nurturing and caring toward others. We started to get along well, and the working environment improved significantly.
I started enjoying helping others and the relationship between colleagues and co-workers improved. I happily accepted any tasks the supervisor gave me, and no longer resented any extra work. I paid attention to cultivating my speech and stopped complaining.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but the “giant rock” pressing against my chest disappeared! The pain that had tormented me for so many years is no more. I know Master removed that substance when I elevated my xinxing. I am now in a good state, with a smile on my face again, and the changes in my heart make me look younger and better!