Letting Go of Personal Interest and Keeping a Good Relationship With my Landlord

(Minghui.org) My landlord terminated my lease agreement early, which caused me a lot of trouble. I needed to find a house very quickly, and then pack up and move. My schedule was pretty full every day with Dafa projects. During the process, I complied with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and was able to let go of my attachments. I got out of my predicament and had a peaceful heart in the end.

Cultivating Every Thought and Every Action

Government policy protects tenants’ interests in the case of an early termination of a lease agreement. My landlord found all sorts of excuses for the early termination. I decided to move out so that he would not worry too much.

Rent is very expensive nowadays. Nevertheless, I found a house quickly and signed the lease agreement hastily. I didn’t check the house properly, and upon moving in, I found that the house had a lot of problems. The range hood didn’t work properly, the toilet was blocked, and the WiFi didn’t work. I was not able to communicate with the landlord because he was overseas. The problems couldn’t be resolved immediately, and they disrupted my daily life.

Because I had to move from a big house to a small house, I had to sell a lot of furniture. The moving expenses were not small. I needed to get rid of the old furniture and thoroughly clean the old house. I had to buy new appliances for the new house. I was busy from morning till night every day.

When I learned that I could ask for compensation from the landlord of the old house, my attachment to personal interest arose. I asked him to compensate me with one month’s rent. My husband didn’t have such a thought initially, but after I made the request he became determined that the landlord should compensate us. We negotiated with the landlord but didn’t reach an agreement, and my husband became more determined to get the compensation. He said that he would go to court to settle the matter if needed. Things became complicated.

I was in a dilemma. The landlord wouldn’t agree, while my husband wouldn’t give up. I was in the middle and it wasted a lot of my time. I couldn’t focus when I studied the Fa. I became competitive. Realizing my shortcomings, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate my competitiveness and my pursuit of personal interest.

My husband wouldn’t accept the landlord’s explanation and became more determined to fight to the end. He said that even if he couldn’t win in court, he would be willing to accept the court’s decision. I realized that my attachment had affected my husband. I felt guilty and helpless. I was sad and cried.

I decided not to get any compensation from the landlord, because if it is mine, it will be mine and if it is not mine, I won’t get it even if I fight for it. My husband changed his attitude within ten minutes of me having this thought. He said that he would no longer deal with this matter and asked me to take care of it.

The crisis disappeared. I felt light and warm. I realized that cultivation is serious and that Dafa practitioners’ thoughts affect everyday people.

Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions

Everything smoothed out after I let go of my attachment to personal interest. The conflict between myself and the landlord dissolved. Master arranged everything for me. I quickly finished what I had to do and saved a lot of people during the process.

The landlord had requested that we remove all the furniture before we left. My husband put an ad online to sell all the surplus furniture as a package for only $88 without notifying me. I thought this was laughable and ridiculous. It was such a cheap price. I decided to put ads online myself and priced each piece of the furniture.

Two women came to see the furniture. They selected eight pieces, which meant 70 percent of the furniture was sold. I learned that they were from my hometown. I told them about the persecution and cleared up many of their misunderstandings about Falun Dafa.

A couple came to buy the massage chair just after these two women left. This was their second time seeing the massage chair. The wife had the same first name as my daughter. I felt that she had a predestined relationship with me. Her husband owned a renovation company. I took the opportunity to urged him to put an ad in our newspaper.

They had been very interested in the massage chair when they came to see it the first time, and they were still interested. I gave it to them for free. Another practitioner happened to come to get chairs at that time. We helped the couple put the heavy massage chair into their pickup truck.

The couple were very touched. The husband said, “You are so kind. I must sign an ad contract with you to support your business.” We signed the contract on the spot. I was very thankful to Master for encouraging me.

A gentleman came to see the furniture. He selected several pieces of furniture for his daughter, who was going to move out to live by herself. But he was not sure if she would like them. He said he would come back with her in the evening, after she had finished work. He said that I was honest and strong. He was surprised when he learned my age. He said that I looked a lot younger than most people my age. I told him that I practiced Falun Dafa and had good health. I told him my story of moving houses. He became interested in Falun Dafa. I learned that he had already withdrawn from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, but hadn’t quite understood the meaning of the withdrawal. He came to understand after we talked about it.

When he came again with his daughter in the evening, I clarified the truth to his daughter while I helped them with a mattress. She agreed to quit the CCP’s affiliated organizations. I gave her a paper lotus flower. They left happily.

I contacted the landlord to ask him to help me dismantle a big sofa so that I could send it to a recycle station. I talked with him about the handover of the house. I did a thorough cleaning of the house. He could feel that I was very considerate. Our conversation became harmonious. I clarified the truth to him, and told him that I gave up the claim for compensation because our Master told us to be considerate. I set right the relationship between the landlord and me. The landlord was the one to be saved and I was the one to save him. I shouldn’t behave like an everyday person.

I sold all the furniture and cleaned the house from 2:40 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. I didn’t have any meals during that period, but I felt strong and energetic. I clarified the truth to everyone who came to buy the furniture.

The most interesting thing was that I got $89 for all the furniture I sold, only $1 more than what my husband had originally asked for. I realized that I should follow the course of nature, and nothing would change no matter how hard I tried. During the process, when I set right my attitude and let go of my attachment to personal interest, Master arranged everything for me. I got rid of all the furniture in the quickest way and handed over the house to the landlord, and at the same time I offered salvation to sentient beings.