(Minghui.org) Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, teaches in Zhuan Falun: “We’d say that a good or bad outcome comes from one thought. The difference in one thought leads to different results.”
Given any circumstances then, when one proceeds with a wayward state of mind, such a mind will bring forth corresponding results. Considering this, I would like to share a story of my cultivation experience in this regard.
I was a village school teacher in 1996, and I was making 300 yuan a month. It was hardly enough to subsist on. My wife was laid off and unemployed. To make ends meet, she opened a small restaurant in the county town.
After one day of hard work, she barely made 30 yuan, which was still a substantial amount of supplemental income at the time. Because my wife worked so hard, I valued our tiny restaurant and our hard-earned money. I would help her at the restaurant on weekends and during winter and summer vacations.
One summer evening, I counted the day's earnings after we closed the restaurant. I then found a fake 100-yuan bill. My wife and I were very sad because it could take us three days to earn that amount of money!
Due to our financial hardship, I thought of ways to spend the fake money. That evening, the old lady who delivered coal each month to our restaurant showed up. She normally charged us 80 yuan for the coal.
I thought of paying her with the fake bill, but I was afraid she would find out. I knew my reputation would then be tarnished. So I felt uneasy, but I still hoped she would be unable to tell the difference under the dim light. I gave her the fake money, and she gave me 20 yuan in change.
Although I got rid of the counterfeit money, a sense of guilt remained in my heart. And it was not until years later, in 1998, that I began to cultivate in Falun Dafa.
When I walked out of our building one morning in November 2015, I saw a cart loaded with coals. An elderly woman was standing next to the cart. Although almost 20 years had gone by, I recognized her as the old lady who'd delivered coal to our restaurant.
Our eyes met, but she did not recognize me after so many years. Since I was on my way to work, I left in a hurry.
My wife and I went to the market the following weekend. As we were leaving, another customer came to a radish stand near us with a 100-yuan bill. He said he wanted to buy five pounds of radishes. The vendor said he did not have change for 100 yuan, so my wife said we could make the change for the vendor. I took the brand new bill, stuffed it in my pocket, and went home.
We went shopping at a nearby mall few days later. I gave the cashier that same 100-yuan bill I traded for days before. When the cashier put the bill through a device for detecting counterfeit money, the machine did not beep, which meant the bill was fake. I then paid her with another bill. At the time, I had forgotten where the money came from. I just thought all my bills had come from the bank.
On our way home, my wife and I recalled how we had given change to help the vendor. We compared the fake bill with a real one, noting the differences. It was indeed counterfeit money.
We were not as sad when we found out it was fake money, and we did not think of ways to spend it this time. Being Falun Dafa practitioners, we knew we should always look inward when encountering problems.
It was no coincidence that I ran into the elderly woman so recently, and I wanted to return to her the money I had stolen years earlier. “I want to make up for my mistake in the past,” I said to my wife. “We gave her fake money years ago, and she gave us real money in exchange. She lost out for our benefit. We should pay her at least 200 yuan back.” My wife agreed fully.
We went searching for the lady and found her easily. I explained to her what happened all those years before and gave her the 200 yuan. She was very emotional. “I'm 80 years old, and this is the first time I've met such a good person as you. Thank you!”
“I should thank you for giving me the opportunity to amend my mistake,” I replied. “And we should thank Master Li for teaching me and so many others to be good. Also, please remember that Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
I gave her an amulet with the words “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She took it with both hands and thanked me. I reminded her that the amulet was more precious than the money I gave her.
I finally resolved something that had been bothering me the last 20 years. I shared the joy with my wife, and we respectfully bowed towards Master’s photo. Thank you Benevolent Master!
After I had cheated that woman of the money I owed her, I was later transferred to the county secondary school in 1998. My wife also opened a small shop by the school entrance.
My wife and I were very fortunate to have learned Falun Dafa that same year. However, because of our shallow understandings of the practice, we gave it up when Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese dictator, began the persecution in 1999.
We are grateful that Master did not give up on us, and my wife and I finally resumed the practice in 2008. Although we stumbled and fell on our cultivation path, Master still gave us the best. Moreover, our illnesses were still gone after all that time.
In recent years, our home has become a Falun Dafa informational materials production site and a place for group study. Our cultivation levels have risen as a result. I often remind myself that as a practitioner, I should do things and treat others according to the principles of Falun Dafa, the universe's highest principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.