(Minghui.org) With the deterioration of the Chinese economy, I, like many ordinary people, have learned to watch my spending. I try to save wherever possible in my daily life. To live a frugal life is not wrong, but for cultivators, if we go to an extreme, it may turn into an attachment. One may not realize it and would think it a virtue.
Two trivial things happened recently that appeared to be accidental, but when I looked inward, I found that nothing was in fact an accident; it was acturaly related to my attachments.
The Watch Cover Could Not Be Unscrewed
My watch recently stopped. To replace the battery in the store would cost tens of yuan, and it would only cost a few yuan to buy the battery and replace it myself. I bought the battery online. However, I couldn’t unscrew the back cover of the watch.
I tried multiple times with great effort, but it wouldn’t budge. I put the watch aside without much thought, since I had other things to do. A few days later, I thought about changing the battery again. After twisting it for about 20 minutes with no effect, I was about to give up. I thought, “If it doesn’t work, I will go to the store to replace it and I’ll just have to spend the money.” I suddenly realized that nothing is accidental for cultivators.
I asked myself after calming down, “Why did I want to change the battery myself? Isn’t it just to save money? Living a frugal life is not wrong, but my current state is that I would compare the things I buy and I would often try to find the cheapest ones. This seemingly frugal behavior has actually turned into a strong attachment to profit.
Master Li said:
“Our practice has a focus and truly points out those attachments. By abandoning them, one will make very rapid progress in cultivation.” (Lecture Five, Zhuan Falun)
Thinking of this, I said in my heart, “Thank you, Master, for your compassionate enlightenment, using this incident to point out my attachment. I know I was wrong, and I want to get rid of this attachment to profit.” I then tried to unscrew the back cover of the watch again. It becam loose before I exerted any force.
The Rubber Seal of the Food Processor Broke
It’s cheaper to grind my own chili powder than buying ready-made chili powder, so I would grind the chili powder with a food processor. I would wipe each dried chili, cut them into small pieces and put them in the food processor. Once, the rubber seal in the food processor broke as soon as I turned on the power, and the broken pieces were crushed into the chili power. The chili powder was contaminated and time was wasted.
After learning the lesson from the watch cover, I realized that nothing happens by chance, and I quickly looked within. I found that it was not just an attachment to profit, but also a waste of precious time. The time that Master has extended for us is to be used to save sentient beings, not for me to live an ordinary life. My problem can be resolved by going out to buy ready-made products, but I spent much effort in food preparation, wasting precious time. I then stopped what I was doing, turned on the computer, and wrote this article.
Through these two incidents, I realized several things: Nothing I encounter in cultivation happens by chance. Master is always by my side and watching over me, using every opportunity to point out my attachments and shortcomings.
We are often subject to the influence of atheism and regard the trivial matters in life as “accidental,” or we don’t have strong righteous thoughts and cannot always look inward, thus missing the opportunity for improvement.
I’m writing this article to encourage other practitioners, hoping that we can improve through the “little things” and cultivate ourselves do a better job saving sentient beings. The above is my experience, and if there is any deficiency, please kindly correct me.
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Category: Improving Oneself
