(Minghui.org) I live in Northeast China and I started practicing Dafa in 1997. I was taken to a labor camp once and imprisoned twice by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for my belief.
My wife divorced me while I was imprisoned for four years. My older brother picked me up the day I was released.
Shortly after I got in his car, he told me he was in the middle of a fight with our sister. I asked him what happened. He said, “Mother received a scam call a few days ago, saying I was in a car accident and the hospital needed money.”
Mother had Alzheimer’s and lived with my brother. All her savings were transferred to his bank to cover her expenses.
My mother became so anxious when she heard the word “car accident” that she suddenly remembered things from the past. According to my brother, our mother told the caller, “All my money is in my older son’s name, except the 60,000 yuan [US $8,713] which is in my daughter’s account.” Our mother said she saved the 60,000 yuan for me, but my brother didn’t tell me mother’s exact words because he wanted the money. Deceived by the caller, my mother borrowed money from the neighbors. They realized it was a scam and called my brother.
My brother was excited when he heard that our mother had 60,000 yuan in my sister’s account. Ignoring mother’s wish to save the money for me, my brother immediately called my sister. My sister hesitated to tell him our mother gave her the money before she lost her memory. No one else knew about it. My sister didn’t mention it when she visited me in prison. If mother hadn’t been scammed and recalled that she saved this money, no one would have known about the 60,000 yuan. My brother thought my sister didn’t want to give him the money so he started a fight with her.
When I later called my sister she said, “Mother saved the money for you. How could I give it to him? Don’t you need money to start your life after getting out of prison?” This is when I heard that our mother saved the money for me. I was homeless and penniless. I needed the money badly, but I was sad to see my brother and sister fighting with each other.
I remembered what Master said,
“Other people claimed, “No, the apartment shouldn’t be given to him. It should be given to me because I need the apartment badly.” This person said, “Then you can go ahead and take it.”” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I thought, “This is the mental state a Falun Dafa practitioner should have.” I told my sister, “I know that mother saved the money for me, but I don’t want it. You can give it to our brother.” This ended a family conflict.
Because my brother’s apartment is too small for all of us, I moved to an apartment a fellow practitioner rented in the township. I had difficulty making ends meet, because I couldn’t find a job right away. Thinking that my sister and brother-in-law are farmers, and I helped them financially before the persecution, I thought I would ask them for some rice.
My brother-in-law answered the phone. After we greeted each other, I asked, “Do you have some rice? I don’t have anything to eat. Do you mind giving me some rice?” He immediately replied, “We only have enough for us this year. No extra.” He hung up as soon as he said this.
I was overwhelmed with emotion—embarrassment, and then a feeling of being unfairly treated. I thought, “I was generous to you when I had money, but you refused to help when I begged for food!” Tears came to my eyes. I sat there, stunned, for a long while before I got out of the depressed state.
Master told us,
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX )
When I looked within I thought this happened because I had a condescending attitude and I pursued fame and fortune before I began practicing Falun Dafa. I decided to use this opportunity to eliminate these attachments and any of my past grievances.
I eventually made it through the difficult time with other practitioners’ help. As I improved my life, I thought of doing better with family members and validating the Fa. I helped my brother and sister with various things. I often bought them expensive food, and even paid for their broadband Internet fees. The CCP slandered Falun Dafa by claiming that practitioners ignored their families. My behavior proved the opposite. I completely let go of the way my brother and sister treated me.
My family saw a practitioner’s forbearance and unselfishness and saw through the CCP’s lies. They quit the Communist organizations they joined and they chose a bright future for themselves.
As for the money my mother saved for me, I did what I thought was right—which was to let it go. However, a practitioner in the Fa-rectification period has the responsibility of correcting wrongs. We need to live normal lives. Compassion shouldn’t be taken advantage of. It benefits non-practitioners to treat practitioner nicely and gain a correct understanding of Dafa. When my brother took the money our mother saved for me, I shouldn’t have added to his greediness.
My cultivation at that time focused on improving myself and letting go of attachments to personal interests, but we need money to survive. If we have to focus on making a living we won’t have time to clarify the truth to people about the persecution. The old forces manipulate non-practitioners to persecute practitioners, including their own family members. One of their goals is to bankrupt us. We should use righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil elements that manipulate people.
This is my personal understanding. Please feel free to point out anything that is not line with the Fa.
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