(Minghui.org) I’d like to share my understandings from two tribulations I experienced.
My house was scheduled to be demolished, but I couldn’t return home because I was displaced due to the persecution. My daughter had to handle everything. Since it was public housing, there was no compensation. We had to either rent a place and move all our belongings or let it all be destroyed with the house.
As we both worked out of town, we had no choice but to let it all go. For a long time afterward, whenever I thought of our possessions, I felt heartbroken—I couldn’t let it go. The home we lived in for more than 20 years was gone. I felt like a drifter moving around and doing odd jobs. I was bitter and exhausted.
To stave off these thoughts, I read the Fa and regained my righteous thoughts: “This is not my true home—I’m only staying temporarily in human society. I’m not here to live an ordinary life. Although I don’t own any property or have a permanent place to live, wherever I am is my home. Besides, my true home is in Heaven. I came here to cultivate myself well, assist Master in Fa-rectification, save sentient beings, and fulfill my vows.” When I reminded myself about this, the sadness in my heart disappeared.
Whenever my thoughts became unsettled, I realized it was because I hadn’t walked a righteous cultivation path—my thoughts fell to an ordinary human level. Master’s teachings broke through my human attachments. When I analyzed the situation, most of the things in my house and the house itself weren’t even obtained through proper means—they were gained through personal connections and backdoor dealings, which did not align with Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. As a cultivator, how could I hold onto these things? In fact, getting rid of them was probably a good thing.
On the surface, I have nothing in this world. But in truth, I lack nothing—Dafa has given me everything. When I changed my thinking, I realized I have it all, and I’m the happiest person. For instance, ordinary people have to spend money to live and rent apartments. I live in an apartment just like they do, but I don’t have to pay for rent or food—in fact, I have an income because I work as a live-in helper. My thinking is: everywhere is my home. If I treat everyone and everything with a cultivator’s mindset, then wherever I am is my home. Only by changing our mindset can we step out of this human state, and that is true happiness.
I take care of a 92-year-old woman who lives alone and can still care for herself to some extent. Interacting with her is truly a test of my xinxing. I understand from the Fa (teachings) that conflicts happen to help us improve, and that I should unconditionally look inward and treat her kindly. But when it came to actually doing it, I struggled. For example, whenever she shouted “Close the door, I need to go to the toilet,” my resentment immediately flared up—“Again? This never ends!” The more resentment I felt, the more frequently she needed to go to the bathroom.
Every time she went, I had to clean her, pull up her pants, and dispose of the waste—the smell was overwhelming. When I was resentful, I would show it: I would take a deep breath, quickly grab the bucket, turn my face away, wrinkle my brow, rush to the toilet to dump it and hurry out for fresh air, coughing and gagging the whole time. I just barely tolerated it.
I told another practitioner that I didn’t want to continue. She said I wasn’t being kind and should treat the old lady with compassion—that environment was arranged for me to improve. She said, “When you started the job, the woman could still care for herself. Now that she can’t, you want to leave. Even an ordinary person wouldn’t do that—let alone a cultivator. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to eliminate your attachments?”
I couldn’t accept it at first—I felt stifled. But then I thought of how Master helped clear my environment and kept watch over me. I couldn’t let Master down. I should treasure this environment, face problems head-on instead of avoiding them, and improve my xinxing. I decided to stay.
The elderly lady was using the toilet when I suddenly heard a loud “thud” from her room. I opened the door and saw her lying on the floor, and the “porta potty” was overturned. Feces splattered the walls, the door, the cabinet, the bed, and her body. The stench was overwhelming.
At that moment, my pores felt like they were about to burst, and I was on the verge of tears. My mind was filled with panic: “This is so overwhelming! I don’t even know where to start!” Then I looked at the lady’s helpless face—she was shivering and looked so pitiful. I quickly asked her, “Ma’am, are you hurt?” She replied, “I’m fine.” Just then, a thought flashed through my mind: “Feces is also a kind of matter!” Yes, I should treat all life with kindness.
At that moment, a miracle happened—I couldn’t smell the stench. I gave the lady a bath, changed her sheets, and cleaned everything up with ease.
Another time, she exclaimed, “You’re not happy when you clean up my feces!” Her words stirred something in me. I quickly picked up Zhuan Falun and opened to a passage where Master said,
“As you know, when a person reaches the Arhat level, in his heart he is not concerned about anything. He does not care at all in his heart for any ordinary human matter, and he will always be smiling and in good spirits. No matter how much loss he suffers, he will still be smiling and in good spirits without any concern. If you can really do this, you have already reached the entry-level Fruition Status of Arhatship.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Master’s words jolted me—I must face everything cheerfully, even cleaning up feces. From that point on, I no longer felt moved when I took care of her. I sometimes still struggled, but as soon as I recalled Master’s teaching, I immediately felt cheerful.
I’m someone who likes cleanliness, but I can now cheerfully clean up someone’s waste. This change in mindset is the result of Dafa transforming my thinking. Master saved me from suffering and helped me rise above ordinary human ways of thinking.