Kindness -- with Principle

(Clearwisdom.net)

Once, I had the following conversation with my aunt about a Dafa practitioner:

Aunt: "I know a Falun Gong practitioner who refused to remarry her ex-husband when he asked. I thought Falun Gong practitioners were required to follow 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance'?"

Me: "Why did she get divorced? And for what reason did her ex-husband want to resume the marriage?"

Aunt: "Her ex-husband was quite wealthy and kept three mistresses outside the marriage. He beat and harassed his wife to such an extent that she became emaciated and nearly lost her mind, and in the end, he forced her to divorce him."

Me: "And she learned Falun Gong?"

Aunt: "Yes. Fortunately, she learned Falun Gong at the time when she was in despair."

Me: "I heard that lady's experience at an-experience sharing conference. It is Teacher who saved her. After she obtained the Fa, she required herself to follow a high standard and kindly reasoned with her husband. However, he still persisted in his old ways and forced her to sign the divorce papers."

Aunt: "Her daughter and her ex-husband's relatives argued that she didn't become kind after learning Falun Gong and said her xinxing (mind nature) was even lower than theirs, because she didn't take care of her ex-husband, who became homeless."

Me: "They shouldn't distort the facts and make such unreasonable statements. Good is rewarded with good and evil is met with evil. Because he didn't believe in heavenly principles, he did a lot of bad things, and finally he became destitute.

What is genuine kindness? Dafa practitioners are selfless and cherish boundless forbearance, according to what our Teacher has taught. She bore the unbearable suffering from her husband's selfish desires, and was still willing to work things out. But her husband continued his flagrant abuse, and eventually forced her to sign the divorce papers. Do you still say it is her fault?"

Hearing my words, the Aunt became silent.

I continued: "When he was wealthy, he had mistresses, and never cared about his wife and daughter. After the divorce, the mistresses took everything he had, and left him penniless. Then he asked his ex-wife to take him back while threatening her with the false demand that she must be kind to him because she is a Falun Dafa practitioner. I think she is not obligated to him, because he forced her to divorce him in the first place. Practitioners believe in predestined relationships. If a predestined relationship has ended, then each should go his and her own way. It would not be kindness if she yielded to her ex-husband's will against her own principles. So you should help to stop her ex-husband's unreasonable pestering."

Through the talk I deeply appreciated the meaning of "righteous thoughts and righteous actions" (Teaching the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the Western United States Fa Conference). Dafa disciples are one body. No matter what the circumstance, we should remember that we are Dafa disciples who embody and validate the Fa, and that we are saving people by completely denying the arrangements of the old forces.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/3/1/45434.html

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