The Story of Two Towels

(Clearwisdom.net) I have practiced Falun Dafa since 1997. When I look back over the course of my cultivation and following Master through the process of Fa rectification, no matter the place or time, I deeply realize that Master has always been near me to protect, enlighten, and encourage me to pass my tests and elevate my xinxing. However small the concern we encounter, it may contain factors that we need to enlighten to and learn from.

Once I went to work and heard that the company would issue two towels to everyone. I thought I should go early to pick up two good towels. When I had that thought, I suddenly realized that I was Dafa practitioner and I should not be attached to material interests like before. I should not strive with ordinary people. So I waited until the very end to take the towels.

The director responsible for issuing the towels said to me, "There are red and green ones left. What color do you want?" I said either color was fine. She replied, "You need tell me what color you want, so I can issue them to you." Since she insisted that I choose, I said, "Please give me a red one and a green one." As soon as I said that, however, the director became quiet and did not reply. The accountant inside the room started shouting, and the director's expression changed. The accountant said, "Aren't you creating difficulty for us? The towels are separated in advance, two red ones together and two green ones together. How can we issue you one red one and one green one?" At first I just stood in amazement. After she had finished, I suddenly realized that she was angry at me. Normally we are polite to each other, and I certainly had not meant to offend her! What's more, I had been dealing with the director, so it was none of the accountant's business. Why was she angry at me? But instantly I thought, "I am a Dafa practitioner, I should not behave like ordinary people. Isn't this a precious opportunity to improve my xinxing?" Thinking this way, I immediately became calm. A cultivator should look inside when coming across a conflict and check to see where he or she went wrong.

I decided that it was actually my fault. I should have seen in advance how they issued the towels, and I should not have made my unreasonable request. I did not do what Master teaches us to do, which is to always think of others first and be a good person to benefit others. After I found my fault, in my heart I no longer resented the accountant, but actually felt ashamed of myself. I apologized to her immediately, "I am very sorry. It is my fault that I did not ask you first and made such an unreasonable request. I will pay attention to this in the future." When I said these words, her attitude completely turned around. She smiled at me and said, "No problem. It is not all your fault. I got upset too easily." She and the director looked at each other and we all laughed. I said to the director, "So please give me two red ones."

After I left and went back to my office, I still thought of what had just happened and measured my behavior against Master's lectures, finding yet another fault within myself. I told myself that I should study the Fa more, which would help me to better apply the standards of the Fa to direct my behavior. After I got home and opened the towels, was I ever surprised! "Whoa! How come the outside one is red and the inside one is green?!" After thinking it over for a while, I thought perhaps because during this conflict I used the principles of Dafa and required myself not to fight with others and to meet the standard of a true Dafa practitioner that Master used this as a way to encourage me.

From this conflict, I came to have a deeper understanding of Dafa principles. In my future cultivation, I must be strict with myself, no matter what the environment or what the issue. Only if we really behave according to Dafa will we experience the mysterious and boundless power of Dafa, and we will experience that Master is always near us.

November 21, 2005

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/11/22/114995.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version