Small Things Reflect Our Attachments

By Xiaoxin

(Clearwisdom.net) In our daily lives, sometimes small things will reflect our attachments, yet they are often ignored.

For example, while shopping at supermarkets, we might apply for membership cards to obtain discounts, or if we spend so much money, we might be entered in a lottery, or receive some special gifts from the store. Sometimes, we buy some discount items even though we don't really need them. We might even subscribe to a newspaper for the entire year without a second thought, just because we found out some gift is given with the subscription. Because of human greed and the attachment to profit, we are often swayed by discounts or promotions.

While facing this attraction to profit, I often thought of the example that Master provided in Zhuan Falun:

"The kid wanted to join in the fun and play the game. 'If you want to play, go ahead.' So he gave the kid a dollar to play. The kid won second prize right on the spot, and got a deluxe kid's bike. The kid was so excited. But then suddenly, 'Bing!'--a light went off in the dad's head. 'I'm a practitioner, how could I ask for something like this? Now that I've gotten this for nothing, how much virtue will I have to give back in return?' "

Because my attachment was too strong, I found an excuse for myself, "Buying items on sale is not getting it for nothing. I should take things as they are without feeling guilty." However, we could dig in deeper and ask ourselves, "Why do we feel happy after receiving a discount? If we didn't get the gift from the promotion, wouldn't we feel we suffered a loss?" All practitioners understand "'no loss, no gain'--if you want to gain, you have to lose." (Zhuan Falun), however, not everybody could let go of the attachment to profit. To win a bike, we have to give virtue in return. Winning money or a prize is the same thing.

Master gave me a hint in a dream. In my dream, discount cards were given by a supermarket. When I heard the information, the supermarket was about to close, so I dragged my grandson by the hand and quickly ran to the store, hoping that I would arrive before it closed. Master saw that I did not understand, so he hinted to me again. I heard that customers could receive a special gift if they subscribed to a newspaper for the entire year right then. (Actually, we had already paid the bill for all of 2006 before October 2005.) Of course, the purpose of the subscription was not to get the gift. However, because of my attachment to profit, I really expected the gift. Several days after the new year of 2006, I still had not received the gift. I worried: "Did they forget about my subscription?" One day after that, when I saw the newspaper delivery person, I asked him about the gift. He promised that he would bring it to me the next day. The next day, I stood outside of my home waiting for him. A gust of wind suddenly blew the door closed. Since I did not have the key, I had to ask my husband to leave his office early. He spent 21 yuan for a taxi, while the gift, some laundry detergent, was about 20 yuan. I could not help but laugh. I understood then that I had to let go of the attachment.

I felt guilty that everything in my cultivation has made Master worry. I could not actively change myself and step out of humanness. On one hand, I want to cultivate to consummation. But on the other hand, I could not easily let go of my human notions. How can this be allowed?

Since then, I try not to ignore such "small things." Master said in "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,"

"From the day that a Dafa disciple takes up cultivation his whole life is rearranged. In other words, this life of yours is now the life of a cultivator. Nothing is by chance anymore, and nothing will happen just by chance. Everything on your life's journey is directly related to your improvement and cultivation."

Let's sincerely remember Master's teaching in Zhuan Falun:

"The whole process of cultivation is a process of constantly getting rid of human attachments."

Let us let go of all our attachments and walk down the cultivation path arranged by Master.

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