Nothing Is Trivial in Cultivation

There is nothing trivial in cultivation however, even a trifle can reveal a cultivator's xinxing (heart and mind nature/character). There is a good saying in ordinary society: "Do not engage in evil even if it's a small thing; do not fail to do good even if it's a small thing." I would like to share my experience over the past few days.

The day before yesterday when I made my inspection rounds at work, I found a bunch of black mushroom that I liked laying on the steps. Later I passed by it several times and saw that no one had taken it away. I thought that maybe the person who had picked it put it there because he or she did not want it, so at noon when I was off work, I took it and placed it in the sun on the balcony. It seemed like the natural thing to do. It wasn't until later that I realized the person who had picked it had probably left it out to dry.

Benevolent Master saw that I had not realized my mistake, so he arranged for another trifle to enlighten me.
Yesterday at around 10:00 a.m., my good friend who is non-practitioner called to tell me that she was going away for a while. She said she had a lot of cabbage and other food, and she asked me to take some of it. At that time I was unable to go to her home to pick up the food. My friend told me that she would put the food in front of her door and asked me to pick it up after I got off work. At noon, after I returned home from work, I asked my son, a young Dafa disciple, to go get the food. I was looking forward to my son's bringing the food home. However, he returned empty-handed. He said that someone must have stolen it. He also said, "Nowadays people are so bad--they steal others' things." I also was not pleased.

After work that night, I suddenly realized why I had encountered these two small incidents. It made me realized that I had not eliminated my attachment to personal gain, and that this attachment was strong. On the surface, I often wanted help from relatives who had easier lives. Actually I unconsciously felt that they should help me. Sometimes it upset me when they did not help me when I needed it. How filthy and selfish a mindset that is! I thought it natural to pursue personal gain. Now I seek to eliminate the attachments to petty gain and profit.

From this seemingly trivial episode, my son and I realized the seriousness of cultivation. In the future I must conduct myself according to Dafa's principles, purge my attachments, rectify my words and behaviors, and exhibit a Dafa disciple's beauty, nobility, purity, and greatness.

Postscript: When I had the time to write this draft, I first thought I would use paper from my workplace. Later I realized that this showed I had not rectified myself, so I wrote on paper that I had brought with me to work.