Discarding the "Past" Hidden Deep in My Mind

Today, while I was sharing with a fellow practitioner about cultivation, he said that recently some non-practitioners had asked about several of his relatives. It so happened that these relatives were some that this practitioner had not thought highly of in the past. The practitioner said that it was time for him to improve his xinxing (heart and mind nature, character) and not allow himself to be trapped in the past. He also reminded me to treat my relatives kindly and totally overcome the barriers in my mind which were similar to his, and to improve my xinxing.

I sincerely felt appreciative for the reminder by the fellow practitioner, and I thought of Master. Thinking back over my cultivation path, I recalled Master giving me similar hints long ago with things similar to the fellow practitioner's situation, but I wasn't able to comprehend them.

I looked inside for a reason, and found that deep in my mind I could not let go of the unpleasant past I had with a relative. When I mentioned this to the practitioner, he said with smile, "I knew it was like that, and that's why I shared all this with you." After listening to the fellow practitioner, I suddenly realized that when I talked about this relative, what reflected in my mind was not really my thinking, it was a kind of matter. Master said in "Lecture Six" of Zhuan Falun,

"There is another powerful karma that greatly affects practitioners--it is called thought karma. People have to think in leading their lives. Because one is lost among everyday people, one will often develop in one's mind thoughts for fame, benefits, lust, anger, etc. Gradually, these thoughts become the powerful thought karma."

I know that the true me is pure and kind, and holds the characteristic Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The true me doesn't bear resentment and complaints about loss and gain among ordinary people. The true me takes hardship as joy, treats myself as a practitioner, and conducts myself according to the principles of the Fa. Nothing a Dafa practitioner encounters is accidental. It is an opportunity for the practitioner to improve. Finally, a practitioner must improve himself through various encounters with others. After I understood this, I stopped being attached to the past and let go of it from the bottom of my heart. I conducted myself according to the standard for practitioners, and I treated my relatives kindly so that they also feel the happiness and joy I have achieved after starting Falun Gong practice.