Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy

Five-Dollar Learning Opportunity

My parents made a living as farmers in my childhood. Every time when I heard that crops such as melons and peppers were stolen, I felt angry. I did not understand why people stole my father’s crops that were cultivated with effort and meant to support our family.

When I was an elementary school student, teachers always taught us to return what we found to people who lost it. Students who returned whatever they found to teachers would be praised in the end of semester. I did not totally realize the meaning of returning, but only was told that it was a virtue. Besides, it was really cool to be praised and receive a certificate of merit in front of the class. Thus, even though I found only one dollar, I handed it over to teachers. My classmates laughed at me and thought that I should have taken possession of the money I found or bought myself a snack. I did not have much pocket money at that time, so it seemed like winning a lottery when I found money. Even so, I chose to hand it over to teachers. I believed in what teachers told me.

After many years of practicing Tai Ji Men qigong, I finally realize the real meaning of "not pocketing the money you pick up". Whether you pocket the money or not is the real test of self-conscience. Pocketing the money that does not belong to you is lying to the conscience. All the evils can find the roots in the heart and all the virtues can be developed from within the heart. Evils and virtues are only divided by a fine line. To give is to receive. A man with high integrity is the man who can always reflect upon his conscience and feel no regrets. I started to feel proud of my honesty even though it had made me the mockery among students. And I felt much more motivated to be attentive to my deeds to avoid violations of my self-conscience.

Because of my Shifu’s teaching, I emphasize the importance of moral education when teaching my child. Although my son is good at managing money and fond of money, he will hand over money he found at home to us instead of taking possession of it. One day, my son came home and told me that he found five dollars on the basketball court. He could not hand it over to teachers because the money was not found in school nor could he hand it over to the police because the amount was insignificant. Therefore, he thought that he might keep the money. However, I told him to put himself into the shoes of people who lost the money. Although he could not find the owner who lost money, he could not take possession of it. I heard one story that if you steal one star fruit in this life, you have to return one hundred star fruits in the next life. No pains, no gains. People should not take what does not belong to them. My son realized what I told him, but did not know what to do with the money. I suggested that he donate the money for the owner. In the end, we went to a convenience store and donated the money to the charity. After that, every time when he finds money, he donates to the charity, even the money that he earned by helping housework.

I’m so glad that my son has learned the meaning of returning what he found to people who lost it and that I also realized the meaning of greed from my Shifu. Although my son is young and values money very much, he is not greedy, not stingy, and understands that success depends not upon the luck but upon his efforts. Thanks to Shifu’s teaching, I can instill the right sense of values in my son and lead him to the positive character development. I firmly believe that when he grows up, he will be a person who can tell right from wrong and is rich in body and mind.