(Minghui.org) I started Falun Dafa cultivation practice in 1998. After I started cultivating I became free of illness, and felt happy every day. In September 1999, the Chinese Communist Party started to arrest and persecute Falun Dafa practitioners. I was arrested, imprisoned, and persecuted in 2014. I was released from prison after three years and returned home only to discover that I had lost my job at a bank.
Fortunately, a friend offered me a job as a file manager, and I was soon off to my new workplace. In this new environment, many shortcomings in my cultivation were exposed.
Removing My Attachment of Vanity
My original workplace was a large bank with hundreds of employees. The working environment was spacious and bright. Everything was professional and organized, and the staff members were well treated. My new workplace was very crowded, with many people in a small room. The environment was simple and there was no cleaning staff. Therefore, the place appeared unhygienic, and the restroom facilities were dirty.
I graduated from a prestigious university. My original job was to analyze business activities of the workplace, which was very professional work. I worked in this position for many years and acquired quite a lot of experience. The workplace leaders and employees all respected me. The nature of my new job was different. I was hired to do a menial job in a back office. The difference between the two jobs made me realize that I had always felt that I was better than others. I now understood that I had an attachment to feeling superior to others. I now have to get down from my pedestal and no matter what the job is, do it well.
I do several odd jobs in the morning, including cleaning the boss’s office, feeding the fish, watering the flowers, mopping the floor, and dusting. If I have time, I then help clean up the rooms of colleagues, as well as a long corridor. I also took on the responsibility of keeping the restroom clean, and now no one minds using the toilet. I was originally hired just to work in the boss’s office and I was not responsible for other jobs. But as a Falun Dafa practitioner who is a good person, I felt I should do everything well wherever I am. The work environment belongs to all the employees and I am one of them. One day, a colleague said to me with a smile, “You are really doing these jobs well without any complaint!” Most of my colleagues in the workplace know that I practice Falun Dafa.
The boss once called all employees to a meeting. During meetings, it is the office staff’s job to pour water for the boss and others. Since I am an office worker, filling water for others is what I should do. But I never liked doing things like serving tea or water, as I thought that was a waiter’s job. I still found it difficult to get down from my pedestal, due to an attachment to social status. Only when I saw an elder colleague get up and fill water glasses for others did I realize that I was wrong. I then quickly grabbed the kettle to pour water for other people. I then felt very relaxed as I eliminated this attachment.
Removing the Attachment to Fear of Suffering Losses
An average person may think that the attachment to personal interest is mainly about money. For me, that is not what was important. I simply didn’t want to sacrifice in terms of time and effort. I have long held an attachment to fear of suffering losses. For example, I don't like to work overtime. When I was working in the bank, the president was particularly dedicated. When something required urgent attention, he often asked us to work overtime. I was very discontent about this, thinking that working overtime was encroaching on our rest time and interfering with my Falun Dafa activities and responsibilities. Then one day I noticed that the president was an older man, who was probably under a lot of stress in his job, that the others knew little about. Suddenly, from deep in my heart, I felt sorry for him. I then didn't feel unhappy when I was asked to work overtime. It was strange, however, that from then on, the president rarely asked the employees to work overtime.
My new workplace was a private enterprise and not as regulated as state-owned enterprises. Working overtime is decided by the boss, and employees have to comply. The boss also certainly hopes that we can do as much as possible to maximize profits. From the bottom of my heart, I looked down upon this new workplace and it’s unprofessional atmosphere. I really did not want to work there, but I knew I would be of retirement age in four years, and would be better off staying at the job until I retire. I realized later that I still had the attachment of being unwilling to lose personal interest, and I wondered if I was really cultivating myself. I asked myself, “Shouldn’t I care less about my rest and sacrifice? What's the big deal? My home is very close to the workplace, and others live so far away. What am I supposed to do?” After these considerations, I was happy to accept working overtime and passed this test.
However, I still had a bad thought. I always unintentionally distinguish between “this is my job, and that is not mine.” For a while, young employees in the workplace often asked me for things such as audit materials they had to carry when going out. These things used to be prepared and printed out by them. My job was only to stamp these materials. Later, when finding that I had spare copies of the materials, they stopped doing what they used to and came to ask me for the materials. I don’t have a printer in the office but had to copy the materials copy by copy using a copy machine, and I felt very upset. I discussed this situation at home with my son who is also a practitioner. I soon concluded that I could not be a practitioner if I was always afraid of suffering losses! About the time I discovered my attachment, these young staff members seldom asked for the materials. They only occasionally ask me for the materials and I am happy to give them, and they are always polite and grateful.
One day the workplace needed to submit an important form about foreign exchange to a governing office. The woman who usually took care of this came over to teach me how to do the task. Her intention was to have me continue to do this job in the future, as she no longer wanted to do it. I was very unhappy at the time, as I knew that once the report form was submitted, it would become a long-term job responsibility for me. I felt that since this person was not a supervisor, she didn’t have power to arrange such a job for me. Therefore, when she started teaching me, I was not very active in the process. When I became stuck somewhere, I just waited for her to solve the problem. I knew that in fact, my workload was not as heavy as others. Then I thought, “Ok, I get overly tired if I do more work.”
Master said something like this in his lectures:
“Since studying Falun Dafa, these workers have been coming to work early and going home late. They work very diligently and will do any assignment the boss gives. They also no longer compete for personal gain.” (Lecture Four in Zhuan Falun, Version 2014)
I actively tried to proceed after thinking about it, but I didn’t get the job done even though I worked hard at it. The woman co-worker came over and she didn’t complete it either. She then noticed that the form stated that this form would not need to be submitted in the future. Everyone was very happy to hear this news.
This issue was directed at my attachment of unwillingness to suffer losses. Without this attachment, this tribulation wouldn’t have occurred.
Eliminating the Attachment of Showing Off
Sometimes when doing my job, I subconsciously still have a bit of attachment, hoping that others can see me doing the job. I do more than the job requires if being seen by others. One day while mopping the floor, I suddenly thought, “When I am working alone at home, my mind is so quiet that I have never thought about being seen or praised by others. How much time and energy have I wasted in the pursuit of reputation?” I then quickly finished my job and returned to the office. In fact, my mind is very clean and quiet when I don’t have this or that attachment.
Opportunities to Improve My Character
The friend who got me this job is an elderly lady. We have known each other for many years and have a great predestined relationship. She has helped me with many things. Because we are so close, we are very informal with each other. She said to me, “When I reprimand you, you should be pleased that it was me who introduced you to this job. I treat you this way strictly to show others that I treat everyone equally, so you should not be angry with me.” I laughed, “I am not angry with you.” In fact, Master was giving me a hint using her mouth. When others give me a hard time, they are giving me an opportunity to improve my character, eliminate my karma, and transform it into virtue. To be honest, I really should thank her for this.
This summer, the boss had a birthday and invited the entire staff to dinner. At the dinner table, a senior staff member praised me in front of everyone, “She is the person here who has received the highest level of education and has a certificate of registration. She works diligently and cleans both the toilet and corridor every day. Even though her child was preparing for his university entrance examinations this year, it didn’t affect her work. With quite good exam scores, her child has been admitted to an ideal university. She is really a model for us to learn from.”
I am actually not as good as she described, and this is indeed Master’s encouragement to me. In the future, I will be more sure-footed in cultivating myself well so as to validate the beauty of Dafa.
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Category: Improving Oneself
