(Minghui.org) I am a woman in my forties. Ever since being introduced to Falun Dafa in 1998, my life has been transformed, as I discovered that the real purpose of being human is to cultivate to return to our original purity. I have since lived my life in accordance with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. No longer drifting along under the influence of many unhealthy practices prevalent in our society, I have been doing my best at work and outside of work to improve my moral character.
I would like to share some of my experiences at work.
I got a job at a company very close to home in 2007. Because of my qualifications, the company director considered appointing me as the supervisor of the testing department. However due to circumstances, I was to first start in the department working on chemical analysis. Once the current supervisor, a man named Lin, became aware of my qualifications, he was pretty cold towards me and did not want to show me anything, which made the work situation rather awkward for me.
I was a bit annoyed at first, but very quickly thought of Master’s teaching:
“You should always be benevolent and kind to others and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I understood how the supervisor felt when I put myself in his shoes. That helped me put aside my own feelings and instead become more considerate towards him.
One day, I found an electronic version of a manual which was rich in content and facts. I thought the manual would be very useful to Lin so I recommended it to him, but he balked at my suggestion without even looking at it, “No, I don’t want it.” I knew he had reservations about my motives, so I opened up the manual on my computer. Lin took a quick look and was over the moon. He said that it was the reference manual he had longed for, and thanked me profusely. Lin has dropped his guarded attitude towards me ever since.
Everyone at the testing department is a woman and works in two shifts. The hand over of work between the two shifts caused a lot of friction among the workers – arguments often broke out about one shift doing more than the other. They complained to the director, but she could not resolve the issues either. Lin, being the supervisor, always ended up bearing the brunt of it. I stepped in and tried to resolve these issues for him when I first got to work in the morning. I was able to calm the workers down relatively quickly by putting myself in their shoes, quietly listening to their complaints, and responding by applying the teachings of Dafa.
Lin initially showed considerable animosity towards Falun Dafa because he had been poisoned by the propaganda spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When I first started with the company, Lin often spread the CCP’s lies behind my back, making it rather awkward for me to talk to him about the facts of the persecution. I took my time and worked away at doing well at every task, and treating everyone at work with kindness. Over time, I did not need to say much about Dafa to everyone, including Lin, to change their attitude towards the practice.
As Lin got to know me better, he saw that I was a Dafa practitioner who is virtuous and who has my sights set on perfecting my moral character rather than harboring any ulterior motives. He started to trust me and was willing to pour his heart out to me.
One year later, our company director dismissed Lin and promoted me to the supervisor position. By that time, Lin and I were getting along quite well. Before he left, he came to my office and talked to me heart to heart about his various grievances. We parted ways on friendly terms. I believe he is now a deputy director at another company. I hope he has a good future by understanding the evil nature of the CCP soon.
Since becoming the department supervisor, I have been acting in accordance with Master’s teaching:
“...consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I genuinely care for all the workers, I take time to talk to them about anything that is bothering them, and offer consolation or guidance to lighten their minds. Everyone in the department now gets along with one another and works together in a happy atmosphere. During the winter, the night shift workers complained about the cold, so I bought them hot water bottles using my own money.
One worker once said to me, “Please don’t leave. It’s so hard to find a good supervisor. If you leave, no one knows what our next supervisor will be like. We may just have bad luck again.” Hearing that, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t me that earned their praise but Falun Dafa, because I have conducted myself in accordance to the standards set by Dafa.
There is another Dafa practitioner at work named Lian. She works in the finished products workshop. I often saw lots of people congregating around her while she clarified the truth to them about Falun Dafa. I asked her, “You always have people around you. Why do so many people like you?” She said, “I don’t have any special way, I just treat everyone well.” These words have stayed with me to this day. Indeed, as a Dafa practitioner she was doing much better than me. She truly lived up to a high standard by doing all the difficult and tedious work, leaving the easier work for others. She shared with everyone any good things she had. Consequently, everyone in her workshop believes in the truth about Falun Dafa.
There was always tension between the workers in Lian’s workshop and the director over the issue of pay. One day, the simmering tensions exploded into an all out confrontation. All the workers, except for Lian, went on strike and hung a big white banner outside the company building. White cloth is normally used in a traditional Chinese funeral and that set off the director’s fuse. The director sent some tough guys to get rid of the strikers. But the striking women were not intimidated and in turn called the police. The stalemate lasted for some time.
Lian and I figured we could not sit on the sidelines. We knew that both parties had their own justifiable claims. Lian and I decided to help resolve the matter.
On the evening of the strike, Lian and I went to visit the company director with a gift of fruit. The director told us her difficulties in maintaining the company. She took out all her bank cards, pooling together all her funds to cover the wages. We empathized with her situation because we knew it was not easy running a business in China. Unlike businesses overseas, business owners in China not only have to work hard to maintain a profitable business, they also have to bribe and network with the corrupt officials in the many layers of government.
We also explained to her, “We know all the workers work really hard, but if they are unhappy with their pay, they probably should have had an open conversation with you first instead of taking such an extreme action. You must understand the way they are behaving is a result of the influence of the crooked Party culture. The CCP has long encouraged us to always wage war on one thing or another, and that people are to fight one another to the bitter end. Before the CCP, Chinese people were very civilized and would not have gone on strike to resolve their differences. All in all, you can’t really lay the blame entirely on the workers, as the system and society we now live in is also to blame.”
Lian and I also went to speak to the striking workers, “The director is raising money to cover your wages. You also need to understand her difficulties. It’s very tough running a business in China, there are high taxes to pay and many corrupt officials to pay off. The CCP’s Cultural Revolution destroyed our traditional culture and morality such that fraud and scams are common occurrences among businesses. Our director has to deal with a lot more than we know.”
Both Lian and I went back and forth between the two sides to lessen the tensions and establish common ground. The strike was soon called off. I think everyone involved now had a clearer understanding about the many problems we face in China, and that the CCP is the main culprit.
The environment for truth clarification in our company is great now. Sometimes when I speak in the workshop, a group of workers crowd around me, and when they are done, another group gathers. One day during lunch break, someone from the analysis team in the workshop asked Lian and I to see them. It turned out they wanted us to teach them the five sets of Falun Dafa exercises. We all ended up having a lovely time together.
Sometime later, I was arrested and sent to a detention center. Lian again clarified the truth about Falun Dafa to our director, who, as a result, made many calls and visits to the various government offices, and exerted pressure on them to release me. I was released one month later and when I returned to work, everyone was very concerned about what I had been through. This ordeal is a perfect example of an old Chinese saying: Evil will not defeat righteousness.
As I come to the end of my story, I sincerely hope that every Chinese will come to understand the truth about Falun Dafa and stop believing the lies spread by the CCP’s media – they are lies fabricated to legitimize their rule over the Chinese people. Everyone would do well to keep their eyes and ears open.
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