(Minghui.org) Like many people, major changes have occurred in my life because of the CCP Virus (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19).
I started a new job at a German call center, and for the past 6 months, I was commuting 200 km round-trip every day. I got up early in the morning and came home late at night. During these 6 months, I listened to our venerable Master Li’s recorded lectures in Guangzhou on the road almost every day. In this way, I studied the Fa in a disciplined way as much as I could.
Here I would like to share some of my experiences during this process.
An Opportunity to Save My Colleagues at Work
I could not find a job due to a long-term attachment to comfort, as well as other factors. After a long and difficult period, I realized that having a work environment is good for a practitioner.
I applied for a job that was located 100 km away and got hired. At first, I wondered whether I could really do this, because I had to travel 200 km every day and would be working in a position in which I had no previous experience.
When I started the new job, the work environment was very tense. People were undermining each other and there was a lot of gossip. Despite this, I constantly reminded myself that I was a practitioner and that these were all opportunities for me to elevate my xinxing (mind nature or character).
Some employees were biased against me. At first, I didn’t care that they treated me badly, and sometimes I bought food from the market and shared it at work. Sometimes, friends needed money or asked to borrow money, and I helped them as much as I could. In time, I became well-liked and respected thanks to the self-discipline and behavior of a practitioner. At the same time, my sales got better day by day, which made my supervisor happy.
But there was one person there who did not stop bothering me. He was constantly telling me things like how they could kick me out of there and that I should watch my step. I just said that only God knows who will stay. Then when I made more sales, I automatically got more attention, and this person threatened to break my bones, shouting at me after work. I told him, without insulting him, that I addressed him as an older brother and that I wanted him to act like one.
Perhaps because of his attitude toward me, although he was very talented and a favorite in the company, he had a problem with a lady at work and was soon removed from the workplace. Now he could only work from home. During a meeting, the supervisor mentioned that the workplace had been “cleaned up.” After a while, when he came back to visit the workplace, no one looked at him. Only I greeted him and gave him a Falun Dafa brochure.
Later, we learned that the main manager in Germany was going to come and provide a two-day sales training. When I heard about this, I wanted to tell the visiting manager about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China, but I was a little hesitant about how to do this. After all, we were there to be trained and were expected to focus on that.
During the two-day training, I was determined and focused and managed to attract the manager's attention. During a 10-minute break, I handed a brochure to his assistant and talked with him about the persecution, and then the main manager stopped by and visited us. I was a little excited, but I tried to stay calm and told him about Falun Dafa and the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of practitioners. He listened to me and then said, “Do you know why that government is doing it? Because if these people don’t use drugs, lobbies and companies would suffer.” He brought his own perspective as a businessman, but he acknowledged the persecution in China, so I was happy for him.
CCP Virus Crisis and Aftermath
Before the pandemic hit our country, I became tired of my long commute and decided to move closer to my job. I gave the income I received from our flat and field to my ex-wife and children and moved to the big city after taking on a huge loan.
Three days after moving there, our sales ground to a halt due to the virus, and the company put us on three weeks of unpaid leave.
During the quarantine, I thought, “I have a lot of debt, I am away from my children and friends here, and my workplace might even go bankrupt. What am I going to do now?” Then I realized that it was useless to think this way. I took it as an opportunity to improve my xinxing and study the Fa diligently.
After three weeks, our workplace reopened. Soon, our business was back on track, and we got a salary increase and then a bonus. It seemed as if the state of my workplace was related to the level of my xinxing. The manager in Turkey wrote a letter announcing that we were the most successful call center in our city and ahead of the other branches. At the same time, the branch where I worked took the lead among the three representatives in Turkey. The main manager in Germany announced that he was very pleased.
Saving People at Work
I distributed Falun Dafa brochures to all the employees at my workplace, taught the exercises to many of them, and gave out handmade paper lotus flowers. When there was high turnover at one point, I realized that the new employees also came to hear about the Fa. I even showed the five sets of exercises to my supervisor at work. I was surprised to see that he was able to sit in the full lotus position immediately. I'd felt a sense of connection from the very first moment I saw my boss, as if I'd known him before. This again reminded me that nothing is a coincidence.
On my way to work, I distribute brochures, and I even tell the customers that I talk to on the phone that we don’t sell Chinese products, that they should not buy Chinese products as they are low-quality, and that the CCP regime persecutes its own people.
Sometimes, if clients are verbally abusive on the phone, my colleagues would get angry or hang up on them, but I thank those who swear at me.
During this period, I had many tests, including the test of lust in a dream. I passed almost all of them, so I had good energy.
In this way, my workplace and all the of sentient beings around me have achieved different gains thanks to the light and power of the Fa.
Master said:
“The other day I said that the Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and harmonizes everything. In other words, the energy scattered from our bodies can rectify all abnormal conditions.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
Difficult Times Are Opportunities
As a result, I understood that difficult times also include opportunities. The coronavirus crisis may be a difficult period, but since everyone now has an issue with the Chinese regime, most of the time when I clarify the truth online in response to posts about the coronavirus crisis, people’s reactions are very positive.
I think that particularly difficult times and conditions produce something better, and the discipline and perseverance of a practitioner are positive things for all sentient beings around him or her.
Master said:
"A wicked person is born of jealousy. Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion. With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.An enlightened person has no attachments at all. He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions."(“Realms,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
In this coronavirus era, I have understood the importance of being a better family member, a good neighbor, and a good employee. But most importantly, I have come to understand the importance of maintaining good xinxing, as only a diligent practitioner can handle everything well and overcome all internal and external obstacles.
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Category: Improving Oneself
