(Minghui.org) I started working as a fee collector at a parking lot, working every other day for 100 yuan a day. At the time, all four attendants were Falun Dafa practitioners. We all followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in our behavior and did our jobs well.
We never gave favors to friends or relatives. They all knew we were practitioners and we treated them the same as any other customers. Sometimes, when I met old classmates, I would pay the parking fee for them with my credit card. I never took advantage of the company.
We often told the security guards the facts about Falun Dafa and the principle that one would not gain virtue without giving up their concern for personal gain. Our behavior created a righteous energy field around us. Some security guards respected us and also stopped doing favors for their friends and voluntarily came to pay their parking fees. They felt proud of themselves for being able to do that.
“Why Do You Still Want to Hand It In?”
The parking lot uses electronic meters to collect the fees. When the meters didn't work or there is a power outage, discrepancies could occur between the money collected and that recorded on the computer. This occurred one day soon after I began working there. A security guard told me, “You are new here. You know this money is not recorded, right!”
“I know,” I replied, “but I will still hand it over.”
He questioned me, “It's not recorded! Why do you still want to hand it in?”
“It's not mine. I can't keep it.” I responded.
He then got a little excited. “Give the money to me if you don’t want it. I’ll buy a pack of cigarettes.”
I laughed, “It’s not our money, so we mustn't take it.” The guard left, looking let down.
When the parking lot was sold to another company, the other practitioners quit, and I was the only one left. The new company hired many new employees, so I agreed to help train them. The new hires were all retired workers in their 50s or 60s. I wrote down the detailed procedures and showed them repeatedly so that they could quickly familiarize themselves with the computer system.
The manager often called me on my days off when a new employee ran into technical difficulties. I went to the company right away and helped solve the problems. This sometimes consumed my whole day. Once, the manager gave me 100 yuan as compensation. I declined, “The company just took over. I am glad to help get it up to speed. No extra pay is needed. I am a Dafa practitioner. My Master wants us to think of others first.”
The manager let me be in charge of station B by myself, which is twice as large as station A. I had no complaints and did it for over a month until the new employees could take over.
Both fee-collecting stations had cameras to monitor the operation. Even so, some people still tried to steal. Some fee collectors were reported by the security guards at the other station, but my station never had any problems. Whenever we had excess money, I just recorded it and handed it over to the manager. Occasionally, the money was short, so I just paid it out of my own pocket.
Witnessing this, the guard on duty said, “Other people all keep the excess money so they can use it later if there is a shortfall. You are just too stupid!”
I replied, “I need to clear the books every day!”
“The company would be very happy if everyone was like you,” the guard responded.
As time went on, the managers all knew practitioners were good and trusted us.
Once, the new accountant miscalculated my wages and overpaid me 100 yuan. I returned the money to him. Both he and the manager said that people like me were scarce, so they asked me to introduce more practitioners to the company.
The parking lot is very busy, especially on holidays and weekends. To speed things up, I stood all day to collect the fees. Sometimes the drivers handed me rolls of bills without counting them and could overpay by 5, 10, or 20 yuan. I always ran out of the station to catch the drivers and returned the money to them. Most of them were puzzled at first, then very thankful.
A young woman smiled at me when paying the fee. She told me, “Have you forgotten? Last time you returned 20 yuan to me.” I told her that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, and all practitioners would do the same. I sometimes gave them bills with messages about Falun Dafa printed on them, like “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
I recruited another practitioner to work at the company, and we cooperated well to validate Dafa together. One day, she discovered a fake 100 yuan bill at the end of her shift. The security guard said, “We only make a hundred yuan a day. Why don’t you think of a way to spend it?”
The practitioner was poor herself but still said, “I am a practitioner. I will follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I was cheated, but I cannot use the fake bill to cheat others.”
She tore up the bill and replaced it with her own money. The security guards all praised her actions. Some felt it inconceivable, but they knew that practitioners are all good people.
Deciding to Truly Think of Others First
Our lot is situated between a large wholesale market and a bus station. Many pedestrians use the parking lot as a shortcut to get to the bus station. Sometimes, they got hit by the automatic gate. I suggested that the company install speakers to remind people not to take the shortcut.
I heard a thud while I was collecting parking fees one day. A guy yelled, “Someone got hit.” I looked through the window behind me and saw an elderly woman sitting on the ground, pressing one hand on her head. She looked like she was in her 80s. Her son and daughter-in-law rushed to me and said, “Your gate hit our mother. What are you going to do?”
My head started spinning; I was very nervous, thinking “What are we going to do if she tries to con us?” I ran out of the station, and went to the woman and asked her how she felt. She said she felt dizzy.
Her son said, “My mom’s head is dizzy. What are you going to do?”
“The gate is automatic,” I replied. “It is lowered as soon as a car passes through. I don’t control it. Our speaker keeps reminding people not to take the shortcut.”
I was rather poor, making 1500 yuan a month. My husband just came out of prison because of his faith in Falun Dafa. He was left disabled from the persecution and couldn't work. So I could not afford to pay the medical bills for the elderly woman.
I rushed to the manager. Hearing an 81-year old lady was hit, she was also scared and didn't want to be involved, “Sister, why don't you go and talk with them. You deal with it yourself!”
I wasn't sure what to do. Suddenly, I recalled Master Li Hongzhi's teachings,
“When I was teaching the Fa and the practice in Taiyuan, there was a student over fifty years old. She and her spouse had come to attend my lectures. As they were crossing the street, a car drove by very fast, and its side mirror caught the elderly lady’s clothes. With her clothes caught by the car, the lady was dragged for a distance of over ten meters and “Bam!” slammed to the ground. The car stopped after charging forward for another twenty meters. The driver was very upset when he got out of the car, “Hey, you weren’t watching where you were going.” Nowadays, people behave this way and will, first of all, avoid responsibility upon coming across a problem, regardless of whether they are at fault.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
My first thought was to avoid responsibility, regardless of whether I was at fault or not; I didn't care about this woman's feelings at all. I felt embarrassed. Seeing the displeasure and worrisome look of the son and daughter-in-law, I put down all my worries and decided to take the woman to the hospital for a check-up. Whatever happened, I would take responsibility.
I went over to her and said, “How are you feeling now? I’ll take you to the hospital if you don’t feel well.”
A fellow practitioner happened to come by. She told them about Falun Dafa after she learned about the accident. She told them how my family was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party, and that one would be blessed by reciting the phrase, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I wrote down my name, phone, ID number, and told her son that I would take full responsibility.
The security guard pulled my arm and said to me softly, “Are you stupid!? You gave them all your information. You will have no escape if they try to con you.”
I replied, “It's going to be OK.”
My sincerity moved them. The woman recited “Falun Dafa is good,” and a moment later, she said, “My head is no longer dizzy. I am fine. I believe in Buddhas too. I will not con you.”
I later called her family and asked to visit. They said she was doing fine, so there was no need for me to bother.
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Category: Improving Oneself
