(Minghui.org) I am 30 years old and I began practicing Falun Dafa three years ago. I used to be egotistical, and I was bent on pursuing prestigious schools and higher education. Practicing Falun Dafa reshaped my view of the universe, life, and values, making me indifferent to fame and fortune. I’m now genuinely considerate of others.
As an only child, I was spoiled. I was selfish, unwilling to share, and I was not grateful. My father pinned his unfulfilled dream of “making a name” on me. My studies were strictly planned, but my moral education was seriously lacking.
In the book The Ultimate Goal of Communism, there is a saying, “the cunning and precocious child,” and this is true. By the time I was in high school, I was jealous of my wealthy relatives and despised my poor ones; I envied those classmates from rich and high official families and ridiculed my classmates from the township. My test scores were not good enough to get into the top class, but I blamed my parents for not finding a good tutor.
I lived in a high school dormitory with six people. Because the water dispenser could no longer boil water after the lights were turned off, we agreed to take turns every day to fetch hot water. One night when the lights were about to turn off, the roommate said he forgot to get water. Without even thinking about it, I quickly took the basin and collected all the hot water in the dispenser, and prepared to wash my feet in it. My roommate said that he just lied and that he fetched water for our dorm. I can’t tell you how embarrassed I was.
One of my college classes was difficult, so I copied homework from a straight A student. He later no longer allowed this, worrying that with so many people copying his work, the teacher would find out. I criticized him behind his back, ridiculed him to his face, isolated him, and even thought I was justified.
After graduating with a master’s degree, I joined a company whose work involved bidding for technical projects. Suppliers often curried favors or invited us to nice restaurants to eat and drink, and I never refused.
One year, the company wanted to adjust the ratio of basic salaries to performance pay. I quarreled with the human resources department and refused to adjust the salary ratio, and they eventually gave in. At that time, I thought I was capable and showed off to people in the same department who received salary adjustments. I laughed at them and said they were weak.
In short, before practicing cultivation, I was an egotist who never took any losses, and I hardly considered others. I was drifting in the big dye vat of ordinary people.
During the COVID outbreak, under Master’s compassionate guidance and with the help of practitioners, I was fortunate to start practicing Falun Dafa.
From cultivation I understood the universal law of “no loss, no gain” (Zhuan Falun) and stopped taking advantage of situations. The sales manager of a supplier asked me to dinner alone several times, but I politely declined.
I submitted a patent for an invention at one point, and it was granted. The company sent a large patent bonus to my account. In fact, I was the third inventor of that patent, responsible for writing the application materials. The first inventor was the former leader, who also came up with the innovation idea of the patent. But he later left the company, and according to the company rules, he didn’t get any money. The second inventor was the current leader, who was just listed as a name, who usually does not get patent bonus.
I proposed to the current leader to give all the bonus to the first inventor, and the current leader agreed (he knows I practice Falun Dafa and strive to be a good person). The first inventor later insisted that the bonus be divided into three, and as a result, I still received one-third of the bonus. If I hadn’t practiced Dafa, I would have taken all the money myself or split it with the current leader.
At the end of a phase of a collaborative project, my colleague and I decided to pay half of the money each and invite the team from Party B to dinner. During the meal, Party B’s leader joked, “It’s always Party B inviting Party A to dinner, I have never seen Party A invite Party B.” He thanked my colleague, thinking that it was his treat. He was even more surprised to learn that our company doesn’t reimburse, and that the meal was entirely paid for by individuals, so he went on to praise my colleague more.
Before practicing Dafa, I may have made it clear or implied to Party B that I also contributed half of the money, and then waited for their thanks or flattery. But this time I didn’t, thinking that this matter represents the style and image of our company, not me personally, and at the same time, it would have also exposed my jealousy and desire for fame, which was exactly what I needed to eliminate.
Last year, our city implemented an extreme COVID lockdown. While having to work from home, the company promised to pay salaries in full according to the working hours. My work is mainly on-site, and I didn’t have many matters to handle at home. It took two to three hours a day to deal with. At the end of the month, the company asked everyone to fill out a form listing the number of hours worked, and everyone submitted many hours.
Master said,
“It is held among everyday people that one does not gain if one does not work for it. More work means more gained, less work means less gained. The more efforts one makes, the more returns one deserves.” (Zhuan Falun)
I thought I should truthfully write how many hours I worked. Also, I thought about how hard it was for the company during the lockdown. Later, the human resources department even called specifically to ask me if I made a mistake. I said, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.” They then asked if I would recognize the proportional deduction of salary. I said yes. As a result, I was paid 6,000 yuan less during the month of working from home, but I felt at ease.
During the hottest days last August, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) imposed “energy-saving restrictions.” One day the company had a power outage at noon, and the power restoration time was uncertain. With the air conditioning off, all the other colleagues were sweating and complaining. My body changed after I began practicing Falun Dafa and I’m more tolerant. I barely sweat.
At two o’clock in the afternoon, I had an idea to treat my colleagues to ice cream. Actually, I rarely eat ice cream and I don’t like it. Outside, the surface temperature was over 50 degrees Celsius (122°F), with no wind, and the air was like steam. Master taught us to be considerate of others, so I went out.
The nearest convenience store was a twenty-minute walk away. I bought ice cream and walked quickly back to the office, fearing it would melt. It just so happened that the power was back when I arrived, and the air conditioning was on. Colleagues happily ate ice cream and chatted about their childhood memories. I was sweating, but I felt the joy of giving unconditionally to others.
What is true consideration for others? As I read the Fa (teachings), I realized that under the celestial phenomenon of the destruction of the CCP, telling others to understand the truth, choosing to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and agreeing with Falun Dafa, is fundamentally thinking of others and being responsible for their lives. At work, I am recognized for my conduct, which paves the way for clarifying the truth. When I give a truth-clarification flash drive to my colleagues or suppliers, most of them are willing to accept it, and some even ask me for the latest apps to get around the CCP’s Internet firewall.
I have changed so much after practicing Falun Dafa for three years. From being weak and depressed, I am now in good health, energetic at work, and feel the joy of reading and memorizing the teachings every day.
I’ve only described the great changes brought to me by practicing Falun Dafa from the perspective of my personal interests. I hope this will be an inspiration to readers, especially young readers in China.
(Selected Submission Celebrating the 24th World Falun Dafa Day on the Minghui Website)