(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda, most people in China had a hostile attitude towards Falun Dafa. In 2001, I was arrested and fired from my job. Life was very difficult. I went to the 610 Office and the residential committee, the two agencies that participated in the persecution, and demanded that they find me a job so that I could make a living and support my family.
Yin, the secretary of the residential committee, contacted a property management company run by her acquaintance, which needed a landscape technician. I happened to have professional training in this and so I was hired.
I was very grateful to Yin. Ten years later I learned from Qian, the owner of the property management company, that Yin was using the job to monitor me. She often asked Qian about my situation and Qian gave her positive feedback.
Qian and most of her family members quit the CCP and related organizations after I clarified the facts to them. They know Falun Dafa is good and protect practitioners whenever they can. Her business thrived over the years. In 2017, it became one of the top 100 property management companies in China, with annual profits of tens of millions of yuan.
After working there for three months, I thought about quitting, as I didn’t have enough time to clarify the facts and help people withdraw from the CCP. They panicked about my leaving, because I was the only one who knew how to treat the diseases of trees and shrubs.
Qian offered to pay me 3,000 yuan a month to be the general project manager. I declined. She then offered me the position of vice president of the company with 6,000 a month. I declined again.
“What do you want? Help me, please,” she said.
The offers she gave me were excellent. But I was concerned that if I spent too much time at work, I wouldn’t have time to fulfill my responsibility as a Dafa practitioner. Making more money wasn’t my top priority and I hoped to spend more time on cultivation.
On the other hand, I also didn’t want to let her down and I appreciated the job opportunity she gave me when I most needed it. After some thinking, I accepted her offer, on the condition that I only reported to her and no one else.
I didn’t expect that I would continue working there for the next 12 years. The projects I managed won national awards every year. The job also provided me with great opportunities to interact with many people every day. I tried my best to talk to everyone I met and I was able to persuade 20 or 30 people to quit the CCP each week.
As soon as I joined the company, I was asked to manage eleven landscape projects, including recruiting new personnel, managing the technology, and purchasing materials. The knowledge and research experience I had about plant pathology, pesticides and fertilizers were all put to good use. No matter what issues we encountered over the years, I was able to solve them smoothly.
Upon hearing about my work performance, the owners of a private plant protection company invited me to join their company. The owners, a married couple, talked to me four times and offered to pay me 10,000 yuan a month, with a free company apartment, meals, a private driver and an annual vacation to five different countries. The job responsibility was to travel within the province, giving guidance on the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
The offer looked irresistible, but I declined it.
One of the owners seemed to be offended and asked me what would it take for me to join them.
I said, “Thank you for trusting me. It’s not about money, but about principles. After I finished serving a prison term for practicing Falun Dafa, my boss didn’t discriminate against me because of my faith. When the police, 610 Office agents and community workers came to harass me at the company over the years, the boss did not blame me. Another time, more than ten police officers and government officials came to demand that I renounce Falun Dafa. The company’s vice president told them, ‘He’s a good person. He’s capable, very kind and works hard. He is a rare talent. The company deeply respects him. As for his practicing Falun Dafa, that is his belief, and we shouldn’t interfere with it!’ The officials didn’t continue to press me to sign the paperwork and left. I truly appreciate their support and I hope to continue contributing to the company.”
In China, it was common practice for people doing procurement to take bribes from suppliers and pocket some “gray money.” During the 12 years I bought supplies for the company, I always made sure every transition was accurate and transparent, without pocketing a penny for myself.
Last year, I bought two items for the company at a grocery store and was charged 40 yuan. I asked for a receipt, and the cashier asked what number he should write on the receipt. He said that a while ago, a military officer bought something for over 200 yuan and asked him to write 700 yuan on the receipt, so he could pocket the 500 yuan difference when he received the reimbursement. I explained that I practice Falun Dafa; I follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and I wouldn’t do such unethical things. He understood the facts and agreed to quit the CCP when I asked him to.
I often buy flower pots and other things from a porcelain store. The owner also kept offering to write higher price on the receipt and I always refused. Out of curiosity, she asked me why. I clarified the facts to her. She said she admired me for following Falun Dafa’s principles.
There was a flower shop owner who gave me a kickback of 2,200 yuan after I bought goods worth more than 30,000 yuan. I returned the money in full and I also clarified the facts to him.
Another time, I bought some cigarettes for the company and the owner gave me some extra boxes by mistake. He was in disbelief when I returned and paid the money for the extra cigarettes. As I was talking to him, three traffic police officers overheard our conversation. The owner pointed at me and said to the officers, “Falun Dafa practitioners are good people.” The owner used to be hostile to me, but changed his attitude after this incident. He and two of the three traffic officers all agreed to quit the CCP.
After working for the company for so many years, my salary and benefits didn’t keep up as other employees of the company. Sometimes I felt it was unfair, but Master’s Fa enlightened me:
“It is hard in that you knowingly lose your vested interests among everyday people. Amidst your critical self-interests, are you moved? Amidst interpersonal mind games, are you moved? When your friends or family suffer, are you moved? How do you weigh these things? Being a practitioner is just so difficult!” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
In my everyday job, this paragraph of the Fa often comes to mind, guiding me to navigate various conflicts in the complex environment and help me let go of my attachment to personal profit.