(Minghui.org) From being an IT engineer at Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park to working full-time at an independent media, Yang Chun-hao’s turning point in life took place during the COVID pandemic in 2021.

Taiwan was on level three alert that year. People were significantly impacted, and they felt insecure about the future. Yang had worked at Hsinchu Science Park for less than two years. He thought, instead of focusing his energy and time on a career, it would be better to change direction and help spread factual information and uphold justice.

Although his decision might have seemed sudden, his experiences of being addicted to video games during college, and later learning about Falun Dafa and reading Zhuan Falun, made him rethink how he wished to live his life.

Yang Chun-hao in Canada (Minghui.org)

From Video Game Addiction to Cultivation

Yang was born into an educated family. His parents were middle school teachers and cared about their children’s education. He performed well academically and attended top-tier schools during high school, college, and graduate school. He majored in electrical engineering as an undergraduate, and taught himself digital information technology. After he graduated, he became an engineer at Hsinchu Science Park.

Because his schedule was less restrictive after graduating he spent his free time playing online games. At the end of the first semester of the second year of graduate school he immersed himself in research, and he continued playing games to relieve stress when he was tired. However, he did not expect that he would not be able to stop once he started playing. After a series of fierce internet battles he had bloodshot eyes and felt physically and mentally drained.

“If I keep going like this, how will it end?” he wondered.

He remembered Falun Dafa’s main book Zhuan Falun that he had studied about two years before.

A friend had told him about Falun Dafa during his senior year in college. When he first read Zhuan Falun online he felt some inner resistance, so he stopped reading. He opened the book again two years later. When he read the section “Mind-Intent” in Lecture Nine he decided to practice Falun Dafa.

He later realized that he often acted impulsively, his mind wandered when he read, and he felt some resistance when he listened to lectures. Despite this, he found answers to questions that had troubled him for a long time.

“I can’t keep living aimlessly! Since I decided to cultivate, I have to act according to the requirements of Dafa,” he said.

He contacted a practitioner and attended a nine-day Falun Dafa class. He began practicing Dafa in 2017.

After he persistently studied the Fa and practiced the exercises, he felt physically stronger. His thoughts were clear and focused, and he was able to approach situations with a positive and optimistic mindset. “Falun Dafa teaches people to be good and helps them improve, but its requirements for cultivators are also high.”

He feels cultivation involves keeping one’s words, conduct, and thoughts in check every moment, and holding oneself to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

Loss and Gain After Being Sidelined at Work

Yang began working at the Hsinchu Science Park in 2019. Because he lacked seniority and experience his supervisor did not assign him many tasks. He was humble, diligently acquired new knowledge, and did his best to fulfill his duties.

In the early summer of 2021 people had to work from home due to the COVID pandemic. During his free time Yang volunteered for The Epoch Times and distributed newspapers. Rain or shine, he headed out early every morning.

People went out less because of the pandemic, and society was rife with unease. He believed that an objective, neutral, and honest newspaper could provide people with factual information.

After a few months he increasingly felt the responsibility of being part of the media. That September he resigned from his job as an IT engineer and applied to work for an independent media. This transition from delivering the newspaper to working full-time as a media employee was not merely a change of jobs for Yang, but also a choice for the direction he wanted in his life.

Everything went smoothly after he began working at the US headquarters. The work environment was harmonious, his colleagues got along well, and he was full of motivation every day. However, after he made a mistake, his supervisor stopped assigning him tasks and instead arranged for other colleagues to handle them. After suddenly being given a “cold shoulder,” Yang hit rock bottom.

“I traveled so far to participate, and all I wanted to do was to contribute my expertise. I did not expect to get sidelined,” he said.

He began complaining. Filled with grievance, he was not very responsive to his coworkers when they talked about their cultivation experiences. He later looked inward and realized that the issue might be his.

“I was attached to gain and loss, and wanted the others to recognize and affirm my efforts. Without a feeling of accomplishment, why would I persist?” he reflected. “I was driven by my attachments to fame and personal gain. Because my cultivation wasn’t good and my technical skills hadn’t improved I made mistakes.”

This experience led him to start strengthening his skills and paying attention to looking inward when encountering issues at work. He once proposed changes to his superior but they were not adopted. He felt disappointed, but later reflected on himself, “I cannot only look at the side of me that is doing right, and ignore the other side that isn’t doing well.

“I did not speak up at a good time. Also the conditions were challenging,” he said. He relaxed after he thought about it from the other person’s perspective. “The coordinator had to handle multiple jobs and also deal with other projects. From the perspective of company operations, he has to look at issues from many angles,” he said. “I should look at it positively and do my best to quietly supplement any deficiencies.”

Yang is now in a managerial position. When team collaboration hits a roadblock, it is unavoidable that he sometimes loses his temper. However, he usually quickly becomes aware of his emotions. “Instead of complaining, how about I think about what else I can do? Most importantly, how I can help my colleagues improve so the team can grow together,” he said.

Doing the Exercises and Joining the Tian Guo Marching Band

Despite the busy work in the media, Yang persists in doing the exercises every day.

He was in the US during the peak of the pandemic, when people avoided group gatherings and going outside. He nevertheless went to the exercise site near the office every afternoon and evening to do the exercises.

He believes that group Fa study and doing the exercises with other practitioners is the cultivation format Master asked practitioners to follow.

Besides work and cultivation, playing music is his main leisure activity. He attended a music talent program during elementary school. He is now a member of the Tian Guo Marching Band and participates in parades.

Yang performs with the Tian Guo Marching Band (Minghui.org)

He discovered that it is in fact difficult to completely separate cultivation from work. “Our work environment is also a cultivation environment—the better our cultivation state is, the better our performance at work,” he said.

Due to the music foundation laid when he was younger, he learned to play the instrument relatively quickly. With such an advantage, he reminds himself, “Cultivation is not about validating oneself. I should not let pride take root in my heart. We should always have compassion and achieve great things along with others.”

Standing by the Choice He Made

Yang often wonders how he would be if he had not found Falun Dafa. “I probably would have been buried in work all day and then spent hours playing video games after work. If I started my own family, I would probably have to worry about getting married and plan how to make money to buy a house, etc.” he said.

“In this world, the pursuit of fame, gain, and sentimentality make people worry about gains and losses, and they have no peace of mind,” he said.

He has now transferred to his hometown. His work remains busy. Looking back on his transition from engineer to a media professional, he said that the choice was not about position or income, but the type of person he wanted to be.

“Falun Dafa helped me understand that people’s lives are arranged, and there’s no need to pursue anything,” he said. “Practicing Falun Dafa is the best choice I made in this lifetime. Now I work hard to improve my xinxing every day, and I feel at ease. I feel fulfilled spiritually, and I see a beautiful world.”