(Minghui.org) After the summer break last year, I got to know that I had met four of the five conditions for receiving municipal level recognition for my work. The only thing I needed was an outstanding rating in my annual performance review over the past five years.
My colleague Ping said, “It is a pity that you missed such an opportunity just because of this. I have received outstanding ratings multiple times in the past several years. If you agree, let me talk to the leadership, and see if they can give you a good rating this year. If needed, they can choose you instead of me this time.”
I thought: I had been working hard and had always done outstanding work. I truly deserved this rating. However, due to the persecution of Falun Gong, my school administrators would not let me teach or give me an outstanding rating due to pressure from the {610 Office}.
Ping spoke to the school's vice president and she met with me.
“You have been doing a great job,” the vice president said. “In fact, I felt guilty for not giving you a higher rating. I’m sure you understand our situation. Ping spoke on your behalf. Please go ahead and apply.”
I filled out the application quickly. Just when I was ready to submit it, I thought of Master’s teachings and the Fa principles.
The results of performance reviews were announced at school. If I took Ping's rightful performance ranking, had I met the requirement of being truthful? If other teachers heard about this, wouldn’t that affect the credibility of the school's leadership? Am I being considerate of others here? When I considered this, I decided to give up on this opportunity.
The next day, I went to the vice president’s office and said, “Thank you for giving me this opportunity and your recognition! I thought more about this. I am a Dafa practitioner. My Master taught me to follow the principles of ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.’ If I accept this, I wouldn’t be truthful and I wouldn’t be considerate of the school's leadership. When I get this rating, I want to earn it. I hope in the future the school's leadership will not discriminate against Falun Dafa practitioners and you will give us the same opportunities to compete for an outstanding rating.”
I expressed my gratitude to Ping. “Thank you for caring about me. I admire someone who would let me take their place and you did so with an open heart. As a Dafa practitioner, how could I go against the principles of ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’?”
After I let go of the attachments to fame and personal gain, I felt so relieved and happy. I’m so fortunate to be a Dafa practitioner. Otherwise, how could I resist all the temptations in the human world?
Category: Improving Oneself
