(Minghui.org) I am a designer, who has, at different times, worked for both a practitioner and an everyday person. The bosses and employees at both companies were very satisfied with my work.
Last year, I took a long vacation because I was tired out from working too hard. On my return, both the practitioner and the everyday boss asked me to work for them. It was a difficult decision and I hesitated. But I knew that as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I should follow the Fa principles.
During my time away from work I visited the statue of Zhuge Liang, a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is often recognized as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. The statute was in Wuhou Memorial Temple, which was established to memorialize Zhuge Liang, in Chengdu City. When looking at the statue, I burst into tears. I wondered if this was because I had a predestined relationship with the Three Kingdoms. Teacher said,
“You know about Romance of the Three Kingdoms, right? Romance of the Three Kingdoms demonstrated 'yi.' Through a dynasty and a contest of strength among three powers, the inner meaning of yi was fully demonstrated. Also, it was over a period of time as long as a dynasty that the deep meaning of yi was demonstrated, and only after that does mankind, when the Fa is taught today, have a deep understanding of yi, and know what yi is, the extended relationship between its surface and its inner meaning, or how it manifests at deeper levels. People can't just know this word's surface meaning--they need to understand all of its inner meaning. Of course, Romance of the Three Kingdoms also demonstrated the resourcefulness of man and other qualities.” (“Touring North America to Teach the Fa”)
Resolving a Dilemma and Thus Making the Right Choice
I resigned from the practitioner's company last year because I had been far too busy and needed a long break. We had a teacher-student relationship and he promised that I could return to my old job once I was ready to go back to work. At the same time, my former boss, who is not a practitioner, asked me to work for him. I faced a dilemma.
After asking myself, “Why am I encountering this conflict,” I looked inside and identified many attachments, including to fame and personal gains. But that didn't help and I continued to wonder what to do.
I had been attached to making my decisions based on “yi” [justice, honesty, loyalty and reliability] and “promise.” With a hint from Teacher, I was enlightened to the inner meaning of “predestined relationship.” I realized that as a practitioner during the Fa-rectification period, I should base my decision on my ability to save sentient beings and balance everything based on the Fa truths. This naturally was beyond the human term “yi” and “being a good person.”
I realized that it didn't matter if one was a practitioner or an everyday person, as both came to this world to assimilate to the Fa. A predestined relationship surpasses any favor or any relationship based on hate that one might bring along from the past. I must have a strong predestined relationship with that everyday person who was my boss, and what matters is how to save him and his employees. My relationship with the practitioner boss is sacred, and what matters most is how to cooperate well with him, cultivate diligently together, and save people who have predestined relationships with us in our line of business.
Based on the viewpoint of saving people, I decided to work for the non-practitioner first so that I could save people in that environment. After some time, I would go back to work for my fellow practitioner and cooperate with him to save people. I believed that this would allow me to make up for shortcomings at each workplace.
Since I kept only the thought of saving people in mind, Teacher opened a wide door for me and gifted me with many righteous thoughts and wisdom. Once more, I sensed the greatness of Teacher and Dafa.
Dafa Opens My Wisdom So I Can Save People
As a designer, I need to come up with new ideas. However, what I had designed at the fellow practitioner's company was of commercial value and confidential, so I could not use it at the everyday person's company. Additionally, I was inexperienced with the techniques needed for my new employer, so I would be under constant pressure.
I enlightened however, that going back to work was only the superficial phenomenon, while saving people was the main goal. When I studied “matter and mind are one thing” (Zhuan Falun), Dafa manifested a layer of inner meaning for me. I knew how to do well in design. The idea of design comes from one's mind, while it's also matter. As long as I improved my xinxing and assimilated to the Fa, Teacher and Dafa would provide me with what I needed to do well.
And that is exactly what happened. I kept firm a thought of saving people in mind, and sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the elements that interfered with colleagues while I was working. I took the pressure at work lightly. Every time before I started to design, my mind was empty. However, when I started the work, good ideas came to me, and my designs were accepted by everyone. My colleagues admired me, my boss was happily surprised, and the customers were more than satisfied. One customer said that he had seen many designers employed in the same industry but never anyone at my professional level. He said that if one day I was recognized in the industry, our company's business would prosper. Such compliments are really hardly ever applied to a young person with only a few years of experience in the field.
Whenever I encountered difficulties at work, I looked inside to identify my problem. As long as my xinxing improved, miracles at work immediately manifested. I could easily solve difficult design problems in the early stages. My boss was very surprised. He said, “Everything comes so easily to you!” But I knew that many ideas were imprinted into my mind by Teacher.
I usually had ideas for the design first, then directed others to develop them. I never tried hard to come up with ideas, yet they always appeared in my mind when I started working on a project. Obviously these were all gifted by Teacher and Dafa.
Teacher said,
“In the future there will then be many experts and scholars whose wisdom will be broadened through the Buddha Fa. They will become the new mankind’s pioneers in different fields of learning.” (“Validation" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I hadn't understood this Fa-truth very well in the past. I used to look for a supporting theory from the Fa and traditional culture while I was working. Now I'm in a cultivation state where my wisdom has been opened by Dafa. We are cultivating in Dafa. Teacher is omnipotent. Everything comes from Dafa. We should just follow Teacher's requirements.
Validating the Fa and Saving People
My boss and colleagues witnessed my outstanding performance, which laid a good foundation for my clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa and saving people. When my boss and colleagues praised me, I took the opportunity to validate the Fa by telling them, “My abilities come from Dafa because it gave me wisdom. Actually when I start working on the design, I only hold in my mind the thought of helping others. It is just as ancient people said, "It seems that gods are helping me.”
I seized the opportunity to break through my colleagues atheism and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) lies whenever possible. I also gave them Shen Yun DVDs and the software for breaking through the Internet blockade. I told them the facts about Falun Dafa and persuaded them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
My boss once wanted to purchase insurance for me. I regarded it as a hint to persuade him to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, because that was his true insurance for a good future. I thought, “I am here to save people. This is the critical moment that he has been waiting eons for.” I asked Teacher to strengthen my righteous thoughts and eliminate any elements that interfered with him being saved.
I told him the meaning of “heaven is annihilating the CCP,” why people should quit the CCP, and what his true life insurance really is. My boss understood immediately and agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. One colleague even asked me to choose a good date for him to quit the CCP. I gradually eliminated my attachments to worrying and pursuit while saving people. I only have a compassionate heart and persuade people to be kind.
Teacher has actually arranged everything for us and always gives us hints. To save people effectively, it's crucial for us to cultivate well and maintain righteous thoughts.
Breaking Through the Interference of Being Too Busy
Design is classified as a service industry. A designer's salary is high, but the pressure is also high. Working overtime is common, even on weekends. I found that other practitioners experienced the same time constraints. I tried human methods for a period of time. I also quit the job and focused on telling people the truth about Falun Dafa.
However, if we do not walk a righteous path, we will face interference. As a result, the effect of my clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to people was not good. My boss asked me to return to work. I thought his knowing side was eager to be saved. Additionally, I knew I should walk a righteous way. If I went back to work, I had to break through the interference of being overly busy with work.
With hints from Teacher and after looking inside, I realized that being busy is not inevitable, and it occurred because of my human attachments. I used to have one thought, that of validating the Fa by doing well at work. That thought actually contained many human attachments, including fame, personal gain, pursuit of career, showing off, etc., which were all reasons that kept me busy at work.
Whenever I thought of how to do well at work, I realized that this was my attachments to fame, personal gains, and pursuit of career, not myself. My true self should be in a state of wuwei (nothingness), want nothing, but possess great wisdom. After I was enlightened to this, I tried my best to get rid of my attachments to fame and personal gains while studying the Fa. Once Dafa opened my wisdom, I did well with my designs. I improved my work efficiency and broke through the interference of being always busy at work.
One time I was assigned to a large project, which took me only one day from collecting data to coming up with the final solution. It's really the speed of gods! I now work four to five hours per day, and am off on weekends. I have more time to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and save people.
There were tests, too. Sometimes I wanted to work for more hours, but Teacher gave me a hint not to, and my boss urged me to go home early. I realized that I didn't have firm belief in Teacher and Dafa, so I was afraid of lacking design ideas, and I tried human methods.
Another time I had an unrighteous thought and I immediately faced interference. The client raised his requirements and asked me to change my design. I realized that the evil took advantage of my human thoughts to grab my time. I corrected my mind immediately. I thought that I was here to save people and shouldn't be interfered with. Soon all the trouble disappeared. It took only several words to solve the problem that could have taken several days if I had used human methods.
Great changes have taken place recently just because I broke away from the old notions and kept the firm thought of saving people. I became more clearheaded. Teacher said,
“Everything through the ages,
came about for the Fa”
(“Just a Play” from Hong Yin Volume II)
As long as we align ourselves with the Fa and focus on doing the three things well and saving people, nothing will become a problem because we have Teacher and cultivate in Dafa. Dafa is unimaginably huge. If we walk on the path arranged by Teacher, everything will be the best.
Breaking Through Barriers and Cooperating with Fellow Practitioners
During a period of time when I was working for the practitioner, I was too busy and I started to hate him and complain about him. I complained that he took on too many jobs, and I attributed all my interference to him. We were very busy, couldn't cooperate well in saving people, and sometimes had conflicts.
After a short break, I calmed down and identified many attachments such as to fame, personal gain, selfishness, and jealousy. Though I looked inside during tribulations, I still couldn't let go of complaining and hatred. It was because I thought the interference came from fellow practitioners. I didn't realize that I had a problem. If I had no attachments, there would be no tribulation of “keeping busy.”
I finally understood that keeping busy and barriers are interference from the evil. We should look at the practitioner's good side. His shortcomings are manifested in front of me because it's time for me to improve my xinxing and be more tolerant. I should help him instead of complaining about him. I should cooperate well with him and save people. After I improved, I could sense my divine predestined relationship with the practitioner.
I often shared with this practitioner about cooperating well in saving people. I also asked him for advice to save people in the other company. During that time, there was interference that prevented us from cooperating well. One time I couldn't find him after two tries, but I kept righteous thoughts and continued trying to contact him. From time to time a thought popped into my mind, such as, “If he holds some ill thoughts about me...” or, “If he had human thoughts...” I immediately realized that this was interference from the old forces, trying to create a barrier between us. I drove away those evil thoughts and kept righteous thoughts. I firmly believed that the practitioner's life was renewed in Dafa and I could definitely break through the evil barriers.
It was not easy to get to see that practitioner. My child had high fever twice when I tried to contact him on two occasions. I knew that this was interference from the evil. It didn't interfere with me because I kept on doing what I should do.
My two bosses also had a business relationship. I had thought of cooperating with the practitioner to save the everyday person, but the practitioner asked me to do it myself. I treated it with righteous thoughts and didn't force him to help me. Sometimes I overheard someone badmouthing the practitioner, but then realized that the evil was creating barriers between us. Most of this was false. I was not caught in the net, but treated everything with righteous thoughts and balanced everything according to the Fa principles.
I also shared with the practitioner about how to do well in design and break through the state of being busy at work. We cooperated in validating the Fa and cultivated diligently together.
He called me several days ago and told me that my colleagues were unhappy with me because I only thought of saving people in the other company and did not care about them. His words touched my karmic side, which put into my mind thoughts of complaining, hatred, and pursuing outside. I realized that this was not my true self, so I denied it. I thought that, since problem occurred, I should do well, and that it was time for me to tell them the facts. I again focused on saving people and corrected my mindset. I told the evil, “Never think of creating barriers between me and my fellow practitioner.” Later I wondered, “We've already cooperated well with each other. Why was there such a test?” I understand now that it was because I was still carrying the attachment to selfishness.
During this part of my cultivation, I realized that barriers actually form first in our hearts, leaving a loophole for the evil to take advantage of. Any little conflict with the practitioner arose because I had not given up attachments. I cherish the divine predestined relationship with fellow practitioners, and cultivated my every thought. I firmly believe that as long as our hearts are together, no matter how much we do, the power in other dimensions is huge for eliminating the evil.
When my heart changed, the environment changed accordingly. The practitioner called me again and we are again on good terms.
I only keep in my heart what a practitioner should do. Teacher has done everything for us. We are not allowed to go awry in any respect, at home, at work, in personal cultivation, in cooperation among practitioners, in Fa study, in sending righteous thoughts, etc. As long as we walk on the righteous path, Dafa's power will manifest.
There are still many things that I haven't done well. I will try my best to catch up.
If you find anything inappropriate, please kindly correct it.
Thank you, great compassionate Teacher.
Heshi!
