(Minghui.org) It was because I witnessed such dramatic changes in my wife after she started practicing Falun Dafa that I also took up the practice.
My Wife and I Become Practitioners
Before my wife started practicing Falun Dafa, she was in very poor health. She had to take all kinds of pills before every meal so that she was practically full even before she took a bite.
To find cures for her illnesses, she had checked out different qigong practices, and even resorted to what I considered to be outlandish means, all to no avail.
Soon after she started to practice Falun Dafa in the spring of 1996, she stopped taking medications and let go of all the outlandish things. She became healthy.
When I noticed the great changes in my wife, I got interested in Dafa. That summer, I also started to practice. My heart disease, frozen shoulder, and other ailments likewise disappeared.
All our relatives, friends, and neighbors witnessed our physical and mental improvements after we began practicing Falun Dafa.
Before, my wife was so sick she could barely cook our meals. Now, she can even do yard work--weeding, pruning, anything, and everything.
With diligent Fa study, my wife and I became aware of Master’s mercy and compassion in saving all sentient beings, including us.
Standing up for Dafa at Work
I'd been working at the same place for 12 years, so my time spent on group study and exercises was rather limited, but I did my best to study the Fa and do the exercises in my spare time. I also tried to talk about Dafa to my colleagues whenever possible.
Above all, I made strict demands on myself to adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. As a result, my boss trusted me, and my colleagues paid me compliments. This lay the groundwork in my efforts to promote Dafa and help people bring themselves better futures by renouncing the Party and its affiliated organizations.
On April 25, 1999, I was at a dinner with my boss, who was entertaining the National People's Congress chief of the county and some People's Political Consultative Conference leaders.
They were talking about an important television broadcast that evening--Jiang Zemin’s mobilization order to suppress Falun Dafa.
They all knew I practiced Falun Dafa, so they asked for my opinion.
I told them the facts about Dafa and how practitioners live by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I assured them we had no political aspirations, nor were we interested in worldly fame or fortune. All we wanted was to try to be good people.
They said, “If you don’t practice Falun Dafa, then you are a good person.”
I answered, “Without Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, nobody can keep from sliding down with society’s declining morals.”
They continued, “But the television broadcast said that Party members are not allowed to practice.”
I declared, “Then I’ll resign from the Party.”
A few days later, I went to the Party secretary at work to turn in my resignation.
Because at the time I was the designated Member of the Party Branch Committee for my company, my resignation was turned down.
I informed the secretary, “I’m just letting you know. I don’t need your approval. I’m no longer an atheist, so I can’t remain a Party member.”
My employer continued to deduct Party dues from my salary even though I had quit. After I reminded them several times, they eventually relented and I was dropped from the Party roles.
To facilitate my work production and increase our company's visibility, my boss provided me with a car and a driver.
At that time, unlike nowadays, there were very few cars available, so running errands and attending to outside businesses in a company car bolstered our image.
But I soon noticed the driver always followed me around and didn't leave me alone for a minute. At first, I didn’t pay much attention nor did I really care, but it bothered me.
Then I reflected on the fact that a Dafa cultivator’s behavior is always aboveboard, so one day I invited the driver to accompany me to a project.
He said, “That’s okay. The boss has given you financial authority anyway. I really don’t need to go with you.” Then he added, “The boss did instruct a few people to keep an eye on you.”
Giving Good Advice
My boss’s relatives often falsified their expense accounts. I found this awkward to handle. They often made hints to me that they were family, that I didn’t need to get too serious. But I knew I had to act in accordance with the standards for a Dafa practitioner. I also had to be responsible to my boss.
The boss’s sister-in-law and younger brother later had to be fired, and my boss lamented to me, “The most reliable people are not my close relatives or loved ones, but people who practice Falun Dafa.”
When I first started to work there, I often heard my boss complain about missing equipment and tools stored in the warehouse that his grandfather oversaw.
One day, my boss cursed his grandfather, saying he had given away dozens of tons of steel by allowing the manufacturer to smuggle it away.
What happened was the original batch of steel was substandard, which would have meant a big loss for the company, so my boss had decided to hold onto the steel but find time to talk to the manufacturer to seek replacement and compensation.
The manufacturer was aware of the grandfather's love of drinking, so he sent over a crate of liquor and succeeded in gaining access to the warehouse with the grandfather’s help and smuggled the substandard steel out.
I voiced my opinion to my boss and offered him a possible solution, adding, “When a business grows big, employing family will inevitably bring about many problems.”
My boss agreed, and the company soon began to change and grow.
My boss’ wife personally once drove to the warehouse to take a few vats of pickles. The warehouse manager refused to hand them over because she did not have the proper approval.
The wife was furious and complained bitterly: “All this belongs to my family. Who needs 'approval?' Why am I being treated like an outsider!”
When the incident was reported to me, I didn’t get upset. I thought that was meant to improve my xinxing.
When the boss’ wife came to me to request an approval document, I tried to explain, but she cut me off, saying, “Your staff has already informed me that the strict policy is for the good of our family business. We should be grateful to you. How can we be unhappy?”
I answered, “You don’t need to be grateful to me. You should thank Falun Dafa.”
An Honest Employee
One year, we made an order for some boilers from a certain factory. To show his gratitude, the salesman wanted to offer me a kickback.
I explained that I followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and would not accept kickbacks. Instead I would be happy to help him renounce the CCP and its affiliates. He agreed.
After the deal was sealed, my boss went with me to sign the contract with the agreed price of 460,000 yuan. I discovered there was an additional sum of 30,000 yuan, meant to be my commission. When I protested, the salesman indicated that it was his factory director’s decision, which he was in no position to contradict.
I recommended the contract price be changed to 430,000 yuan, since I would not accept the kickback. But the salesman still insisted he couldn’t do that without authorization from his factory director.
He then called his factory director to join us to resolve the issue.
In the meantime, we offered an explanation to my boss.
My boss was moved but not surprised, because he had been through similar incidents before, more than once. For example, I had a contract for an order of steel windows and the factory gave me a 10,000 yuan commission. I turned the sum over to my boss.
When the salesman’s factory director, who happened to be a group-level cadre, arrived, he announced: “Let me see for myself what kind of person this is.”
He was introduced to my boss, and said, “Ah, I get it. He owns stock in your company.”
My boss answered, “Actually, he’s just one of my staff members. He isn’t a shareholder.”
The factory director was perplexed, “Nowadays, nobody orders a boiler without a kickback. But he won’t take one…” He paused, “Okay, then. Today, I’ll stick around for a bit. I’ll take you two to have a fine meal in the city.”
Of course, I took full advantage of the opportunity Master arranged to explain to him the facts about Falun Dafa.
Putting Others First
To reduce costs, my boss later made me responsible for both development and building projects.
People who know me know that I do not cut corners and always provide quality assurance, so everything we sell, sells well.
I always put the buyers first and helped them in every aspect of their purchase to the best of my ability.
Finally, my boss stopped by my office and complained tactfully: “You always pick the best for our buyers--what are we to do with the leftovers of lesser quality?”
What he really meant was that perhaps I was creating losses for his company.
So I explained the theory and rationale of thinking of others first and putting the other person’s interests before our own. I also pointed out the fact that our sales had not suffered but were always brisk because of our company’s good reputation.
He could see I told the truth. He never bothered or questioned me further on any decision I made from then on.
My boss wanted to give me an apartment and authorized me to choose a large one of good quality with features to my liking. I offered him the cost price for the apartment, but he insisted it was a gift.
Before my wife and I moved in, I learned that my boss had been having cash flow difficulties lately and had to borrow from a loan shark. So I talked to my wife and decided we would pay for our apartment the same amount as other company staff.
I was afraid my boss would be embarrassed, so I waited until he was away at a meeting before handing in the payment.
When he found out and sought me out, I told him, “The company is going through some difficult economic times. Our family practices Falun Dafa, and that’s our decision as practitioners. After you get back on track and become rich, then, if you send me a bonus, I will accept it.”
My boss was too moved to utter a word, but his eyes were brimming with tears.
Continuing to Do My Best
I was also persecuted. After I was released from detention, under Master's merciful arrangement, I was hired as a project manager by one of the very top regional construction companies in my district. The new boss regards me highly and trusts me fully. The vast majority of employees likewise respect me.
I continue to do my best to live and work following Dafa’s principles, requirements, and expectations to validate the Fa and to show people around me the greatness of Dafa through my actions.
My entire family still practices Dafa diligently. Our finances are good, I live with my wife in a large apartment, and I also have my own retail sales department.
Practicing Falun Dafa is truly a joy and a blessing more than human words can express. I wish the world could know about Dafa and really understand the meaning of life.
