My Boss Helps Me Cultivate My Character

(Minghui.org) I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences that happened where I work.

When one of my relatives told a company owner that I cultivated Falun Dafa, he invited me to join his company as an accountant. I accepted the offer.

After I started the job, I learned a couple of interesting things. The first was that a project manager in the company was also a Dafa practitioner. I was then told that the owner had read Zhuan Falun before 1999. I thought that the owner must know the truth about Falun Dafa and recognize the goodness of the Fa principles, and I presumed he would treat Dafa practitioners well.

I worked diligently and followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. My boss appreciated what I did and listened to my opinion. He also trusted practitioners and insisted that I start handling the company’s bank accounts. I thought this was a good opportunity to validate the Fa in the workplace and accepted the responsibility.

With my job going smoothly and my boss trusting me, I began to slack off in my cultivation. I gradually allowed zealotry, vanity, self-righteousness, and self-validation to grow stronger. Due to my lack of Fa study and not sending righteous thoughts or looking within, I did not improve my xinxing and even fostered my demon nature.

Response to Unfair Practices

Our compassionate teacher, Master Li, constantly enlightened me and created opportunities for me to recognize, and eliminate my attachments. One day, my boss complained about people’s low morality and unreliability. I replied, “It would be great if everyone was like the project manager,” who was also a Falun Dafa practitioner. My boss unexpectedly pointed out many of that person's shortcomings. His words irritated me, and I tried my best to defend the project manager. Eventually, my boss said, “Why are you always protecting your own people?”

Master used my boss’s words to enlighten me. I realized that I only liked to hear good things about Dafa practitioners, always tried to defend them, whether they were right or wrong, and felt very uncomfortable hearing a contrary opinion about anyone who cultivates in Dafa.

My standpoint was selfish and showed the attachment of pursuit. I wanted the boss to understand the facts about Falun Dafa and be kind to Dafa practitioners, and for all Dafa practitioners to have good reputations. These wishes indicated my strong pursuit of fame, powerful selfishness, and sentimentality toward fellow practitioners. With all these attachments, I could not validate the greatness of Dafa and let people understand the truth so they would be saved.

Master said,

“That is not out of compassion, as one’s attachments to fame and self-interest have not been given up at all. This person is unable to develop this compassion one bit.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)

After I understood Master’s Fa better, I frequently reminded myself to truly validate the Fa instead of myself. Sometimes when I did something good and wanted to show off, I rejected the thought and controlled my speech, so I would not talk about it. I also used righteous thoughts to negate the idea of validating myself and dissolved the attachment with time.

Eliminating My Competitive Mentality

The boss substantially reduced the other practitioner’s salary a few times. When I saw this, I forgot to use the Fa to assess things. I felt aggrieved that the boss had taken advantage of the kindness of Dafa practitioners, and thought that there may be something bad controlling him.

After I developed a prejudice toward my boss, he also became dissatisfied with me and often scolded me in front of others. One day, just as it was time for the lunch break, the boss received a call asking him to immediately transfer a sum of money. He asked me to do it. I was very reluctant as I wanted to go home and send righteous thoughts. As a result of my inattention, I sent the money to the wrong account number.

When I returned to work in the afternoon, the boss scolded me loudly and threatened to deduct the money from my salary. I didn’t maintain my xinxing and argued with him. I subsequently looked within and saw many attachments, including jealousy, resentment, and pursuit of personal interests. I also understood that anyone who bullied a Dafa practitioner would accumulate karma.

I thought I should not passively accept these shortcomings. I needed to eliminate the old force factors that manipulated the boss to take advantage of Dafa practitioners financially. However, I also felt that my understanding was superficial and that I really hadn’t yet identified the root problem.

When I shared my experiences with another practitioner in the evening, he said, “You are fighting everyday people with a competitive mentality, which is not showing compassion at all.” I suddenly realized that the root cause was actually my competitive mentality. It is not wrong to be good to my boss and prevent him from creating karma, or to deny the old forces’ evil arrangements. However, if I used human methods and fought with people because of a competitive mentality, how could I save them?

I realized my cultivation omissions, and sincerely confessed my mistakes to Master. I truly wanted to validate the Fa and save my boss. The real me, that assimilates to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, should not be controlled by unrighteous human notions and attachments. As a Dafa practitioner, I can only save sentient beings, not destroy them.

I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the competitive mentality and jealousy imposed by the old forces and separated my main consciousness from the fake self and the attachments. My body and mind became clear and peaceful.

Rectifying Myself after a Conflict with the Boss

My boss bought different kinds of wines worth tens of thousands of dollars and put them in the company warehouse. When he left work, he forgot to fully close the door. I also didn’t notice what happened when I got off work. He called me that evening and accused me of not locking the warehouse door. He told me he happened to go for a walk and saw that the door was not closed. If the wine had been stolen, it would have been a great loss to him.

The next day, he asked me for an explanation and wanted to reduce my pay. I felt wronged and that he was being unfair. Although I reminded myself to be calm, I still spoke without thinking first. “I don’t agree. It’s unfair. If I did not close the door, you can reduce my wage. But it is not my fault, and you should not pay me less.” My boss became even angrier, “I will stop your wages for now. Let us discuss it in a meeting first.”

I realized I was wrong again after I vented my feelings to him. I kept asking myself if my true self can tolerate the universe, why can't my false self tolerate a few words from others and be so concerned about other people’s attitudes?

I remembered Master’s Fa I had recently studied:

“If you can do it, you will distinguish them and see: ‘Oh, this thought isn’t good and should be eliminated. I should get rid of it. I shouldn’t think like that.’ That in itself is your eliminating it.” (“Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.”)

I started to restrain my demonic nature and sent righteous thoughts to clean up my dimensions. I soon calmed down and regained compassion. I felt pity for the sentient beings who were in the maze and troubled by fame, fortune, and resentment. In addition, my boss was helping me improve my xinxing. I should not resent him.

Master said,

“As a cultivatorOne always looks for one’s own faults’Tis the Way to get rid of attachments most effectivelyThere’s no way to skip ordeals, big or small[During a conflict, if you can remember:]“He’s right,And I’m wrong,”What’s to dispute?”(“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,” Hong Yin III)

I adjusted myself and entered my boss’ office with a smile. I could feel that he was momentarily surprised. I understood that the bad factors behind him were disintegrated after I rectified myself. We started talking about work matters in a very relaxed way. After that, our relationship became harmonious again.

I said to my boss, “You have truly benefited from Falun Dafa. Otherwise you wouldn’t have let me handle a dozen of your online bank accounts. If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, would you trust me so much?” He agreed with my words and from the bottom of his heart acknowledged that Dafa practitioners are the most trustworthy people in the world.

I am happy that he could tell right from wrong. I am also very grateful for Master’s thoughtful arrangements that allowed me to improve my xinxing. Thank you Master for your compassionate protection.