Cultivating Myself While Working in a Supermarket

(Minghui.org) I was illegally incarcerated in prison for practicing Falun Dafa and lost my job. Upon my release, a friend helped me get a job in a supermarket. During the 10 months I worked there, I experienced hardship and bitterness, as well as the joy of elevating in the Fa.

Genuine Cultivation

Master said,

“For those who practice cultivation among everyday persons, what type of business you are in does not matter. Regardless of how much money you have, how high your position ranks, or what kind of private enterprise or company you run, it makes no difference, as you should trade fairly and maintain a righteous mind. All professions in human society should exist. It is the human heart that is indecent, rather than one’s occupation.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

As a Dafa practitioner, I treat my customers well and don’t lie to them. It is normal practice to put any leftover food, such as ribs, meat, and tofu, from the previous day in with the fresh goods. If a customer asks if it was today’s food, the sales assistants are supposed to say it is in order to make a quick sale. One day an old customer came to buy meat and asked me which cuts had been put out that day. Sales assistants don’t usually tell customers which is which, but I told him. He bought that day’s meat and was very pleased. He gave me a thumbs up and said, “I like to come to you to buy food because you dare to tell me the truth.”

On one occasion at check-out, I swiped one customer’s card to pay for another customer’s goods. So one customer unknowingly paid an extra 130 yuan while the other customer didn’t pay anything. When the store manager discovered it, he called the customer who didn’t pay anything. She claimed that it was the shop’s loss. The manager didn’t call the other customer who’d pay extra. I was very upset and wanted to compensate the customer who’d overpaid.

I am a Dafa practitioner. Countless divine beings are watching every one of our thoughts. I must do well and be worthy of being Master’s disciple. Some time later the customer who overpaid was shopping in our store again. I recognized her and told her what had happened. I gave her back her money out of my own pocket. She was quite moved. I also felt the joy of having elevated in cultivation.

Cultivating Kindness

A cultivator must be compassionate and kind as well as considerate, but it is not easy to be kind in the industry I am employed in, as there are a lot of internal conflicts. This is a chain supermarket. The hotel nearby is managed by the same enterprise. Employees from the hotel often come to “borrow” fresh vegetables and fruit from us. Because there were conflicts between the hotel and our supermarket, our store manager required that staff from the hotel only “borrow” older vegetables and fruit or we would not “lend” them anything. But the hotel staff would get into trouble when they took the not-so-fresh groceries back.

The conflict between the hotel and our supermarket escalated. One day a young employee came to “borrow” a grapefruit. He didn’t want to take back one that wasn’t fresh, so I didn’t give him one. His head chef came in later and berated me. I felt wronged.

I studied the Fa after I returned home and came across the following passages.

Master said,

“It is not permitted if you go do things simply because everyday people consider them right.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

“As a practitioner, one must assess things with the characteristic of the universe. Only then can one distinguish what is genuinely good and what is truly bad.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

I understood the principles now. What our store manager told us to do was not right. As a Dafa practitioner, I should do what Master told us to do. I should be kind to the employees who came to borrow things and help them. When they came to borrow, I should put it in a nice way: “Would you like any discounted vegetables? If not, no worries. Next time.” I would not embarrass them. In time, we had fewer and fewer conflicts. The young employee had a smile on his face. I also enlightened to the principles that I was not aware of before.

Practicing Tolerance

I was very weak just after I was released from the prison. I had to stop and rest after walking 200 meters. I was not able to stand up after I sat in meditation for a while. My friend said that it was not hard to work in the supermarket, that I just put goods on the shelves. What she said was untrue. Every morning I had to stock up on 20 or 30 baskets of vegetables plus a large quantity of fruits. I had to work 8 or 9 hours a day without a rest. There was no break for me. At the start I felt exhausted, and all my bones felt like they were going to break. I also had to walk to the bus stop. Every step hurt. I studied the Fa sitting in lotus position at night. I felt comfortable and had no pain.

Later on I memorized Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, during lunch and when I walked from the supermarket to the bus stop. As I memorized the Fa more, I understood the Fa principles better. I didn’t feel uncomfortable either.

At my supermarket, new employees were often blamed if there was any mistake, even if it was not their fault. I would buy vegetables to take home after work. One cashier often made mistakes when she checked me out. She blamed me for her mistakes. One day she really let me have it. I was very upset. I wanted to lodge a complaint about her. But on second thought, Master told us to look within when facing conflicts. I started to look for my own problem and realized that my notion was not correct—I saw myself as a customer. Actually I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and had to practice forbearance. I felt upset when she cursed at me. Wasn’t she helping me to get rid of bad substances? I should thank her. As soon as I realized that, I felt relieved. I came across similar situations on several occasions later on. Sometimes I passed the test but sometimes not. I knew that I was not solid in cultivation in this regard. I had to improve myself.

Working at the supermarket, I’ve realized that one doesn’t make money through hard work but because gods arrange it. If you are good and righteous, things will be arranged so that you have money. Today, moral standards have deteriorated. That is not true actually. We do business for others and not for selfish reasons. Dafa disciples validate the Fa in all walks of life. We are considerate of other people. Through our work, we enrich people’s lives and benefit them. During the process we cultivate and elevate ourselves as we walk on the path to return to our original, true selves.

This is my understanding on my level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.