[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] My Cultivation Experiences While Working in Beijing

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, and it lifted me out of a painful, difficult life, restoring both my health and peace of mind. That year, my son entered college. My husband passed away when our son was only seven, and I couldn’t afford to pay for his tuition. I had no choice but to look for work in another city. I decided to go to Beijing, telling myself that I would take any job I could find.

Saving People Without Bias

My county is a nationally designated poverty-stricken county. Like the majority of local enterprise employees, I was laid off. I had to send a monthly living allowance to my son, and I had my own living expenses. It meant I had to find a job as soon as possible.

The first day I visited an employment agency to look for work, I met a young woman who wanted to hire someone to do her housework. She asked a few of us many questions about ourselves and left. I left for home when it was near noon. The employment agency called me and said that woman had selected me.

When I returned, she was talking with the agency representative about the contract and the rights of employer and employee, especially how to safeguard the rights and interest of employees. Later when the representative went out to make a phone call, the young woman wrote down her phone number and gave it to me. When the representative came back, she said her husband had called her and left.

I thought on my way home, “This woman is tough. She doesn’t want to pay the employment agency.” From what I saw at the agency, I could imagine that she was not an easy-going person. Should I accept her offer or not? I had another thought that she might be predestined to learn about Falun Dafa.

She asked me to meet her at her home and told me to cook two meals a day and clean the house. I had one day off a week. She told me that her name was Weiwei (alias) and her husband was Yu Lai (alias). She also told me about her home and things she wanted me to pay attention to. I told her, “I cannot kill live fish or chicken. I have my own principles of sincerity, kindness and tolerance.”

I could see Weiwei was a spoiled young lady and very picky. She asked if I could cook well. I said, “Everyone has different tastes. Let me try and see if my cooking suits you.” I thought, “For so many years, my son and I lived a difficult life. I never cooked many kinds of dishes. It’s hardly a matter of whether it was done well or not.”

Weiwei asked me to buy groceries and go to her home to cook after they return home after work. She ordered all sorts of different dishes for me to cook. I followed the teaching of Falun Dafa to be considerate, and I worked wholeheartedly. I tried my best to cook whatever she asked. She never said what I cooked did not taste good.

Weiwei often invited friends and parents to have dinner at home, so I often returned home late. Her mother came and we chatted. Once Weiwei’s mother said, “Weiwei said the food you made was delicious, and she invited her friends and us to come over for dinner.” But Weiwei never praised me in my presence. I learned that Weiwei’s father was an official from another province. No wonder she acted like a spoiled little princess. She also frequently gave me a hard time, asking me to perform tasks that were beyond my scope of duties. I did not care because I’m a practitioner.

Weiwei’s husband Yu Lai had an aloof manner. I had worked in their home for nearly a month by then, yet he never spoke to me.

Weiwei asked her parents to come over for dinner again one evening. After dinner, Yu Lai said to his mother-in-law, “I almost passed out while I was driving. It was pretty dangerous.” His parents-in-law were anxious and asked whether he would go to the hospital to get checked out. He said, “I went to a few hospitals and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”

I said, “You can try Falun Dafa. Many people recovered from severe illnesses after practicing.” He asked me how to start practicing. I told him briefly. Weiwei’s mother said, “Several of my previous colleagues are healthy after practicing Falun Dafa.” I went home then, as it was late.

It seemed that Yu Lai worshiped something. One day he bowed to something near the door. I noticed it was a copper toad. I said without thinking, “I know what the root cause of your illness is.” I was shocked that I said this. How could I say those words? He asked me quickly, “What is it?” I answered, “It is not easy to explain in a few words. I will explain it next time.” They came home late for the next few days, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to him.

Su Lin, a former teacher who shared the same office with me before, opened an accounting firm in Beijing. He heard that I was working in Beijing and called me, “In our profession, the older you get, the more sought-after you become. You really ought to stick to your original profession.” He felt it was a pity that I no longer worked in my field.

When I was a teacher before, it coincided with China’s economic integration into the global market in 1992. In 1993, the new Enterprise Accounting Standards were officially implemented, which brought about significant changes to many bookkeeping methods. Yet at the time, no updated textbooks were available. To ensure I did not shortchange my students or hinder their future employment prospects, I traveled to Beijing to get new teaching materials. Although I earned a municipal-level certificate for teaching excellence, I was unable to secure a transfer for my employment because I refused to offer bribes, which was the prevailing social norm.

I left the profession for nearly a decade. My accountant license had expired. Computers were rare in the 1990s and there was no electronic bookkeeping. Su Lin knew that I had a strong dislike to accountants falsifying books. He told me, “As a bookkeeping accountant, there are indeed instances where you do not need to create fraudulent accounts.” He also said that I could learn the electronic bookkeeping program in his firm. I decided to apply for my accountant license again and spend my day off learning the electronic bookkeeping program at his firm.

One day I heard that my friend’s child was admitted to college and she would invite friends for dinner to celebrate it. I planned to return home to participate in the gathering and congratulate her. I went to the train station to buy a ticket on my day off. I thought, “I could take a night train, go home and come back. That way I could avoid being absent from work. If Weiwei allows it, I could take one day of compensatory leave and make it up after I get back. That way, I can stay in my hometown for an extra day.”

I told Weiwei about my plan to go home the following day. She was upset, “Who allowed you to take a day off? Even one day is not allowed, much less two days!” I was stunned, “I have a day off. How come even one day is not allowed?” She said, “My mother-in-law will have surgery. She will stay here after she is discharged from the hospital.” I said, “I already bought the ticket. Can I leave for one day?” She said no.

I thought, “Every late afternoon, I have to wait for your phone call, go buy groceries exactly as you instruct, and wait outside for you to return before I can even go inside to start cooking. Standing out there in the wind and rain, I sometimes wait for over two hours. On top of that, you frequently make me prepare three meals a day for you, piling on a whole lot of extra work. You are a difficult person to look after! Furthermore, your mother-in-law never lived with you before; yet you decided to have her move in—refusing to give me any time off—without even giving me a heads-up beforehand. What am I supposed to do about the electronic bookkeeping course I’m going to take? I haven’t sold myself into your service. I’ll quit!”

I then reflected, “I strive to save people every day. They are here. Should I select who I save? All right, I won’t leave. I want to offer salvation to the family.” It was amazing that those thoughts popped up instantly.

I calmly told Weiwei, “I won’t go home. I will return the train ticket.” There was no online ticket buying at that time. People had to stand in line for a long time to buy a ticket during the holiday season. After work, I went to the train station by bus to return the ticket. It took me over two hours for the round trip. I thought that my friends helped me a lot for years and that I really wanted to visit them. It was regretful that I could not make it.

A few days later, Weiwei’s mother-in-law was discharged from the hospital. Weiwei wanted me to take care of her mother-in-law. She was seldom at home and would not help her even if she were home. Her mother-in-law had chest surgery and could not take care of herself. She needed my help just to get out of bed.

I no longer had any days off and could not go to my former colleague’s firm to learn. I knew I had lost the chance to study and get the license, as well as the opportunity to get a decent job that paid well. But I am a practitioner and Master told us to be considerate.

The first time I helped Weiwei’s mother-in-law wash her feet, I felt truly apprehensive, for—aside from having washed my son’s feet when he was small—I had never washed anyone’s feet before. But practitioners must be considerate! She was so weak. I thought it over and over, “My mother passed away long ago. I did not wash her feet.” Then I felt happy to do this.

I took care of her and patiently chatted with her about the extraordinary nature of Dafa. She was highly educated and kind. She accepted what I said.

One day Yu Lai asked me to tell him what the root cause of his illness was. I said, “Almost all the street stalls worship something. I never say anything. I have been at your home for a long time. We are predestined. This is what I learned from Falun Dafa: the root cause of your illness is the toad you worship. It is a bad thing.” Yu said he bought it from a mountain for 500 yuan [$74]. I told him, “You might get some money. But when you worship it, it draws essence from your body. It is the root cause of your illness. You can believe me or not. You decide.”

The next day, Yu told me, “I put that thing on the balcony. You can dispose of it.” I did not expect him to make such a quick decision. I talked with his mother and called a scrap collector. I told him, “Take this thing and just send it straight to the smelter. Otherwise, it will harm whoever takes it.”

Yu and Weiwei started learning Falun Dafa a few days later. Yu learned the first four sets of exercises in one go. He could do the half lotus sitting meditation initially. They did the exercises with me whenever they had time. Yu’s mother also watched the video of Master’s lecture twice. Yu also made a copy of the lecture VCD. They all agreed to quit their memberships in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. Yu’s mother recovered over one month later and returned to her home. By that time, she had read Zhuan Falun twice. She brought the book with her when she went home.

Weiwei changed her attitude completely. She increased my salary and even gave me her house key to let me enter freely. Weiwei’s parents also quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. When I left her home for another job, Weiwei wept.

Yu recovered from his illness. I asked his mother a few years later. She said he had no relapse and was completely cured. I knew they all had a predestined relationship with Dafa.

The Sole Outstanding Worker

Another potential job was found online by my roommate, who thought it would fit me. The salary listed in the job advertisement was three times higher than the industry average, and the benefits described were excellent—it seemed almost too good to be true. I decided to apply, adopting a mindset that I had nothing to lose.

The job interview was quite lengthy. I was asked to draft a document, which was claimed to be the kind of task typically assigned during interviews at Fortune 500 companies. I was also asked some truly bizarre questions. I thought to myself, “Given how excellent the benefits are, I probably won’t get it.” I answered their questions without any hesitation, maintaining an attitude that was neither servile nor arrogant. Unexpectedly, I received a call three days later saying that I got the offer. My roommates were happy for me and felt it was inconceivable that I got the job. I appreciate Master. I had a lot of pressure at that time to pay for my son’s living expenses in college.

I faced many challenges at work and dissolved them with the kindness gained from practicing Dafa. After work, I often chatted with my colleagues and told them how extraordinary Dafa is. I was happy every day and strove to be considerate of my colleagues and customers. Many of them quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

The company I worked for was not big. There were fewer than 100 employees. One year the company decided to take the employees on an outing and held an annual meeting. I told my manager, “My colleagues are all young and love to have fun. So I’ll sit this one out and stay behind to hold down the fort.” To my surprise, three days later my colleagues returned with a prize for me—I had been named the company’s sole outstanding employee.

According to my colleagues’ accounts, the competition during the annual meeting’s selection of outstanding employee was particularly fierce. Candidates were evaluated based on a long list of criteria, including work performance, professional competence, and adherence to company regulations. They argued a lot, even digging up one another’s shortcomings. Yet, when the final selection was made, I was the only one chosen. My colleagues unanimously bestowed upon me the title of outstanding employee, the sole honor awarded that year.

The Book Is Found

Our company recruited a janitor. I introduced Dafa to her and advised her to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. She also chatted with me about family issues. She said that her relationship with her husband was very poor and they were considering a divorce. She was also in poor health. I advised her with Dafa’s principles, and she started learning Falun Dafa. I also gave her the book Zhuan Falun to read. I told her, “Treasure this book and do not place it everywhere.” She agreed.

Her work schedule was weekend days. One day she told me that the book was gone. I asked her anxiously, “What happened?” She said, “My husband threw it away.” I said in disbelief, “Did he hide it? You should talk to him nicely and tell him the book was borrowed and precious. You must ask him.” She told me next day, “I asked him again. He said he threw it away.” She said it was not found when she came to work during the following weekend. She was anxious, as she knew that I treasured the book.

Two weeks passed, and it was still missing. I was disappointed. I thought, “How could he commit such a sin in ignorance!” I felt so bad, but I did not give up and did not believe the book was truly gone.

The janitor said happily when she saw me in the third weekend, “I found it.” I asked excitedly, “Great. Did he hide it?” She said, “He threw it in the trash. My two-year-old grandson saw a colorful book and took it out. He asked his father to fold paper planes with it. My son-in-law saw the book and kept it.”

I asked her, “Did you change the book wrap?” She said no. I saw the book was wrapped with the original white paper and clean. How could the child say it was colorful? I later guessed his third eye was open and he saw Falun. Thank you, Master.

I was so happy and invited the janitor to have lunch. I asked her, “How could your son-in-law keep the book and you just knew it recently?” She responded, “He knew the book is good and kept it. He saw me looking for something and asked me what I was looking for. When I told him I was looking for the book, he took it out and gave it to me. He also had an amulet and showed it to me. I asked for it and he did not give it to me.” I said I would thank him in person and asked for his name and job.

The janitor told me his name, work place, and address. I was surprised, “How coincidental!” Her son-in-law is a colleague of my roommate, a practitioner I got to know after I came to Beijing. She told him about Dafa and the facts about the CCP’s persecution. He knew Falun Dafa is extraordinary and saved the book. This is an event of such improbable odds, simply mind-boggling! A group of individuals who appeared to have absolutely no connection to one another have, in fact, been linked together by Falun Dafa. So the book was lost and found.

(Selected submission from in celebration of 2026 World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)