(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa has brought me endless joy, and I have benefited tremendously from it. I have improved my xinxing and purified my mind during cultivation. Below I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences.
1. Beginning Dafa Cultivation and Gaining a New Outlook on Life
I am currently a laid-off worker. Prior to beginning Fa study in July 1997, I was plagued with numerous illnesses, including cervical spondylosis, neurosis, and gastroptosis. With three children and a full-time job, I felt a great deal of pressure. Moreover, I was a very aggressive and ambitious person, and had a poor relationship with my family members. In order to treat my illnesses, I had to take pills every day and had to have them available in both my home and office.
One morning I went to a riverfront park to exercise and saw a group of people sitting there meditating. When I asked, someone told me that they were practicing Falun Gong.
The next day, an acquaintance introduced me to Falun Gong and brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun that very afternoon. I couldn't wait to read it. After browsing through the whole book, I felt that it contained profound meanings. The following morning I went to Baoshan Park to do the group exercises. Since it was my first time joining everyone, they taught me how to do them. After that, I began my journey of Dafa cultivation. Not long after, all of my illnesses were gone and my mind was purified. I learned to be respectful and considerate of other people by putting myself in their shoes. I was able to gradually let go of my attachments to recognition and material gain. In a nutshell, I gained a completely new outlook on life. Whenever I have a conflict with others, I try to look within myself first. Free of illness, I am always energetic. Cultivation has been the most wonderful thing in my life.
2. Promoting Dafa in Everything I Do
I had a small business when I started cultivation. With Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in mind, I made sure that I charged reasonable prices and never deceived my customers. I always guaranteed either an exchange or repair for the shoes I sold, should there be any damage. Fellow merchants commented that I was too silly. They wondered how I could make money by doing business this way. I told them that I practiced Falun Gong and that I had to follow my Master's requirements.
I went to work at a medicine wholesale market in Chengdu City in 1999. One day a buyer from Luzhou Hospital came to purchase medicine in our store and accidentally overpaid by 800 yuan. I discovered the overpayment in the afternoon when I double-checked our books. Only another employee and I were present. The other person said, "How about we split the money? No one else knows what happened this morning." I replied, "That buyer must be extremely anxious. I'll return the money to him when he comes again." As I expected, the same buyer shopped at our store again about ten days later. I said, "Last time you overpaid by 800 yuan, so this time you can pay 800 yuan less." He was grateful and said that no one else would have admitted the overpayment in a cash transaction. He was surprised that I took the initiative to return the money to him. I told him that I was a Falun Gong practitioner and that I would not pocket any money that didn't belong to me. To show his appreciation, he had our store supply all the drugs their hospital needed. He said, "Because you practice Falun Gong, I trust that you are not going to give me sub-par quality medicine." Moreover, he introduced some new clients to our store.
I changed jobs again in 2000, and this time I worked as an accountant at a chemical company. Not only did I try to do well with my own responsibilities, but I also helped others in the company. Whenever we had time, I talked to my colleagues and our company president about Falun Gong. I gave them handouts to read that explained Dafa and the persecution.
The president's wife also worked in the company and shared the same office with me. One day she dropped around 10,000 yuan cash in her chair and then drove home without realizing it. When I found the money, I immediately called her. She was grateful and commented that she wouldn't be able to get the money back if it were someone else who saw the money. I told her that Falun Gong practitioners would never take anything that did not belong to them. My colleagues said that I was too silly, wondering why I didn't take the money, given that I didn't steal it. They figured I wouldn't be able to make that much money, even by working a full year. I smiled, "We Falun Gong practitioners would never take other people's things."
Another time the president's wife left her expensive watch on her desk. Again I called her. She said that she felt at ease knowing it was I who saw the watch.
Once the president needed to go out of town and gave me a 100,000 yuan cash loan that he had just secured for safekeeping. Realizing that it was a large amount of money, I notified his wife, who said that she was comfortable with my keeping an eye on the money.
Because of my excellent job performance and credibility, the president often asked me to accompany him to see our clients to collect money. He said that he felt good having me with him, since I wouldn't request any kickbacks.
Our company suffered some big losses in 2003. Storms damaged our warehouse, and all the inventory was submerged in water. After an investigation, the insurance company agreed to pay 547,000 yuan in damages. However, numerous local government agencies all wanted a slice of the pie. In the end, we only got a bit over 250,000 yuan. Our president was angry and declined to do a TV interview that the local government requested. Afterwards he wanted to give me a bonus for my efforts working with the insurance company to secure our claim payments, but I declined. He said, "People only complain that their bonus is too little. I've never seen anyone who doesn't want money!" A few days later he told me that my department head also got a bonus. Only then did I accept the bonus.
I always told our president that we should not do anything against our conscience and that we should make good quality products. I also advised him of the principle that good is rewarded and evil provokes retribution. He said, "Who doesn't commit fraud these days, given the numerous and heavy taxes and fees?" But he promised to try his best to improve the quality of the company's products and be a good person.
In 2005, a president from another company came to visit us. During conversations, this president mentioned that they were hiring new employees. Our president suggested that he look for Falun Gong practitioners, who are always working hard and trustworthy. He mentioned me as such an example.
After I learned of this conversation, I felt really proud of being a Dafa disciple. I hadn't done enough yet, but non-practitioners could still identify with Dafa and sing its praises, which was a manifestation of Dafa's might.
As a matter of fact, I had worked for the same chemical company in 1999. After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the local police and regime officials called our president every day, inquiring about my whereabouts. They asked him to guarantee that I wouldn't go out to talk about Dafa and the persecution. He was annoyed and told them that I was at the company every day. He then told me to do whatever I intended to do and promised to notify me as soon as possible if there was anything that might endanger me. The police wanted the president to fire me, and they were looking for a replacement accountant for him. Under pressure, the president asked me to give up my cultivation. I didn't want to cause him trouble, so I told him that I would quit, now that I had to choose between my job and my cultivation. The president replied, "Well, then you just do whatever you want. I'll protect you if anything happens!" He mentioned that he was sure he couldn't find anyone like me for his company. Later on I heard that one of his relatives wanted to work for him, so I found an excuse to resign. But about a year later, he invited me to resume my job, which I did.
3. Believing in Dafa, Protected from Disaster
I have lots of relatives living in the Wenchuan area--four in Shifang, three in Xinjin and one in Dujiangyan. When the well-known May 12, 2008, earthquake happened in Wenchuan, there were no deaths in my extended family; only one person who broke his legs jumping from the third floor.
Before the earthquake hit, for various reasons, everyone in my extended family went outdoors. For instance, the children of my relatives living in Shifang attended different schools. One girl, a high school senior, got a phone call just a few minutes before the earthquake. Since the cell phone signal wasn't good in her classroom, she stepped out. The moment she was outside, the earthquake hit. A high school freshman wanted to use the restroom located outside his building. Even before he reached the restroom, the earthquake struck. Two other boys also escaped unscathed. One, who had a stomachache that day, was in 8th grade. Before he arrived at the school's clinic, his classroom collapsed. The other boy was a third-grader. He was in the middle of a physical education class outside, so he was also safe. Other relatives had gone outside during that time. All of this was because my relatives believe in Dafa.