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Abiding by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in the Workplace

Dec. 5, 2014 |   By a practitioner in Taiwan

(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

1. Obtaining the Fa

It's in my nature to help others. Since I became a civil servant in 1982, I have received a lot of praise for my work ethic and attitude. My boss hopes that I never quit my job. I've been at my current job for seven years now and was given an excellent civil servant award in 2000.

My friends who became civil servants the same year as me have all been promoted to higher positions than me, and I thought it was unfair. After I developed that thought, I started to have pains in my liver and kidneys and had fevers that lasted a long time. My husband was busy with his academic research. I had to take care of our two young children after work. I felt tired mentally and physically; even divorce crossed my mind.

My husband attended a Falun Dafa class in 2002 and started to practice after that. I also started practicing at that time.

Since practicing Dafa, I regained my health and improved my marriage. My mother-in-law and my two young children gradually became practitioners. I am so grateful to our revered Master!

2. Eliminating the Attachment of Fame After Receiving a Job Promotion

My boss suddenly transferred to another position at the end of 2001, and my direct supervisor was going to retire the following year. As a result, I was promoted to section director. I encountered one situation which I don't think I handled righteously. Before I got my new job, the new executive official was concerned that I wouldn't be promoted to section director and that another candidate would get the position, so my supervisor suggested that I get a recommendation from county representatives. At the time, I had just started to practice Dafa and didn't understand the Fa principles deeply enough to know how to conduct myself properly. When I visited a county representative, he told me, “Your director already made the decision to promote you. You don't need my endorsement at all.” He nonetheless signed off on my resume. I felt embarrassed at the time.

I realized later that it was due to my attachment to fame. I was afraid that if the position was taken by another person, I'd have to wait a long time for another opportunity to be promoted. Master says,

“A practitioner should follow the course of nature. If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it.” (Zhuan Falun)

3. Don't Take Things for Free

I was transferred to a police department in 2006. At a Mid-autumn Festival party, there was a raffle with many awards including some expensive bicycles. Before practicing Dafa, I always won raffles. After I learned the principle of loss and gain through cultivating Dafa, I decided to not participate in the raffle.

When my colleagues eagerly put their raffle tickets into the raffle box, people in my department all encouraged me to do the same, saying that if I won, I could hold a private drawing so they would have more chances to win. Seeing that they were so happy, I decided to participate in the raffle and just donate whatever I won.

When the host announced the drawing for a bicycle that cost 10,000 yuan, everyone became tense and was afraid to miss the name being called. When my name was called, I thought of the word de (meaning virtue) inZhuan Falun, “How much de must I give away if I get something that isn’t paid for?”

I called my colleagues after the party and donated the bicycle for another private drawing.

4. Telling the Truth and Doing Things the Right Way

At the beginning of 2007 we had a big money issue at work. A unit at the police bureau budgeted a 3.53 million yuan for a project, however, there was only 1.83 million yuan in its account. We were 1.7 million yuan short. We checked the account and found out that the money was mistakenly used for another project that was incorrectly transferred by my predecessor.

I contacted my predecessor to discuss the issue. She was not in a good mood and said, “Just move some money from other funds that have leftover money.” She refused to talk to me further and blamed me for exposing her mistake. I knew that transferring money from other accounts was the simplest solution, but it didn't follow regulations; I knew that it had to be dealt with properly.

The first thing I did was to report the mistake to my boss and then to the vendor that was affected by the lack of funds. At first, the vendor said we needed to pay now and that there couldn't be any delay since their company needed the cash flow. The vendor became angry and demanded that he be paid quickly since the terms were already written in a contract. At first I agreed with him. I told the vendor that I was new and that I wanted to solve the problem as fast as possible. The vendor trusted me and gave me a little leeway to solve the issue.

The problem, however, wasn't easy to solve. My predecessor brought the county representative into the mix (the same one who endorsed me before) to find a solution. The representative said that we should solve the issue the easy way and asked me, “If you do it this way, the worst thing that can happen to you is that you would get a demerit if the transfer of funds is discovered in the future.” However, I refused to do it and believed that it was not a solid solution to the problem. In the end, the county representative agreed with me.

After dealing with the county government and county parliament, and with much effort from my colleagues, we finally paid the vendor in full. The matter came to an end successfully.

After the incident, my practical and down-to-earth attitude was widely praised. As practitioners, we should tell the truth and do things in an upright manner. We should not follow the standards of ordinary people; it's all an opportunity to validate Dafa.

5. My Colleagues Greet Me With “Falun Dafa Is Good”

I'm one of the first senior woman officials that ever worked at my police department. I'm also the first senior woman official in the accounting department. My patience and kind demeanor has gained me the respect of all my colleagues. I've told my co-workers about Falun Dafa and how it's persecuted in China, so when I apply for permits for Dafa activities, my colleagues make it easy for me.

One senior official who is a division head started to greet me by saying, “Falun Dafa is good,” while waving his right arm. I always smiled back. Once he said to me, “You need to respond to me if I say, 'Falun Dafa is good.'” So I started to respond to him by saying, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Sometimes, if I was slow to respond, my colleagues would rush to respond with, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” or “Falun Dafa is good.”

On World Falun Dafa Day one year, the practitioners gathered in a park to promote Dafa. I couldn't join in because I had a work meeting to attend. When our van passed by the park where the fellow practitioners were doing the sitting meditation, the senior officials in the van stood up one after another and called out, “Falun Dafa is good!” My eyes were filled with tears at that moment. I knew they witnessed the wonderfulness of Falun Dafa.

6. The Heads of County and of the Health Bureau Sign a Petition Against Forced Organ Harvesting in China

At the end of 2011, a high level official wanted to transfer me to the Health Bureau. At first, I didn't agree to it. However, fellow practitioners told me that Master has made arrangements and that we should follow the course of nature. In March 2012, I was transferred to the Health Bureau.

We needed medical professionals to speak out against forced organ harvesting of living practitioners in China in November of that year. I told my colleagues with medical backgrounds about this crime against humanity and invited them to sign a petition condemning it. I also arranged for practitioners to give speeches on Medical Teacher's Day and to collect signatures for the petition. I realized why I was transferred to the Health Bureau.

The following year, the U.S.-based organization Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting appealed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to help stop organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. We started a petition drive in Taiwan to reach both VIPs and citizens. I asked the head of the Health Bureau to sign the petition; he politely refused saying that civil servants were not allowed to participate in political activities.

Some time later the Health Bureau organized an exhibition and I applied for a booth there with the heading “Respecting Life.” Fellow practitioners told passersby about the persecution and collected signatures. When the head of the county visited the booth with the head of the health bureau, both of them signed the petition.

7. Get Rid of the Addiction to Korean TV Dramas; Strengthen Cultivation

I liked to watch TV since I was young. After practicing Dafa, I occasionally watched the news. Later I became a fan of Korean TV dramas. Sometimes I even watched them during lunchtime. My Fa study, exercises and sending righteous thoughts were affected as a result.

Master told us to look inward. I kept asking myself why I liked to watch these TV dramas. I found the reason. My excuse was to relax after working hard. It was just an excuse. When I studied the Fa and looked inside, I realized I had an attachment to living a comfortable and easy life and didn't take doing the three things as a priority. I also realized that the attachment to qing and lust would be magnified if one often watches these kinds of programs. Master said,

“Your life came to this earth all for this. How could you not be diligent, and grow lax? This is your moment of destiny, the chance you have waited all eternity for! For however long it has been, you were all along preparing for this, suffering and shedding karma. Yet now, after all the hardship and pain, when you have made it to this day, somehow you have become not diligent. Isn’t that a shame?! Yet this juncture is critical, and if you are not diligent now, you’re done for. Was it not exactly for this moment that your life came here?” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)

I'm no longer addicted to Korean TV dramas because I realized that I should hurry to catch up with fellow practitioners.

Thank you, revered Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Presented at the Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference in 2014)