(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners.
I started practicing Falun Gong in September 2015 and accepted a full time job about one and a half years later. Thus, most of my cultivation experiences have happened at my workplace, so I would like to share my cultivation and my talking to people about Falun Gong from a work-related perspective.
Beginnings Are Difficult
I recognized at the beginning of my professional life the importance of my being associated with the Fa-rectification period, and that the people I am associated with must have a predestined relationship with me. Therefore, I felt that I was responsible for my coworkers hearing about the persecution of Falun Gong.
By nature, I'm very social and have no problem connecting with people. This is helpful when clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. However, after starting my job, my fear of losing face prevented me from addressing the facts about Falun Gong and the reasons for the persecution.
Although during conversations I touched on the subject of meditation, that I practiced qigong, that I was very interested in the Chinese culture, and attended vigils concerning human rights violations in China, I was afraid to mention the name Falun Gong. In addition, thoughts such as “What would happen if they have heard something unfavorable about Falun Gong, believed it, and thought of me to be strange, especially since I'm a new and younger coworker.”
When I drank coffee with two of my coworkers, the topic of China was addressed, including the abuses happening in that country. This time around I felt a strong desire to bring Falun Gong into the conversation. The reason for my opening up more was that we were only a small group of coffee drinkers that day. But, I was not quite sure how to address the issue of Falun Gong. After a brief silence, one of my colleagues asked me, “As a China expert, what do you think about Falun Gong?”
Without hesitation, I said, “Oh, Falun Gong is very good.” The colleague responded, “Ah, very well.” So, I said, “I agree.” Then, the two had a guarded look on their face. I told them how I felt about Falun Gong and countered the negative connotations associated with Falun Gong.
As a result of this conversation, I feared that I lost face. This thought told me to avoid this particular colleague, as I would feel uncomfortable around him. However, instead of falling prey to this thought, I decided to stop at this colleague's office after work. I asked him to ask me any question he might have about Falun Gong. He thanked me for my offer and said that in principle he was very open-minded. Besides, he believed that it would be effective to listen to other people's opinions, especially when they presented a different perspective. Given that, conversations are more interesting.
Master said,
“'I shouldn’t get excited. Otherwise, I’ll fail again.' With this fear, he failed again. Fear is also a kind of attachment.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
In hindsight, I understood that I should not fall prey to anxious and doubtful thoughts. It would be beneficial if I addressed everything honestly and with sincerity, especially when wrong thoughts developed in my mind. Only then can I eliminate them.
Benefiting Self and Others
My job is considered to be one of the more difficult positions in my company and is called the “catapult seat,” as all those who held this position in the past only stayed for a short period of time. They quit either after a few weeks on the job, perhaps after one month, and only one stayed for about a year. This is mostly due to conflicts with the head of the area, who is known to be rather difficult. Even some people from other areas refuse to work with her. It is widely known that I am the first who has been there for close to three years.
One of my colleague's said, “You are living proof that what you practice works.” Actually, it showed that my perseverance, calm behavior, and even temperament proved to this person the truth about Falun Gong, an individual who was technical and fact-oriented. Given this particular situation, I found that all the suffering I endured had to do with me, but also benefited others.
Exercises Are Calming
One of my colleague's said, “You are always so calm and even-tempered. This most likely has to do with the exercises you do. Please consider doing them here and include all of us. This would also benefit us.”
I said that I would think about it. But, I immediately realized that this is an opportunity that Master Li provided me with. I decided that this was what I should do. At that moment, strong energy filled my body. Soon after, they offered qigong as an alternative to doing sports. We would meet once a week after work, and I would teach my colleagues the exercises. At the same time, I would introduce information about Falun Gong. Besides, I could clarify the truth to those responsible for health issues in our company.
This gave me the opportunity to introduce Falun Gong, talk about the persecution, and demonstrate the exercises during our company's health day. One colleague, who was responsible for taking photos of all the events and putting them on the Internet, approached me and said, “What you have shown us was outstanding. Although I could not take any photos, I found the music and atmosphere extraordinary.” He asked that I teach him the exercises, so I invited him to join us during our weekly exercise.
Several of my colleagues told us that they feel a lot of energy and pep when working on their assignments, and could go back to work refreshed after doing the exercises.
Every Thought Counts
Regrettably, the weekly exercise group stopped meeting. Shortly before my trip to the USA in 2017 I experienced a bad day, and did not feel like showing anything to anyone or to talk. I thought, “Perhaps no one will show up today. I will still do the exercises, even if I'm alone.” No one showed up.
After some time, one of my colleagues asked me to show her the exercises. This became the second opportunity to teach others the exercises and clarify the facts about Dafa.
As before, I emailed the Internet link for the exercises to those interested and said that it was important to cultivate one's mind. Everyone seemed rather interested, but I messed up. I thought, “I cannot speak from a high level, or they may not understand it, get confused, or even come across the Communist Party propaganda.” Unfortunately, this group also stopped meeting.
When I looked inward, I found that I had again developed the fear of losing face, which created a loophole. I should have held a compassionate thought and only thought about the needs of my colleagues.
Recently, a colleague and I had a good conversation about cultivation. She knew that I practiced Falun Gong. Therefore, she approached me. She was very interested, so I gave her the Internet link to the book Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun. I also offered to teach her the exercises.
Again, I recognized a thought that developed due to my attachment, that she may not understand it. This time I caught that thought and corrected myself. I thought that she would understand it if she was destined to understand it. I also told her that she could approach me any time, should she have any question, or if she did not quite understand something. I said that this type of Asiatic culture is often foreign to westerners and might not be easily understood. She responded that she was familiar with Chinese medicine, and thus had already developed an overall understanding.
We had a phone conversation on the day when I prepared this experience sharing article. She was very pleased and told me that she had checked out the Falun Gong homepage. She also did the exercises at home. We arranged to do the exercises, and I also contacted several people who had attended the exercise classes in the past.
I hope that there are more opportunities for sentient beings. This time I will do better, as I have learned that my thoughts can be powerful, and can now distinguish which thoughts are not mine.
Successful in Presenting the Truth of Dafa
Master said,
“We have said that good or evil comes from a person’s spontaneous thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
In the course of an internal promotional activity, one of my colleagues approached me. My colleagues decided to print posters that promoted the company internally. She told me that they thought of me.
They thought of taking photos of individuals and a photo of a single person would be put on a poster. These posters would be hung nationwide at all company locations. My first thought was that this would be great for the Fa-rectification. I thought that it would be a good arrangement and agreed without hesitating. However, the photos were not suitable for what I hoped they would accomplish.
I hoped that they would take a photo of me while meditating in the Lotus position. Thus, such a photo would be hung in all of the company's locations. The people would remember this photo, and when they approached me, I could use it as a starting point for clarifying the truth.
The next day I approached the colleague who was responsible for producing the posters. She said, “Don't you meditate? Do you want to use such a photo?” Thus, they used a photo of me in the Lotus position and dressed in the Dafa attire at all of the company's locations.
After the poster placements, a senior executive approached me and asked me about Falun Gong. I introduced it to her, talked to her about cultivation, and gave her a brochure from the Minghui website.
It was shown to me once again that my behavior validates the Fa. I believe that if I can show in my everyday life the goodness of Falun Gong, people can understand in their heart what it is all about.
At the same time, I understood that if I hold a sincere and compassionate wish, everything will come naturally. Master Li (the founder) is always there to support us and give us the wisdom needed for our activities.
Conflict with Superiors
Of course, there are plenty of conflicts at work. The most beneficial conflicts are the ones when I, despite a very emotional charged counterpart, remain calm. My heart may move slightly in the beginning, or perhaps not at all. Thus, I can respond objectively and correctly. Even if my counterpart is unapproachable, yet I remain calm, there will be a point in time when that person will calm down. This again shows that cultivation in Dafa can have a direct positive impact on other people.
Master said,
“During the process of transforming karma, to keep yourself under control—unlike an everyday person who would mess things up—you should always maintain a heart of benevolence and a mind of kindness. If you suddenly bump into a problem, you will be able to take care of it properly. When you always maintain a heart of benevolence and compassion, you will have time or room to buffer the confrontation and think, should a problem arise suddenly.” (Lecture 4, Zhuan Falun)
However, calmness is not always the case when it comes to my reaction, and lately, it happens more often. Although I remain calm and can control myself on the surface, I will complain and quarrel in my heart.
I certainly know that when facing conflicts I should raise my cultivation level. However, I noticed that I lack lately the capacity to improve my heart. My fighting spirit wants to fight against injustice and harassment. Yet, I do know that I should take things lightly and be grateful. Maybe this issue is waiting to come to a head so that it can be settled.
There is still much I could do better at work. In particular, I need to have a better attitude when it comes to my boss, and I also need to treat her with more compassion.
Before closing, I wish to share something that Master said,
“Steadfastly cultivate Dafa, the will unflinchingThe raising of levels is what’s fundamentalIn the face of tests one’s true nature is revealedAchieve Consummation, becoming a Buddha, Dao, or God”(“True Nature Revealed,” Essentials for further Advancement II)
(Presented at the 2019 German Fa Conference)
German version: http://de.minghui.org/html/articles/2019/1/17/137232.html
