(Minghui.org) I am in my 50s. I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997 and have since benefited physically and spiritually.
After former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin launched the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999, my school fired me and four other teachers for refusing to give up our belief. One of the teachers and I went on to work at a lumber factory to make a living.
We followed Falun Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and won the factory owner's trust. We later moved to another factory. Both our former and current bosses came to see that Falun Dafa was nothing like what was depicted by the CCP propaganda, and they began to support Dafa and Dafa practitioners. Many of our coworkers also began to identify with Dafa’s principles upon witnessing how we carried ourselves.
The owner bought trees and cut them into 2.6x1.3 meter boards. Our job was to fill all the holes in the boards. We were paid per board finished. In order to make more money and save time, other workers would break bigger but lower-quality boards into smaller pieces, which they would then use to fill the holes. As we were asked to search for materials to fill the holes, those workers who took that shortcut produced more boards and made more money.
My fellow practitioner and I didn't follow suit because we abide by the Dafa teachings in everything we do. Master had taught us:
“You should always be benevolent and kind to others and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun, 2014 Translation Version)
We put the benefit of the factory first and carefully inspected our boards to ensure we didn't miss any holes. We also never broke up any big boards to use as filling material. The boss noticed this and was impressed with our quality of work. She began to bring us filling materials to use and to save us time. Gradually she learned that we practiced Falun Dafa. She was supportive of us and also provided much help to us.
Below are some stories about our boss.
One day we noticed the boss gave us an extra 90 yuan that day, and we went to her the next day and told her that she mistakenly gave us extra money. She said it was not a mistake, that it was a bonus since we did an outstanding job.
One time, the boss was implicated for buying a stolen tree. She was detained and had to sleep on a concrete floor. She had rheumatoid arthritis and worried that her back and joint pain might start. There were Falun Dafa practitioners in her cell (who had been arrested for their faith), and they told her to recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She not only did not have pain, but her rheumatoid arthritis was also gone! She was so delighted and told us all about her experience. Everyone in the factory was impressed by the healing power of Falun Dafa.
When demand slowed down, the factory had to let go of many workers, leaving only me and my fellow practitioner. The factory owner trusted us so much that she let us handle everything ourselves, including counting and packaging. She would pay us whatever we asked for. She believed Falun Dafa practitioners are good and trustworthy people.
After working there for four years, my fellow practitioner and I moved to another company. The local police thought we were still working at the first factory and went there to arrest us. Our former boss notified us in time and helped us avoid the persecution.
Our former and current bosses have both learned the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party and quit the Communist Party.
When we first began working in the new place, we realized that people there all competed for quality wood to work on, as inferior materials would take more time to process and thus affect our income, which was based on units produced.
As practitioners, we followed Master's teachings and never fought our coworkers for the high-quality wood. Master had said:
“From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
After a while, our coworkers noticed our calm demeanor and friendly working style. They approached us and wanted to know more about Falun Dafa. We told them the principles of Dafa, how to be a good person, and how to be considerate of others. We advised them to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” whenever they were in danger.
They all benefited from reciting the phrases: Xiaona was no longer scared while walking at night by herself, and Xiaofang, a teenager who had been abused by her stepmother, was no longer timid or fearful. The working environment became harmonious. We laughed and sang together daily. They came to my home to watch videos about Falun Dafa and quit the CCP. Two of them have begun to read Dafa books.
The well that my family had used for many years suddenly dried up. We decided to drill a deeper well for future use. When a fellow practitioner’s husband learned that, he told us that he would help to cut the expenses to a minimum. He knew I had lost my stable job because of the persecution and that I had a child to raise by myself. He suggested using his leftover iron to make a manual pump for 30 yuan and said he would help find a professional to dig the well for me. I mistook that as costing 30 yuan in total.
When it was the day to drill the well, four fellow practitioners and two of their family members came to help. After doing some calculations, we realized that the total cost would be 200 yuan.
After discussion, one practitioner said that he would buy the water pump, another one offered to buy the water pipes and electric line, and the third one wanted to make the cover for the well. The drill team leader was so impressed that he said, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. You Falun Dafa practitioners are so supportive of each other! Falun Dafa is good. I can charge you 50 yuan less.”
The next day when I returned home from work, I noticed the well was already done. Someone had also planted some vegetables for me and watered them. Later I learned it was two fellow practitioners who did this for me.
Dafa's magnificence is beyond words. I am so fortunate and grateful for the Buddha light shining upon me. I truly hope more people can experience the beauty of Dafa and not miss this opportunity of an eternity.