(Minghui.org) I once talked to a new colleague who had been transferred to our school. I told her about Falun Dafa and the persecution. I had only occasionally helped her with a few small things. To clarify the truth to her, I first brought up the problems in society, then talked about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa. She accepted it well. I advised her to quit the CCP, and she readily agreed. At the end of our talk, she said she admired me, but could not do the things that I was doing. I smiled and told her that I was just an average practitioner. I said, “If you practiced Falun Dafa, you could do the same, or even better.” She smiled without comment.
Due to various reforms in the education system, the work in our school was complicated; the workload was heavy and the pressure was high. Every department passed the buck to other departments and tried to avoid extra work. The electrical equipment in our school was updated often, and whenever new equipment arrived, someone had to learn to operate it. However, most teachers were reluctant to deal with new equipment because whoever dealt with it assumed the responsibility of future work related to the new equipment. To inspect, maintain, and operate the new equipment, one needed to spend a lot of time and energy to learn it. Furthermore, the school did not consider dealing with new equipment as part of one’s workload.
Following Master’s teaching of being a good person according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I handled almost all the new equipment in our school. I never complained about the workload, and put other teachers first. Later, seeing that the workload was too much for one person to handle, the principal re-assigned some of the work to other teachers. I then taught them all I had learned about the equipment without reservation, and helped them to become familiar with the work.
Our school set up a new recording studio. Three of us went for training to learn how to operate the equipment, however operating the studio eventually fell on my shoulders. I was very busy running the studio during the period when teachers came to record their lectures for teaching. And it wasn’t only the teachers at our school who came to record, teachers from a private school also came. I basically sat in the studio operating the equipment all day long during that period of time.
The studio smelled inside after it was newly installed. Some teachers felt uneasy about breathing it in. I overcame this difficulty and managed to reduce the smell. I communicated with the teachers to understand their needs and helped them to achieve high-quality recordings.
The teachers from the private school were scheduled to record when the teachers at our school were not using the studio. The studio was scheduled full time. I followed Master’s teaching, worked with the teachers with no complaint, and interacted with them with a kind and harmonious mentality. After they completed their recordings, all the teachers from the private school expressed their gratitude.
An English teacher in our school, who taught her classes very well, came to the studio to record high-quality teachings for her nationwide classes. One day I recorded a teaching session for her four times, but she was still not satisfied with it. I then recorded it a fifth time, which eventually satisfied her. I worked patiently with her during the whole process without any complaint. In the end, she felt embarrassed about asking me to record it again and again; she thanked me and brought me sunflower seeds and oranges to express her gratitude.
Because I helped my colleagues with my best effort and without any complaint, all my colleagues learned that Falun Dafa practitioners are good people.
Near the end of our summer vacation, the principal talked to me about the coming semester, and asked me to manage the multimedia education in our school. I agreed without hesitation, since I had already been doing the work for a long time. He also sent me to the district conference for education in preparation for the responsibilities. However, on the last day of summer break, the principal suddenly told me that my assignment was only temporary, even though I was asked to attend the conference. He wanted to assign the responsibility to another young teacher. I felt somewhat confused, but I calmed my mind and accepted what he said.
I thought about it afterwards, “Why did I feel confused? Or even disturbed? Isn’t it a test to see if I am attached to fame and fortune?!” I realized I should have taken this change lightly, and I should do my job well no matter my position. I handled the equipment well previously, without this job title. So I decided to give up the attachments.
A few days later, the principal talked to me again, and said, “The young teacher felt he did not have enough experience to handle the responsibility. It’s your responsibility now.” By that time, I had already calmed my mind. I smiled and said with a peaceful mind, “Okay.” In this way, I became the person in charge of the multimedia education facilities.
Another time, the principal submitted my name for a city-level honor. Before the professional title evaluation session, I heard that teachers in other schools received their certificates of honor. So I contacted the Education and Sports Bureau for my status. I was told that my teacher ethics level was ranked as “qualified,” not as “excellent,” because I practiced Falun Dafa. They said a teacher must have an excellent ethics ranking to receive a city-level honor.
Upon hearing this I felt upset. I complained in my mind that I had done a lot of work, but was ranked only as “qualified” in teacher ethics. After a few days of reading Zhuan Falun, I realized that I was attached to fame. I let go of the attachment, and my mind gradually calmed down. I later went through the professional title evaluation smoothly without any surprises.
Managing the multimedia education system involves purchasing parts and services. Once, after I finished ordering supplies, the supplier asked me if I wanted to add something more (for my personal use). This kind of situation is very common in China, and people are used to it. I recalled Master’s example in Zhuan Falun, about the textile factory worker who, once he started cultivating in Falun Dafa, returned all the towels he had previously taken from the factory where he worked. I rejected the supplier’s offer. I told the supplier, “I don’t want anything. Please give the school the lowest price you can.” Whenever the equipment needed repair, I tried to repair it myself, as I wanted to avoid any unnecessary expenses for the school and avoid any unnecessary service calls to the supplier. I contacted a supplier for repair service only if I could not do it myself.
I worked very hard, but was treated unfairly many times. I did not let those things bother me. I used them as opportunities to look within for my shortcomings and improve myself.
Before the former principal left our school, he set up several display boards in the school that slandered Falun Dafa. He did so under pressure from his superior. My only thought was how to remove them. However, all these boards were on the school campus and were not easy to remove. Furthermore, if the principal knew that I removed them, he might think that I was deliberately against him. Having learned from other experiences, I purified my thoughts and thought through the situation. After that principal left and the current principal replaced him, I clarified the truth to the new principal about Falun Dafa and the persecution several times with a peaceful mind, and I encouraged him to remove the display boards. In the end, he agreed and had them removed. He said the display boards had no significance for educating students.
The Security Department later made slogan-style display boards that slandered Falun Dafa and placed them at the school entrance several times. They had been directed to do so by their superiors. I talked to the principal, and he had someone change the contents of these boards.
The director of the General Affairs Office once called our school. There were many people in our office at the time, and everyone was busy. No one answered the phone, even though it kept ringing. The director came to our office a while later. Upon seeing that many people were in the office but no one answered the phone, he got angry and dumped on me. I did not know what happened at that particular time, but I remained calm. After he left, I realized that he had dumped on me because no one answered his phone call. I felt embarrassed. Master’s teaching came to my mind,
“Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I calmed my mind. Shortly after this, I ran into him on the stairs. I apologized to him and told him that we were very busy and didn’t mean to ignore his call. I asked him for forgiveness. His tone softened and he replied politely.
I clarified the truth to a long-time colleague, about Falun Dafa, the persecution, and quitting the CCP for a safe future. She hesitated and didn’t seem willing to quit. On another occasion, I talked to her again. She said she admired me for being a good person and treating people kindly. In the end, she said, “Because you are really a good person, I agree to quit.”
Soon after a new colleague joined our school, I talked to her about quitting the CCP to insure a safe future. She said, “You are really a good person and I have heard a lot of good things about you. Ok, please help me quit the CCP.”
Detailed above are some of my experiences of following Master’s teachings of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance when facing various situations. I know I am still far from what Master requires, and I want to do better in the future. In sharing my experiences, I hope to help people learn about Falun Dafa and about the miraculous healing power of Falun Dafa (not included in this sharing due to limited space). I also hope that people can read Zhuan Falun, to understand Dafa’s principles and become better people.