(Minghui.org) My company does architectural design. The director was changed twice after it was established and I was considered a veteran staff member. The third director was elected through a democratic vote. At that time, our company had more than 40 staff. It’s a public institution, but financially structured like a private one. The company was rated industrial design grade B. It struggled financially, and lost money for years.
The new director took office with a balance of only 20,000 yuan (~USD$2,700) in the bank. Various complex factors and difficulties caused the new director to feel at his wits end. He had to borrow money to pay our salaries. When he checked the employees’ computers, they were all doing work for the projects, and the design funds were issued continuously, but no design user fees were collected. Due to the trend of letting minorities get rich, people were all looking to make money. So everyone competed for personal gain and did not cooperate with each other or work as an entity.
Following Falun Dafa’s Principles at Work
My work involves technical data. I started practicing Falun Dafa three years before the new director came into office. After he took the post, the first task assigned to me was to respond to the municipal government’s request that all design firms compile their past technical data and submit them to the city’s data library. I spent hours completing this large-scale project in a detailed manner. I transferred the base drawings from our company for the past decade’s projects to the city data library and received compliments. However, when the bonuses were given out for the first half of the year, mine was only half that of the poster design staff. Despite the large volume of work I completed and even though I was a mid-level professional, my reward was less than the poster design staff. Several colleagues felt I was treated unfairly.
Master said,
“But normally when a problem arises, if it does not irritate you psychologically, it does not count or is useless and cannot make you improve.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Because I’m a practitioner I realized this wasn’t a coincidence. I thought calmly: “Isn’t this a good chance to improve my xinxing? Where can I find such a good opportunity?!” I had no complaints and just calmly smiled at my colleagues who felt I was treated unfairly. Not only did I continue to work compassionately, whenever the company had some urgent matter, even if it was my day off, I helped. I never thought about what I would gain or lose. My work ethic was praised by the manager.
The Director Knows Falun Dafa Is Good
People who work in the construction design field all know that the unit qualification seal is the company’s lifeline. If the drawings are not stamped with this seal they are just waste paper. In the past, the company did not get design user fees because no one controlled the use of this seal. This was definitely caused by society’s moral degradation. In order for the company to develop, the first thing to do was to change the design direction to civil architecture. The next thing was to get control of this qualification seal. As my character was being affirmed by the manager, he decided to let me be the only person in charge of this set of qualification seals. A design company’s drawing issuance seal, fire prevention self-audit seal, technical service seal, and design change seal are usually controlled by three people to serve as a form of internal control. However, in the design market, the unspoken rule is that the drawing seal costs one to two yuan per square meter for private designs. One can imagine the benefits one could reap from possessing these seals.
The director has a friend who practices Falun Dafa, so he understood that people who practice Falun Dafa are considerate of others. Because of this, when the director handed me the seals, he didn’t give me any instructions about the things to be careful about for each type of work. He totally trusted me, because I practice Falun Dafa.
Since the director entrusted me with such an important job, I could not betray his trust in people who follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. As a practitioner, in order to do well at work, we must first guide ourselves with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and not be swayed by any external influences. Be it the manager or anyone else, I needed to follow rules and uphold the company’s interests.
Although this job is simple, every step is crucial because constructing a house is a long-term project. On top of this, I was also very busy, because apart from being in charge of the whole firm’s technical data, the director also placed me in charge of the firm’s purchase and distribution of computer supplies. Apart from normal day-to-day work, I also needed to settle past issues, such as the designs that did not meet the standards for payment or designs that were changed later, etc. I needed to correct them and make up for those costs. My work ethic immediately stopped all the loopholes that were used to exploit the business, so the manager’s stress was reduced and he was able to relax when he went out to talk about projects.
Of course, it is impossible to change people immediately. Some design directors in the firm wanted to get some conveniences from me to gain some personal benefits. However, I do everything based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance so they could not do anything about it.
After a year, the company changed for the better. The profits shot up and the firm’s head manager congratulated us during our year-end group meeting. During the meeting, the director introduced me to the head manager and offered me a toast.
Once, a departmental director returned from sending drawings to someone. He brought back a sum of money, threw it on my table and said, “The customers do not want a receipt. Your salary is not high too.” After saying that, he left. What he meant was that this money was for me. I thought that this was bribery. I could not accept this! I picked up the money and hurried after him. As I returned the money to him, I said, “I cannot take this money.” He immediately flew into a rage and said, “I give you money but you don’t want it!” He kept scolding me. I smiled and said, “I follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Thank you for your kind intentions.”
Another time, the director took some designers out for a project meeting and returned. One of the engineers who went to the meeting told me, “The director told us about you and said that people who practice Falun Dafa do not want money.” Hearing that, I felt comforted. His compliments indirectly rebutted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s lies. How would he know that a cultivator’s behavior and speech validate the greatness of Dafa and uphold Dafa’s dignity?
My company also has a survey team that uses the same qualification seals. They wanted to be independent, but the firm director would not agree to it. They kept looking for me, and said things like, “Just tell us what you need.” The assistant director said, “Ask them to buy you a house that is completely renovated.”
I thought, “They don’t know that a cultivator does not want kick-backs or benefits.” These kind of issues kept surfacing to test my xinxing. I kept being presented with situations where I could have used my position to make money.
Initially, the staff was surprised that I didn’t accept bribes. But when they saw how I contributed to the company selflessly, all of them, from the high level management to the lower levels, respected me.
Master said,
“You should remember that your righteous thoughts can change ordinary people and that you are not to be directed by them.” (Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco)
Once, the firm director’s wife met me and said, “Even with three people in charge, the company could not control this set of seals.” The assistant director’s wife told me, “You could be extremely rich. My husband said that as long as he is still with the company, he will not let you go.”
When police and people from the 610 office came to the company to harass me, the director told them how upright, moral, and righteous I was. The people I meet through my work are all my targets for truth-clarification.
Because he acknowledged Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and praised practitioners, the company received unprecedented blessing from Dafa. Within just a few years, the company rose from having class B design qualification to class A; the office changed from a rented space to a company-owned building; the company kept winning large-scale design projects and iconic projects; the number of employees increased almost ten fold and it also became a listed company. This kind of dramatic change is rare, especially in China.
In order to show me his respect, the director privately invited me and my husband to a meal. When I reached retirement age, the company still continued to employ me for five years and four months.
Master said,
“Gods walk the earth,validating the Fa” (“What’s to Fear?,” Hong Yin II)
Here, I would like to thank Master for saving me from hell, cleansing me, and improving my moral integrity such that I can benefit society through the powers of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. This is especially true when I see Falun Dafa is respected by people. That kind of feeling is just so wonderful.
As Master’s disciple, I will not let Master down. I will be a truly cultivating disciple and follow Master home.
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