(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, and I’m now 63 years old. On the occasion of the 23rd China Fahui, I would like to share my cultivation experiences with Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) and with fellow practitioners.
Dafa Practitioners Shine Brightly Wherever They Are
In 2008, I was transferred to the editorial department of a university journal as a humanities editor. Before I arrived, the journal had three humanities editors: two female teachers and one male teacher. The editorial department had two offices. The one on the south side was warm and bright, and was used by the two female teachers. The one on the north side was dark and damp, mainly used as a storage room, and had two large iron shelves and a desk by the door. It was used by the male teacher.
When I arrived, the director said, “The current working conditions in the editorial department are poor, and the two female teachers are unwilling to switch.” She implied that I should share an office with the male teacher in the north-facing room. She said the school might assign me a new office soon. I immediately said, “Okay, no problem.” So I set up my desk next to the male teacher’s table.
There was nowhere else to put my desk; the rest of the space was occupied by a large iron shelf piled with periodicals from the past ten years or so. There were also exchange publications sent by other universities. Some were opened, and some were not. The whole room smelled of musty paper.
I believe that wherever Falun Dafa practitioners are, they shine brightly. We not only rectify ourselves with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance; the radiance of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance also warms those around us.
After I settled in, I systematically organized the space. Every day, besides reading and revising manuscripts, I spent my breaks organizing the huge pile of old magazines, arranging them by year and issue. I set aside ten issues from the same period or category for authors in my college to consult, as they sometimes request their published articles from the editorial department for purposes such as promotion evaluations. The extra magazines were all bundled together by year and stacked at the bottom of the shelves.
I cleared everything out from around the window and wiped it clean. That male teacher never came to work on time, and he seemed odd. Every day he carried a woven shopping basket and wore a worn-out casual suit; one button was missing. He was in his 50s; he wasn’t very tall, and his face was thin. Beneath his impoverished scholarly appearance was an underlying aloofness. I always greeted him cheerfully, “Good morning, Teacher So-and-so,” or “See you tomorrow, Teacher So-and-so,” but he barely responded.
More than a month passed, and we hadn’t exchanged a single sentence that had any real meaning. After the office became “brighter” with my organizational efforts, he finally spoke to me one day: “You have excellent manners.”
I smiled and replied, “Thank you.”
Because other teachers said he was strange and unreasonable, I didn’t dare to say anything out of turn.
As time went on, we talked more. He told me that he voluntarily moved to the warehouse because he looked down on the two female teachers and said they were “vulgar.” I also learned that his father had been a highly educated intellectual who was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Cultural Revolution.
After we talked, I tried to tell him the facts of Falun Dafa, but each time I was distracted by his strange way of speaking and my own concerns. Perhaps the shadow of his family tragedy was too deep, so he was afraid to hear anything different from the CCP’s propaganda. He soon retired, and I never saw him again.
One day, the director came to our office. Seeing how I cleaned and organized the space, she commented, “You’re so great! This is so neat and tidy—like sunshine!” She also apologized for making me work in such an environment.
I replied, “It’s no problem. It’s fine.”
It’s a pity that later, when I told her the truth about Falun Dafa, she only agreed that the CCP was vicious because her father had also been persecuted. But she didn’t withdraw from the CCP organizations. Still, from my behavior, she saw the kindness, tolerance, and sincerity of a Falun Dafa practitioner.
Letting Go of Personal Gain and Truly Cultivating Myself
In 2012, the editorial department got a new director, and the office environment improved significantly. The journal structure was also reorganized into two journals, one for humanities and one for sciences, and was officially launched. The number of humanities editors increased to six, and they moved to a large, well-equipped office.
With the office getting bigger, there was more clutter. Since no one was assigned to clean, it quickly became a mess. The other editors were in their 30s and 40s; I was the oldest. Every day, I mopped the floor, tidied up, watered the plants, and so on. Every time the director came to our office, she said, “This atmosphere in this humanities office is so comfortable.”
The editorial department has a convenient advantage: frequent opportunities for business trips, meetings, or exchange events, which the editors take turns attending. Most editors choose places they haven’t been to before or scenic spots. They buy some local specialties and reimburse the cost through travel or meeting expenses. I never volunteered to go; if my supervisor arranged it, I tried to avoid it if possible, because I was not interested in sightseeing and didn’t want to waste time. Even when I did go, I never put my own expenses into official travel expenses—I never even took a taxi. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, one must first and foremost be uninterested in personal gain.
According to regulations, the retirement age for senior professional titles can be extended from 55 to 60. When I turned 55, I wondered whether I should retire. Most people don’t want to retire, and some try to work longer. I was also a bit reluctant to give up the benefits. Working five more years would not only earn me over two hundred thousand yuan more in salary, but my retirement pension would also be significantly higher.
While I was debating this, I had a vivid dream about a college classmate who worked at a university—she cleaned toilets and emptied toilet paper bins into a large garbage can. I asked her, “Why do you do this?”
She replied, “To earn some extra income.” When I asked how much she earned, the number she gave me was exactly the amount I calculated how much less I would earn each month after I retired.
I understood that Master was giving me a hint not to be attached to money. Time is limited, and I should seize the opportunities to do what a Dafa practitioner should do. I immediately decided to step down and use my limited time to do the three things and fulfill my vow to help Master save people.
No one understood my decision when I announced that I planned to retire. Some people said I was foolish, some said they would miss me, and some teachers said, “Please don’t retire. Can I help you with your manuscripts?” I was very grateful for my colleagues’ kindness, but I am a practitioner. I have many things to do and more important missions to fulfill.
I carefully organized all the reference books, dictionaries, staplers, and the other office supplies that the editorial department gave me over the years. I placed them on my desk along with the office key, and I quietly left. After retirement, unless there are special circumstances, I go out every day to clarify the truth about Dafa face-to-face.
“She Is the Most Qualified Teacher in Our Department”
Intellectuals are a complex group; many possess both an inherent sense of superiority and cunning distorted by CCP Party culture, making interpersonal conflicts unique and challenging. Several people in the office seemed to have conflicts with each other. Even those who appear to have a good relationship on the surface would immediately start undermining and fighting each other when their own interests were involved. They involved unfair manuscript allocation, unequal distribution of editing and proofreading fees, unequal business trip opportunities, the poor quality of so-and-so’s edited manuscripts, who gave gifts to the leaders and received benefits, and so on. This happened every day at work.
Master said,
“If you break free from this qing, nobody can affect you. An everyday person’s mind will be unable to sway you. What comes and replaces it is benevolence, which is a nobler thing.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I realized that if I could transcend the conflicts and rid myself of worldly desires, they would no longer affect me. So I had no issues with anyone because I maintained my moral compass even amidst conflicts, according to the standards of Dafa.
My colleagues like to chat with me, and so did colleagues from other offices. Some colleagues say that chatting with me makes them feel good. When the time was right, I also told them the facts of Falun Dafa. Intellectuals have complex thoughts and many concerns. Some were afraid after hearing the truth; some agreed to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and one colleague started practicing Falun Dafa. From my words and actions, they all understood that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are great, and that Falun Dafa practitioners are good people.
After I filed a formal lawsuit against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin in 2015 for persecuting Falun Dafa, six or seven police officers from the local police station came to the school in a police van to arrest me. The editor-in-chief told them, “I don't know anything about the organization you’re talking about, but this teacher (referring to me) is the most qualified teacher in our editorial department. She has a strong work ethic and never complains about what work she’s assigned. If our editorial department had more teachers like her, our work would be much easier. We’ve never heard her say anything inappropriate in the office.”
Two weeks later, I returned to work at the university. The director told me, “Please don’t worry. Your colleagues won’t look at you differently.” When this director came to the editorial office, I handed him a letter about what I wrote. He understood the truth, and he was blessed. He was promoted to the top political work professor in the university. The university tried hard for several years to apply for the scientific edition of the academic journal for the national core journal status, and finally succeeded during his term. He retired happily.
Looking back on my many years of cultivation, it is Master’s compassionate care, encouragement, and guidance that have guided me. I am always very grateful. I will walk the path of cultivation well from now on, diligently cultivate, and do the three things well in order to repay Master’s kindness.
(Selected submission for the 2026 China Fahui on Minghui.org)
Copyright © 1999-2026 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
