May 27, 2012 | By Xue Zhongmei, a Falun Dafa practitioner from China
(Minghui.org) I used to suffer from all kinds of ailments and could not take care of my daily needs. Because of a slipped disc, I could not walk normally but could only move haltingly, step by step. I used a customized steel belt to support my back. In addition, I was afraid of opening my eyes when I was outside. On bad days I feared getting cold and covered up with a quilt, and I kept the windows closed at night. Whenever I was hospitalized, I would be in the hospital for at least three months. Because of so many injections, the nurses could not find another place for an injection, evem in my buttocks. I took a lot of Chinese and Western medicines. In addition to medication, I went to temples to worship Buddha, kowtow, and burn incense in an attempt to cure my ailments, but all of this was in vain.
In 1998, the husband of an acquaintance said to me, “Practice Falun Gong! My wife is free of back pain after practicing Falun Gong. She now even gives postpartum care at home!” At first I did not believe it because I had tried every possible approach, including begging Buddha, but none of them could cure my illnesses. One day while I was lying in bed, I thought, “I have exhausted all methods but my ailments have not disappeared, so why not practice Falun Gong!” My friend’s husband then gave me the audiotapes of the lectures given by Master Li Hongzhi. I quietly listened to the lectures one by one, and wondered why the principles were so different from my views of life.
I am a national tax official. Before suffering from illness, I was aggressive and had a strong competitive mentality. Since my post granted me power, I developed a very greedy personality. Sometimes I would tell my husband, “Bring the cardboard boxes from your office back home. We can make money by selling them for two cents each!” I was harsh on taxpayers. For example, I went to a flour mill owned by taxpayers to ask for free flour, and then I would drag two big bags on my small bicycle back home. The potholed dirt road could not keep me from doing this, back and forth, several times a day. If I could not consume all of the flour I just sold it for profit. I could not sleep well when festival seasons came because I would rack my brain to think how to take more advantage of taxpayers. As for gifts given by taxpayers, I would accept them all and I took them for granted. I would sometimes ask for more if I thought the gifts were too small. In addition, I would cause trouble for taxpayers by finding fault with their tax forms on purpose, and I did not approve their tax reports until they gave me more bribes.
I did not pay a penny for my meals when I went out to restaurants owned by taxpayers. Sometimes I even ordered take-out dishes from home and did not pay for them, either. I knew that I would be nothing to taxpayers if I were dismissed from my post, so I therefore wanted to make as much side profit as I could as long as I was in my position. Every time I went to big enterprises for audits, I would eat and drink as much as possible, and what’s more, I would bring things back home until it was too heavy for me to carry. Sometimes taxpayers wanted to pay for my shopping in stores because they knew that I was the one who would decide how much they needed to pay for their taxes. The only loser was the tax revenue. Such was my miserable life, and by vying and competing for personal gain day after day, I ended up with all kinds of physical ailments.
I blamed myself while listening to the lectures by Master. Since then, I have completely changed my view of life. Through practicing Falun Gong, I am free of illness and my entire body is light. Once, before the Moon Festival, my department scheduled an audit of taxpayer’s tax forms. A lot of them wanted to give me shopping cards in exchange for less taxes if I committed fraud on their forms, but I turned all of them down. Some taxpayers invited me out for meals, but I replied, “You can feed your whole family on only five yuan; however, if you buy me a meal in a restaurant it would cost you more than 85 yuan. It is too expensive to have a meal in a restaurant.” Since then, I do not have meals at the expense of taxpayers. One time, there was something wrong with a taxpayer’s form. In the evening the taxpayer stopped by and wanted to give me a bribe. I refused to take it, but he did not want to leave my home. I pointed to the Chinese character “De” (virtue) on the wall and said, “The principles of Falun Gong which I practice are Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance). The character De on the wall is a very important moral virtue for people to follow. If I take your gift I will lose De. I will take your interests into consideration only if it is not against national policy.” He smiled and left. Later he told me that his uncle also practiced Falun Gong, and he knew that practitioners were all good people.
Some taxpayers wanted to establish further relations with me and asked for my personal phone number, but I refused and said, “Please call me at my office number.” My colleagues have several apartments and new cars, but I am not jealous and conduct myself according the principles of Zhen-Shan-Ren. During one Lunar New Year, a taxpayer wanted to give me something as a gift and asked for my address, but I did not give it out to him. He said, “You know, we are relatives. The grandson of the second son of the son-in-law of the second daughter of your aunt on your mother’s side is my nephew, so we are true relatives.” I laughed, as I knew that what he valued more was the power I had from my post.
Though the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime continues to persecute Falun Gong, to corrupt, abuse power to damage the national interest, and to fatten its purse at the expense of the public, I still take the interests of my country as a whole into consideration. I remember what Master said, “If officials are unselfish, the state will not be corrupt.” (“Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
One of my colleagues was entrusted by us to manage our social security fees. However he often used the money for his own use, which annoyed everyone. Since I am the first one in the office and the last one to leave every day, and I clean up the office and work very diligently, do any assignment the boss gives, and no longer compete for personal gain, my colleagues entrusted me to manage the social security fees. I publish a detailed list of the fees once a week and let them know clearly the exact cash flow, down to the last penny. My colleagues laugh in relief and some have said, “We trust you and will not question you even if you do not post the details for a year.” My post is granted first by an audit by the higher-level authorities every year. The director general of my department has praised me publicly many times in assemblies: “If every staff behaved like [me], the performance of our unit would be well improved.”
After practicing Falun Gong, I no longer make a side profit from taxpayers. My work is praised as “Qing Shui Ya Men” (a work unit which has no outside income). Because I practice Falun Dafa, I am now like a completely different person.
(From the Call for Submissions to Commemorate the Twentieth Anniversary of Falun Dafa’s Introduction.)
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