Abiding by the Standards of Dafa to Do Business

(Minghui.org) I own a business that does renovation and sells construction materials. Due to the COVID pandemic, the economy is going downhill in China and the price of raw materials shot up. From the upstream manufacturers to the downstream distributors in different areas, everyone is having difficulty surviving. The competition in the market intensified, resulting in all sorts of good and bad products being mixed together. Fake products are everywhere and shoddy goods have flooded the market.

I reminded myself that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, so I must not go along with the flow. I must be responsible to my customers and provide them with good quality materials.

Abiding by the Standards of Dafa at Work

Our shop went to a factory to purchase materials. The driver called me and said, “This model is not in stock. What should I do?” I said, “I asked the boss a few days ago and she said that it was still available.” I called the boss and she said, “I just checked. I am really sorry, there is no stock anymore. Sorry to make you waste the trip. Why don’t I find you another material that has the same pattern but is not of such good quality? It is skillfully imitated so no one can see that it is a fake product. Nowadays other companies are purchasing this material. Not only does it sell well, the profits are also very high. Nowadays, who still sell real products? That does not earn much money.” I said, “No, I cannot make the decision to change the product that my customer has already chosen. People will eventually know if they use inferior quality products.”

I thought that this was not proper sales ethics and did not abide by Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, the standards of Falun Dafa. The boss said, “There’s a new product that is selling well. They are of higher class than those that you have chosen and the price is the same. Why don’t you take that instead?” Her meaning was that since the driver was already there, don’t waste the trip. I said, “That won’t do.”

For a cultivator, no issue is coincidental. They are all opportunities to improve our xinxing. When the customers come to my shop, no matter how big or small their purchase is, and whether they make a purchase or not, I abide by the standards of Dafa and treat every one of them well.

The first two times a customer came to our shop, he brought his mother. Afterwards, he came by himself. He always had many questions, and I spent a lot of time explaining things. He even sent me text messages with questions related to his renovation.

Initially, I felt that he was too troublesome, but I reminded myself that practitioners are supposed to be selfless and think about others. I always patiently answered his questions. Maybe due to my tone and compassion, he trusted me. In the end, he decided to buy all the materials that he needed for his renovation from my shop. When I was about to close shop one day, he came and told me, “You can arrange shipment for the products that I have chosen!”

When I opened the shop for business the next day, I saw a red packet which he sent to my mobile phone. I did not know what it meant. I did not accept it and went on with my work. Seeing that I did not accept it he called me and said, “My house is on the top floor. Yesterday it rained and the roof leaked so I need to find someone to repair it. I have to postpone my renovation so please don’t ship the goods yet. I keep going to your shop to trouble you and in the end I did not make any purchase. I am so sorry about that. Please accept the red packet.”

He said that I worked hard and he is really grateful. I told him, “I understand your kind intentions but I am not going to accept the red packet. This is my job. You can let me know when you need the materials.”

Before I began practicing Falun Dafa, my attachment to loss and gain was very strong. I would have complained about him for wasting so much of my time. I now abide by the standards of Dafa to be a person that thinks about others without any complaints.

Some customers ask for a refund for the leftover materials after they complete their renovation. I follow the standards of a cultivator and write every item in detail on the form and send a photo to the customer, which they appreciate.

One customer asked me, “Why do you refund so little money? This is not correct!” He then said, “I felt that since I am returning the materials, I should leave some money for you.” I told him, “I always refund you based on the price at which you bought the materials.” I later helped him recall which materials he bought and he saw the amount was correct.

I told him, “...deal fairly and act with integrity” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun) This is the principle that I use in doing business. Embarrassed, he laughed and his impression of me was even better.

One customer called me and said, “The materials I bought from your shop are all overpriced. You still dare to say that your prices are the lowest?!” I felt a little wronged. I felt she did not appreciate my goodwill and even talked to me this way. However, I remembered that as a cultivator, when I meet with unjust treatment, I must be able to get rid of my self-centeredness and think of others first. Only then am I walking the path that Master arranged for me. It is also not easy for people to make money. If they buy overpriced things, they will definitely feel very anxious about it.

I patiently told her, “I guarantee the quality of my goods and sell them to you at the lowest price.” Then I told her the prices that we bought all the materials at and said, “If you do not want them, do not open the packaging. You can return them tomorrow and I will refund the money.”

The next day her son came to my shop and said, “Yesterday my mom checked the receipt from another person who bought similar materials from another shop and read the receipt wrong. Your shop’s prices are indeed cheaper than the other shop, so we are not returning the materials.” Nowadays, people all think that buyers and sellers have different interests so there is no feeling of security no matter where they purchase things. This lady came back and bought more materials. She smiled and said, “I now believe whatever you say!”

Two salesmen came to my shop to promote their company’s products. I thought, “If I do not order the materials, will that affect my clarifying the truth to them? I should clarify the truth to them first.” I asked, “You must have heard that millions of Chinese already quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations. Have either of you joined the Young Pioneers or Communist Youth League?” They said that they had not joined any CCP organizations. They looked at me strangely and stopped talking. They walked out of the shop and were about to leave.

I realized that I had attachments to worrying about what might happen, impatience, saving face, and seeking results and I immediately corrected myself. In my heart, I said to Master, “Master, I really want to save them!”

Seeing that they were about to leave, I followed them and said, “We were predestined to meet. There are so many disasters now, I really hope that you can survive them. If you do not quit the youth organizations that you joined, you will be implicated because you raised your fists and pledged to the CCP’s blood red flag to give your life to the Party.

“One day the CCP will be held accountable for its crimes and anyone associated with it will be implicated. When you quit the CCP and say the nine special words ‘Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good’, Heaven will bless you and you’ll be safe.” Then I talked about the goodness of Falun Dafa. Seeing my sincerity, they both smiled and agreed to quit the CCP.

The Power of Compassion

My husband is a kind person. However, he was deceived by the CCP and its atheism and did not understand the truth about Dafa. In this lifetime he is part of a practitioner’s family. He came down to Earth hoping to be saved. I deeply feel that my responsibilities are great. Whenever I began clarifying the truth about the persecution, he refused to listen. He even shouted, “This has nothing to do with me!”

Master gave me wisdom. This is what I wrote down to tell him: “I do my job at the shop based on the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) tells us to be good and even better people. Therefore, be it purchasing goods, selling goods, etc, I strictly abide by those standards. I am conscientious and diligent. I am always considerate of others and do not use inferior goods to make up the numbers. I do not cheat people or charge high prices. The quality of my goods really lives up to their prices. That is why my business has done better and better.

“I really do not understand your saying, ‘Believing in anything is pointless’ and ‘Heaven and Earth will destroy you if you do not care for yourself.’ Are you saying that lying and cheating as many people as possible is good? Or is it being selfish to gain some benefits for oneself through entrapping and harming others? What will the results of acting that way be?

“Did you know that virtue is the most precious thing a human being possesses? People’s wealth and their positions in life all come from virtue. If they lose all their virtue, that is the most pitiful and scary thing. Do not let your thoughts be deceived by the CCP’s lies and fighting with heaven and people.”

I gave him the letter but he did not want to read it. He even threw it on the floor. I was not angry. I just put it on top of the television cabinet and thought that he would definitely read it. After a few days, I asked him, “Have you read it?” He ignored me. I thought that it was such a good letter, I should read it to him. He left the room. I followed him and read the letter to him.

A few days later a customer came to the shop and asked, “Does your shop earn any commission for selling materials?” My husband replied resolutely, “We don't pad the bill in this shop. Whoever buys our materials pays the lowest price.” In the past, he did not agree with my way of doing business and even said that I would not be able to sell goods without earning a commission. Now, his opinion changed greatly. I was surprised! I thought that he must have read the letter. He no longer goes by those mottoes.

“Master Helped Me Countless Times”

My daughter does not cause us to worry and is very courteous and sensible. Not only does she not lie or use vulgar language, she also does not talk back to us. If there are any problems, she first listens to our opinion before voicing hers.

Starting out as a Falun Dafa little disciple, my daughter is now a teenager. I would ask her, “Have you been thinking of the nine golden words today?” She said, “I think about them every day.”

My daughter does not cheat on exams. She told me, “Mom, my heart was very calm during the exams today. I felt that my mind was blank and the noise around me seemed to stop. The teacher stood beside me and watched me for a long time, but I did not realize it.” When the results came out, she told me happily, “Master is helping me. Thank you, Master!”

That day my mother, who is a fellow practitioner, came to my house. I told her, “This time, she obtained good results on her exams is because of Master’s help.” My daughter corrected me and said, “Not just this time, Master has helped me many times!” I said, “Yes, when you do not get attached to the results of the exams and do everything wholeheartedly, this is “getting things naturally without trying to get them” (Lecture Given at the Conference in Sydney), so Master is encouraging you and helping you.”

Sometimes, we will study the Fa together and memorize Hong Yin before we go to sleep. I remind my daughter that she needs to abide by the standards of Dafa. Whenever there are issues, she should think of others. She is very sensible and everyone likes her at school. She patiently explains the question to her classmates and not be calculating about hindering her own time to do her homework. When her classmate fell ill and felt very cold, she gave her own jacket to her classmate. There are many more small stories of her abiding by the standards of Dafa to improve her xinxing.

Two years ago, I told her about the danger of having certain apps on mobile phones. She uninstalled the games, QQ, etc. and gave me her mobile phone. This solved the problems that arose from her playing with her mobile phone instead of completing her homework, not focusing on school, her academic results going down, and taking up her time for Fa study.

Being able to become a Dafa practitioner in the Fa-rectification period is my greatest honor. Thank you Master for looking after and guiding me along my cultivation path. I must study the Fa more and become more diligent so that I can follow Master home.