A Considerate Architect

(Minghui.org) I am the general engineer at an architectural design company in China. I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997, and over the last 20 years, I have lived by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which turned a selfish person into a considerate cultivator who takes personal interests lightly.

My Employer Couldn’t Pay Us

Due to the decline in the economy a few years ago, several of our company’s associates stopped investing in us. We had no more capital, and the boss was unable to pay us.

A developer promised to pay the design fee once we finished the work on his project, but many employees had already left the company by then.

Two young girls who were pregnant kept asking the boss for their pay and about their health insurance. The boss said he could not pay them until the developer paid him. The girls tried to sue the boss, but their lawyer said that, even if they won, they would not get anything because the company had nothing in its account. So they left the company, too.

Another architect deleted his design blueprint after failing to be paid. When the boss asked him to restore the blueprint, he said, “I will if you pay me.” The boss insisted it was the company's property, but the architect didn't agree. The boss finally gave up and found someone else to make a new one.

Only a few employees stayed on, because the boss had made promises to them. I was the only one who never talked with the boss about my salary.

What I thought was that, as a Falun Dafa practitioner, Master told us to be considerate of others, so I would not fight for money or threaten my boss. Although I didn't completely agree with him on everything he did, I would deal with this crisis positively.

I tried to see it from his viewpoint: The company was having difficulties. If I quit, he would be hard-pressed to find another architect. Even if he found someone who was willing to work first and be paid later, it would take the person a long time to learn what I had already done. On this project, everybody reported to me, and I combined every module, so it would be very difficult for a new person to even get started.

I also tried to see it from the developer's viewpoint: The project was almost complete. Once it got done, he could start selling the apartments and would be able to pay our company. My boss, in turn, would be able to pay his employees.

Through cultivating Falun Dafa, I understood that how wealthy one is in his or her life is directly related to one's virtue and to one’s karma. Fighting for wealth will not guarantee one will ever have it, just as those who take money lightly seem to always have enough.

The person who understands this will not have to worry about being taken advantage of. If somebody takes advantage of you, you gain virtue and lose karma, while that person will gain karma and lose virtue. Virtue, nonetheless, is the origin of wealth.

So I remained calm and never asked my boss to be paid. I kept working as usual.

Sometimes I paid for my own transportation when I went on business trips. Everybody in the company knew that I practiced Falun Dafa, and they all supported it.

When Others Are at Fault

At the end of this project, the developer found a serious mistake in the design. We carefully checked every step and discovered that it was actually the fault of the developer’s own architect.

This architect was not a pleasant person. When his boss chose us to do the design, instead of the company he’d recommended, he was very negative towards us. I’d actually warned him about this mistake, but he ignored me.

He was mean to the other employees where he worked. Once his secretary learned that it was his fault, she was pleased, because she thought that meant he would be fired.

I had to write a report for my boss and asked him if what I wrote would affect that architect negatively. He said, “We can barely cover ourselves. Why would you care what happens to him?”

I said, “This design is the result of our collaboration. Moreover, you will have to deal with him in the future. If you treat him well, you will, in the end, be treating yourself well.” My boss agreed.

I finished a comprehensive report that was objective and fair. The developer was satisfied and didn't fire his architect.

That architect later called me. He was very respectful, which was completely different from when we first met.

The project was finally completed. There were no new projects lined up for the moment, and I realized that, if I stayed with the company, I would be a burden, because my boss would have to borrow money to pay me.

If he were one of my own relatives, I wouldn't make him go into debt to pay me, so I said to him, “The project is finished, and I should go home. You can call me if there are any questions.”

As a Falun Dafa cultivator, my heart was calm.

A Surprise at the Bank

Many months later, I thought that I should cancel my bank card, which was tied to my company paycheck. Since the boss never called me or told me he would pay me what he owed me, the bank card was useless.

At the bank, the cashier printed out the account details and asked me to sign. I was surprised.

I remembered that I’d had less than 100 yuan in it, but now it showed a balance of 60,000 (roughly $10,000 U.S.)! I studied the details and realized that my boss had put everything he owed me into my account but never told me.