Personal Experiences of a Jewelry Shop Owner (Photos)

By Zheng Yuyan, a Minghui reporter from Taiwan

(Clearwisdom.net) Holding a banner, You Zhumeng stood on a street in Taiwan from early morning to late in the evening. Like other Falun Gong practitioners around the world, he wanted to share his experience that "Falun Dafa is good" with people all over the world. He wanted to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and to call for support to stop the persecution in China.

You Zhumeng has practiced Falun Gong for more than 9 years. He has moved back to his hometown, Yilan City, where he has been in charge of a jewelry shop for almost 2 years. While doing business, he follows the teaching of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and considers other people's needs before his own. Because he treats his business partners and customers sincerely, his business gradually grows. Under the current economic crisis, his business is still doing well. There are three generations in his household. Conflicts among the family members were dissolved by his harmonization. All five family members live happily together.

Zhumeng's father was an office worker and did not like to talk. In addition to Zhumeng, there are two brothers in his family. The only communication between his father and the three brothers was physical punishment when they did something wrong. Zhumeng's mother was a homemaker. She was very competent and disciplined her sons strictly. As a result, the three brothers developed independent personalities and were very supportive of one another. Zhumeng admitted that his personality was a little eccentric.

You Zhumeng (the second from the left with yellow jacket) called for the CCP to stop persecuting Falun Gong during a meeting between Chen Yunlin (chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS)) and Chiang Pin-kung (Chen's Taiwanese counterpart.)

Searching for the true meaning of life, he could not obtain any sensible answer.

Zhumeng had a lot of questions about life while studying in high school. He thought about becoming a monk numerous times. That way, he could roam around the world to find the answers to his questions. However, he was not so sure what he was seeking.

After he graduated from high school, he moved to Taipei and had a laborious job. In the evenings, he studied at a technical college. After graduation, he served the mandatory military service in the Taiwanese Army. Then, he started a new job at his eldest brother's jewelry shop in Sanchung City, Taipei County. Because Zhumeng was in charge of delivery, he had the opportunity to get to know many owners of other jewelry shops. Later, You Zhumeng suffered a slipped disc in his back. He was in great pain every day. The pain would not subside even if he sat or lied down.

Enlightenment Came from a Sacred Book

In March 2000, another jewelry shop owner with nickname "A-Jiang-Ge" introduced Falun Gong to Zhumeng. A-Jiang-Ge mentioned that he once suffered from stomach ailment that could not be cured by any medical treatment. After practicing Falun Gong for 2 to 3 months, his stomach disease was completely cured and he no longer needed any medicine. He suggested that Zhumeng try Falun Gong. Zhumeng thought that since it was free, he might as well try it out. Around the same time, he saw a TV program, "Falun Dafa in Taiwan," so he bought the book Zhuan Falun and Master Li's Lecture CDs. Zhumeng had never liked to read since he was young. However, he finished reading Zhuan Falun without stopping.

Zhumeng said, "It's a miracle for me to finish a book without stopping, but I really could not put down Zhuan Falun since what was discussed in the book answered many of my questions very clearly. He suddenly enlightened that he could obtain the true meaning of life without becoming a monk. Delighted, Zhumeng started his practice of Falun Dafa and became a determined practitioner.

About 2 to 3 months after he started practicing Falun Gong, Zhumeng suddenly noticed that his back pain was gone and his slipped disc had completely recovered. He and his wife were very surprised. "How could the disease be cured just by practicing Falun Gong?"

Looking past Petty Profits, Business Prospers

After gaining a deeper understanding the Fa, Zhumeng felt that some of the common business practices did not meet the requirements of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so he moved from Sanchung City back to Yilan City. While staying at home, the words in Zhuan Falun deeply impressed him,

"It doesn't matter how high your official rank is, and it doesn't matter how rich you are: the key is whether you can let go of that attachment."

"whether you're self-employed or you have your own business, it doesn't matter what kind of business you do: do things fairly and act with integrity. All the professions out there should exist; it's only that people are short of integrity. It's not about what type of profession you are in."

With the help of his eldest brother's friend, he started his own jewelry business in Yilan City.

The major income of a jewelry shop comes from the price difference between buying and selling gold. For necklaces, bangles, rings, and ear rings, the prices are decided by the jewelry shop owner based on how complicated the objects are. Zhumeng only charges very little above his cost and sometimes he even sells items without making any profit. In addition, most jewelry shops charge fees for servicing or cleaning their customers' jewelry. Zhumeng always provides free services for his customers. Because of his honesty and good service, many customers return to his shop to buy more jewelry.

At the end of 2009, an old customer brought her friend to his shop. Zhumeng charged the friend a price very close to his own cost. However, she came back to his shop later and complained that Zhumeng charged more for labor than some other store. Zhumeng explained the charge patiently, but the customer did not want to listen. She insisted that Zhumeng had to lower the labor charge. Zhumeng said, "At that moment, I was very angry and could not maintain my xinxing. I said to the customer, 'I already gave you a very reasonable price and did not make much money from you. If you are not satisfied, please return the item and I will return your money.' Suddenly, I found that my behavior was against the requirements of a cultivator, so I decided to give her back the amount that she requested"

Zhumeng understood that this incident occurred because of his attachments to competition and petty benefit, so he let it go and did not mention anything to the old customer.

Could not be so Peaceful and Harmonious without Dafa

When he first started practicing Falun Gong, Zhumeng's wife felt happy about the miraculous improvement to his health. However, she became unhappy about Zhumeng spending a lot of time studying the Fa, practicing the exercises, and attending Dafa activities, since he didn't spend as much time shopping and watching TV with her. Zhumeng searched inward and correctly handled the relationship between his family and cultivation. In the past years, his wife not only came to understand that Falun Dafa is good, but also supports Zhumeng's cultivation. Although she has not started cultivation herself, she sometimes helps with truth-clarification and encourages Zhumeng to attend the activities to spread the Fa and clarify the truth.

Zhumeng's father passed away the year before last. His mother lives with him. Everything in their daily life introduces conflict between his mother and his wife. For example, his mother is accustomed to doing laundry every day. The dirty laundry could not be left to the second day. She wants the dinner table be cleaned up right after each meal, and all the dishes to be cleaned before taking a rest. However, his wife thinks that it's OK to do the laundry every other day, since the washer is large, and she thinks it's fine to put the dirty dishes in the sink, get some rest, and wash up later. Because his mother and wife both have strong personalities, conflicts happened all the time. His mother could not accept the way the family was handled and complained all the time. His wife couldn't understand the high standards of her mother-in-law and complained about her often. Zhumeng said, "If I didn't cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I think I would not have been able to put up with the situation."

Zhumeng became the bridge between his mother and his wife. Because of his the peaceful attitude and warm language, the conflicts between mother and daughter-in-law gradually faded. In the daytime, when Zhumeng goes to work and both kids go to kindergarten, the mother and daughter-in-law work together at home. There are fewer arguments and family life is becoming happier and more harmonious. Zhumeng stated, "After practicing Dafa, I started to consider other people's needs. Gradually, my mother and wife were also affected by the same thought. Although they have not taken up cultivation, they both understand that Falun Dafa is good. Because I practice Falun Gong, the entire family has become happy. Without Dafa, we could not be so peaceful and harmonious."

Posting date: 2/4/2010
Category: Becoming a Better Person
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/1/20/216602.html

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