(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and a high school teacher about to retire. I thought that I would just bid a simple farewell to the students on my last day, but to my surprise, during a lesson a few days before that, an unexpected scene took place in class…
On that day, I walked onto the stage as usual and said, “Let’s start our lesson!” A student shouted loudly, “Rise!” The whole class then stood up from their seats. All the students then answered in unison, “Good day teacher,” and they then gave me a big bow. I smiled, bowed and replied, “Good day to all of you too! Please take a seat!”
Just as I straightened my back, I realized that all the students were still standing in their positions looking a bit sad and there was a heavy ambiance lingering in the air. I asked the students, “Why aren’t you taking your seats?” Then, I heard a student begin singing a song and the rest of the class soon joined in. It was then that I realized that the students already knew that I was leaving, so they prepared this farewell. My tears started to flow uncontrollably. After the song, a girl passed me a bouquet of flowers. Another student gave me an exquisite box containing folded cranes and some colorful flowers with the students' well wishes on them.
Comments from My Students
Next, the students took turns sharing their thoughts and feelings about our time spent together at school. One girl’s speech really surprised me. She said, “Teacher, there was a period of time when I was almost going into a depression. I felt life was meaningless and I almost wanted to jump off a building. However, after meeting you, I no longer had that thought.” I had no idea of the effect that I had on this student!
Master’s lecture flashed across my mind, “Bathed in divine light, conduct and thought become right.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun).
I know that this situation was possible because Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) bestowed me with a positive energy field that can correct the incorrect mindset of the people around me.
I was deeply impressed by a male student who said, while holding back tears, “Teacher, you are the one who cared most about me!” Although he did not say much, his words seemed unpretentious and sincere. A few months ago I came across this boy sitting in a chair outside the classroom as I entered to begin the lesson. I asked him what was going on and he said that he was being punished by the previous classroom teacher and told to sit outside the door for three days because he had not followed the rules.
As I taught in class, the boy sat beside the door and listened. Suddenly, a loud drilling noise came from the corridor, which was interfering with the lesson. This conscientious boy thus closed the classroom door. Seeing that, I said to the rest of the class, “Everyone, see how nice our classmate is! In order not to let the drilling noise disturb our class, he closed the door and did so even though that meant he would not get to hear the lesson. Can we let this classmate come back into class?” The students replied in unison, “Yes!” Thus, I opened the door and asked the boy to come in. I did not expect this simple action to affect the boy in this way.
There were also students who wrote essays and passed them to me. One of the students wrote, “Teacher, we are so lucky to have had you teach us for these past two years. You are the most responsible and patient teacher that I have ever met. Not only do you have rich academic knowledge, but you have also taught us many theories about life. Under your guidance, chemistry, which I had always hated, became such a fun subject. As such, my chemistry results gradually improved. You are the one who ignited my strong interest in chemistry. And the most valuable lesson that we have learned from you is that no matter what we are facing, we must always maintain a peaceful mindset. I believe that this attitude is not only the governing factor for good results, it is also great wisdom for life. You are also a living example of this practice.”
The students talked for about half of the lesson. I saw that no one else wanted to talk after a while, so I told them that I would also tell everyone my story.
Telling My Story
I said, “I am very touched by the remarks that you all have for me today. Do you know that I was a totally different person eight years ago? At that time, I struggled so hard to finish a lesson and I was also in a very lousy mood. The vice principal told me that, in general, students did not understand what I was talking about in class. There was no focus in my lecture and I did not explain difficult concepts thoroughly. I understood what he said and felt I really did not do a good job despite wanting to do so from the bottom of my heart!” I told the students that this situation happened a few months after I was released from prison.
I became aware that I needed to start from the beginning and let my students know how I came to be a Falun Dafa practitioner. I started this practice in 1997 in the hopes of improving my health. At that time, Falun Dafa was not a restricted exercise and our school had a practice site for teachers and students. One of the students wrote in their experience sharing paper that after reading Zhuan Falun, his brain neurasthenia resolved without any treatment, his stress was reduced and he became full of energy and was able to concentrate in class. His exam results rapidly improved and his class ranking moved from average to 7th in the class within less than 2 months time! Practicing Falun Dafa really can improve one’s wisdom and health!
From my own experience, in 1997 just before the Chinese New Year, I read the Falun Dafa brochure and felt that it was very good. A short time later I went to the practice site and that was how I started to practice Falun Dafa. The few ailments that I had soon disappeared without me realizing it. What was more valuable was that Zhuan Falun helped me to understand the meaning of life and answered the many questions that I had throughout my life. At that time, my body felt light when I walked and my heart and face were brimming with bliss.
However, in July 1999, Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party, made use of his authority to start the persecution of Falun Dafa out of his self-interest and jealousy. I was sent to prison and persecuted twice. There are no words to describe how badly I was injured both physically and mentally. Therefore, after my release from prison the second time, I was afraid of being arrested again, and so I stopped practicing Falun Dafa. My body was no longer healthy. At that time, I was always in a daze, my thoughts were slow, my memory was bad and I felt really burned out. No wonder students complained I did not teach them well. I did not know what to do.
If I wanted to live on with a healthy mind and body and be able to care for my family, my only real choice was to return to cultivation practice in Falun Dafa. Only then could there be hope for my life! Therefore, I withstood all the pressure and started my practice again. Miraculously, my mind and body recovered in a couple of months. Once again, I am able to stand on stage and conduct my lessons with a clear mind, and I am also able to provide answers to the students’ needs in my lecture explanations. I am really very grateful to Master Li Hongzhi for being able to be what I am today! Thank you Falun Dafa!
As I spoke, the students listened quietly. After I finished speaking, some students asked what the ‘Tiananmen Self-immolation’ was all about. I told them the truth about the incident, and before I could even finish the explanation, the students already realized that those self-immolation videos on TV were not true. As the class came to an end I thanked all of my students. When the bell rang, I knew that this had been the most meaningful lesson I had ever conducted in my whole life!
The next day, two students came to me to borrow Zhuan Falun. This was the first time that I had discussed Falun Dafa in front of more than 70 people in such a peaceful and fluent manner, so forthrightly with no distracting thoughts.
Shortly before I planned to retire, I had thought about how I could let my students know the truth about Falun Dafa. This wish has always been on my mind and I remembered that Master said, “…one only needs to worry about putting in the effort of spiritual practice, and the rest is in the hands of one’s teacher.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I realized that this chance was Master’s ingenious arrangement who cleared the energy field beforehand, energized me with righteous thoughts, and gave me the wisdom to allow me to be able to conduct such a valuable lesson before retirement.
