(Minghui.org) I am a high school teacher. Being a practitioner of Falun Dafa, I learned about the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and make sure to follow it in my daily life, as well as in my teaching.
Many students often come to see me after they've graduated, and tell me about how I'd impacted their lives. I'd like to share three of them here.
One day in 2019, when I was walking out of the school, I heard someone call out to me.
“Hello teacher, I finally found you!”
I saw a young couple walking toward me and recognized the young man, Meng, who was my student over 10 years ago.
He was excited and exclaimed, “Teacher, this is the second time I came here to see you! Thank goodness we were able to meet you. This is my wife, and we got married two days ago. We came here specifically to give you our wedding candy, and wanted to share our happiness with you.”
I saw a small red envelope inside the candy bag.
“The 6,000 yuan in the envelope is to show my appreciation for all of your help when I was in high school,” said Meng. “Without you, I wouldn't have been able to become a doctor.”
Suddenly, all my memories about Meng came back.
It was over 10 years ago. Meng was a freshman. One day, when I was at my office alone, a student came in.
“Teacher, can we chat?”
“Sure.”
“May I ask you a question? I think you have beliefs, right?”
“Yes, I do.” I replied.
“I think you must be a Falun Dafa practitioner.”
“How do you know?” I nodded.
“Because you looked very nice and peaceful, just like one of my middle school teachers, who was a Falun Dafa practitioner.”
“If we have the same belief and follow the same principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, we should be similar,” I replied.
Meng started to talk about his life and his current situation. His mother passed away many years ago, leaving him, his little brother, and little sister behind with his father. His father married a woman with a child two years ago, and then had to take several part-time jobs to support this family of six. Thus, the family's economic situation was very bad.
I encouraged him to be optimistic no matter how hard life was, and to set a good example for his siblings.
One month later, I was reported for talking to people about Falun Dafa and suspended from teaching for a year. When I came back to school, Meng was not in my class and we only saw each other a few times.
The next time we talked was right before Meng's graduation. When the college entrance exam results came out, Meng told me he did very poorly. He felt that it was very unfair and he couldn't let one exam determine his future. He wanted to study one more year and take the college entrance exam one more time.
However, his family's economic situation was too dire to support one more year's tuition.
I told him, “Don't worry, even though I've only taught you for two months, I believe that we have a good predestined relationship. I know you're a good student. I will pay the tuition fee for you.”
Meng was very surprised; his eyes began watering.
“One year's tuition is not a burden for me. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I'm willing to help you without seeking any payback,” I continued. “The only thing I expect from you is that you will work harder the second time.”
Just like that, Meng studied at the high school for one more year and did well on the second college entrance exam. He was admitted to a medical school. He came to visit me during the new year for the first few years of college, but after that, we lost touch.
When Meng showed up today, I realized that he came to repay me for his tuition.
I told him, “Congratulations on your marriage! But I will only accept the candy, not the money. I simply wanted to support you, not lend you money.”
“Teacher, I have never forgotten you and your kindness. The reason why I didn't contact you for over 10 years is because I lost your phone number. Please forgive me. Currently, I am a doctor in a provincial hospital, and my wife is working there too. We have a good life and stable income.”
He continued, “Please do accept the 6,000 yuan. I know the value of 6,000 yuan now is only a fraction of its value 10 years ago. However, it's just a way to express my appreciation; your kindness is priceless.”
His wife also said, “Teacher, Meng mentioned you many times. He always said without your help, he wouldn't be a doctor today. My father is also a good teacher, but he said it would be very hard for him to do what you did.”
I told the young couple, “If I weren't a Falun Gong practitioner, I wouldn't be able to do that either. Our Master always tells us to be a good person, to be kind to everyone. No matter how the Chinese Communist Party slanders Falun Dafa, they won't be able to erase the kindness of practitioners.”
I took the chance to tell the couple about how the CCP persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners and how the propaganda has deceived many people via the government-controlled media. Meng's wife understood the truth and asked me to help her quit the CCP and its associated organizations.
Hui was another student of mine. She is now a college student.
In my memory, she always felt down and I barely saw her smile. Nevertheless, she often came to my office to seek help. While helping her with homework, I would write her a few encouraging sentences. Gradually, she began to smile more.
Once, I met her father and her at a book store next to the school.
Her father told me, “I pick up my daughter every night from school. On the way back home, she always talks about you. She tells me what you taught her and how you helped her. She said you were not only teaching her knowledge but also how to be a good person, which was more important. She is so lucky to have a teacher like you. As a parent, I feel very lucky too!”
After graduation, Hui was accepted by a police academy.
A few years ago, on a windy day, I got a message from Hui, “Teacher, do you have some time tomorrow morning? May I have a talk with you?”
I replied yes.
The next morning at the school entrance, I saw two young people in police uniforms. One was Hui, while the other was Xiang, who was also my student.
Hui said, “Xiang is at the same police academy with me. When he heard that I planned to visit you, he said he also wanted to come.”
Hui continued, “You know that I liked to chat with you when I was in high school. Now I'm a college student, but I still have many questions and I know you can help me.”
They told me that interpersonal relationships in college were very different from those in high school. Things were very complicated, and they didn’t know how to handle them well. I shared my thoughts about how to handle those things with Dafa’s principles, and I also talked about the corruption in the police system, as well as the system's persecution of Falun Dafa.
They told me that as soon as school started there, the instructor fed them a lot of propaganda about Falun Dafa. I showed them the investigative video about Tiananmen self-immolation hoax, the biggest lie put out by the CCP against Falun Dafa. They realized that they were deceived by the government.
I also told them that Falun Dafa was not on the government list of cults and that its books were not banned anymore. And finally, I told them about how the CCP was harvesting organs from living, non-consenting practitioners––a crime that was evil beyond their imaginations.
I also told them the rule of good being rewarded with good and evil with evil. After gaining awareness of the brutal persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners, many policemen chose to protect practitioners discreetly. As they were also policemen, I expressed my hope that they wouldn't follow the persecution policy, but their conscience. I hoped that they would become good policemen who really served people, not tools used by CCP to suppress people.
They understood and told me that they would never join the Chinese Communist Party.
Before they left, Hui remarked, “Thank you very much, Teacher. We will always remember what you said. Xiang, let's give her a salute!”
I was very happy to see them understand the facts. In that moment, I thanked Master Li for giving me the chance to help these wonderful students.
Wen was a very quiet student with a strong will. Her grades were pretty average during the first two years of high school. During the third year, she was assigned to one of my classes; my colleague who knew her warned me that Wen was not smart because she often asks a lot of questions and was very annoying.
Indeed, she came to my office to ask questions almost every chance she got. And most of the questions had been explained many times before. It was a little annoying. However, I always reminded myself that as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I should follow the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance all the time.
So no matter how many times she asked me the same question, I was always patient and explained the answer to her in detail. Sometimes, she felt very sorry that she had to keep asking me.
For some of the more difficult questions, I would tell her, “Don't worry, try your best. Perhaps I didn't find the best way to explain so that you can understand.”
She said, “You did very well already, I'm very grateful.”
After a while, Wen felt that I was different from other teachers. She became more open and shared some of her personal matters with me. I learned that she had two older sisters, that her father didn't work, and that her mother was the only one supporting her family. Not only that, but her mother was also was the one taking care of her bedridden grandparents.
Her family always fought and she barely felt any warmth or comfort at home. In fact, she would rather stay at school than go home.
Once, she even mentioned suicide in her letter to me. She thought that she was a failure. I still remembered how one night, on Lantern Festival, a holiday meant for a family reunion, she sent a message to me, “Teacher, I have lost faith in life. I want to leave.”
I was very worried about her. I sent her a few text messages, but she didn’t reply. Then I called her, but her phone was turned off.
I tried to get her parents' contact information from the head teacher, but the head teacher said, “She is always like that, I have no time to take care of her. Here, I have her sister's phone number. If you want to, you can call her.”
However, her sister didn't answer the phone either. I was so worried and prayed to Master and hoped she would be fine. A few hours later, she replied, “Teacher, I am fine. Thank you very much!”
As a matter of fact, I often tried to talk about the meaning of life in class. I told all my students, including Wen, that suicide is the biggest mistake a person can make in his or her lifetime.
“As a human being, one cannot choose when one is born, and one also has no right to end one's life because every life is precious and every life also has its responsibilities. Have you ever thought about how miserable your parents would be if you were to die when you were still young?”
I also told Wen, “If you want to change your current situation, you have to start by changing yourself. Your actions can affect your parents and bring joy to your family. Give it a try; things will get better.” She took my words to heart and started to practice it.
After a while, one day she told me very excited: her father bought her a gift for the first time! Her family was getting more affectionate and lively. At the same time, her test scores also improved. After she graduated, she was accepted to a normal university with free tuition.
Once, Wen asked me, “Teacher, how are you so kind?”
“Because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
She said, “Can you talk more about Falun Dafa?”
I took the chance to explain to her what Falun Dafa is, how wonderful it is, why the Communist Party brutally persecutes Falun Dafa practitioners, and why people should quit the CCP and its associated organizations.
At the end of her high school year, Wen wrote me a very long letter.
In it, she wrote, “Teacher, how I wish I could be your student forever. You will be my most precious memory. Every time we are together, I feel that my soul is being purified. You've opened up a new world for me.”
“Teacher, I don't want to say goodbye. I will forever remember what you told me: to be a sincere and kind person.”
When I revisited my students' stories, I realized that while Falun Dafa had deeply reshaped my life, my actions also have a profound effect on my students. I am extremely fortunate that I have the chance to learn and practice Falun Dafa.