(Clearwisdom.net) On Clearwisdom.net, I found many teachers in China have been persecuted because they practice cultivation in Falun Dafa. Some of them were forced to leave school, some were detained in labor camps and some were forced to leave their homes. I am also a teacher who practices Falun Dafa, but I was fortunate to be born in Taiwan where I can freely choose my belief and legally introduce Falun Dafa to the public and to the school where I work..
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|  Students participating in Falun Gong group study |
|  Practicing Falun Gong in physical education class |
|  Practicing the second set of exercises: Falun Standing Stance |
1. Improvement of Xinxing (mind nature) after Studying the Falun Dafa Teachings
Before practicing Falun Dafa, I was a very demanding and strict teacher. I could not tolerate students who were not serious about learning. For students who could not meet my standards and requirements, I often used physical punishment or abusive language. One time when I visited the home of a student who often did not do his homework and who also looked dirty. I found that his family was very poor and that he did not have a table. I asked him where he did his homework, and he pointed to a low stool on the floor. I finally realized why he did not like to do his homework and felt very sorry for him. I felt sorry that I did not care much for others. Later, I started practicing Falun Dafa. After I read the book, Zhuan Falun, [main teachings of Falun Dafa] I realized how selfish I was and realized that a truly good teacher should conduct himself or herself according to the principles of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance."
After I began to practice Falun Dafa my personality changed and students started to get closer to me. I found that if I lost my temper while teaching, the students would not change their poor study habits. Only when I talked to them with compassion and kindness did they start to change. Several students did not have a good temper and their interpersonal relationships were not good either. In fact, they also felt unhappy and troubled with their own problems. I explained the principles of "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance" to them and surprisingly, they took them to heart. Their conduct changed tremendously. Once a student happily ran to me and said, "Teacher, I did not get angry today!"
2. Colleagues Learning About Falun Dafa
On the first day I started to work at this school three years ago, I met Teacher Wang whom I worked with at another school before. I said hello to her, but she could not recognize me at all. I mentioned things from the past to remind her. When she finally remembered who I was, she was so amazed that she could not utter a word. She said that I had changed so much, that I looked much younger, and that my personality had become much more open and energetic. I told her that it was because I had started practicing Falun Dafa. Teacher Wang said that if Falun Dafa was this good, then she would also like to learn it. The next day, the entire school knew that the school had a new teacher who was practicing Falun Dafa and that Falun Dafa is a very good school of cultivation practice. Teacher Wang has done a good job in telling others in the school about Falun Dafa.
Not long after, the Principal, Chief Administrator, teachers, nurses and other staff all used their free time to practice the Falun Dafa exercises with me. Several colleagues liked to chat with me and they often told me about unhappy matters in their work and families. After listening to their complaints, I would open the book Zhuan Falun or Essentials for Further Advancement and show them a paragraph of the Dafa teachings. Then I would help them understand how to deal with their conflicts and unhappy matters based on my understanding of the principles. They agreed that what Teacher says really makes sense and that Falun Dafa is really good.
3. Introducing Falun Dafa to the Students
Last semester I taught a special education class. The class had 6 students and most of them had learning disabilities. One of them was very withdrawn and isolated from others. It was very difficult to communicate with him. But he had an excellent memory and ability to draw and paint. One day I introduced Falun Dafa to him, and I was amazed that he started drawing the Falun emblem immediately upon seeing it. After he went home, he still kept drawing. His drawing was very accurate as well as colorful. I introduced Dafa to another student who was deficient in recognizing words, and taught him to read the characters of "Falun Dafa Hao!" (Falun Dafa is good!) and "Zhen, Shan, Ren" (Truth, Compassion and Forbearance). I thought that he would not be able to remember these words. To my surprise, one day he told me that when he took a bus downtown the preceding day, he had seen the outside of a bus with words saying, "Falun Dafa is the best cultivation school of practice in the world." In fact, the words on the bus were "Falun Dafa is good!" Later, his ability to read and recognize characters improved significantly and he could also read books quite well.
One of my mathematics students lacked self-confidence because her grades were not good. She heard that practicing Falun Gong would help open people's wisdom and enlightenment, so she asked me to teach her the exercises. I used the break between classes to teach her. Later she brought another classmate whose grades were also not good to learn the Falun Dafa exercises. One student had been complaining to me that his young brother brought difficulty to his whole family because his health was not good and he had a bad temper. After I told him that practicing cultivation in Falun Dafa could help people gain better health both mentally and physically, he asked me if I could teach his younger brother after school. Later he told me that "Falun Gong works", that his young brother, a kindergarten student, had become healthier and did not often get sick like he did in the past, and that he had a better temper.
I used all possible opportunities to introduce Falun Dafa to people in my school. Last year when SARS was spreading, people were all in a panic and worried. During the week, I served as the overall coordinator in the school, and when students gathered in the morning, I taught them how to prevent the spread of SARS. I also introduced to them the benefits of practicing Falun Gong in keeping fit and healthy and in strengthening the immune system. I also introduced Falun Dafa to parents and others in the school. Many who learned the benefits of the practice wanted to learn.
4. Forming a Falun Dafa Association at the School
The school I am working at only has about 500 students, but it has more than 10 social groups and clubs. These groups have their respective class activities in one of the two early sessions on Wednesdays. The principal hesitated at the beginning to allow me to form a Falun Dafa group in the school because the classes for these groups were considered as formal classes by the school. I compiled two binders of literature from Dafa websites ranging from how Falun Gong keeps one fit and healthy, "Falun Dafa around the World", "Proclamations from around the World", to the "Truth of the Persecution". I clarified the truth in detail to the Principal. After he realized the truth, he agreed and supported me in forming a Falun Gong group and indicated that he would like to learn Falun Gong as well.
Our Falun Gong group has about 20 students each semester. The class consists of learning the Falun Gong exercises, watching video programs, and learning to sing songs. After learning Falun Gong, students liked to read and study books more. Their moral character was raised and they would not have conflicts with others. They got along with classmates and their family very well. They also felt very relaxed and comfortable after practicing the exercises. Students who are open-minded and energetic enjoy the 5th set of exercises the most. Some students said that they originally thought that they would not be able to sit still to meditate for a long period of time. But after they overcame the distracting thoughts in their mind, they felt that it was really good that they could calm themselves down. Students' parents also said that it was very good for students to practice Falun Gong to keep fit and healthy. Last May, the school had a celebration for its 10th anniversary, and it was also the 10th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction to the world. The Falun Gong group and local practitioners demonstrated the 5 sets of exercises and they were well received. People were all asking where they could learn about Falun Dafa.
5. Teaching About Falun Dafa in the Classroom
This semester I am teaching 4 courses to students in 6 classes. Because the school is a small one, it does not have many classes. The course for senior students is a reading class. The reading material for the class is compiled from articles on Dafa websites. Students like reading these articles. They are unique and meaningful, and they can help students develop righteous thoughts and a kind heart. Some teachers told me: "The classes you have taught are very different. The students are very clever, cute, sensible and obedient." I told him my secret that reading the articles from Falun Dafa websites began to change them. I was also amazed by the fact that the effect of Dafa disciples' articles was so significant.
One session in the science class was on water's three phases and the changes of state. I introduced students to the water crystallization experiments discussed on the Pureinsight website. Students were all amazed by these experiments and said that they would frequently send kind thoughts and would not beat and curse others. For the physical education class, besides introducing to students the marvelous effects of keeping fit and healthy by practicing Falun Gong, I also taught them to meditate. Many students said that it was so wonderful to calm themselves down and that the meditation made them feel very comfortable.
I put posters of "Falun Dafa around The World", "Truth of the Self-Immolation", and "Truth of Falun Gong Practitioners Illegally Persecuted in China" on the classroom's bulletin boards. Many students immediately became very angry upon seeing the persecution facts and told me that they wanted to help Falun Gong practitioners win justice. After students learned the facts, they went home to tell their parents. There was one time that a student told me that his mother thought that Falun Gong practitioners in China had done something wrong to cause the suppression. I said to the student that they are all good people and they did not oppose the government. Instead, it was the mistake of Jiang's regime. I gave him some truth clarification literature to take home to his mother. He went home to tell his mother that after practicing Falun Gong, his teacher had become healthier, her skin became very beautiful and that she did not need to wear short-sighted glasses any more. This student's mother said that she was thinking of practicing Falun Gong as well.
I am still improving and fall short in many aspects. The purpose of writing this article is to help people know that teachers who are practicing Falun Gong in China and Taiwan are receiving completely different types of treatment. Teachers cultivating themselves with the principles of "Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance" are well received in Taiwan, while teachers practicing Falun Gong in China are being suppressed and persecuted and many have died from torture for their belief. I appeal to Chinese authorities to stop persecuting teachers who practice Falun Gong and to let them return to school, so that future generations of China will be blessed.
