(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. Our benevolent Master has protected me all along. I’d like to share with you my experiences in my teaching career.
Clarifying the truth despite the persecution
I am an elementary school teacher. The evil took advantage of me because I was busy with work at school and at home and did not pay attention to Fa study and sending righteous thoughts. My cultivation loopholes landed me in a detention center in 2002. After my release I was transferred to another school.
The teachers and students in the school had been deceived by regime propaganda. The officials assigned me library work in an attempt to isolate me from the students. I told myself that I must conduct myself well so that everyone could see that Falun Gong practitioners are all good people.
Initially there wasn’t much work to do in the library, so I read the Fa and sent righteous thoughts. A few days later a lot of new books arrived, which I needed to register and catalog. I followed the principal's orders and sorted the books properly. He was very pleased with my work and told me one day, “You could come to the office to do your work.” His invitation allowed me enter the office and speak with the principal and teachers. I took it upon myself to clean the office and offered help to whoever needed help.
Women teachers took turns cooking the lunches, and the principal and a certain group of teachers would eat at school. I told myself, "As a Dafa practitioner I should be a good person wherever I am." I took on the task of making them lunch every day. They could eat a home-cooked lunch, which made them happy, and they no longer isolated me.
One day the principal told me, “The second grade teacher called in sick. Could you substitute for her today?” I realized it was an opportunity for truth-clarification and explained the facts to the students in that class. A few days later another teacher called in sick. I taught that class, too, and clarified the facts. That teacher, however, said bad words and always interfered with my efforts to rescue people. Unfortunately, I did not treat her compassionately as a sentient being who needed to be rescued. Instead, I developed an intense grudge against her and viewed her with a strong competitive mentality.
Sometimes I would become complacent after doing a good job in truth-clarification. I didn’t pay attention to Fa study or sending righteous thoughts. The evil took advantage of my loopholes, and I was arrested and sent to a brainwashing center.
Under Master’s merciful protection, I escaped from the brainwashing center and returned to my school. The principal assigned me to work in the daycare center. Having the opportunity to meet the children’s parents three times a day, I understood Master wanted me to rescue these people. But as soon as they found out I practiced Falun Gong they would give me the cold shoulder. I conducted myself according to the standard of a practitioner, always smiled at them, treated them nicely, and took good care of their children. As time went on, the teachers and parents changed their attitude; especially the parents - they would say hello to me.
Later on I was assigned to teach the fifth grade and then the first grade. These frequent changes in assignments made me understand that Master was giving me opportunities to offer more sentient beings salvation.
Clarifying the facts using textbooks
In 2007, I was transferred to another school, where I made it a point to help my students understand the principles inherent in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. For example, some students would tell lies to shift the blame when a conflict arose. I would tell them, “You were not telling the truth. One has to be honest, to be brave to admit wrongdoings and correct them. As long as you do not do it again, it’s OK.” That’s how I taught them the principles connected with Truthfulness. When a student did something wrong, I would not get upset; instead, I would treat him with compassion, pointing out his wrongdoings with kindness. I said, “Others will find you generous and like to be with you, and you will have lots of friends.” My students took it well and liked to take my advice.
I would often tell my students stories of how good is rewarded with good and evil with evil, and use these stories to illustrate why one must be honest, kindhearted, and tolerant. My words had a subtle influence on them.
Their textbooks showed pictures of the staged “Tiananmen Square Self-immolation” and contained text that denounced Falun Gong. I realized I needed to clarify the facts to my students. As soon as I thought of clarifying the facts to the entire class, my fear surfaced. I immediately sent righteous thoughts to eliminate it. One day a student read out loud a paragraph about Liu Siying from the staged self-immolation, and I knew it was time for me to speak of the incident. With strong righteous thoughts, I elaborated on several doubts in the self-immolation and clarified facts to the students. After that, I tore out the pages denouncing Falun Gong and burned them after class, so that they wouldn't poison the minds of other sentient beings.
One day my cell phone rang during class. It was a phone call from practitioners overseas clarifying the truth. I left the classroom and finished listening to it. Returning to the class I saw all the students sitting upright, as if waiting for something. I later realized it would have been an opportunity for them to hear the facts through my cell phone speaker, arranged by Master. I regret that I didn’t allow them that opportunity to learn the truth. It was caused by my fear, rooted in selfishness, which always wants to protect my ego. I told myself, “These thoughts are not me. They must be disintegrated.”
Clarifying the facts using paper money
Seeing that I wanted to rescue people, Master arranged another opportunity for me. One day a student showed me a bill and said, “Teacher, look! This bill has characters written on it!” I said, “What does it say? Could you read it to us?” As soon as the student finished reading, I told the class, “Have you heard? ‘Heavenly destruction of the Chinese Communist Party. Quitting the Party, the Youth League and Young Pioneers could save your life.’ Didn’t they write these words for our good? There are so many natural and man-made calamities happening these days. Who wants to quit the Young Pioneers? Please raise your hand.” The entire class raised their hands and quit the Young Pioneers. I then asked, “What did we learn?” The class answered, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” I said, “Good! Let’s learn it by heart by repeating it a few times!” All of them eagerly repeated it.
Later on, my students often brought bills to school with truth-clarification messages written on them to show me and others. I always encouraged them to remember the messages. Some students started writing truth-clarification messages on bills and conveying the messages to their families.
In a first grade class I taught, one of my students told me, “Teacher, my elder brother was in your class, and he told me to remember ‘Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’” I smiled.
Thank you, our esteemed Master, for your merciful protection. Thank you, practitioners, for your encouragement and help.
