Cultivating Myself While Educating a Special Needs Student

(Minghui.org) I tutored a special needs student when I worked in another city. The boy’s grandmother said he was born with a serious medical condition. Renowned specialists from around China treated him when he was a newborn. Some doctors told the boy’s parents that they might have to give up, and an injection would end the baby’s suffering. His parents almost agreed, but his grandmother, a Falun Dafa practitioner, objected. She said that killing was wrong and against heaven’s laws. She persuaded the parents to change their minds. She took the baby home, and raised him.

The grandmother played recordings of Master’s lectures for the child. He survived and grew up, much to everyone’s surprise. When he reached school age, no school would accept him because of his mental condition. The family asked me to try teaching the boy, and I agreed.

After an evaluation period, I found that the boy had trouble with comprehension and pronunciation, and had poor memory. He couldn’t remember his own age though he had been told countless times. He couldn’t tell which shoe was for which foot even though he was over ten years old. The smallest things provoked him, so his family allowed him to do anything he wanted and spoiled him.

I once taught a student with a mental disability, and the student eventually had better-than-average intelligence. I believe that some kids with disabilities might have reincarnated with a special background and I thought this child might be one of them.

We dedicated some time each day to study the Fa. I read to him and as time went on, he was able to read on his own. For the rest of our class time, I taught him words and corrected his pronunciation. For each word that I taught him, I had to lead him to read the word over 100 times during each session for at least three sessions, but he would forget the word after we took a short break. Sometimes he couldn’t read a word immediately after I taught him. I had to repeat it over 100 times, but he usually did not remember it the next day. I repeatedly taught him, and he repeatedly forgot.

I cultivated my xinxing constantly during the process. I didn’t mind him being slow, but had a hard time when he wouldn’t listen to me. Even though I asked him to look at the words when we read, he refused. If I insisted he look at the words, he would shout and leave. I had to go comfort him so that he would come back.

I taught him using various methods. We progressed from single characters to compound words, and then to phrases. I also trained him to express himself. His speech greatly improved after a year. One day he wouldn’t listen to me. I told him to give me his hand and slapped it gently. I told him it was a bad way to treat disobedience, and asked him, “Is it a good way?” He replied, “Not good. It’s ordinary people’s way. I want the compassionate way.” I couldn’t help but smile.

I kept Falun Dafa in mind while teaching him and reminded myself to treat the boy with compassion. However, I got impatient when I couldn’t see any progress after a long time. My words reflected my unhappiness. He got mad and kept saying, “I don’t want to learn. I don’t want to learn. Go away!” I immediately realized there was something wrong with my xinxing.

Master told us,

“You should always maintain a compassionate and calm heart. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you some room as a buffer. You should always be benevolent and kind to others and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

When I thought about his behavior, I realized that the boy didn’t mean to cause trouble on purpose; it was mainly because of his condition. I comforted him and reminded myself that I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner. No matter how he behaved, any complaint I had was the result of my human notions and my looking externally. If he were normal, he could have attended school. I should look within and eliminate my attachments, such as the attachment to achievement and reputation, which results in impatience. His behavior helped me find my hidden attachments and recognize my demonic nature.

To summarize, I should do my job well, but I shouldn’t use it as an excuse to exhibit my demonic nature. I told myself to let go of my attachments, guide my teaching with the great Compassion of Falun Dafa, and face any difficulties with the pure Truthfulness and great Forbearance Master taught me. I shouldn’t be attached to my achievements while teaching the boy. Instead, I should use his behavior as a mirror to reflect my attachments.

After I came to this realization, things took a turn for the better. The boy was able to remember a couple of words after a week of learning. I made flash cards for him to review. As of writing this experience sharing article, he has learned 300 to 400 words, though it took four years.

I thought about quitting several times, but changed my mind after eliminating my selfishness. In addition to teaching him words, I also took him outside occasionally to teach him about things in the world. I asked him to lead me back home, so that he could learn to find roads. I also played videos of Falun Dafa stories. When he saw any content related the police’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, he would put his hand in front of his chest and say, “Let the evil be destroyed!”

The boy was raised by his maternal grandmother. He later moved to his other grandmother’s home, and everyone around him were non-practitioners. I noticed that he picked up some curse words, and he started arguing with me. For example, he said, “None of your business,” when I tried to stop him. I felt disturbed and exhausted. After calming down, I realized that it was time for me to improve myself and have a bigger heart.

Looking within, I realized that I read the Fa with the boy as if I were finishing a task, but I rarely discussed the meaning with him. He probably didn’t understand much. I read the section “Practicing Only One Cultivation Way” in Zhuan Falun with him and discussed what it meant. He gained a better understanding as a result. The next time he cursed, I looked at him kindly. He said, “I was wrong.” I was so happy and surprised by his progress that tears came to my eyes. It was not easy!

As I improved my xinxing, my student improved too. He witnessed how I looked within and learned to look within himself as well. Some other practitioners sometimes stopped by when my student happened to be here. He surprised them by reciting a couple Fa passages perfectly. The other practitioners were impressed and praised the power of Dafa. Twice when he became very disobedient I put on a stern face and raised my voice. To my surprise, he replied with a smile, “You should have a compassionate heart!”

One thing odd about him is that he refuses to learn from any textbook. The words and phrases I taught him were what I came up with based on what I taught him in the past. Sometimes he asked me, “Teacher, is this word from the Fa?” He looked happy when I told him it was. If it wasn’t, he would shake his head and say, “I won’t learn it. Erase it.”

He has been able to recite over 10 poems from Hong Yin and all the section titles from Zhuan Falun, and even accurately finish some sentences when we study the Fa. With a little help, he can recite the first paragraphs of Lunyu and Lecture One from Zhuan Falun. We discussed about cultivating xinxing after each study session. It worked out well. When I kindly pointed out his attachments, he said, “Teacher, what you said is so true!”

He picked up discarded Falun Dafa flyers when we went out for activities. Every time he heard that Master had a new publication, he asked me to read it to him. When I took him to visit a fellow practitioner who had Master’s picture on the wall, he pressed his hands together as a sign of respect in front of Master’s picture. I occasionally checked for the latest news on my cell phone during our breaks, but he took my cell phone away and said, “Study the Fa more if you have time.”

His amazing improvements brightened my heart. I tearfully thanked Master for his painstaking arrangement and compassionate care!

I used to think I cultivated myself well, but teaching this special needs student made me realize that I just got started in my cultivation. Every step forward was under the guidance of Falun Dafa and Master. I feel that every trouble I’ve run into was a lie-detector of sorts which clearly drew a graph of my hidden attachments. The only way for me to reach consummation is to cultivate diligently until I have no more loopholes.

The above is my limited understanding. Please feel free to point out anything inappropriate.