PureInsight | August 16, 2004
Taking the Opportunity to Spread Dafa to American Children
[PureInsight.org] I am an American public school teacher. At first I worked as a substitute teacher, which provided me the opportunity to work with children of different races and different grade levels. Typical American children are very energetic, curious and active, which makes it difficult to keep order. My greatest wish was that these American children would learn Falun Dafa. I was not a very experienced teacher at that time and it was quite a challenge for me to spread Falun Dafa to the children.
Shortly after I began to teach, an art teacher went on maternity leave. I was assigned to teach all of the school's art classes. As a matter of fact, I am not very good in art. However I knew this to be a wonderful opportunity to spread Dafa to those children. I prepared very conscientiously for the classes and overcame my nervousness and fear in the classroom. Soon, I could handle the art classes with ease. I received recognition from the school for my good work.
I initiated "Chinese Culture Month" activities in my art classes, which would be a great introduction for Falun Dafa. During the first week, I introduced students to China's 5000 years of magnificent history and rich cultures. When telling them about Beijing, I told them about Tiananmen Square. The following week, I began to introduce Falun Dafa to the students. I printed characters of "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" in both Chinese and English. I had the lower grade students color them, and upper grade students try to copy the characters in addition to coloring them. The children were very interested in learning how to write Chinese characters, so I taught them how to write "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" stroke by stroke on the blackboard. I also taught them how to pronounce the Chinese words. The children learned the writing and pronunciation of the Pudu and Jishi music, and the class was in good order. To my surprise, even though it was the first time for most children, their Chinese characters were very nicely done. Later, I played the 12 minute video "Falun Dafa in New Jersey". I also taught them the song "Falun Dafa is Good". During the last week, I taught them to read Hongyin poems, short poems to the lower grades and the whole book to the upper grades. The students would repeat each sentence after me. This way, I brought the greatness of Dafa to about 400 American children in four grades within several weeks.
One time in class the children were sitting on the floor and I noticed some children sat cross-legged very well. A thought came to my mind, "I should try to teach them the sitting exercise." The children were making a lot of noise at that time and another teacher kept yelling "Be quiet!" "Stop talking!" Yet the children did not quiet down. The phone rang and the other teacher went to answer the phone. I told the children I wanted to teach them Falun Gong and asked them to follow my instruction. At first I tried to differentiate the different hand gestures for boys and girls. Soon I realized it was not appropriate in that circumstance. So I started doing the hand movements myself and asked the children to follow me. The children paid attention and followed me. Several children even sat with their legs crossed very nicely. I kept encouraging them: "very good, keep going". The other teacher was surprised: "Great, they all settled down. They must have liked listening to you, why don't you keep practicing with them. I will be back soon." I realized the noisy classroom had become very quiet and appreciated that it was the power of Falun Dafa and Master.
After that day, I thought that all the children had heard about Falun Dafa and listened to the music, and it would be beneficial if I could teach them the exercises. One day, the school notified me that the gym teacher was sick and I had to teach gym classes. "What am I going to teach?" I asked. The response I got was, "It is your decision, you can teach them whatever you want." I realized my wish had come true. I prepared the 30 minutes exercise music and pictures of children practicing and brought along my little tape player. The next day, I taught about 100 children from 5 classes, the five exercises. My experience was that children are different from adults. They could not keep the same position for a long time, and the position might not be accurate. But they have to remember this is Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa and that there are more than 100 million people around the world practicing it. Some other teachers also joined the children to learn the exercises.
It could be, because I am the only Chinese in the school, that all the children know me. I do not teach art class any more, but lots of children still call me art teacher, some call me Ms. Chinese. A little girl says to me clearly in Chinese "Master, Falun Dafa" every time she sees me, she is so lovely.
American children also need to learn about Falun Dafa. It is possible to make Dafa part of the mainstream of our society. As long as we have the sincere wish, Master will give us the opportunities. My process of spreading Falun Dafa at school during the past several years is also a process to cultivate myself. The children were like mirrors that reflected back my shortcomings. When I had the attachment of fear and could not relax in the classroom, the results would not be good. Sometimes when I ran into children with bad tempers who did not follow instructions, I might not be able to control my anger. I even punished them by making them copy down the classroom rules when I was angry. However, when I could keep a calm heart and clear mind, the children would behave very well. The power of Falun Dafa and the benevolence of Master helped me to change the children's behavior dramatically. The school recognized my achievements. This year the headmaster spoke to me and encouraged me to teach Falun Gong to other teachers. Lots of teachers learned the exercises and bought Dafa books. To help in the effort of saving Charles Li, dozens of teachers including the deputy headmaster signed the petition requesting the Chinese government stop the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
2. My Experiences Participating in Minghui School Work
Before coming to the U. S. I worked for the China Custom Bureau for ten years. At that time, although I had a good job and good life, I seldom felt satisfied. I actually considered myself unlucky. After coming to the U. S., the pressure of work and learning once made me feel that I was the unluckiest person in the world. After I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997, through constant cultivating in Dafa, my thinking changed drastically. In the past I only liked pretty and smart children. When I encountered children who were disobedient, I felt impatient from deep within my heart and I wanted to stay as far away from them as possible. Now, although I don't have children, I treat all children as if they were my children. I cherish dearly this cultivation path that Teacher has arranged for me. I feel so lucky that I can be with pure and innocent children. Therefore, last year I talked to a local assistant and volunteered to establish a Minghui School. After practicing cultivation in the Minghui School for the past one year, my frame of mind and character improved greatly.
Last May, when I announced on the Internet the opening of the Minghui School, the majority of practitioners approved of it. Nevertheless, when I put everything into place, I realized that it was not as easy as I had thought. At the beginning we held classes at my home. I remembered the first time many children and their parents came to my house, I felt very satisfied after they left. Afterwards, because of many different activities, some practitioners stopped sending their children to Minghui School. Some practitioners thought that we had so many Dafa projects and so many people waiting in China to be saved. They asked, "Our children already practice Falun Dafa, is it necessary to send them to Minghui School?" My personal view is that at present Minghui School is a rare environment created for young practitioners to come together, to study the Fa and practice the exercises. Although young practitioners have predestined relationship, they are after all still children who like to play, are lively and not self-conscious. Consequently, if their parents are busy, their cultivation practice will slack off. I realized that. It is just like how Master said that an environment for group Fa-study and exercise practice is important for us. In the same sense, it is even more so for children. Master points to this in the article "Environment:"
"This is because all those whom you come into contact with in society are everyday people. What is more, they are everyday people who have undergone a rapid decline in human morality. In this big dye vat, people can only drift along with the current." (From Essential for Further Advancement)
The children are constantly exposed to the human world. They quickly accept something and are also as quickly contaminated by bad habits. Therefore, an environment for group Fa-study and exercise practice is definitely important for them. At present, many practitioners have indeed neglected their own children's Dafa education because they have been busy with Falun Dafa projects. Some practitioners probably think that their children have already practiced Falun Gong, and this is as if they were guaranteed to succeed in cultivation and that they were infallible. Actually, some young practitioners started practicing Falun Dafa early, they have seen Master's nine-day lectures and have read through the book Zhuan Falun, and they also have participated in many Fa conferences and activities, yet their conduct does not reflect that of young Falun Dafa practitioners. Since I had already noticed this problem and being a person in charge of the school, I must be responsible for these children and be responsible for Dafa. I quietly made up my mind, even if there was only one child, I would persist in holding classes.
At the end of last year, the person in charge of the New York Minghui School had a new baby so another practitioner and I covered the work for the two Minghui Schools. Whenever we had joint classes, my husband drove several children and me from the New Jersey area to attend classes held at Columbia University in New York.
We also had held four summer camps in the New Jersey and New York Minghui Schools for two consecutive years. Each summer camp only lasted for four days, yet the effect was beyond our imagination. It greatly inspired us. We are also more confident concerning the future development of the Minghui School.
The first year, fifteen children participated in our summer camp. The number of children increased to twenty-seven in the second summer camp and this year we had forty children participating in our summer camp. Since we had so many children we had to divide them into two summer camps. They were kids from six to sixteen years old. We spend six to seven hours studying the Fa, practicing the exercises and sending righteous thoughts together as a group. We also emphasized teaching children to behave well by following the guiding principles of the Fa in their daily lives. We set the three things that Master asked us to do as our goal. We also paid attention to helping the children develop the sense of one whole body.
A. Utilizing This Environment to its Utmost and Intensifying Group Fa-Study
I remember last year's 2nd summer camp's group Fa-study. At the beginning it was somewhat difficult. For one thing, it was the first time some of the children had listened to the Fa-lectures, so it was hard for them to sit still for a long time. Another problem was that the younger children would move around or keep talking, and they could not sit still at all. As a result, the group as a whole had a difficult time to quiet down. We were able to resolve this beneficially. First we calmed our minds and then we did not force all the children to immediately sit still. For those children who were able to listen carefully to the Fa-teaching, we encouraged them with smiles; for those who could not quiet down, we did not criticize or lose patience. We occasionally pulled them over to our sides and signaled them to sit down. I discovered that when we let go of the attachment of making the children study the Fa, when we were able to remain unaffected in that environment and were able to meet the standard, the power of the Fa was magnificent. First of all, the older children were no longer affected by the younger children and they started focusing on listening to the Fa. Then, the younger children gradually quieted down. They stopped walking around and sat down and eventually quietly listened to the Fa, along with everyone else. We experienced the same process during the next summer camps.
Indeed, for one or two dozens children of different ages and different areas to be able to sit quietly together for a long time and to study the Fa is difficult for ordinary people to imagine. This can only happen in the school founded by Falun Dafa practitioners, the Minghui School. Only in a school like this can such a miraculous yet real scenario happen. Therefore, we would like to express our gratitude to Master for his compassion and for protecting us. Thank you, honored Master.
B. Stressing Genuine Cultivation; Constantly Referring to the Fa to Guide Child To Solve Specific Problems
Whenever there was a problem, we immediately organized the children and held a discussion. We referred to the Fa-principles to help solve specific problems. For example, once three children fought over a toy and none would relent. One girl got so unhappy that she started to cry. The rest of the children made bold comments on the side and expressed different opinions concerning the situation. I thought the truth should be told by those involved. Therefore, I first asked the three children to tell the truth and tell us what really happened. Then I used "compassion" to inspire children's compassionate thoughts and told them that they should learn to share, think of others first and be friendly. Whenever there was a conflict we hoped that they could practice endurance and be tolerant and generous. I also stressed Master's teaching regarding "looking inward" in "Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference:"
"When two people have a conflict both should look for the causes within themselves, 'What problem do I have here?' Each should search for his own problem. If a third person witnesses the conflict between the two, I would say that it's not accidental for this third person to see it, and he should also think it over: 'Why did I see their conflict? Is it because I still have some shortcomings?'" After listening to the Fa, all children calmed down. The three children who had believed they in the right also lowered their heads and said one after another, "It was I that was wrong. If I had not insisted on…" The other children also remembered similar circumstances. They also remembered that they had forgotten that they were cultivators. They recognized that they had looked outward instead of inward. This gave me the opportunity to tell another Fa-Truth. I told the children. "Master has told us that we are one body. We are able to come together because of our karmic relationship. Therefore, we should treasure this period of time, and we should treat each other like brothers and sisters. We should help and love each other and in whatever we do we should think of others first. The children very quickly made up and happily played together again. The children had learned fast and remembered well, as similar incidents did not happen again.
I also want to point out that we as teachers of a Minghui School, it is essential that we do not neglect communicating with students and parents on a long-term basis. It is also important to get students/parents cooperation. After being with children night and day for four days, I understood each child very well. It is the teacher's responsibility to give parents feedback about their children's problems; at the same this allowed me to eliminate the attachment to affection. I felt that as long as it was for the good of the children, without criticizing or complaining about the child, parents should be able to accept it. Because I stressed on-going communication with parents, sharing information on their children's problems, I established a good relationship with the parents. This was also a rare cultivation process for all of us. This year, practitioners in Philadelphia and Connecticut also started to send their children to our school. One practitioner spent four hours everyday driving her children back and forth.
It is also worth mentioning that this year, two non-practitioner parents sent their children to our summer camp. After practicing Falun Dafa, their children went through dramatic changes. Their parents were greatly encouraged and shocked and they saw Falun Dafa's supernormal phenomenon by looking at their own children. After the summer camp, the parents continued to bring the two children to Minghui School. This is not the only Dafa miracle. Another practitioner couple had two children who did not practice Falun Dafa, nor did they speak Chinese. After attending the summer camp, the two children began to practice Falun Dafa and they changed dramatically. Within only a short period of four days they were able to remember and recite by heart seven or eight poems. This was a great inspiration to their parents' cultivation. Ever since then, the couple provided for the summer camp's meals and lodging.
After working for Minghui School, I felt deeply that this environment is not only good for children's cultivation, it is also a good opportunity for my own improvement. We are not just leading a group of children to study the Fa and practice the exercises. In ordinary people's schools there's only the teaching/learning relationship, while we bear great responsibilities. I often feel an invisible pressure that arises from my Fa-study, because my conduct will directly affect the children's conduct. Our own cultivation state is a silent form of impact on our children. When our minds reach the standard it is supposed to reach, the energy field around us will be peaceful and what we say will have power and our children will listen to us. Simply lecturing or giving them orders will have no effect.
Consequently, our own diligent cultivation should be our first priority. Dafa encompasses everything. Master's Fa can solve all problems. Therefore, as long as we study the Fa more in our daily life, keep the Fa in our minds, we ourselves gain a deeper understanding of Dafa. Thus, whenever different problems arise, we'll be able to use Fa-principles correctly. Then based on the children's character, we'll be able to reason with them or tell them stories, in order to help solve and handle these problems. Children are like an empty piece of paper, they don't have adults' notions and complicated thoughts, once they understand Fa-principles, they are like what Master said in "Lecture at the First Conference in North America:" "If they practice cultivation they can proceed really fast. They don't have any of the attachments developed later on in life."
Master said in "Lecture at the First Conference in North America:" "I like to watch children very much because their thoughts, minds, and bodies are so pure." Therefore, it is a privilege to practice cultivation with innocent and pure children. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to our respected Master for arranging this cultivation path for me. I believe that with Master and Dafa by our side, as long as we offer our love and patience, make concerted efforts and fully display Dafa practitioners' united strength, we'll be able to make Minghui School a good school. We will also help our wonderful children to fully and truly display Falun Dafa practitioners' strength and power along the Fa-rectification journey.
