(Clearwisdom.net)
Excerpt:
I am a teacher by profession. In May 2010, one of the kids in my class contracted an infectious disease and it spread to the other kids as well. I wasn't sure at first how to handle the situation, since none of the students in the other classes had gotten sick. It was only my classroom, where a Falun Gong practitioner happens to teach, that this took place. I wasn't sure what I could do to turn the situation around.
– By the author
The Fa principles helped me to turn the situation around. As cultivators of Falun Dafa, we are capable of passing any tribulation as long as our thinking is grounded firmly in the Fa.
Clarifying the truth to parents
I am a teacher by profession. In May 2010, one of the kids in my class contracted an infectious disease and it spread to the other kids as well. In order to contain the disease, the students were told to stay at home and not come to class. This prevented the entire school from possibly having to shut down, but it affected the reputation of the school and caused some financial hardship. The parents were resentful, and it seemed like all the blame was put on me. The school leadership was criticized harshly, and that criticism was just passed along to me. They treated me as if I was the cause of the problem.
I was at a loss for how to handle the situation. It was only my classroom, where a Falun Gong practitioner happens to teach, that this took place. I wasn't sure what I could do to turn the situation around.
At Fa study, fellow practitioners pointed out that as a practitioner I need to safeguard the sentient beings in my dimension. So nothing like this should have happened. They suggested that I look inward for a loophole in my thinking at work, and use this as an opportunity to clarify the truth and visit the homes of the parents who had children that were affected.
I realized that this was the correct way to approach the situation. During the home visits, I used my own money to buy fruit for the students. I told the parents that the leaders of the school had asked me to convey their greetings and sympathies, and I tried to emphasize the larger situation and that this was the best thing for everyone involved.
I also clarified the truth, but as I did so I noticed that I still had some anxiety. I was worried that the parents might not accept what I had to say, and as a result I wasn't able to put my heart into the task of clarifying the truth. After I returned home, I studied the Fa and was able to elevate my thinking. From then on, I was able to visit students' homes and speak with compassion. I talked smoothly, naturally, and honestly. The parents listened to me with their hearts, and I was able to answer some of their questions and help them come to an understanding. The results were getting better and better. In the process, I also clarified the truth and helped some parents to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. Later on, when I changed classes, the parents I had clarified the truth to messaged me about it when they heard.
During these home visits, the parents were able to calm down, and those who planned to take the matter up with the school leadership dismissed the thought. As one parent said, “Even though we are not satisfied with the school, we are very much moved by how much you care for the children. You're stuck in the middle, and must be under a lot of stress, so we won't pursue the matter with your bosses because we don't want to make trouble for you.” The infectious disease didn't spread any further, and those who suffered from it were not harmed in any serious way, so things quickly returned to normal.
Improving my professional skills is also validating the Fa
I was one of the senior members of the teaching staff at my school, and was selected for the province's Outstanding Teacher award. I first began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, and right away tried to popularize the practice among my colleagues, so they knew that I was a Dafa practitioner. In July 1999, when Falun Dafa was under persecution due to the wicked influence of the CCP, the leadership of the school stopped giving me important tasks or honors. Instead, I suffered discrimination, with the result that I stopped trying to develop myself professionally, and became satisfied with the role of being an ordinary teacher.
However, I was still under a lot of stress. The school's leaders were always very picky and plainly showed me how dissatisfied they were. My relationship with the school's leaders was very tense, and I felt depressed since I believed this was due to my having too much karma. I still bore the suffering that I received, but the situation did not improve. This affected my cultivation as well, since I became lazy and not very motivated. I felt just like an everyday person who stopped trying to achieve something and just lived to pass the time.
Later, through continued Fa study, I realized that regardless of the situation, a practitioner must do well. The workplace is no exception, so I started to pay more attention to how I behaved at work and cultivated myself more diligently.
In October 2001, an assessment was being conducted of the teachers at my school, part of which included someone directly observing how they taught in class. One day, the leaders from the city's Education Research Department came to observe me while I taught my class. The lesson plan I was using was ready-made, but I thought there were a lot of problems with the material and I wanted to design a new program. However, the dean did not share my point of view, and asked me to stick to the original lesson plan. She agreed that there were problems with it, but she dared not change things directly, preferring instead to influence the choice of lesson plan. So, I found myself carrying out a lesson plan that I didn't fully believe in.
The result was predictable. The school's leaders were also watching and found the same problems I had observed. The researcher who designed the program was there too, and the school's leaders started to argue with him. After class, I was able to join in some of the discussions about the program and offered my opinions on the program. I disliked the arrogance of the researcher, and when I gave my feedback it showed. The researcher was very angry, and said that I had a negative outlook. The school leaders seemed to back the researcher, and said some nasty things about me. The dean was very apologetic and was worried that this might affect my assessment, so she gave me another opportunity.
On the surface I looked very calm, but in my heart I felt very sad. I felt that I had been wronged. I looked inward at my words and deeds, and thought of what Teacher has taught us. Teacher asks us to save sentient beings and to clarify the truth while being sensitive to ordinary people's attachments, but not to stir up their negative side.
As a practitioner, it is my responsibility to save sentient beings. Then, everything I say and do is all just paving the way for this purpose. Therefore, I must be compassionate to those around me and not try to put additional distance between us. However, I realized that when I was giving my feedback about the lesson plan, I had not taken the feelings of others into consideration. I had fully concentrated on my own opinions. Even worse, the hostility I felt towards the researcher came out in my words.
I am not only a teacher, but also a Dafa practitioner. My thoughts and actions must be in line with the Fa principles. How I treat my students and other sentient beings must be given careful consideration and should not be lackluster. In my work I had not been responsible, since I chose to use a lesson plan that I already knew had problems. I realized that I had fallen short of being a good teacher, not to mention one who saves sentient beings.
As a practitioner, what we do should be measured against the Fa. In contrast, the opinions of everyday people and the academic world will change according to people's current mindset. How could a practitioner be attached to that kind of thinking? Practitioners must seize the time and do the three things well. My own lack of self-esteem, which made me hesitate, is an attachment I needed to eliminate.
When I realized all this, the problems just disappeared. I learned from this that practitioners should be strong about what they believe is right, and not just follow others. This view must be based on and reinforced by Fa principles.
In July 2011, the same research group was conducting a city-wide contest to see who could come up with the best lesson plan. Teachers at my school dropped out of the contest for all sorts of reasons. The school leaders came to me and asked me to fill in the gap, and I agreed. At these critical moments, practitioners must step forward and must do their job well. Teacher was giving me an opportunity to validate the Fa and establish my might virtue.
I researched my approach very thoroughly, and took an approach that avoided the problems with the original lesson plan. I thought of every aspect of the program, and was careful to include lessons about moral character into the program. My intention was to raise the character of the students, while at the same time teaching them about regular school topics like math and science.
When the school's leaders went to register me in the contest, the person at our school who is in charge of education research found out and opposed my registration. The school's leaders insisted that I would do well. I was able to remain calm inside and not be moved by her reactions. I simply concentrated on doing a good job teaching, and being responsible to my students, and took challenges as an opportunity to cultivate. As a result, the class went smoothly. Under my guidance, the students were very attentive to their lessons. The teachers who came to observe the class seemed very pleased.
After I had finished teaching my lesson plan, the researcher in charge of the teaching contest said that she could see that I had put a lot of thought into the design of the course, and thought it was very creative. She also said my enthusiasm for the research and my high spirit in class were something that other teachers could learn from me. My school's leaders told everyone that I was a Falun Gong practitioner. When fellow teachers told me this, I was happy. I won first prize in the city.
Not only did I do a good job in my own classes, I also tried to help fellow teachers whenever they came to me to discuss issues they were having. Staff from other schools started coming to observe my classes, the school's leaders always asked me to advise, and I always tried my best to help.
They also wanted me to enter a teaching contest at the national level, and also asked me to be in charge of a national research project. The city I lived in was going to be a test run for a new method of teaching. Those in charge of the research project intended to take a leading role in the country for education. I paid much more attention to the different teaching methods that were being used, and did my best to carefully select my approach based on solid research.
As long as practitioners walk a righteous path, everything can be used to cultivate and validate the Fa. I continued to help fellow teachers as best I could. Whenever they came across issues, I would try to straighten them out using Fa principles, and provide them with insights that fellow practitioners had shared. Teachers would say, “You have a firm belief, and you're a kindhearted person so we feel really lucky to have you.”
By being diligent in my Fa study and using opportunities to cultivate, in less than one year I came out of a haze which had puzzled me for more than 10 years. I went from being a person who was always subjected to the judgments of my superiors to a practitioner who is able to face everything nobly and with righteous thoughts. The leaders and colleagues at my school respected me, especially those colleagues who had withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliate organizations. They treated me like a sister.
Now I realize that being a practitioner is something that divine beings from all levels of the universe admire. However, if we do not do well, those beings will not be able to forgive us. This is because their salvation relies on us cultivating successfully. As Teacher says,
“So they would have you trip and fall, suffer, and eliminate your attachments, after which, with your mighty virtue having been established, you will have cultivated to that level and be able to save them. That’s how they want to have it. ” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”)
That is to say, only when we do things in line with Fa principles at various levels can we be respected. Practitioners are only able to become Kings of their worlds if they follow Teacher's requirements.
Disintegrating the CCP's meddling
The wicked CCP was planning to have a big celebration this July for its 90th anniversary. The top party leaders mobilized everyone in education to hold a big celebration. When I learned the news, I became very worried. What could I do? Many people would be forced to propagate the wicked CCP's lies.
I raised this at our group Fa study, and my fellow practitioners helped me to improve my outlook. We resolved to disintegrate the CCP's plans by sending forth righteous thoughts. I collected phone numbers and email addresses for all the education units and public servants. Then we called each one, sent them text messages, or posted letters clarifying the truth and letting people know the true underlying motives of the CCP.
In my school, every teacher is required to attend a Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition, where we have to create art inspired by the party. I started sending forth righteous thoughts with the intent to disintegrate the wicked party. While doing this, I told the wicked party that I was a practitioner, and I would never surgarcoat its deeds. I told the party that if it required my art, I would paint “killing the red dragon with nine swords.”
When my school began to collect our works of art, no one came to look for me and no one said anything.
Later on, my school was preparing for the Excellence Awards, which is a competition for many different kinds of skills. The school's leaders asked me to enter the vocal competition, and I agreed. I wanted to let one of our Dafa songs resound across the many dimensions. I was the last one to sing, and most who had already sung were gone. I saw many practitioners arrive, since they had come for the next competition. Many of my colleagues also came to show their support. The hall I was in all of a sudden became very lively.
I sang “Thinking of the Motherland,” a song composed by Falun Gong practitioners. As I sang, “The heavens show compassion in a time of danger, Dafa's earth-shaking arrival brings back kindness to people's hearts, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance restores goodness to the world, and ancient values become treasured again,” my colleagues who were standing hand-in-hand behind the judges spontaneously raised their hands over their heads and moved with the rhythm of the song. The leaders and judges were pleasantly surprised by the spontaneous scene and showed their appreciation with warm applause. Later, teachers who were holding their classes two floors below me said, “We all heard your song and it was very nice. We waited to hear you finish before starting our class.”
As time went by, the party's leaders wanted to organize another large-scale event, and requested that people organize into groups and rehearse their routines. I refused to take part in any of this.
With the cooperation of fellow practitioners, we were able to weaken the CCP's grip on the Chinese people, and disintegrate some of its celebrations.
My wish comes true
With my spare time, I often used my mobile phone to send text messages, or make calls with pre-recorded messages about the facts of the persecution. The winter was very cold, and as I did this, often my hands would be freezing. I often thought that taking the school bus would be a much better idea.
A few days later, the school called me and told me that the teacher who supervised the school bus was ill, so they asked me to replace her. Of course, it isn't very difficult to imagine my reply.
I rode the school bus all over the city for two hours every day. I kept track of the contents and duration of each voice message that I left. Those I couldn't get through to, I would just keep trying. If someone listened to an entire message, I would choose another and try again. If someone hung up before finishing, I would send them a text message telling them of my intention, then I would try to send another voice message. I tried not to miss a single sentient being.
After finishing my work, I would take some time to study the Fa while still at school. As I left at the end of the day, the hallway and stairs used to be almost pitch black since the school was trying to save power by turning off the lights. I had to use my hands to feel my way forward. But one day, the school's leaders changed their minds and let the security guards turn out the lights much later. I am always grateful to Teacher as I pass through the bright corridor and go down the stairs.
Every step of my cultivation has been the result of Teacher's meticulous arrangements, as well as the help and encouragement from fellow practitioners.
Thank you Teacher! Thank you fellow practitioners!
