(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2011 and I've benefited so much from it. My prior throat problem, neck pain, frozen shoulder, and many other physical ailments, about 20 in total, all disappeared. I am deeply grateful to Dafa for bringing me these miracles.
Here, I would like to share how I have applied Falun Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in my family-run daycare center and the dramatic changes it has brought the children.
Improving Moral Values
At my daycare center, I have many opportunities to teach the children the principles of Falun Dafa, beginning with the importance of traditional values. For example, on the topic of traditional values, I tell them about the story of the ancient sage Shun and send video links to the parents, asking them to watch it together with their children. The children are then asked to paraphrase the stories. The parents are very moved by the positive messages in the stories.
On the issue of gratitude, I discuss the sacrifices of the children's parents, teachers, relatives, and friends. This way, the children learn to appreciate what others do for them. I also teach them about loyalty through the story of the ancient Chinese military hero Yue Fei and about brotherhood through the stories in the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I tell the children that one should pay attention to these traditional values.
With this foundation, I then begin to share with the children my understanding of the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Truthfulness means that we are honest and do not lie; Compassion means always helping others and doing good deeds; Forbearance means being open-minded and able to endure. I also emphasize the importance of virtue. For example, we should not bully others or steal things from others; otherwise, we will lose virtue and accumulate the black substance, karma.
As a result, the children in the daycare have stopped using bad words or lying. They are respectful towards others, both at the daycare and at home. During meal time, I tell them that we should cherish the grains and vegetable and never waste food. The children understand and do not waste food anymore.
Inside the classroom, I teach the children to recite Master's poems from Hong Yin [Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa]. I also tell them that reciting the phrases “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” will bring them blessings. The children repeat these phrases many times and have even asked their parents to remember them too.
Between classes, I play the Falun Dafa music, Pu Du and Jishi, for the children. I also request that they not watch television or play video games. The parents have also received notice to help their children in this regard. Eventually, the children no longer watch television or play video games and I give them puzzle games as a reward. In addition, each week I show them educational videos on traditional culture.
When talking with parents about our approach to educating the children, I also ask about the children's behavior at home. The parents appreciate what we are doing and are very cooperative. Seeing the dramatic progress in their children, some parents offer me gifts or money, which I always politely turn down.
June 1 is Children's Day in China. In addition to taking care of the children during the day, I invite the parents to a dinner party at my home in the evening. I prepare over 30 popular dishes for them to enjoy. I talk to them about my belief in Falun Dafa and how it teaches one to become a better person. The parents understand, and after hearing how the communist party had been persecuting innocent Falun Dafa practitioners, they decide to quit the communist party and its affiliated youth organizations.
I know that the opportunity to practice cultivation in Falun Dafa is precious and Master has sacrificed so much for us. So I plan to do well as a practitioner and not waste time. Over the past several years, eight children have become young Dafa practitioners. I would like to share some of their stories.
Master Helped a Child Gain Wisdom
Tong Tong came here three years ago when he was three. As a shy boy, he did not speak much and had difficulty remembering things. He could not memorize poems and did not know how to read pinyin even after I'd taught him many times. His mother was not very hopeful and did not expect much from him, either.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I know I should do better. Looking within myself, I realized I had a tendency to rush and this was an opportunity for me to let go of it. I wrote down the pinyin version of Hong Yin in a notebook and taught Tong Tong to read whenever I had time. After I'd gone over it with him five times, he was suddenly able to read and write in pinyin and could write out several poems in pinyin. Not only that, his math skills also improved and he started to behave like a normal child.
Once, when the children practiced some Olympic Math problems for kids, Tong Tong did exceptionally well. In fact, he solved all the problems correctly. We were all very happy for him and I knew that it was our compassionate Master who helped Tong Tong gain wisdom.
A "Hopeless" Child
Among all the children I've worked with, Peng Peng was probably the most challenging for me. His parents had divorced when he was four and he lived with his mother. A year later, noticing that his son had acquired many bad habits, his father took him back.
Peng came to my daycare last August. Upon learning that his father had practiced Falun Dafa for a while and Peng also listened to Master's lectures when he was very young, I knew that he was a young practitioner and that I needed to do my best. Because Peng only needed before-school and after-school care, I could hardly manage him while taking care of all the other children. So I asked my 78-year-old father to help by taking Peng to school and picking him up from school every day.
To my surprise, Peng Peng's arrival caused a great deal of disruption in my own life. He was erratic and stubborn, with many bad habits. In addition, he was picky about food, he lied to people, and stole things. He did not like to study and often fought with other children – beside having bad manners.
Soon afterwards, however, I found that the biggest problem with Peng Peng was depression. One day, he cried and said to me, “Other kids have their parents to look after them, but no one cares about me. What is the purpose of life? I think about dying every day... like jumping off a tall building.”
Frightened by his words, I hugged him and said, “Peng, although your parents might not have been able to take very good care of you, Master did not abandon you and that is why he sent you here. We descended from heaven to this human world and through practicing Falun Dafa, you will be able to return there, the most beautiful place with no worry or suffering.” Hearing my words, Peng stopped crying and wiped away his tears.
Right then, I decided to take even better care of Peng Peng – from his diet, life habits, and even to his daily schedule. But it was very difficult. I treated him very well, but he was not receptive and even was instead against me. I cooked good food for him and he didn't like it. Doing homework in the evening every day was even harder. I had to stay with him the entire time; otherwise, he wouldn't do it at all. To avoid doing homework, he left his books at school on purpose. Not only that, he didn't study or do the assignments in the classroom either. After switching his desk around a few times and still seeing him always fighting with others, his teachers gave up and left Peng in the very back of the classroom, all alone.
I called his homeroom teacher, hoping he could help Peng. My father, who couldn't keep up with Peng on his way to and from school, did not want me to keep him either. Other practitioners also lost hope for him. I asked Peng to memorize and recite Hong Yin with me and he refused to do it.
Despite all these problems, I thought of Master's words in Hong Yin Volume II,
“Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in springRighteous thoughts can save the people in this world”
I know that Falun Dafa is all-encompassing and it was my lack of compassion that led to this situation. Plus, if Falun Dafa could not change him, there would be no hope for Peng Peng.
So I bought lots of toys and snacks, and I rewarded Peng whenever he studied the Fa. After breakfast, I spent half an hour reciting Hong Yin with him until it was time for school. At first, he didn't want to do it. So I would put the toy in his hand and let him play or have his favorite snack whenever he finished memorizing one poem. One week later, he was able to memorize two poems in half an hour. He also joined us studying the Fa in the evening. Although he was still restless and moved around or got up and walked around, he was able to finish reading one lecture of Zhuan Falun each day.
Two weeks later, Peng would repeat the phrases “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” very often, by himself. He would also recite Hong Yin without being asked. After studying the Fa in the evening, we challenged each other to see who could do the sitting meditation longer. He went from being able to do it for 10 minutes, to 20, 30 and all the way to one hour. His face turned rosy and the hateful expression on his face was replaced with a smile. Both of us gained confidence and I increased the time for Fa-study.
In spite of these improvements, Peng was still annoying. I followed Master's words and treated him with nothing but compassion. Two months passed and he finally opened up to me and would talk to me about everything. He also began to enjoy studying in school. One day, he said I was the person who cared about him the most in this world. My eyes were wet and after a while, I said to him, “Please remember that the person who cherishes you and cares about you the most is Master. He saved you and asked me to take care of you. If you want to thank anyone, please thank Master.”
Peng Peng's father was also happy about his son's progress. Six months later, Peng's school grades improved dramatically and he even took part in math competitions. He also received high scores for language, math, and science on the final exam at the end of the semester. Both the teachers and Peng's father were very excited about that. I know it is Master who saved such a special child and I am very grateful.
Saving Parents
Lang Lang, a third grader, is the daughter of my cousin. Like Peng, she also had many problems: she was unwilling to study, she was always moving around, and she often fought with others. She also stayed up late, sometimes 'till 1 o'clock in the morning. Both my cousin and his wife have graduate degrees, but there was nothing they could do with Lang's rebellion.
I heard about their situation and asked them to bring Lang to my daycare to see what we could do during the summer break. I saw her and was surprised—despite her young age, she looked cynical and ill-tempered. Her face was bluish with anger. Her mother was also worried about her, saying that they had tried different places to help her and Lang could not stay long at any of them.
Lang's parents did not practice Falun Dafa. A practitioner at her mother's workplace had been persecuted, making them unwilling to hear or talk about Falun Dafa. So I simply said to them, “I will try my best to help her become a good child.”
After her parents left, I talked with Lang Lang and found that she was filled with complaints and resentment. She always wanted to contend with people and she lied. I listened attentively and patiently. After she finished, I told her frankly, “It seems that your teachers and classmates do not like you. Your parents have also reprimanded you or spanked you. How about we work on it so that people will like us?” She nodded.
That day, I talked to her about traditional values and she really enjoyed hearing about them. “I no longer hate my dad anymore, although he is still a little annoying,” she allowed. I then told about some principles in Zhuan Falun, such as Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and the principle of “loss and gain,” along with many real-life examples. She listened for a while and asked, “Aunt, how come you know so much? Neither my teachers nor my parents have told me about this before.” I said that this was all from the book Zhuan Falun and that there were many other profound principles in it. “Do you want to read it?” I asked her.
She looked nervous and said that her mother did not allow that, and that her mom had told her the book was not good. I explained to her what Falun Dafa is all about and how the Chinese Communist Party had made up lies to defame it. Upon hearing that Falun Dafa is practiced in many countries around the world, and that the teachings have been translated into many languages, she was surprised. “Is all this really true?” Lang Lang asked. I said yes and told her more. After answering more of her questions, I said, “You can find answers to all your questions in Zhuan Falun.”
In this way, Lang began to study the Fa with me that evening. She always had many questions. I assured her that by reading more Falun Dafa books, her questions would be resolved. So in the evening we read Zhuan Falun, while during the day we read other lectures from Master. She enjoyed it very much and did the exercises with me at noon. By then her Celestial Eye had opened and she could see Falun on me, which gave her more confidence.
Two weeks later, Lang learned to look within. Through looking within, she found her attachments to jealousy, her tendency to contend with others, zealotry, showing-off, and other attachments. Since that discovery, she disciplined herself with Dafa's principles and became considerate of others.
A little over two weeks after she'd come to my house, her parents came to visit her. When she saw them, Lang Lang greeted them and apologized for her previous behavior. Not only that, she'd become healthier and was able to help around the house. In addition, she'd finished all of her summer homework assignments in about 10 days and she memorized about 900 English words. Her parents were surprised. “In the past, Lang always waited 'till the last minute. She had to stay up late and could barely finish on time,” said her mother. They asked me what my secret was for bringing about these changes in such a short time. I told them that all these miracles were from the book Zhuan Falun.
Seeing that her mother was still not sure about Falun Dafa, I suggested that Lang Lang take a walk with her parents. After they returned, and her parents went back home, Lang said that her mother did not want her to continue practicing Falun Dafa, thinking that it might affect her schoolwork. In fact, Lang explained to her mother that Zhuan Falun teaches one to be a better person and she asked her mother to reconsider the decision. Her mother said she would think about it. “If Mother tells me to stop and I no longer practice, it would be bad for her. Right?” She asked. Before I answered, she said, “I will do well to validate the Fa, so that I can save my parents.” I was moved to tears by her words and encouraged her.
Three weeks after she'd been with me, Lang said that she needed to go back home and asked if she could take a copy of Zhuan Falun with her. I said of course. Later, her parents told me that Lang Lang had changed a lot. She didn't litter in the park, didn't fight with other kids, and was considerate in her daily life. In addition, she offered to help with household chores.
These observations completely changed her parents' attitude towards Falun Dafa. “Lang, let's read Zhuan Falun together. Shall we?” asked her mother one day. Later, her mother began to do the exercises too. Both parents agreed to quit the communist party organizations because of the party's policy of persecution against Falun Dafa.
As I write, my eyes are moist as I realize how much Master has done for these children, their families, and this world.
I also hope that fellow practitioners can take good care of the young practitioners around us. They are disciples of Master. It is our responsibility to help them walk their path well.
Thank you again, Master. Heshi.
