(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996 and have been cultivating for 22 years. I am proud to be a Dafa disciple. Master has changed me from a person who only cared about herself to someone who thinks of others first.
In the 26 years since its public introduction, Dafa has spread and brought many positive changes to the whole world. In this article dedicated to the World Falun Dafa Day, I want to share a few of my cultivation stories, in witness of Dafa's beauty and magnificence.
‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’ Brings Peace to a Kindergarten
I worked at a kindergarten. Like other teachers, I preferred colleagues who got along better with me to teach the same class. After I started cultivating Dafa, I realized that this was wrong and I was happy to work with anyone the principal assigned to my class. I also became more relaxed and rarely lost my temper in my daily life.
After a few other teachers at the kindergarten also started to practice Falun Dafa, they also stopped picking and choosing work assignments, which relieved a lot of stress for the principal. Because of that, the principal was very supportive and provided a venue for us to play Master's lectures and introduce the practice to other colleagues.
Influenced by us, many colleagues who didn't practice Falun Dafa also embraced the values of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” and followed the principles in their work. The relationships between teachers, students and parents became very harmonious and the environment was very peaceful.
In one of my dance classes, one girl always lifted her arm higher than others when we were rehearsing for a performance. I corrected her several times and she tried to improve her movement.
This girl came from a special family. Her parents had divorced and she stayed with her mother, who was suffering from poor health. The performance was very important for both of them, as her mother had placed high hopes in her daughter. I spent more time with her and encouraged her to keep practicing and improving. She did a great job in the final performance and I was very happy for her.
If I hadn't practiced Dafa, I might have just given up on her and found another girl to replace her. I truly cared about how my students felt and what I can do to help them grow and become more successful in the future.
The positive experience from the dance gave the girl confidence. After she went to elementary school, she was very outgoing and excelled in her class.
A few years later, when she was preparing for high school entrance exams, her mother became ill and was hospitalized. She was left at home alone. Instead of going to her relatives, she came to find me and asked if she could stay at my home to prepare for the exams.
My husband also practices Falun Dafa and he happily took good care of her.
When a colleague visited me at home, she was surprised to see the former student at my home. We told her about the story and she was very impressed by how Falun Dafa had changed me.
Later on, when the girl's teacher learned of her situation, she offered to let her stay at the school dorm and she would take care of her.
I was happy to see that we were able to bring positive changes to society by following “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” The world would be a beautiful place if we could all treat each other sincerely and nicely.
Proud of My Choice
After the communist regime started to persecute Falun Dafa in 1999, the girl's mother specifically found the principal of the kindergarten and asked her not to assist in the persecution.
She told the principal about how I had cared about her daughter and that I never took gifts from them like other teachers. In fact, the principal had already known the facts about Dafa and was doing her best to protect us.
As the persecution escalated, my husband, an elementary school teacher, was sentenced to a labor camp. The authorities also pressured the kindergarten's principal to force me to give up practicing Dafa, or I would be fired. I told her that it was because of practicing Dafa that I became a good teacher. She tried to help me, but the authorities kept pressuring her, leaving her in a very difficult position.
I didn't want to cause her any trouble, so I quit the job myself and told her not to worry about me. On my way back home, I remembered what Master said:
“Dafa disciples are magnificent, because what you are cultivating is the ultimate Great Fa of the cosmos, because you have validated Dafa with righteous thoughts, and because you have not fallen during the massive tribulation.” (“The Disciples’ Magnificence,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I felt very calm. I thought of my husband who was still in detention for upholding our faith, as well as so many other practitioners who gave up everything to safeguard the Fa. I was proud of my choice. The world needs “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” What I did was being responsible for the society and myself.
The next day, I returned to the kindergarten to pack my belongings. I heard that many parents had talked to the principal not to let me leave. With strong demand from the parents, the principal asked me to work as a contractor and still teach the same classes, but my salary was reduced. I agreed. Several months later, the authorities pressured the principal again that she couldn't keep me any longer. I was forced to leave the kindergarten.
After that, I worked on and off at five different kindergartens. When asked, I never hid the fact that I was fired because of my faith in Falun Dafa. I was always very proud when I told the hiring manager that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner.
Wherever I worked, I demonstrated the beauty of Dafa and brought peace to the students and my colleagues. I felt it was a predestined relationship that brought me to different environments. After working with me for some time, many people understood the facts about Dafa and were willing to withdraw from the communist party and its affiliated organizations. I am also grateful for all the help that I received from those kindhearted people!
In 2010, my husband and I started our own company to provide training services to school teachers on how to teach traditional culture, as well as how to incorporate the values of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in their teaching. Many of our clients liked our program and recommended us to their colleagues.
The police attempted to force a school to stop the partnership with us. The school's principal said to the police: “In terms of the quality of their training, the students and teachers have the most say.”
When a policeman came to the campus on the next day to investigate on us, all the students he talked to demonstrated good manners and were very polite. The policeman was so impressed by the education provided by us that he understood what we were doing. “I would send my own daughter to this school tomorrow.” He gave up the idea of forcing us to leave.
In addition to the peace in my work environment, Falun Dafa also brought peace to our family. At this grand occasion of the 26th Anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction to the public, on behalf of our family and friends, we'd like to extend our warmest greetings to Master.
Master, Happy Birthday! Falun Dafa is Great! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great!
(Submission to “Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day” 2018 on the Minghui website)
