PureInsight | March 30, 2008
[PureInsight.org] (2008 Los Angeles Fahui)
I know that many children of Dafa disciples are originally from a
higher level. Destiny brings us together, and it is our
responsibility to educate the children well. I would like to share with
you my cultivation path alongside my daughter and our experience in
being diligent together.
My seven-year-old daughter and I have been cultivating together for the
past seven years. I remember that, when she was only 4-days-old, my
husband and I brought her to the Fa study. When she was just one month
old she went with us to the practice site. She was always quiet and
would not cry or make any noise. When she was four months old she flew
with us over the ocean to Geneva for a Fa clarification activity. When
she was nine months old she joined us in the SOS walk. She's
always nice and everyone adores this lovely little disciple.
As she grew older I let her listen to Master's lectures and Dafa's
music. When she was three years old I began to teach her to memorize
LunYu and Hong-Yin. I often explained to her with words she would
understand, such as: "even though you are a child, you are also a
practitioner." "The standard for you is stricter." For instance, "do
not waste food, because one rice grain represents a mountain in another
dimension." "Cherish it." "When you are not happy do not stare at
people in an unkind manner, look at people with righteous eyes." "Do
not get angry easily." "Be sure to share with others," and so on.
Of course, she is a child after all. Sometimes she is stubborn or
disobeys. There are also times when I can not withhold my own temper
and get angry with her. Later on, whenever I look from within I realize
it was because of my own attachments or notions. I also try to suppress
my own evil nature. I learned that when I was not being diligent in
learning the Fa or doing the three things, I could not teach her well.
And yet, to educate this little Dafa disciple is part of my cultivation
path. Therefore, I study Fa with her first thing in the morning every
day. I lead her in reading Zhuan Falun and I choose some Chinese characters from Zhuan Falun
for her to learn to write. Now during our Fa study, she can also follow
us in reading. With the increased frequency in learning Fa she now
better understands what I request or demand from her as well as the Fa
I try to explain.
When she was five years old, right before the start of preschool, the
teacher provided each child with a one-meter-long piece of cardboard.
The teacher asked the parents to help the child sketch themselves,
including the particular characteristics of the child such as the face,
the hair style, and the clothes. I felt this was a great opportunity to
clarify the truth. My daughter and I made the face as close as to what
her eyes, nose, and mouth really look like. It was so vivid, just like
a lovely, pure and quiet little girl. We put the clothes on for the
paper doll. Right in front of the clothes we wrote "Zhen, Shan, Ren" in
both Chinese and English. The words were in bright colors and clear
print. Lastly, the paper doll held a little lotus flower with a "Falun
Dafa is good" bookmark. The teacher hung the paper doll right in the
middle of the school hallway for a year. It was bright and shining.
One week into school the teacher once again handed out a board for a
self-introduction project. There were many questions to be answered and
plenty of space for photos. For the question, "what do you like?" My
daughter and I wrote down "to practice Falun Gong." For the question,
"why do you like it?" the answer was "because I am a little Dafa
disciple." For the question "what is it that you are thankful
for?" the answer was "I am thankful because Falun Dafa teaches me to
understand the universal principle, Zhen, Shan, and Ren." For the
question, "your favorite books?" the answer was "my favorite books are Zhuan Falun and Hong Yin."
We also searched out photo albums for photos where she was
participating in Dafa activities, such as sitting on a lotus float
while she practiced the sitting meditation and sending forth righteous
thoughts. As for the space for parents' photo, we put the one with her
father in the lion dance and where I played the fairy. Meanwhile I
prepared some materials about Dafa and truth clarification for the
teacher. I also helped her to explain the content of the board to her
classmates.
There was also show-and-tell time every week where the students get to
share with their classmate's right in front of the class. I suggested
to my daughter that she introduce her Falun badge, her favorite lotus
flower, and information about Dafa. Additionally, I recommended that
she read a poem from Hong Yin in both English and Chinese. Before
reading, she would explain the essence of the poem to the class. After
reading, during the question session, both teacher and the students
have responded that those poems are wonderful. Later, I also reminded
her to talk about the five sets of exercises. Each time, before the
exercise, she would introduce it by saying that that Falun Gong is a
good practice and cultivates "Truthfulness, Compassion and
Forbearance." Since the initial exercise session, the teacher asked the
class to learn together and the teacher learns along with the class.
The students said that they like these movements and the teacher also
agreed that she felt very good and relaxed with the exercise. Sometimes
my daughter would sing along with her accordion, "Falun Dafa is good,"
and everyone liked it.
To celebrate Valentine's Day, the teacher asked the students to make
cards for the class and the teachers. My daughter and I prepared
beautiful cards and each card had the Chinese characters "Zhen, Shan,
Ren" written on it. We wanted everyone at school to hold the universal
principles deep in their minds. Among all the activities at school,
each is a precious opportunity for her to spread Dafa. She has done
that to bring the beauty of Dafa to her school.
My daughter is now seven years old and she's learned more about the Fa
principles. The two of us, as fellow practitioners, compare thought on
our studies and on our cultivation. We advance together in
Dafa. Of course, she and I frequently have differences in our
paths. I often unknowingly treat her as a mom with a mom's authority.
Later, I realized the many negative impacts of authority. During the
course of cultivation I discovered many negative sides of myself I had
previously been unaware of. Sometimes I am too loud due to a lack
of compassion, or carry too many notions, or am overly anxious due to a
lack of tolerance.
Since I take care of dropping my daughter off at school and picking her
up after school, I get to know her teachers and other parents very
well. At the beginning, I did not take the initiative to say "Hi" to
people. Later, I realized that this is a bad habit of mine that needs
to be changed. To spread the Fa and to save the sentient beings I
started to greet people, talk to the teachers and other parents, and
use every opportunity to introduce them to Dafa and provide them with
relevant materials. Oftentimes there are teachers and parents with
great interest, and we will have longer conversations where I am able
to provide them with the DVD, book, magazine, newspaper, and exercise
tape so that they get to learn more about Dafa. Of course, there
are also people who don't understand, have doubts, or refuse to talk
about Dafa by politely saying they already get it. The majority of them
are Chinese.
In preparation for a "Traditional Culture Exchange" event sponsored by
the school, I discussed with one coordinator about incorporating the
exercises and our show into the event. Meanwhile, I provided her with
many essential pieces of information about the beauty of Dafa and the
facts about the persecution. Our conversation went smoothly and
naturally. I brought up the NTDTV show with the theme of
traditional Chinese culture, as well as the origin and purpose of the
show. Through several exchanges she understood and accepted our show.
However, a few days later, another Chinese coordinator of the
traditional culture exchange event called. She said that she had
volunteered for many aspects of the event, she knew about Falun Gong,
she had no particular preference, but would not agree to our
participation in the event. We talked for a long time on the phone. At
first, I was a little agitated about how the evil CCP's influence had
extended its evilness overseas and poisoned both the people and the
school. I then realized immediately that, once I became agitated, the
effect on our conversation turned negative, and she would become
reluctant. I thought "This is the time to clarify the truth and I
should let her know the beauty of Dafa."
Therefore, I immediately apologized to her. I explained to her the
reason why I was being agitated from the aspect of being considerate.
She calmed down right away. Lastly we agreed to meet in a coffee shop.
Because she's from Shanghai, I asked another practitioner who's also
from Shanghai to go with me. We offered her many materials and provided
a laptop for her to see more information. After a
more-than-two-hour-long conversation she learned a lot, but still said
that, to be considerate of other parents who might not agree, we should
think again about whether or not to perform this year. If we insisted,
she might have to withdraw as a volunteer because of the pressure and
then the event might be at risk. She was sincere and calm. To avoid
such an outcome, we did not insist. However, she also said that it
would be ok for my daughter to perform since she is a student in the
school.
After the event, this coordinator hosted a party at her home to thank
those who volunteered in the event. Both my daughter and I were
invited. She received a thank you letter and a certificate. During the
party, I had the opportunity to tell everyone at the table the truth
about Falun Gong. Everyone was surprised at the persecution. They
seemed to understand a lot more. Everyone accepted the materials we
brought over. Many of them even left their telephone numbers and
indicated their interest in learning the exercises. The coordinator
apologized to me later and I responded that I, too, made mistakes.
After this incident I felt I still had not tried my best to fulfill my
responsibility. I also learned that we can not do things simply to get
what we want. What's most important is to effectively clarify the truth
and save the sentient beings. After all, there are so many Chinese
awaiting salvation who are deeply poisoned by the evil CCP.
Today, I have shared the path with you that lead my daughter into Dafa
and our experience in truth clarification. As for other aspects in
cultivation, there are many attachments, and there are many areas in
which I have not done so well. I need to face them honestly too,
so I can improve. At the most critical time to save sentient beings I
will speed up and follow Master along the path.
