(Clearwisdom.net)

Pure People, Profound Tradition

Yunlin County is in the southwestern middle of Taiwan. It adjoins Nantou County in the East and the Taiwan Strait in the West, Jiayi County in the South, and Zhanghua County in the north.

Yunlin County's focus is on agriculture. Besides the well-known Gukeng coffee, it also produces many other world-famous products. In addition, it has a profound cultural heritage that flourishes here. People in Yunlin County are pure, respect traditional culture and accept Falun Gong, a Chinese ancient cultivation practice. Nineteen practice sites in the more than twenty towns and villages already exist.

Following are some examples of introducing Falun Dafa in the public education system.

Dafa Introduction Started from Study Sessions/Camps for Teachers

Master Li Hongzhi graced Taiwan in November of 1997. He gave two lectures - one in the Sanxing Elementary School in Taipei, and the other in the National Wufeng Agricultural and Industrial Vocational High School in Taichung. There were not many people then who had the good fortune to listen to Master’s Fa lectures in person. Dafa has spread widely since, largely through word of mouth.

Ms. Chen Suzhu, the former principal of Dinghu Elementary School, suffered from many diseases. After she started practicing Falun Gong, she experienced dramatic physical and mental changes. She established Falun Dafa Study Camps at her school during summer and winter vacations in 2002. Six hundred and ninety seven people participated, including principals, directors, teachers and staff. Those who benefited from the camps and continued practicing became the main force to spread Dafa in the communities and campuses in Yunlin County. That was the beginning of Falun Dafa’s dissemination in Yunlin County!

Professor Chen Mingyang from the Electrical Engineering Research Institute of Zhongzheng University sharing experiences on January 23 and 24, 2002 at Qiaomei Elementary School.

Since 2002, Falun Dafa Study Camps during summer and winter vacations were held almost every year. More than 1,500 people participated in these camps, including officials in the Education Department, school inspectors, principals, directors, teachers and others. So far, 17 principals practice Falun Gong. There are over one hundred people in the education system who practice Falun Gong, attesting to the fact that Falun Dafa has been widely spread in Yunlin County. You can see practitioners everywhere serving in the education system who follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." They are a stable group in Yunlin County.

Teachers’ Study Session in the International Conference Room at Yunlin Science and Technology University on July 29-30 of 2004; The "Path of Fa-rectification Photo Exhibition" can be seen outside of the conference room

Teachers’ Study Session at Huwei High School on July 23-24 of 2005

Teachers’ Study Session at Dacheng Commercial Vocational High School on January 21-22 of 2006

Group Exercise Sites on Campus and Dafa Clubs

Many practitioners in the education system benefited from Dafa practice and thus established group exercise sites or reading groups in their schools. They often have exercise demonstrations at school celebrations or conferences. Some of these practice sites, for example, are at Gukeng Elementary School, Anqing Elementary School, Lunbei Elementary School, Kouhu Middle School, Erlun Middle School, Zhendong Elementary School, Huwei High School, Dapi Elementary School and others. In addition, there is a Falun Dafa Association at Yunlin Science and Technology University. There have been "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Art Exhibitions" and Falun Dafa Conferences at the campus.

Beginning from 2003, at Yunlin Gukeng Elementary School, practitioners have used the lunch hours to establish a Falun Gong club. After agreement from parents and approval from directors, students were able to participate in Falun Gong study and exercise practice. After two years, a survey result showed that the students, as well as the adults, had improved their health and moral standards and learned to look within during conflicts. They all became good students. The group practice during lunch hour also benefited some students who had previously misbehaved. They’ve improved their attention spans as well and started showing sincerity toward others. The majority of the students and teachers who practice Dafa have felt the wonders of Dafa after their lives have been purified.

Exercise Demonstration on March 13, 2004, at Gukeng Elementary School

Exercise Demonstration on December 26, 2003, at Zhendong Elementary School

Falun Dafa Group at Gukeng Elementary School

Group Practice at Anqing Elementary School

Journals Containing "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance"

Many practitioners who are principals and teachers have made great contributions to Yunlin’s Education System. For example, teacher Wang at Anqing Elementary School won the education department's outstanding teacher award. She designed a journal for students, published by Taiwan Minghui Educational Association. The journal is based on the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." Students write about their daily activities, household chores they perform, mark a checklist for their school work, write brief essays or comments and note other events in their journals. This helps to make the students and the parents feel the care and concern of the teachers, not only towards their school progress, but also regarding the students’ virtue.

"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" is the highest principle of the universe. Dafa cultivation fosters people’s compassion. Even if they haven’t walked into cultivation, they still can improve their xinxing and demonstrate good behavior. This journal has gone through three editions already and benefited close to 10,000 elementary and middle school students. The following are examples of some short essays students wrote in their journals:

Truthfulness

Student Shen:

Today I found 100 yuan too much in my wallet. I asked my family and found out it was my brother’s money. If things like this happen, we should always return the money to the owner. Otherwise, whoever lost things would be worried and we wouldn’t feel good about ourselves, either.

Student Shen:

Today I saw 10 yuan in the library. I took it to the lost and found in the school office.

Thoughts: This is what I should be doing.

Compassion

Student Xiao:

Today when I was reading, somebody came to bother me. I was very impatient. But I calmed down gradually. Later, I felt I shouldn’t have been so self-centered and ignore others’ feelings.

Student Liao:

My sister didn’t feel well, so I gave her water to drink and told my mother about it. The next day she felt better.

Thoughts: My sister is my family. Taking care of her is what I should be doing. Teacher often asks us to put ourselves in others’ shoes. I finally did it this time. During Wednesday’s social studies class our teacher taught us about Buddha. I have great respect for Buddha. I’m so happy to have this class.

Tolerance

Student Lin:

I finished my homework first in today's English class, but later my classmate rudely took it away from me. I was going to curse him, but I was tolerant. Besides, Teacher said no matter how others treat us, we should always be tolerant and never strike back. This way, we would be gaining more virtue. I demonstrated one thing that is called "Tolerance."

Student Zhang:

Yesterday I would have been upset when my younger brother took my book from me. But I wasn’t upset at all.

Thoughts: Before, I would have been very angry. But now I learned "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and got rid of this bad habit.

Student Xiao:

Today Zhan was playing with my hair, but I tolerated him. In fact, I was originally going to strike back at him.

Thoughts: If I struck back, I would have "returned" back to him my virtue. But if I don’t strike back, I not only can obtain more virtue, but also improve my xinxing. Isn’t this gaining in multiple ways in one shot?

How to Cultivate

Student Li:

My teacher Zhou’s grandmother passed away. Today after listening to what teacher Zhou said what happens after people die, I think "happiness" is not the purpose for people's lives. One's life is for accumulating the white substance "virtue" that gives one the opportunity to cultivate. Just doing good deeds (the way ordinary people think) can’t make you become enlightened. If you purposefully do good things, it won’t reach the results you want. Only if you don’t have any pursuits will you be able to truly help others.

Falun Dafa Summer Camps and Minghui Schools

Yunlin County Tuku Elementary School held a Falun Dafa Children's Summer Camp between June and July 2004. Many parents and children participated. The activities included free instruction in practicing the five sets of Falun Gong exercises, learning English, singing, reciting poems, art and other offerings.

The teacher Sun who cares greatly about her child's education said, "Children who practice Falun Gong will not turn rebellious." She signed her child up immediately. Later she walked onto the cultivation path herself.

Since the establishment of the Minghui School in Yunlin County in July 2005, the number of young Falun Dafa practitioners enrolled has been increasing. Even some non-practitioners have sent their children to the Minghui School. Currently, the classes meet four times a month. There are elementary level classes and pre-school level classes. The subjects include Fa-study, exercises and creative arts. The creative arts segment includes playing a waist drum, playing practitioner-composed songs on the flute, and other art classes related to spreading the Fa.

To provide a good cultivation environment for the young practitioners, besides the Minghui School, group Fa-studies for young practitioners are held every week in two districts in Yunlin County at the same time as the adult group Fa-studies.

Cards made by young practitioners call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong

Spreading the Fa outdoors; reciting Hong Yin II

In addition to the group Fa-study at Minghui School, young practitioners also attend many Dafa activities. After starting the practice, young practitioners' health has improved. Some of them who were nearsighted noticed improvement in their eyesight, and most of them have improved their behavior. Some have gained wisdom from Dafa and scored 100 percent on every exam. The miracles of cultivating in Falun Dafa have manifest in the young practitioners.