(Minghui.org) A couple of years ago I read an article on Minghui written by an Australian practitioner, which mentioned how Dafa was introduced to schools in India. It included photos of practitioners teaching hundreds of children in rural parts of India that impressed me. After that, I thought about this on several occasions, wanting to do the same in my own neighborhood, but I didn’t really know how. The last time it came to my mind was during planning activities with a Chinese practitioner who was about to spend some time in the area to help with local activities. At that time, however, it was just a wish, not really a plan.
In order to obtain a visa, the Chinese practitioner needed an official reason of stay, and I thought forming a non-governmental organization where she could do her Dafa work as a volunteer would be the most proper thing to do. We named it “The ___-Chinese Friendship Association – Falun Dafa Hao”. Apart from regular projects, there was no particular idea on how to utilize this NGO and we didn’t imagine we were about to use it to introduce Dafa in schools. Nevertheless, as soon as it was established, suddenly it occurred to me to write a special letter and send it to the area elementary schools. The content of the letter would include basic information on Falun Dafa and its health benefits, and our offer to visit a school to give free lessons.
A friend of mine (a non-practitioner) is a school principal, so I asked him for advice on the matter. He already knew about the persecution of Falun Gong in China and he personally witnessed the arrogance of the Communist Party during his recent visit to China. Nevertheless, when presented with the idea, he instantly felt uncomfortable, telling me, “I think you shouldn’t send those letters – you need to get permission from the Ministry of Education. Otherwise, school principals could be in trouble.”
A couple of days later, we had an interview at the foreign police department concerning the Chinese practitioner’s visa. Incidentally, we both knew the policeman in charge from our previous information day at the Chinese embassy – we had already clarified the truth to him and he seemed quite supportive. However, during the interview he was quite petty and cynical. He insisted on knowing the exact plan of activities of the NGO, so I mentioned our regular projects and some other things we had in mind, including “Dafa in schools.” The immediate question was: ”Did you obtain permission from the Ministry of Education?“ ”Well... Is it necessary?” I asked. “Absolutely,” he replied. “Some people wanted to teach Yoga in schools as well, but without the permission it was not possible.”
I had to reflect on this. Seeking cooperation from the Ministry of Education was not something I had in mind. Even if they were not so influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), they are so slow and bureaucratic – what’s the point of asking for their support? Meanwhile, what if school principals really did get into trouble because of us? They could even lose their jobs if the CCP interfered, so were we doing the right thing? I had to take a break and look inside. The prompt answer I got was probably the only answer a Dafa practitioner could get: What we’re doing is the very best thing; what we’re doing is saving people and those who can help will only have blessings. It is only our attachments standing in our way, so we should get rid of them. Thus we mailed the first round of letters.
After two days, a couple of schools made contact with us. The first was in a city in the south of the country, where they had a big Chinese market, so we could have “Quit the CCP” activities and visit the school at the same time. Perfect. In our letter, we invited both students and teachers to learn Dafa. In this very first school, however, only teachers attended the class, led by the school principal. So we actually practiced with 12 ladies. After we finished the practice, we told them our experience in practicing Dafa and then clarified the truth to them. For me, it was always hard to clarify the truth to more than one person at the same time, but the 12 ladies listened very carefully. The principal seemed relieved – she already knew about the persecution, but couldn’t take sides on it before. I was glad we helped.
Teaching teachers
A week after that, we were invited to give a class at two schools in the north of the country. As we didn’t know who was going to attend, we were quite surprised to have a whole class of 10-year-old kids, and not so many teachers. The kids were very attentive, very patient and particularly happy to meet a Chinese practitioner. After the class they all wanted to have their names written in Chinese. In time this would become a regular thing in all schools, as well as teaching them some Chinese words, namely “Falun Dafa Hao” and “Zhen-Shan-Ren.” Having a choir of so many kids shouting Falun Dafa Hao in one voice was a magnificent thing to hear and the greatest reward for our efforts.
After class: Kids with the Chinese practitioner
The fourth school was located in a village in a quite isolated part of the country. All the students at the school were summoned to the gym, more than a hundred. The principal joined too. Afterwards, when we had a chance to exchange thoughts with the principal, we found her quite a fascinating lady. She didn’t believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution, although she had to teach it to her students. Though not religious, she believed in higher beings and a higher order. The same went for her family. To illustrate how special they were, she told us a story about her daughter levitating in the church. The other daughter was quite unique too: since her childhood, she was so unselfish that she always gave away everything she had gotten – no what her parents told her. We used the opportunity to explain our understanding of Dafa, that the universe is good by nature and so were the people when they were first created. We explained what Zhen-Shan-Ren is, and saw her eyes glowing from inside. “Oh, I think this was predestined,” she said excitedly. “You are not doing this for yourselves – you came for us. I’m most grateful.”
First to eighth grade students lined up in two different schools
We were able to recognize other arrangements during the process. Two almost identical cases happened at two different high schools: Our program was aimed at primary schools and provincial areas where people never got a chance to learn about Dafa. Owing to a preconceived notion that older students can’t be patient and in control, I purposefully avoided inviting high schools. But then I met a high school teacher in my workplace. After I mentioned our program, she promised to ask her principal. The very next day we were invited to give two lessons at a high school, with local TV network coverage and a short interview. Contrary to my expectations, the kids were quite disciplined and in order. The first lesson was attended by only 30 students or more, but when the word was spread that “Dafa is here,” the next class held one hour later had a record attendance of nearly 150 students. It may seem hard to maintain order with so many children, but this was not the case once the Dafa music was played.
Teaching Dafa exercises to high-school students
After some time, the Chinese practitioner had to move on and leave the country. As she was very popular with kids, for a moment I was worried that her leaving could interrupt the program. But then I remembered that “cultivation is up to you, gong is up to the master” (Zhuan Falun). It is not us doing any of it, we are just a kind of Fa-tool. We just need to cultivate and everything will run smoothly.
Before the end of semester, in a 4-month period, we gave lessons at 12 schools and Dafa was introduced to more than 800 students and teachers from small towns and villages all over the country. In every class, we noticed some special children, very focused and tranquil, very pure, practicing like they already knew Falun Dafa from before. After each class, they would come over with questions such as “when shall we do it again” and how can they “enroll in the Dafa class.” To each of those special kids we gave an exercise DVD and informed them about Falun Gong books previously donated to the school library. In order to make regular practice groups in a school, one of the teachers should have the heart to take the lead. I hope in the future this will be resolved too.
Outdoor practice
In those 4 months of work we had no interference from the CCP. On the contrary, they helped spread Dafa unknowingly. At the same time as our program started, the CCP’s pilot program “Chinese in schools” was launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. It actually paved our way by raising attention about China. Some of the teachers even thought our NGO was sponsored by the CCP.
The plan is to continue the program after the summer holidays and try to form regular Dafa practice groups in some of the schools. Now that I reflect on all of it, I wonder why we didn’t do it before and why we haven’t educated children in all countries on a regular basis. How come it was not possible before, but now it is? Perhaps the answer lies in Master’s “20th Anniversary Fa-teaching, in New York, 2012”:
“You’ve all seen that, going forward, the evil doesn’t have enough strength for it to be made use of. Gradually the evil climate that the old forces use to test Dafa disciples, as well as the setting in which you save sentient beings under evil pressure, is disappearing. That’s because the evil is now insufficient to make use of.”
Probably in the near future, Falun Dafa will be practiced in schools and the Fa at the human level will be part of all academic subjects. By then, we should seize the time to save whoever is left to be saved and pave the way for future spreading of Dafa.
This is my personal understanding.
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