(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
I am a practitioner from Montreal. I obtained the Fa in Canada in 2009. At that time, I encountered a lady online with whom I had a deep connection. She encouraged me not to believe the “Tiananmen Square self-immolation” lies and to look at Falun Gong without preconceptions. After reading Zhuan Falun, I realized that people can genuinely cultivate and that gods and Buddhas exist. I no longer believed the lies of the Party and embarked on the path of cultivation.
During the past decade of cultivation, I have encountered numerous challenges. For example, I developed a severe skin condition shortly after I began practicing. Large patches of eczema-like rashes appeared all over my body and face that oozed and caused intense itching and pain, similar to a burn. By studying the Fa continuously and strengthening my righteous thoughts, it took nearly a year to overcome this tribulation.
In recent years, the most significant challenge I have faced in my cultivation is my daughter’s difficulties during her growth. Fortunately, in the past year, she has gradually recovered from a state where she could barely stand up, and she has regained the happiness she should have at her age. She has also gained self-confidence, significantly improved her academic performance, even achieving scores above 90 and made many friends. This was something I couldn’t have imagined before.
I want to share this experience with everyone. First, I express my profound gratitude for Master’s compassionate arrangements, and second, I hope my experiences can provide some guidance to parents and fellow practitioners with similar experiences.
Changes in My Daughter
My daughter has been a clever and adorable child since she was young. She particularly loves to smile and has a gentle and kind-hearted nature. She is very compassionate. When she was young, she studied the Fa, did the exercises, and participated in various Dafa-related activities. She was always well-behaved. In 2019, we attended the Chinese character formation activity during the New York Fa Conference. It was a hot summer day, and she had to wear a thick raincoat. She sat there for over two hours without leaving her spot, despite sweating a lot.
However, starting in the third grade, she began to change after experiencing bullying at school. I remember her telling me that other children were bullying her, but she didn’t provide many details. I initially thought it was a minor matter, so I paid little attention. I superficially advised her that, as cultivators, we shouldn’t get angry with people and that the bullies were creating karma for themselves, and so on. I thought that as long as she could view the situation from the perspective of cultivation, she wouldn’t be affected and could easily move on. However, I overlooked her capacity to endure. She is a very sensitive child whom my husband and I have protected since she was young, and she has rarely experienced setbacks. She has a strong reliance on others.
In the fifth grade, my daughter was accepted into a local private school known for its good reputation. I had heard good things about it, liked its excellent reputation, strict management and the opportunity for direct advancement to their middle school. I felt more confident about my daughter’s academics and education at this school. However, to my surprise, she still had difficulty making friends there. The previous bullying experience had made her lack confidence, and she was hesitant to initiate social interactions. What’s worse, she befriended a child from a troubled family who exhibited improper conduct. She became addicted to online video games, lost interest in learning, could not concentrate and her grades started declining. As a result, the school teachers treated her differently, and eventually they suggested that we meet with a neuropsychologist to arrange an evaluation of our daughter.
During that time, my daughter’s cultivation state also hit a low point, as she could hardly study the Fa or do the exercises. Moreover, she became rebellious, dressed in trendy clothes, had messy hair, and disliked cleanliness. Her problematic friend said, “Don’t listen to your parents; you have your own life.” So, whenever I told her what she should or shouldn’t do, she would say, “Don’t force me; I have my own life.”
Faced with her situation, I felt anxious, and my temper became bad. I often couldn’t control my anger and would yell at my daughter. When I calmed down afterward, I remembered what Master said,
“Some people lose their tempers when disciplining their children and get all worked up. But it needn’t be like that. You shouldn’t genuinely get angry. You have to be calm and rational for your child to be reared well.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Looking inward, I knew that as a cultivator, I shouldn’t become angry. I should patiently communicate with my child, but often I couldn’t do this when conflicts arose.
Occasionally, my daughter would have moments of clarity and feel unhappy about how she was acting. She said, “Mom, I need a lot of encouragement,” and “Mom, I want to cultivate, but it’s very difficult.” Hearing this made me very sad.
Under such circumstances, in July of last year, I brought my child to Toronto for the first time so she could attend the Minghui Summer Camp here. Previously, a fellow practitioner in our area suggested that my daughter attend the summer camp in Toronto, saying that a young practitioner who attended for three weeks experienced positive changes. I wasn’t excited by the idea. However, as I saw my child’s condition becoming increasingly worrisome and realized that I didn’t have a good solution to change everything, I decided to try the summer camp and see how it went.
At first, my child was unwilling to go to Toronto. She knew that the summer camp at the Minghui School would involve studying the Fa and doing the exercises every day, and she resisted the idea because she felt that she couldn’t do it. I told her to give it a try for just one week. However, on the first day, she was already enjoying it. When I asked her why, she told me that she didn’t feel left out there, she got along well with many of the children at the summer camp, which made her much happier.
Eventually, my child told me, “I want to attend elementary school here.” I struggled in my heart. I hesitated because I was a key salesperson at The Epoch Times and my departure would lead to losses for the company. I repeatedly contemplated and weighed the best options: My husband and I had already sent our child to what was considered the “best” school, but she had ended up like she had. Moreover, it seemed like she was about to be labeled a “special needs” child. She is my daughter, but more importantly, she is a young disciple who has come to obtain the Fa. Master entrusted her to me, and I am responsible for her cultivation and healthy growth.
I strongly felt that my child could only find her way back and improve her behavior in a pure and righteous environment. Fortunately, after my husband understood the situation, he also had confidence in the school. He supported our child’s desire to attend it.
So I decided to move to Toronto so my child could attend the Minghui Elementary School in that city. At the same time, I was determined to fulfill my responsibilities on the project. I planned to return to Montreal for one week every month in addition to working remotely. I believed it was doable.
My Daughter Returned to Cultivation and Righteous Thoughts at the Minghui School
My daughter and I moved to Toronto, and she began the sixth grade in the elementary division of the Minghui School. Meanwhile, my husband stayed in Montreal because of his job. I remember he called and asked our daughter how she felt after her first day at school. She said she was very happy. My husband laughed happily and felt relieved.
At that time, because the Minghui Elementary School had only been established for a year, there were only two classes: senior and junior. Although the children’s ages and abilities varied, the teachers made appropriate arrangements and tried their best to provide instruction that matched their levels. The math textbooks used were from Singapore, which were more challenging than those used in Western schools. The science curriculum didn’t include evolution, thus shielding the children from the contamination of atheism at an early age. The teachers compiled the Chinese-language curriculum, and it guided the children in traditional culture and moral principles. Of course, the best part was that they ensured that the students studied the Fa and did the exercises at school.
Initially, this was very difficult for my daughter and posed a significant challenge. I knew that when she was at home, she could only do one set of exercises and couldn’t sit still to meditate. Studying the Fa was also challenging because her mind was not calm, and she would become impatient after reading for a while. Sending righteous thoughts was even more difficult.
After a year of my daughter’s efforts and the teachers’ patient assistance, she could sit still and meditate for an hour and keep her eyes closed. She said she would experience pain after half an hour but could persist for a full hour.
The way the teachers handled conflicts among the children also inspired me. My daughter is a sensitive and emotionally vulnerable child who strongly relies on her close friends. When conflicts arose, or her friends treated her poorly, she would be devastated, cry uncontrollably and seek comfort from the principal. Initially, the teachers would console and soothe her wounded heart. But gradually, as they recognized her dependency, they changed their approach. They taught her to face conflicts rationally, find solutions, be strong and not rely so much on others. They encouraged her to express her feelings bravely and not to do things she didn’t like to do out of fear of losing her friends. The teachers educated her on what true friendship means and how to make genuine friends. Over time, my daughter went through repeated tests of character and gradually became able to face challenges with strength.
In May of this year, during a Falun Dafa event, she participated in the class’s choreographed dance and even had the courage to perform in front of a large audience. Reflecting on where she was just a year ago, her transformation truly seems incredible.
Persisting in Doing Well with The Epoch Times Project
I am the main salesperson for The Epoch Times in Montreal. During the year I spent accompanying my daughter to school, I made a point to return to Montreal for a week every month to meet with clients and minimize the potential losses from not being able to see them while working remotely in Toronto.
This was a challenge for me. Before this, my longest solo drive had been from Montreal to Quebec City, a three-hour journey that exhausted me. However, the drive from Toronto to Montreal takes almost six hours. Along the way, I listen to cultivation sharing on Minghui Radio, Shen Yun symphony music, and Master’s lectures. I gradually became familiar with the route, and the time felt shorter. The days in Montreal were also quite hectic, and I would find ways to meet as many clients as possible in the shortest time.
I remember one time I managed to visit 20 clients in just four days and met almost every client I had planned to see, some of whom I had been trying to meet for several years. Before meeting clients, I silently prayed to Master, “Master, please let me meet them. I’ve come all this way, and I hope it won’t be in vain.” And miraculously, that particular client came out to meet me, even though we hadn’t seen each other for years. I am grateful for Master’s compassionate arrangements and am determined to work even harder and do well in Epoch Times sales.
Throughout the year, my husband and the practitioners in Montreal and Toronto provided me with tremendous support and encouragement. When I temporarily left Montreal, my colleagues at The Epoch Times in Montreal helped deliver newspapers to my clients and met them on my behalf. Similarly, when I temporarily left Toronto, the practitioners in Toronto took care of my daughter, or my husband traveled from Montreal. My husband is a real estate broker and also needs to meet with clients, but he made every effort to arrange his schedule so that I could return to Montreal to meet with The Epoch Times clients. And so, every month, we shuttled back and forth between the two cities like a carousel.
I remember what Master said,
“Do a good job with whatever it is you do. And as you go about doing it, it will be your heart and mind, rather than your success, that count. And as you work on it, you are saving people! The process of doing those things is also a process of improving yourself in cultivation, and at the same time you are helping to save a multitude of beings!” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)
Encouraged by this, I told myself to give it my all, regardless of whether I ultimately signed contracts or not. I understood that the process itself was saving people. So, despite the difficulties of working remotely and living in two homes, I still achieved my sales targets for the most part.
Strengthening Fa Study and Cultivating the Heart
This year, as I worked remotely and lived most of the time in temporary accommodation, life became simpler, and I had time at my disposal. I took the opportunity to increase my Fa study, listen to the cultivation sharing of fellow practitioners, reflect on the problems and difficulties I encountered in my cultivation journey and identify my attachments and try to eliminate them.
I realized that my daughter is a little disciple who came for the Fa; the karmic relationship between us as mother and daughter is for our mutual growth in the Fa. I also realized that in the past, I unconsciously employed a coercive and result-oriented approach influenced by the Party culture when it came to educating my child. Now, I can empathize with her as a child and appreciate the challenges she faces in her growth and efforts to improve and cultivate herself. My daughter also mentioned that my temper has improved, and I am no longer impatient and angry.
I also became aware of my deep resentment toward my husband which needed to be eliminated through cultivation. So I started to care for him as much as possible. Even when he had a bad attitude, I tried to treat him kindly and no longer harbored complaints. I could feel some of the ice between me and my husband melting. At the same time, his attitude toward our daughter’s cultivation also underwent a positive change.
Reflecting on this journey, I am filled with emotions. I am grateful that Master has always been by our side, guiding us on the path of cultivation. Although I have never seen anything in other dimensions, I can feel Master’s all-pervasive blessings and protection and his orderly and ingenious arrangements.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
Please kindly correct me with compassion if anything is not on the Fa.
(Presented at 2023 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
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