(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Dafa before the persecution started in 1999. Over the past 25 years, I have experienced all kinds of ups and downs, twists and falls. From these, I gained experience and learned lessons, and at the same time, I have also gained many more insights. I would like to take the opportunity of the 2024 China Fahui to share some of my experiences in the early days of resisting the persecution.
Demoted to a Remote Mountain Area
After the persecution started in July 1999, I was unlawfully detained a number of times because I refused to give up my faith in Dafa. Later, I was sidelined from a key school in town and assigned to teach in an elementary school in a mountainous area, over 20 kilometers (about 12 and a half miles) away from the town where I was living.
As I only had a bike and there was no bus service from the mountain area to my home, the commute was very difficult for me. I couldn’t go back home every day. My son was in elementary school at that time, but I wasn’t able to spend much time with him. I kept reciting Master’s poem “Tempering the Will” from Hong Yin in my heart while riding to the school. I had never cycled for such a long distance before, but with Master’s protection, I didn’t have any issues on the way, and I didn’t feel tired.
When I arrived at the education office regarding my onboarding process, a man walked into the office. “You’re very lucky,” the head of the office said to me, “This is the director of your school. You can go with him after he finishes his business here.” I felt grateful for Master’s arrangement.
The school facilities were very outdated. Being a total stranger there, I was engulfed in a feeling of sadness. I reminded myself: You must control your feelings, and embrace the new environment and people with the demeanor of a Dafa practitioner.
I was demoted to the school as a “punishment,” and teachers and students in my new school were informed of my situation in advance. Out of curiosity to see what a “terrifying” Falun Dafa practitioners looked like, students would gather outside of the office and look at me through the window.
When I greeted the teachers, they often responded in an awkward manner, looking at me with suspicion and discrimination. Some told me later on that, due to the demonizing propaganda spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), they thought I must be a very unreasonable and stubborn person.
“You’re the Best Teacher in Our Village!”
When people are mistreated, they may feel depressed, become passive, or seek revenge. But I’m a Dafa practitioner, and I must treat my work with a good attitude and ethics.
The professional skills of the teachers in the school were generally low and their teaching performance was lagging far behind. As a result, I didn’t only teach the current courses for the grade, but also many of the earlier courses that were not taught properly.
In class, I was kind to my students, and my concise, accurate and easy-to-understand explanations soon won their hearts. Most of them made meaningful progress in their studies in a short time, and both the students and their parents were very happy.
I provided additional tutoring to two students in the evening. Both of them later won top awards in a county level competition. It became sensational news in our local area, because for many years, this school was not even qualified to participate in such competitions, let alone win any prizes.
In the past, the graduating class always lagged behind in the annual examinations and the middle school teachers often complained that students from our school were hard to teach. I spent a year to find out where they had fallen behind and what needed to be done to help them catch up. I taught the graduating classes for several years and the students performed much better in the exams.
The teachers, school principals, and leaders of the township education office all started to treat me with respect, and people’s prejudice and negative views about Dafa disappeared. Once, a middle school teacher said to me, “When students write essays, they normally write about their present teachers, but in the last few years, students from your school all wrote about you. You have left such a wonderful impression on them!”
Beyond the Curriculum
My mission as a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple is to clarify the truth to save sentient beings, especially my students, who had a predestined connection with me. It was not good enough just to teach them well in academic studies, I must clarify the truth to them so that they could be saved. However, as I had been unlawfully detained a number of times in the past, which brought my family and my child a lot of pain, I was concerned as to whether I would be reported and arrested again if I talked to them about Falun Dafa.
Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, said,
“The old forces don’t dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What’s key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Boston, U.S.A.,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II)
I summoned up my courage and clarified the truth rationally to my students in class a number of times.
Before I took up cultivation in Dafa, I often reprimanded the students and tried to pressure them to do better. But Master taught us to handle things with compassion. I realized that when solving conflicts between students, I should first calm them down and then help them to look within and see their shortcomings on their own.
I explained to the students that when people do good deeds and endure hardship, they will gain a white substance – virtue, which will bring blessings to people; when people do bad things, they will produce and acquire black matter – karma, which will bring pain, disease and disaster to people. So, if a person wants to have a bright future, he or she must do good deeds, be truthful, kind, and strive to be a good person.
I also told them about the importance of being tolerant and patient. I gave the example about an incident in a neighboring village: several villagers had a big fight over a joke; one of them died and the two that caused his death were put in jail.
Once, two students had a conflict. When I asked them what had happened, they started arguing again. I didn’t stop them, but listened patiently. When the time was right, I said to them, “I don’t want to blame either of you because I know how it felt to be wronged.” I shared with them how I was persecuted for practicing Dafa and demoted to the mountain area, instead of working in town and being close to my family. I also took the opportunity to tell them more about Dafa and how the CCP demonized it. The facts touched the students’ hearts. They stopped arguing and admitted their mistakes.
I once shared with my students that because of the persecution, I was demoted and had my salary significantly reduced. I regretted that I couldn’t take care of my son, but I treated my students as my own children and I wanted to give them the best education I could. I was choking up a bit at that point. The students all listened quietly, and some also had tears in their eyes.
The next day, a few students came up to me. One of them said, “Teacher, I told my parents about your story. My mom said you can stay at our place in the evening if you can’t go home.” Another one said, “We grow a lot of vegetables in our yard. My mom told me to bring them to you. I’m not sure if you like them, so I’ve come to ask you first.” I was deeply touched.
A student’s grandma came to see me one day. She said, “My granddaughter never wrote a diary in the past. But since you became her teacher, she writes every day, remembering how you taught them, and how you conducted yourself. Now, we don’t need to worry about her studies at all, and she also listens to us. How do you teach the children? I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
“There is no need to thank me,” I said to her, “In fact, I’m only trying to be a good person by following Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I treat the children with kindness and work hard in my job. When students become interested in their studies, of course they will do better in their school work.”
Support from the Teachers and Villagers
Our school serves several villages and the teachers traveled from different villages and they had to go back and forth on uneven dirt roads, which turned quite muddy on rainy and snowy days. Some teachers couldn’t go home for lunch, so I volunteered to cook lunch for them and I also brought food and vegetables myself.
My kindness touched the hearts of the teachers, including the school principal. We became good friends, even though they were tasked by the higher-ups to monitor me. I often talked to them about Falun Dafa and the cruel persecution by the CCP. I also clarified the misconception they had about Dafa by reading Dafa books to them. They said to me, “Now we know that all that stuff on TV is fake.”
Once, a few people from the education bureau came to our school to check on the housing conditions of the dorms. I was teaching at that time, and the school principal sent someone for the key to my dorm. Other teachers worried that the inspector might check my room and find my Dafa books there. Only when the inspector left did they feel relieved.
During lunch time that day, a teacher handed me a key and said, “This is the key to my office. You can keep your Dafa books in my drawer. No one dares to search my drawer!” I was very moved by his sense of justice, and felt happy for him at the same time.
On another occasion, the CCP secretary of the village came to our school and said to the school principal and me, “I want to write a letter of recommendation to the County Committee to praise this teacher (referring to me), but I’m a bit worried because I’m not good at writing. Also, I’m a bit afraid because Falun Gong is still being suppressed.”
“Thank you,” I said to him, “I’m very grateful for your kindness and good will. It is good enough that you know in your heart that Falun Dafa is good.”
The school’s director of curriculum once said to me, “The eyes of ordinary people are sharp and clear. The villagers often talk about you, saying that you are both a good teacher and a kindhearted person. If it weren’t for your faith, you would never have been sent to our school here. Everyone is praising you, saying that you are the best teacher in our village over all the years.”
I felt very happy that I was able to dispel the lies and slanders against Dafa. I’m encouraged that people now know that Dafa practitioners are good people and that Falun Dafa is wronged.
Return to My Hometown
A few years went by quickly, and we started to have bus service to my home. So I was able to go home every day. A few teachers and the local villagers started to encourage me to move back, saying, “We are very fortunate to have you teaching the children here, but it’s too far away from your home and you cannot take care of your own family. You’d better start looking for a job there, so you can be closer to your family.”
I thought: Maybe this is a hint from Master, and it’s time for me to move back to town. During the summer vacation that year, I decided to ask the education bureau for a job transfer, but I still had some fear from time to time: What if they ask me if I still practice Falun Gong? What if they ask me to write a guarantee statement to give up cultivation?
Because I was sent to a brainwashing center by the education bureau several times in the past, I still felt a bit fearful just thinking about going there. But I made up my mind in the end, and was ready to face the danger and difficulties ahead no matter how hard things might be.
I studied the Fa more often, spent more time sending forth righteous thoughts, and at the same time, completely negated the interference of the old forces. I thought: I only follow the cultivation path arranged by Master and they shouldn’t persecute me again. A few days later, determined and clear-headed, I went to the education bureau.
I ran into the Party Secretary of the bureau after I got there. Unlike in the past, she was somewhat polite towards me this time. She used to hate and look down upon Dafa practitioners, and often reprimanded and made fun of us.
Once, when I was detained at a brainwashing center, she went there to “transform” me. I remained calm no matter how loudly she shouted at me. After she stopped shouting, I said to her with a smile, “You don’t understand me, but I understand you. I’m not against you personally, but because Falun Dafa is truly good, I can’t cooperate with you. Even though I’m still young, I used to suffer all kinds of illnesses. Soon after I started practicing Falun Dafa, the illnesses all disappeared. Furthermore, Falun Dafa teaches people to be good by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. How wonderful the practice is!”
I went on, “As the saying goes, ‘Once a teacher, forever a father.’ I don’t have anything to repay my Master, but at least I must not repay kindness with enmity, add insult to injury, and criticize Falun Dafa, from which I have benefited so much, right? That’s not who I am as a person. There are tens of thousands of people working in the education system in our area, and you are the top leader. Still, no matter how good you may be, some people may still badmouth you behind your back. Should I join them to do the same? No, I wouldn’t do that.” Since then, she seemed to have a pang of conscience about what she was doing, and treated me more nicely.
This time, I explained to her the reason of my visit. “I have been teaching in the countryside for a number of years now,” I said, “and it hasn’t been easy. I would like to transfer back to work in town now, close to my family.”
She replied. “We know that you’ve done very well these years, and we’ve heard good feedback from the school leaders and the local people. We will think about it.”
A few days later, I returned to check on whether she had any updates. She said to me, “You don’t need to come here anymore, just wait for the official notice.” But I waited the entire summer and didn’t receive any word.
During the following summer vacation, I spent more time studying and memorizing the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. I went to the education bureau again with strong righteous thoughts and determination. I said to the CCP secretary with a smile, “You told me you would help me with the job transfer last year, but you didn’t. So, here I am again.”
I went there a number of times, and tried to meet with the director of human resources, but without any success.
One day, I went to the education bureau again, and said to the CCP secretary, “I won’t leave here until I see the HR director today. I won’t interfere with your work. If you have any visitors, I will go out.”
I sat on a bench, and kept sending forth righteous thoughts. After a little while, the CCP secretary picked up the phone and called the HR director, saying, “You’d better come over to meet with so-and-so (referring to me), otherwise she will stay here for a whole day.” Sure enough, the HR director came to meet with me.
“You’ve been doing well,” he said. “We all know that. As for the job transfer, we need to have some more discussion about it.”
A few days later, I went there again, but still without any result. I went back there a few more times, again without any news. I went there yet again one day and the CCP secretary told me that the HR director was away for a meeting. I went to the meeting location and found the HR director during the break. He was really surprised to see me there. I reminded him about my request and that I wouldn’t give up unless they approved the transfer. In the end, he said to me, “Come next week and we will give you an answer.”
A week later, the bureau agreed to transfer me to another rural school, just over 5 kilometers away from town. I was quite happy as it was closer to home. On my way back, I ran into a practitioner whom I had not seen for a long time. After I told her that the education bureau agreed to transfer me to a closer school in the rural area, she said, “Your effort in resisting persecution is not complete.” Then she left on her bike.
After I got back home, I kept thinking about what the practitioner said to me: Isn’t that a hint from Master? The next day, I went to the education bureau again. The CCP secretary was surprised to see me and said, “How come you are here again?”
I said to her, “I’m getting older, and I would like to teach in town now.”
“In that case, you will need to take the assessment exam,” she said.
“No, I won’t take the exam. You didn’t demote me because of my performance. Even if I did well in the exam, you can still deny me if you don’t want me to come back.” She was speechless.
A few days later, I saw the HR director while walking along the street. I explained to him again about my request for a job transfer, and stated, “I must come back and teach in town.”
With the help and protection of Master, two months later, I was indeed transferred back, without having to bribe anyone or take any exams.
Master and the Fa have constantly given me new insights and reminded me that only by cultivating ourselves well, can we effectively awaken the kindness in people’s hearts, change the environment around us, and save more sentient beings. It is Dafa that changed me from a narrow-minded and timid individual into a broad-minded, kindhearted, calm, peaceful and resolute Dafa disciple.
Thank you, revered Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
