By a Falun Dafa practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net) I began to practice Falun Gong in 1996, and my daughter was born in 1998. During my pregnancy, I kept attending group Fa study and practice. Fellow practitioners all said that this child came to obtain the Fa. After my daughter was born, she was very beautiful and healthy. In addition to that, she was especially active.

After she was four years old, I read loud when I studied the Fa, so she was able to hear it while sitting beside me. In kindergarten, a teacher told me that my daughter was especially active, she could not be quiet like other children in the class, and she could not concentrate. But all of her teachers that she was very smart, cared about others and was a good person. At the same time, the kindergarten teachers were also worried that my daughter could not concentrate, and it would affect her studies when she went to school. My husband was also concerned about whether her activeness would affect her studies in the future. I said firmly, "Our child practices Dafa. She can certainly excel in school and behave properly.

I have always had a notion that since my daughter is a little Dafa practitioner, she has to study well. She must have a good academic record and create a favorable situation to validate the Fa, or others would have negative thoughts towards Dafa. Things, however, went differently.

My daughter did not do well in school. I feel young practitioners should have good grades, though. I calmed down and looked inwards, and I found that I had an attachment. I was afraid that her poor grades would negatively impact Fa validation. I also regarded studying the Fa as a method for the child to study well. I thought that as long as she studied the Fa, she could do anything well, so I no longer needed to pay attention to her studies. I felt secure once we studied the Fa.

I now realize that I was studying the Fa with pursuit, a big attachment. My husband and I are both college graduates, and I also hold a post-graduate degree. Since my child was born, all we heard was praise for her. I was worried that if she did not do well in school, others would laugh at us. I did not let go of the attachment to fame and vanity. When I saw ordinary children get 100 points on their tests, I became jealous because my daughter was a Dafa practitioner and did not do well. After I found these attachments, I relaxed. As a result, my daughter did well in the final exam, and she got a 95.5 for Math and 96 for Chinese, and reached the standard of excellence at that school. Her teacher praised her improvement in my daughter's report card.

After this, although her improvement was great, she was still restless and moved around in class. Her teacher often called her to the office because she was too active. Her classmates told me about this as well. In their eyes, to be called to the office by the teacher after class due to bad behavior in class was not a good thing. My daughter also told me that her teacher said that she was hyperactive in class.

My daughter once asked me whether I clarified the truth to her teachers. I did not have a good understanding on this issue at that time, and I answered: "You are a little practitioner, and you are not outstanding in school. What will your teachers think of Dafa? Isn't it bringing shame on Dafa? How can I clarify the truth of Dafa to the teachers? If you are excellent in conduct and academics, then your teachers will certainly say Dafa is good!"

I realize now that although she was not excellent in conduct and academics, this should not affect truth-clarification. How is it possible to wait for everything to be perfect and then clarify the truth? Even if a person starts to practice today, he/she can also clarify the truth confidently and in an open and noble manner.

As a practitioner, I feel that our children's behavior is very much related to our states of cultivation and whether we are able to validate the Fa. If children fail to achieve and behave improperly in school, then as parents, we should look at our cultivation shortcomings first, otherwise the behavior of our children is indeed directly affecting our truth-clarification and salvation of sentient beings. Fellow practitioners who have children, please pay attention to this issue, and earnestly ask practitioners who do well in this aspect to share their experiences based on the Fa, so that we can improve together.

Posting date: 10/18/2005
Original article date: 10/18/2005
Category: Personal Cultivation
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/10/6/111879.html

 Yearly Archive  Printer Version