| | Activate Your Birthright of Love | Reports on Relief Activities for the 911 Disaster in the United States | Master's Reminder about Emergency Rescue Activitiesfor 911 Disaster in the U.S.A. | Be Reconciled with Your Enemy | Loving Our Enemy is Loving Ourselves | Home Remedy for Diarrhea | Anti-ant Tip | Natural Insect Repellent | Elevating the Culture of Our Education | The Supreme University | Education Begins with the Family | The Quan Yin Method--the Perfect Educational System | | The Vital Foundation | The Most Complete Learning System | Lighting up the Heart | | <Insights of a Primary School teacher> | | A Happy Career | | <Insights of a Senior Vocational School teacher> | | Unexpected Bonus | | <Insights of a University Professor> | | Tolerance, Appreciation,Acceptance, and Concern | | <Insights of a Special Education Teacher> | | Kindling the Light | Jovial Little Angel |
War, trouble, misunderstanding, anger and hatred are all outcomes of our frustration at not knowing God. All the evil we think humankind is capable of doing, comes from this thirst for the knowledge of God. It is ironic and paradoxical, but it is true. Such acts are a desperate call for help, because the people who commit them just don't know what else to do. So they have to resort to violence, just like when you scream out loud.
Why is this so? Because even though we look like humans and wear this human body, we are all children of God; we are the Holy Spirit. We used to live in Heaven, where we had absolutely everything, anytime we wanted it. "Know that you are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit lives within you." That means that we are nothing but God inside. Because we are God, we're not used to having to work for the things we need. We're not used to having to ask for the things we want, and maybe even then not getting them. So sometimes we feel frustrated, we feel angry, and we feel hopeless and helpless. And sometimes this frustration breeds violence, breeds hatred and eventually, war.
So the people who make war are the people who are really the most desperate for love and for help. But because they are so fixed in their desperation, it is also not very easy to bring love, wisdom and understanding into their state of being--just like someone who is so sick that he doesn't even recognize the doctors, much less feel grateful to them.
So before we fall into this desperate state, we would do better to take care of ourselves and take care that we find the love of God more closely and practically, so we don't ever need to experience this kind of helplessness or deep desperation. No doubt God loves all of us, no matter what we do. Jesus forgives all of us, no matter what we do--even to Him personally. He forgave His enemies and prayed for them: "Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they do." Every time I read something about Jesus again, I always want to cry. Such a great love could only come from God.
We ourselves are all children of God. So why don't we have this love? We do. It's just that we have not activated it; we've forgotten how. We do have love, but not to the extent of the Lord Jesus. Still, we can try to have this love again. God forgives all of our sins; Jesus forgives us--He died for us. And we will be always equal in the eyes of the Lord.
Then why must we know God? Why must we activate this love? Why should we make any effort at all? Because if we do not activate this love, we ourselves will suffer. And of course we will sometimes bring suffering to our loved ones, to whomever is in contact with us, to our surroundings, and sometimes even to our nation, if we make a wrong or a very unloving decision, like making war.
We must activate this love not just to know God, but to know that we are a part of God--that we are one with God, just like the Lord Jesus said: "I and my Father are one." We cannot be one with God by talking alone, by thinking alone, or by wishing alone. We have to actually be one with God, be God on Earth. We have to join that ocean again, become one with the ocean of love. Then we can represent God on this planet. All of Hiers magnificent qualities, all of Hiers loving kindness, we can represent. And we can bring love, joy, kindness and happiness to all the people around us.
Please visit the following websites to enjoy the video-version of Master's words:
http://www.Godsdirectcontact.org.tw/eng/news/126/mt.htm (Formosa)
http://Godsdirectcontact.org/eng/news/126/mt.htm (USA)
"Pray that mankind may understand each other through more peaceful ways... with all love and great sorrow."
This is the wholehearted longing of our loving and compassionate spiritual Master--Supreme Master Ching Hai, amidst Her deep grief over the disasters that struck the U. S. on September 11, 2001.
September 11, 2001
I've called many nearby centers around Washington D.C. and New York for emergency rescue action groups. They are doing what they can--giving blood donations, bringing in cell phones for contact, etc...
Please tell headquarters to standby to send any financial request to help centers in aiding the suffering victims in the Pentagon and New York. New York was hard to contact.
Apart from physical comfort, all centers should be informed to gather for group prayers-meditation, so that humankind may understand each other through more peaceful ways.
Report to me the rescue effort process.
With all my love and great sorrow,
Ching Hai
MORE: http://www.godsdirectcontact.us/disasterrelief.html
It doesn't matter if we are right or wrong in war, it always creates misery for both parties. We understand that even our enemies have souls, sentiments, intelligence, compassion and understanding. It's just that we don't sit together and talk. We don't make friends. We're not supposed to make friends with our enemies, so we sometimes forget that they are also human like us. Therefore, it is easy to slay someone whom we do not think much of or whom we don't hold in high esteem.
If the government, the leaders of this world understood the power of love, they would never make war. They would just use love to destroy their enemies in no time. Just love your enemy, and then they will surrender. They will drop all their weapons and come to you on their knees. That's why Jesus said, "Love your enemy." Loving our enemy is loving ourselves. Loving our enemy means bringing peace to ourselves.
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If children grow up having very good ethical roots from childhood, like a tree has good roots in the earth, when they grow up they don't fall down easily. But when the tree is not rooted well it just grows up a little bit, and then it gets broken down by winds or other natural forces.
Back to contentsI remember I have a home remedy. Toast with black pepper and concentrated soy sauce can cure diarrhea. Add black pepper according to taste. Either black or white pepper powder is okay. Cook it in soy sauce until it becomes thick like a paste, like a spread. And then, spread it on the toast or dip the toast in the paste, and eat it. This stops diarrhea immediately. When you burn the toast black or very, very brown, it becomes like carbon and absorbs the poison. When you cook the soy sauce until it becomes concentrated, it becomes a paste. You put some black pepper powder in it and it warms the stomach inside, because when you have diarrhea, your stomach is cold. The black pepper also has a disinfecting quality. So I just eat the toast with that, and then, top it with congee, that is, rice soup, and the diarrhea stops immediately. Or you can drink some ginger tea, that is, ginger powder in water. All these combinations will certainly cure diarrhea immediately.
There are two very effective methods to keep ants out of the house. They are economical and simple, and do not pollute.
1. Put vinegar around all the openings and entrances to your house. Ants produce a pheromone that smells similar to vinegar, and once the ants smell the vinegar, they will think other ants are already colonized there and won't enter the house..
2. Sprinkle red pepper flakes down around all the openings and entrances to your house, and keep them there for about two weeks. Then sweep them up. This will remain effective for a very long time. You need to do this only once or twice a year.
How do we take care of bugs and insects in order to keep our houses clean and hygienic?
Master recommends the following practical tip, which is also good for our environment.
You should just clean your house thoroughly with water and vinegar, 50/50. This disinfects and deodorizes everything, and neutralizes all the odors that attract insects. Clean whatever is infested once and for all, put it in the sun, shake it out and clean it every day or as often as possible with 50 % vinegar and 50% water. You should use more vinegar, if possible, if you can bear its smell. And you have to spray your window frames and door frames with an insect repellent, a harmless one, outside your house. Then the insects won't come in later. Otherwise, they will keep coming all the time. You should spray them once a week or every once in a while, and then they won't come in. And you must keep yourself washed and clean and hygienic. Then they won't have the grounds to breed in your house.
Back to contentsQ: Dear Master, I am a senior high school student. After reading your books, I have found that we do not learn the method of liberation from life and death by attending school. So, should we negate the value of receiving an education at school?
M: No, you should not. If I hadn't studied at school before, I would not have been able to speak fluently here today. Receiving an education does help. It is just that our educational system does not offer courses on spiritual enhancement. They teach things that are not very useful and they don't give children a good moral education. In many countries, education emphasizes degrees and diplomas. Children go to school only to earn a diploma, so they study under great pressure. Sometimes, they even have to study through the entire night. They stay at school all day long, leaving them little time with their parents. After they graduate, they use very few of the things they learned at school. Thus, children are really pitiful. However, our world is like that. I can't change it that much.
India has a better educational system. Its education is more natural and liberal, and the schools can decide how to educate the children. For instance, members of the Quan Yin sect in India educate their own children. They select useful courses for the children, such as mathematics, science, music, morality, ancient scriptures, spiritual knowledge, filial obedience and devotion to parents, etc. In addition to these useful courses, they also teach the children to meditate and be vegetarian. Consequently, all these children are well-behaved. They are going to be a great benefit to their country when they grow up, and they will be very moral people in society. It is a pity that very few countries follow their example. Even in India, this kind of school is not found everywhere.
Q: Dear Master, are you willing to establish a university to nurture the most excellent and moral students?
M: I have already established a university. The Quan Yin Method I teach is exactly that! (Applause) Our disciples are the most moral and excellent ones. They do not gamble, smoke, speak untruths, engage in sexual misconduct, take what is not offered, or kill man or animal. They are all vegetarian and meditate every day to find their inner wisdom; this is the highest morality. (Applause) Yes, that's right. Our Quan Yin Method is the supreme university.
Q: Dear Master, how can we help children in junior and senior high school to become gentle and understand the love of their parents without any doubts?
M: It depends on the karma of the parents and children. Originally, children are good at heart, but become exposed to social influences outside. Today, the social environment is not favorable for children because violent movies and pornographic posters are everywhere, and they do affect our children. At present, courses in morality are not included in the school curriculum. This may change in the future; perhaps the governments will include these courses in the educational system. Have the children read a moral story or meditate for thirty minutes each day. Then the children will become better. (Applause)
India has already included this in its educational system. Now it seems that some universities in the west have added this subject as well. Their students meditate a half hour every day. They have found that these students become more intelligent, more stable at heart, and have better attitudes toward their teachers. So, if we want to change our children, we need to fix them from inside, not outside. All the people in society should cooperate and everybody should take good care of his own personality. The parents also have a responsibility. They cannot only ask their children to change; they themselves have to change too.
A deceased Master, who also practiced the Quan Yin Method, had a son. This son told his master some stories about himself. He said that since he was very little, about only three or four years old, he saw his parents get up very early for meditation every day. Though he didn't know how to meditate at the time, he still sat with them. So he had been learning how to meditate when he was very little and got up early to meditate with his parents every day. He also saw many moral people visit his parents and many practitioners come to meditate with them. His parents lovingly took care of these people who came to have group meditation with them. Every evening or on Sunday, his parents would read some scriptures, something about morality, or good stories to the family. Sometimes they listened to audiotapes before meditating together. He was brought up in such an environment. No wonder he became a famous master in India when he grew up. He is still very famous internationally.
Therefore, don't blame the children, for we adults sometimes make mistakes, too. For example, the clothes we wear may not be dignified enough, our personality may not be noble enough, or our morality may not be profound enough. We begin to educate our children from the family, not the school, for the parents are the greatest, the most basic, and the most important teachers. What do you think? (Applause)
Given that national prosperity hinges on the success or failure of the educational system, governments worldwide have devoted tremendous human and financial resources to educational reform. Regrettably, these reforms have focused more on material considerations than on moral education. Governmental authorities have also overlooked the development of humankind's latent powers. As a result, spiritual development, which is vital for children, has not received the attention it deserves. In the West, students complain that teachers treat them like parrots, because good grades are guaranteed only when the teacher's precise words are perfectly memorized.
When the learning process in school becomes a fixed program of receiving, storage, duplication, and feedback, then education degenerates into a monotonous and boring mechanical process. Not only is this method of learning divorced from real life, it also bores children and suppresses the development of their innate talents. Without true happiness and contentment within, children are attracted to external excitement arising from novel changes. When material superiority and utilitarianism prevail in society, and family values and moral concepts are ignored, youth problems emerge one after another.
Scientists have long known that most humans use only a small portion of their brains. Thus, one of the main objectives of education should be to teach students how to fully develop their inborn potential powers. As Supreme Master Ching Hai says, "When we meditate, we come into contact with the innate wisdom that has always existed within us. Once the connection is established, this innate wisdom provides us with much supportive power, awakens the long-forgotten knowledge within, and lets us develop the power or instincts that we have always had."
Master has also said, "Recently a number of university students in Europe and America experimented with common meditation methods that were not very advanced. They didn't even have to be very diligent to achieve some results; they meditated daily for about twenty minutes and had stunning results. A research study on these students showed a dramatic difference in their intelligence, reactions, and memorization power before and after they began meditating. Before they learned to meditate, their reactions were slower, their memory was not as good, and they were less intelligent. The changes were highly noticeable. They now react more quickly, have a better memory, and are highly intelligent. They can learn much faster than before." (Please refer to "Knowledge and Wisdom" in the News No. 110 for the whole article.) This study shows that meditation is very beneficial for learning and the development of potential abilities.
The Quan Yin Method is superior to current educational systems. It opens up wisdom instead of cramming in knowledge; it completely develops potential abilities, and does not limit its scope only to vocational training. It nourishes great love for all Creation, instead of stressing only love among humans. Through daily meditation, we can develop the almighty power within us and increase our learning efficiency; by keeping the Five Precepts, we naturally integrate moral codes into daily life, making up for the inadequacy of moral education in existing systems.
In this material world, teaching can only be carried out through worldly language and physical means. However, there are a great many profound mysteries in the universe that can only be realized by entering the superior realms. The Quan Yin Method is an educational method for entering the superior worlds and an educational concept for the whole universe. Through its practice, our astral bodies can rise to higher realms at any time, to learn from the wiser sentient beings and benefit from the teachings of the cosmic teachers. There are no time or spatial constraints for us to receive this intangible education. Just as Supreme Master Ching Hai has said, "God Hirmself will teach you every day. Whenever you have time, you sit down with Hirm, and Hes will teach you. Hes will teach you through the brilliant Light inside; Hes will teach you through the universal language--the Music of heaven. Hes may even teach you in the Scottish language. Hes will teach you through the ancient masters, who will appear to you just like I appear to you right now, in your inner vision. And you may converse with them, or ask them anything you want, and they will teach you everything that you need to know." (Excerpted from Master's lecture in Scotland, June 05, 1999.) The Quan Yin Method--a complete learning system--will benefit us, turn us into enlightened and happy citizens of the universe, and further elevate us into becoming superior and perfect sentient beings.
The teaching career has always been regarded as noble and sacred. The teachers' persistent and painstaking efforts have fostered innumerable talents for society, which accounts for the world's civilization of today. However, to keep pace with rapid social transformations, teachers now find themselves facing greater trials than ever before. In our Quan Yin family, there are many fellow practitioners in the teaching profession. What concepts and methods do they employ to educate the future pillars of our society? How do their careers benefit from their spiritual practice? Hopefully, their personal experiences discussed below can provide a reference for other workers in the field of education.
Ever since I started practicing the Quan Yin Method, my work has become easier and more relaxed. Most incredibly, I no longer get angry! Before initiation, I often got so mad over the negative behavior of my students that my stomach would begin to hurt! Now, I can find nothing to be angry about. As Master says, "No one is really bad. It is only because of the situation." True indeed, there are virtually no bad children, only bad habits that need to be rectified. If we can lovingly help children change their bad habits, all children will be benevolent and lovely.
After initiation, we learn more about respecting life, and naturally we imbue the children with this concept. Recently, silkworm-raising has become popular in our school. Every student in school raises them. While most children treat the worms like toys, the students in our class love and care for them as if they were babies. They even carefully prepare bedding for the worms and feed them with mulberry leaves. When any abnormal phenomenon occurs, they anxiously check their health and even prepare a sickroom for those worms that are ill. The students then give them fresh mulberry leaves and pray for them. They do not discard the sick worms, but nurse them until they are dead, and then bury them. In this way, the children have much room to mold their personalities. If their respect for life can become deep-rooted in their hearts, when they grow up, they will definitely treat other sentient beings with the same loving attitude.
After becoming spiritual practitioners, we see things from a different angle, and our values also change dramatically. Following Master, we walk the path of Truth, living a life of accommodation, respect, and love for others. Observing our examples, children naturally will live a nobler life.
Thanks to Master's education, I have not gotten lost in the vain honor of being a teacher and in misleading sentient beings. Instead, my teaching career has become more brilliant and meaningful.
Several years back, I took a teaching job at a private senior vocational school near my home. I taught psychology. As its name suggests, psychology is a science that helps people understand the mind or mentality of themselves and others. However, deep within, I was aware that this science could offer very little to the true study of human nature and the meaning of human existence. Therefore, no substantial relief could be rendered to people to overcome psychological pain.
Since the students could not find answers to their heavy doubts or satisfaction in acquiring knowledge in this subject, this course was merely another one that demanded their attention and effort. However, during the teaching process, two very special incidents let me realize the psychological needs of these youngsters, and gave me deep insights into human nature.
Once, when elaborating on the theory of "intelligence power," I told the students that when the relevant research was first launched in France, people did not regard "intelligence power" as a permanent inborn ability, because its rate of development differs among individuals--very fast for some and very slow for others. Some perform better in certain aspects, while others show a special interest in other fields; each excels in his own way. Besides, so-called IQ scores mainly reflect the results of knowledge learning and logical thinking ability. Our potential human abilities and talents are much more comprehensive and intensive than these. Therefore, it is inappropriate to judge a person's ability and value by his school grades or IQ scores.
The response from the students during this lesson was very unusual. Usually, only a few students in the class would listen to my lecture; others would be chatting, resting, or reading their own books. However, when I began talking about these concepts, the whole class suddenly became very quiet, and every student gazed at me attentively. From their expressions full of aspirations and emotions, I knew that this had long been a source of distress for them, and I helped them face it that day. This phenomenon was repeated in every class I taught on this subject, which gave me a better understanding of the children studying in senior vocational schools. They had struggled hard in society and in an educational system that placed scholastic achievement above all else, and had been subjected to unjustified appraisals from themselves and others. Thus, they had suffered immensely and unnecessarily. (Senior vocational schools in Formosa are one of the options open to students who fail to gain admission into senior high school; in the past, vocational school students were often looked down upon in society.)
On another occasion, I was giving a talk on the development of children between the ages of six and twelve. Children in this age group actually do not know what "school grades" mean. Their endeavors to earn better grades are motivated by the commendations, encouragement, and affirmation that they receive from adults when they achieve good grades; which can mean that they receive more love in return. Therefore, children of this age group study hard only because they crave more "love." When I was elaborating on this idea, my students at the senior vocational school, who usually put up a jovial and uncaring attitude, again displayed an uncommon attentiveness.
Later, I gave up my teaching career to pursue further studies, but I have often met students that I taught. When meeting them or reflecting on my past teaching job, I feel absolutely at ease. My conscience is very clear that, during my teaching career, though I was under pressure from the school to regard scholastic achievement as the ultimate goal, and to use grades to assess and control students, I still firmly embraced my beliefs and taught my students with love. Although it deprived me of the honor of becoming the teacher who produced the best academic performance among students, I am glad that I did the right thing.
In her four years of teaching in the university, Sister Hsiung has found that endowments and abilities vary among individuals, and it is necessary to employ different teaching methods for different types of students. Usually, we should converse with them sincerely and find out their true needs. We should not only consider what we want to give them or stubbornly treat them in ways that suit our habits. Sometimes, in order to guide students, it is necessary to use a not-so-positive approach by acting sternly and harshly; we cannot always teach students with affirmation and encouragement.
Taking into consideration the different values of students, we must learn to tolerate and accept them with love, and perhaps even with appreciation. Since practicing the Quan Yin Method, I have naturally forsaken some egoistic concepts, learned to put down my ego and mix with the students, and become one of them. I have also learned how to convey correct concepts, love, and concern to them, in a casual and jovial manner.
As I watch students of different age groups and family backgrounds come and go each year, one of my great realizations has been that I have overcome some hidden problems in my heart. Teaching and learning reciprocally and simultaneously, I have been able to utilize the wisdom derived from practicing the Quan Yin Method, to face and solve difficulties in teaching. In an indiscernible way, I have revealed God's love to Hiers children, and let them feel this peaceful, blissful, tranquil, and positive power in the universe.
Sister Li is a teacher of a resource class for the physically and mentally handicapped in a primary school. She has many years of experience in special education, teaching mentally and physically disabled students. Her class consists of students with an IQ of above 50, but whose learning ability is hindered by symptoms such as autism, physical deformations, visual or hearing disabilities, or schizophrenia. These students usually study in the same classes with normal students, but also attend specially arranged resource classes, where they receive special individual training.
All parents want to have healthy children, and many find themselves unable to cope when their children are born with disabilities. With deep feelings, sister Li said: "Both parents and children must learn to cope with such psychological fear and withdrawal." Unfortunately, many parents fail to overcome their fear; they can only hide it in their hearts and weep secretly. Eventually, they abandon their children, depriving these young souls of a sense of security. On the other hand, Sister Li has also witnessed many great parents, some of whom were single parents who bravely walked with their children out of the shadows to face the challenges of life together. Here is a statement made by a famous disabled warrior in Formosa: "God simply joked with me to let me experience the radiance of life through my own endeavors!" Not every disabled person can live in such a cheerful and unrestrained manner. They need many people to light up their lives, show them the way, and give them timely support and encouragement. These people subsequently win their trust and help them further to open their long-locked hearts."
By practicing the Quan Yin Method, sister Li feels that an inner power is constantly supporting her, giving her greater love and patience to carry on with her arduous work. When teaching this group of children, she accepts and identifies with them, without pampering or over-protecting them. To fulfill her educational responsibility as a light kindler and guide, she finds all kinds of flexible ways to build up the trust of children, and to show them that she wants to help and guide them, and will never abandon them.
In her resource class was one first-grader, who had very young parents. Since the child was born with a hearing deficiency, they felt deeply hurt and locked the child in their home, giving him no sense of security. When the child first came to school, he was autistic and often refused to learn or have any contact with his schoolmates. His teacher, therefore, arranged for him to attend sister Li's resource class. When his classmates from the higher grades were joyfully engaged in speech training for those students who are disabled in hearing, he always sat alone in a corner. Sister Li tried every way that she could think of to guide him, but he always responded by crying.
Even then, sister Li never gave up on him. She loved and cared for him as if he were her own child. Under her persistent loving guidance, the boy finally showed some improvement. He stopped crying, and even talked about the television program that he had watched at home the day before. Every day, he would bring something for sister Li.
When the students from the higher grades encountered unhappy incidents, they would also pour out their grief to sister Li, who patiently exchanged ideas with them and took the opportunity to prepare them psychologically to handle such situations. She let them understand that, when a person makes a greater effort than others and goes through more setbacks and ordeals, his life becomes more meaningful and shines with greater radiance.
"Papa! Papa!" When I heard my child utter these words for the first time, I was a bit amazed, and wondered, "Is it possible that a child less than a year old knows how to say Papa?" When my husband, a brother initiate, came home and heard my story, he was overjoyed. The very first words that his small child uttered were Papa! However, after a few days of careful observation, we found that the child often put his little hands on Master's photo on the wall and gazed at Master while saying "Papa!" He was calling Master "Papa"!
When I became pregnant with our child, I began listening to Master's Buddha's Chanting tape and videotaped lectures, as well as some sweet and soft music every day. It was my most sincere wish then that our child would practice the Quan Yin Method with us in the future. Eventually, our child was born, and grew up day by day. Our favorite pastime was taking him out for a stroll in the evening, sometimes to the park to watch the beautiful flowers and plants, sometimes to the seaside to listen to the ocean waves, or sometimes to the forest just to be with Mother Nature. Occasionally, when we had work to do at the local center, we would also bring him along to gain experience. All of our relatives and friends noticed the ethereal elegance of our child, who had been a vegetarian even while in his mother's womb. Determined to raise the child the best I could, I quit my job and devoted myself entirely to being a mother. I played games with him every day, hoping that he would have a happy childhood.
When he grew a little bigger, I let him watch some educational cartoon films, and told him inspirational stories; he even learned how to play the audiotapes himself. After the book Master Tells Stories was published, it became his beloved bedtime storybook. In our home, Master's Buddha's Chanting is constantly playing, and soft music is also always echoing in the background. For quite a while, he was so fascinated by the spiritual songs that he listened to them for several weeks without getting bored. Under such an intense influence, he showed great interest in painting and music, and also acquired the habit of reading.
Beginning from his infancy, we often meditated by his bedside when he was sleeping. If he woke up occasionally, he would not disturb us; he seemed to acknowledge the right of his parents to meditate. Now and then, he might mischievously touch us for a brief moment, and then go out to play by himself, though there were also times when he would sit with us for a short while. When he was only five going on to six, he requested initiation and received half initiation. Since then, our whole family has been able to meditate happily together.
Of course, a child inevitably makes mistakes. If it is a minor mistake, I counsel him patiently and then he improves. When he makes a grave mistake, I tell him to bring his cushion and repent before Master's photo. I then ask him what mistake he committed, and tell him to always remind himself not to repeat the mistake again. I always feel that he is smarter and more understanding than his peers. As parents, we often chat with him and spend intimate time with him. Therefore, he tells us his problems, instead of hiding them in his heart. Though he is shy and introverted by nature, he is also cheerful, optimistic, and very resolute. His social interactions in school are very good, and his classmates often come and play at our house.
We often remind him, "Spiritual cultivation and meditation always come first, as does moral conduct. Next in priority are health and artistic endeavors. As for school work, just do your best." We even prepared a daily review checklist to help him remind himself at any moment. Sometimes, we read and explain Master's aphorisms to him, and then ask him to express his opinion, or let him explain their meaning. In this way, we hope we can help him walk smoothly on the spiritual path. Occasionally, he will also remind us of what we have done wrong; he is really a good fellow initiate for us.
On the long journey of spiritual practice, he is a little angel bringing much joy and color into our lives. Compared to other children not engaged in spiritual practice, he is noticeably more elegant and pure. He is refined in demeanor, pure at heart, and stable in character. Now and then, under the influence of his schoolmates, he might show some negative traits, but after we explain and analyze the pros and cons with him, he can always understand and promptly rectify himself. We firmly believe that, as long as we can give him a favorable environment, and bring him up in accordance with Master's teachings, our son will naturally walk on the right path. We are extremely grateful to Master for bestowing on us such a lovely little angel. From him, we have learned many lessons. May God bless him to be always pure and innocent at heart, and stay forever with the Quan Yin Method.