Friday, July 30, 2010
Children Are Our Role Model
Due to the worsening problem of H1N1, meetings and activities has been cancelled. JD Meetings and activities have no exception too. Thus, we have to be more active on home-visits. The following is a piece of dialogue between 2 JD PICs, Happy and D, and a Junior Division named Mei Mei.

D: Hi, Mei Mei.
Happy: Hi Mei Mei, we haven't seen each other for a while.
Mei: Is it?
Happy. Yup. I could still remember that you sounded sadly on the phone when I told you that the JD meet was cancelled.
Mei: No, that didn't happen.
D: How are you lately?
Mei: Not well.
Happy: Why? The year is coming to an end, when is your school holiday starting?
Mei: Next year.
Happy: That far?
D: Why is it so far? When will your exam takes place?
Mei: Last year, I got 100 marks.

Mei didn't really pay attention whit the dialogue, but she grabbed a pen and started drawing on her leg.

D: Why are you drawing on your leg? Why don't you draw it on a piece of paper?
Mei: Because I like to do so.
Happy: You like to draw?
Mei: No.
Happy: Then which subject is your favourite?
Mei: Erm.... I like Chinese subject.
Happy: Why is it particularly Chinese?
Mei: ... (She didn't say anything but kept on drawing)
D: Why don't you draw something and we'll make a wild guess of what you're drawing?
Mei: OK. (She took a piece of paper, and started drawing.)
D: Oh! I know what's that! It's an iron.
Mei: Haha.
Happy: What are you going to draw next?
Mei: I don't know.
D: Why are you so quiet?
Happy: Yea, do you have anything that you want to tell us?
Mei: I don't know.
Happy: Just remember to always look for us if you have something that you want to tell us.
D: Yes.


Postscript:

Parents being the role model of their children is an ordinary thing.Could the children be a role model for their parents? But before we get into the main topic here, I'd like to ask for your opinion after reading the above dialogue. What do you think about this little girl?

Actually, Mei Mei's parents aren't Soka member. She get to attend the JD Meet through he aunt. Because her parents weren't Soka member and that they don't have Gohonzon in the family, she has lesser opportunity to chant and do gongyo. Thus, whenever she was asked about the organization or the Buddhism, she'd say "I don't know.". Whenever there's a JD meet, Mei Mei's aunt will let her mother know so that she could attend the meeting. But as JD PICs, we do not only train and help the kids grow, but we should let the parents know more about our society.

When the parents went out to work and had a long and busy day, wouldn't they be happy if someday they found out that their children has changed, and achieved growth. This is what we need to achieve! When the parents could see how much their children has grown, they'll understand that Junior Division is not just another daycare centre, but a platform for their growth. When we gave our best effort, together with the power of daimoku, we could touch the people's heart someday. This is the opportunity for the parents to learn more about the society, and it depends on us to decide how to use this opportunity well.


You might think that kids like to say things on the opposite intention and it's ordinary for them to do that. Come to think of it, aren't we ignoring the true words that lies behind? There are lots of reasons for the children to say things with the opposite intention. As for Mei Mei, she could be just seeking for people's attention. After school, she'd stay at her aunt's house and her grandmother would take care of her. Everyday her parents would pick her up after they came back from work. Her family and relatives' busy life kept her from having contact with them. They could barely share time together. This is the possible problem that I noticed from this family. Till this point, we should never forget that the children don't know how to express themselves. Is it usual to see the kids express their feelings through their actions, through what they do. Here, we're only focusing on the habit of saying something of the opposite intention. What about other little habits that we haven't notice? Have we understand our children well? Or are we just preparing and having the JD meet for the sake of doing? What's worth thinking is the aim/intention or feeling when we first joined the JD PIC's team. Have we forgot or are we lost from our very first intention? Have we treat this "job" seriously?

The children's hearts are whispering. We'll know their story if only we pay attention to them.

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Written at 2:17 PM by Paper Pilot.