(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Shan Feng, and I am a 12 year-old elementary schoolgirl attending the sixth grade. Before I started practicing Falun Gong, I enjoyed fooling around with older schoolmates, smoking, drinking alcohol, chewing areca [similar to chewing tobacco], fighting, playing games in Internet bars, and running away from home. I did not like studying or doing homework. When I was feeling unhappy, I would even cut my arms with a small knife. Anyway I was a "problem student," and my teachers considered me to be difficult.
I have changed a lot after becoming a Dafa practitioner. Starting in the fifth grade, my mentor taught all students in the class to practice Falun Gong and to read the book Zhuan Falun. Gradually, I have become more peaceful, calm, and unemotional. Not only did I quit drinking alcohol, smoking, chewing areca, fighting with people, running away from home, and cutting my arms, but I also began turning in my home work on time and making good grades. Now, I am considerate of others, and don't feel lost, as I did before. My daily life has become filled with meaning and energy. Teachers in my school have changed their opinions about me from bad to good.
The Mid-autumn Festival this year was the most unforgettable day for me. On the night of Saturday October 7, many young and old fellow practitioners including myself performed the Falun Gong exercises in front of our school. Many villagers came to see the performance. We passed out lots of Falun Dafa materials and also had many one-on-one conversations with the villagers to teach them about why Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted by the Chinese Communist regime. The hardest thing for me that night was telling the villagers how much I have changed for the better, after I started practicing Falun Gong. When our performance ended, some people wanted to learn Falun Gong right away. Even though I was concealing my happiness, in my heart I wanted to thank our Teacher for putting me back on the right track. Later, we went to the village to distribute more flyers to stores, individual homes and the police station.
During the days of the week following the holiday, some people came to our school to learn how to practice Falun Gong. I hope there will soon be another opportunity like this in order to help more people obtain this valuable Dafa.
In closing I like to share this verse from Teacher's Hong Yin,
Tempering the Will
To consummate yourself, reaping Buddhahood,
Let joy be found in hardship.
Physical pains count little as suffering,
Indeed, cultivating mind is hardest.
Each and every barrier must be broken through,
And everywhere does evil lurk.
Abundant troubles rain down together,
All to see: Can you pull through?
The world's miseries endured,
One departs the earth a Buddha.Hong Yin (Official Translation Version A)
December 17, 1976
