(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
My name is John, and I am fourteen years old. I first started practicing Falun Dafa in Canada eight years ago at the age of six. Today I am going to talk about my experiences after obtaining the Fa.
1. Physical Changes Manifest the Wonders of Dafa
Before I began Falun Dafa cultivation practice, I had only completed the first grade in Chinese school. The only words I could identify were several simple characters and the numbers 1-10 in Chinese. When I began reading Zhuan Falun, I could only read a few words on each page, and it took me a year to finish reading Zhuan Falun once. Even though I only knew a few characters when I first obtained Dafa, and was relatively slow at reading, I studied the Fa whenever I had time. When Mom was busy, I listened to Master's recordings. I took Master's recordings with me wherever I went -- to the store, the subway station, to traveling destinations, even to school. I listened to the Fa whenever I could. After obtaining Dafa, I never went back to Chinese school, but now I can read the Fa at the same rate as a regular adult, simply through studying the Fa.
Because of studying the Fa often, my physical health greatly improved. Before I obtained Dafa, I was not in good health. I was very small and weak, with the weight of only 32 pounds, just like a three year-old child when I entered the first grade. I often got sick, and very often had fevers and convulsions. Being sent to the hospital in an ambulance was not an unusual situation for me. Through Fa study and the Falun Dafa exercises, Master purified my body, and I gained 30 pounds in only a few months. I also got taller and stronger. When school started, my classmates and teachers hardly recognized me. The improvements in my health are an example of Dafa's power.
2. Joining the Divine Land Marching Band
I play the trumpet in the Divine Land Marching Band. I was very diligent from the beginning, and learned the first song in a short time. Observing that the other players in my section had not yet accomplished this, I developed an attachment of complacency, and felt that I no longer needed to practice so much. Once I stopped practicing as diligently as I had previously, my progress slowed down immediately, and the other players improved and were soon better than I was. Through Fa study I found my attachment, and realized that the Divine Land Marching Band is a significant cultivation environment. Any everyday people's attachment can be an obstacle on our path of cultivation. Only after we let go of the attachment can we do well what Dafa practitioners should do. After I realized that, I started practicing once again, and am now continuously improving.
During the first month in the Divine Land Marching Band, we were required to practice seven days a week, and oftentimes it was already close to 1:00 a.m. when I came back home. Dad is not a practitioner, so I was afraid that he would prevent me from attending the Divine Land Marching Band by saying that my practice may affect my studies. Thus, during this period I insisted on studying the Fa as much as I could, and balance well between cultivation and school. Since joining the band I have always received straight A's. Moreover, my studies, piano playing, and basketball playing have never been affected, even in the slightest. Dad didn't say anything about it after that. He has even watched our band's performances several times.
I realized through joining the Divine Land Marching Band that studying the Fa and following the principles of the Fa will always lead us in the right direction, for Master is always strengthening us and helping us.
I also need to improve in many ways, including in sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth. I will do the three things well and set Master's heart at ease.
This is my sharing, please correct me if I have made any mistakes.
Thank you Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
