(Minghui.org) I'm a young Falun Dafa practitioner who started practicing in May 2006. I'm 16 years old this year, and I've been practicing for over 7 years. With my mother's support and help, I have written down some of my cultivation experiences here to share with everyone.
1. Getting Rid of My Attachment to Saving Face
I was taking the public bus home from school on December 20, 2012. After paying the driver, I sat down next to a man in his seventies. I could tell from the way he was dressed that he was from the countryside and not from the city.
As the bus approached my stop, I instinctively felt my trouser pocket to check if I had my house keys, and in the process my hand accidentally brushed against the old man beside me. He immediately reached into his trouser pocket and then said to me, “Young student, did you steal my money?” I replied, “No I didn't, how could I have stolen it?”
The man said, “I came to the city to see a doctor. My younger brother gave me 200 yuan to pay the doctor, and after paying him I had 70 yuan left. I still need the money to pay for my train ticket home. How can young people like you be so heartless? If you've stolen my money, you'd better give it back to me.” As he said this, he started reaching out to search my pockets.
By now, all the passengers on the bus were staring at me, and the temperature in the bus felt like it had dropped several degrees. I was caught by surprise and all I could think of was pushing the old man away. But then I immediately remembered that I'm a practitioner, and everything I encounter is not by coincidence. This was a xinxing test to get rid of my attachment to saving face.
I immediately calmed down and took the initiative to empty out all the money in my left pocket. I counted the money in front of the old man, which was only 40 yuan. The old man still didn't believe me and thought that I must have hidden the rest of the money in my right pocket, so I turned all my pockets inside out for him to inspect.
I then said kindly to him, “Perhaps you've misplaced your money elsewhere in your clothes, please look again.” Finally, the old man found his money in his own shirt pocket.
At that moment, all the passengers began defending me. Some scolded the old man for being muddle-headed, and some of them praised me for having a good attitude and for dealing with the situation so well. Some also said that I was too kind and honest, and was thus too vulnerable to being be bullied by strangers. But my heart felt very light and calm.
Unfortunately, at that time I didn't have the courage to openly tell everyone that my kindness and tolerance stemmed from the fact that I practice Falun Dafa. I didn't seize the opportunity to validate the Fa. Even now, I feel very regretful and deeply feel that I have let down my benevolent Master and Dafa, as well as all the passengers and sentient beings present at the time.
2. Getting Rid of My Attachment to Conflict
On April 15, 2012, I was walking in a small residential area when I heard someone behind me shout, “Hey, stop there!” I didn't pay much attention as I didn't think he was shouting at me, and I kept on walking.
The person shouted again, but I still didn't pay attention until I felt someone kick me from behind. When I turned around, I saw it was two 8 or 9-year-old boys who were no taller than my shoulder. Their hands were balled in fists.
At first I didn't realize that I was their target, and I said, “You must have mistaken me for someone else.” But the boy who was closer to me said, “No, you're the one we want.” He then said fiercely, “Do you have any money?”
I immediately realized that they were trying to rob me, so that they could spend it at Internet cafes. I said, “No, I don't have any money.”
I didn't run away, and just continued on my way at the same pace. But the boy ran in front of me and grabbed the front of my shirt, saying, “Do you have any money or not?” At the time, my hands – which were in my pockets – were balled into fists, and I really wanted to teach him a good lesson.
But I suddenly remembered Master's words “...as a practitioner one should not fight back when being punched or insulted,” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun), so I immediately calmed down. I'm a practitioner, and everything that I encounter is a test, so I cannot handle the situation like an ordinary person.
I pushed away the boy's hand and said, “I have no money,” I then continued on my way.
When the two boys saw that I was heading in the direction of the residential office, they ran away.
3. Getting Rid of My Attachment to Fame and Profit
In 2005, I had very severe illness karma that deformed my joints and caused the muscles in my body to atrophy. I became handicapped and could not even take care of myself.
In May 2006, I began practicing Falun Gong, and through practicing it my health gradually got better. By the summer of 2008, I was almost back to normal, and could move around without any problems, but at times I would still have moments when the illness karma manifested. Because of this, I didn't take part in any physical education lessons throughout my entire junior high school years, and hardly participated in any sports or exercise.
April 26, 2012 was the final physical education exam for graduation from junior high school, and a score of more than 50 was required to enter high school. In view of my physical condition, the school hoped to obtain an exemption from the physical education exam requirement for me, so that I could still graduate with my final physical education score of 30.
On the day of registration for the physical education examination, the principal and my form teacher took me aside, and gave me a medical exemption form. They told me to fill it in and submit it, to get an exemption from the physical education exam.
But when I heard this, I immediately knew that I could not do this. When I got home, I discussed this with my mother, who is also a practitioner. I felt that as a Dafa disciple, I practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and while I did have a serious illness in the past, I was now completely cured after practicing Dafa. Now that I am completely healthy, how could I try to exempt myself from an exam with the excuse of “serious illness”?
No matter what result I got, I felt that I had to take the physical exam just like any other healthy student. There is nothing that Dafa cannot do, and Dafa disciples who are truly cultivating can achieve anything.
After that, every day after school, I would diligently practice doing standing broad jumps, tossing balls, running and other training exercises.
On the day of the examination, while all the other students were very anxious, I felt very calm. I kept silently reciting to myself, “Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good” as I completed the exam.
Subsequently, I achieved straight-As in my graduating examinations, and qualified for the best school in the province.
But I realized that the workload in the province's best school would be very heavy, which would make it difficult for me to spend enough time and energy on cultivating and doing the three things. So I willingly gave up my spot at the best school, and chose to pursue my high school education at a private secondary school.
Master said, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun) Master saw that I had done righteously in getting rid of my attachment to fame and profit, so he arranged everything well for me.
When I entered the private school, because of my outstanding results, I was given a scholarship to cover all my school fees (my mother and other practitioners said that this money was given to me by Master for saving sentient beings, and so every cent of it should be spent on saving people).
The school also gave me a larger, single bedroom to myself, and so when my parents visited me, they could stay with me in my room, which allowed us to study the Fa and do the exercises in the morning together.
In addition, the class I was in was a science stream class, so I did not need to take lessons in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) history or politics, and didn't have to attend CCP flag-raising ceremonies. This, to a certain extent, also reduced the interference by the evil Party's elements on me. Thank you, esteemed Master!
4. Cultivating a Benevolent Heart
There is a patch of bare ground behind my house, which my parents converted into a vegetable garden. Every day, my parents would water and fertilize the garden, and the vegetables grew lush and green.
One afternoon, my mother and I were about to go out and pick some vegetables. But just when I opened the door, I noticed a middle-aged lady picking vegetables from our garden. I quickly backtracked and closed the door, then told my mum to lay low for awhile, so that we wouldn't disturb the lady and make her feel awkward.
We waited until she had left with the vegetables before going out. My mother and other practitioners praised me for cultivating well and being considerate towards others.
Whenever I interact with other practitioners, they often ask me why I can overcome my xinxing obstacles so well. I think that overcoming obstacles is actually not difficult. As long as we remember that we are cultivators, and that everything happens not by coincidence but because there is an element of cultivation in it, we will be able to maintain our xinxing and overcome tribulations well.
