(Minghui.org) I am a high school senior in an international school in China. Since I started reading Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, my outlook on life and the world has truly changed. I became a better student and a better person.
Remembering the Teachings When Facing Conflict
Students do not have assigned seats in study hall, and there are not enough seats for everyone. Therefore, students reserved seats and fought over them for years.
Before the beginning of the school year, I went to the study room, picked a seat, and piled all my textbooks, materials and folders on the desk. On the first day of school, I went to the room to get my textbooks, only to find all my possessions gone and someone else's materials there.
I had to borrow a textbook and rush to my morning classes. At lunch, I went to the study room and saw a girl sitting in that seat. I told her that I had reserved the seat and asked why she had thrown away my things.
She claimed that it had been her seat for a long time, to which I responded that this was a shared area and that whoever reserved it had first rights to it.
She was obnoxious about it and told me that I had to fight her for the seat. This upset me, but then I remembered the Fa.
Master said,
“As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant.” (Zhuan Falun)
Thus, I let go of my anger and told her that she could keep the seat. When I asked what happened to my materials, she just said that she distributed them around the room. It took me quite a while to find all my belongings and I felt rather unhappy about the incident.
Master said,
“… you cultivate yourself to become more and more kind, to the point where you think of others whenever you think about anything, thus succeeding in becoming a selfless being.” (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference)
In the end, I was no longer upset and could let go of any resentment. The girl and I exchanged our WeChat accounts and became friends. (WeChat is an instant messaging service.)
Following Master Li's teachings, which requires that one thinks of others first, I have made many friends instead of enemies.
Changing Oneself and Others
Students have to go on camping trips during the school year. We have to hike over very long mountain trails, carry our own tents, food and water. Some teachers call it “survival training.”
Since water was scarce, I always drank frugally. Previously, I refused to share my excess water with others because I thought that they should have known better and carried enough water for themselves. Students in my team used to tease me by threatening to take my water.
Since I started reading Zhuan Falun, I changed. Whenever asked, I shared my water without hesitation. When I noticed that others had run out of water, I offered mine. When others noticed this, they started sharing their drinks too.
Two of my teammates who used to fight now get along, and our team has become very harmonious.
A team member suffered a headache and needed help carrying her belongings. I was the only one who offered help; I picked up her bag and put it on my shoulder. Surprisingly, others decided to help too. Thus, the content of the her bag was distributed among several of us.
Dafa is extraordinary. I just have some shallow understandings, yet I have already undergone great changes and even inspired positive changes in others.
On arriving at the campsite, everyone was so tired, and no one wanted to get water from the creek, which was a few hundred yards away. Generally, we played Rock-Paper-Scissors, and the loser had to fetch the water.
Master Li teaches practitioners to be considerate of others. So, I just volunteered to fetch the water. On my return, they just handed me their instant noodles and instant rice and asked me to cook for them. In the past, I would have become very upset. As a practitioner, I took it lightly and cooked for them.
The combative mood among the team members was gone; instead we sat peacefully together, and enjoyed one another’s company.
More Relaxing Than Sleep
It was extremely cold at night in the mountains. My sleeping bag was too thin, and I could not fall asleep. My body was shaking, my arms and my legs became numb, and the coldness spread through my body.
To overcome the bitter cold, I decided to do the Falun Dafa standing exercises at 3:30 a.m. As soon as I was about to start, I stopped shaking, calmed down and followed the music. I felt a warm current flow through my body. I no longer felt cold and could do the exercises with ease.
Then, I did the sitting meditation. I sat in the lotus position and felt very comfortable. My entire body was filled with energy. I did not feel cold, and my mind was peaceful and calm. The feeling was wonderful – it was better than sleep.
New Understanding of the World
Falun Dafa is indeed powerful. I am young and did not learn the practice for my health, like many other practitioners did. Yet, these small, extraordinary experiences, my physical well-being and the improvement of my mind have displayed Dafa's power to me.
When I talk with my classmates about my favorite books, I always recommend Zhuan Falun.
People in Western society have wondered where people came from and where they are going. They ask when the world was created and when it will end. I want to tell them that the answers can be found in the book Zhuan Falun.
This book has changed my outlook on life, improved my ethics, and even helped people around me. Therefore, I believe that regardless of who you are, as long as you read this book, you will develop a new understanding and view of the world.