July 16, 2004

My name is Yang Shanchun, and I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner. I have been practicing Dafa for over three years. Three years ago I was still in kindergarten. One morning my mother got up at a little past four. I heard her getting up so I woke up also. (I went to sleep at 11pm to 12am the previous night). Mom said she was going to practice. I wanted to get up and go with her. This is how I got started practicing Falun Dafa.

Mom often plays the recording of Master Li's Lectures to me. I also like to recite Hongyin (Master Li's poems). Later on I started to read Zhuan Falun when I was in first grade. I often went with my Mom to Falun Dafa study sessions and participated in Fa study and experience sharing. Because I didn't know too many words, I would repeat after the grown-ups sentence by sentence. Very soon, I was able to read the book, Zhuan Falun [main book of Falun Dafa teachings]. Many grown-ups were very surprised at how many characters I recognized. I think that was because I practiced Dafa and Master Li gave me wisdom. Therefore I learned very fast in many things. I finish my homework on my own and do not need my Mom to remind me. Therefore I achieved very good grades in school.

I remember once a classmate hit me without stopping. I asked him whether it was because I had hurt him and if so I asked him to forgive me. He then said, "Sorry I shouldn't hit you for no reason. I was wrong." Master Li said in Zhuan Falun,

"There is this saying, "When an average person is humiliated, he'll draw his sword to fight." For an everyday person, it is only natural that if you swear at me I will swear at you, and that if you hit me I will hit you back as well. That is an everyday person. Can he be called a practitioner? As a practitioner, without a strong will and self-restraint, you will not be able to do this." (Lecture Nine)

I did not hit him back and therefore maintained my xinxing.(1) This was because Dafa cultivation changed me. In the past I would have hit him back to take revenge!

Currently Master Li asked Dafa practitioners to do three things well every day: studying the Falun Dafa teachings, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth about the persecution to the public. I study at least one lecture in Zhuan Falun almost every day. Sometimes I send forth righteous thoughts every hour. Once in a while I would get on the Internet or make phone calls to clarify the truth because there are many Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China who are being detained, tortured or severely persecuted. Many young Dafa practitioners' parents are being detained in labor camps and jails illegally. Let's think about it: how do they live their lives? Therefore, the purpose of clarifying the truth is to let more people understand what is happening in Mainland China and hope that everyone in the world can help them and stop this persecution against the cultivation of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. I often go to Clearwisdom net, Pureawakening net or Minghui school to read fellow practitioners' cultivation experiences so that I will continue to strive forward vigorously. Sometimes my Mom will also take me to another country to clarify the truth so that more young friends can cultivate Dafa like me and know that Falun Dafa is good.

(1) xinxing: heart or mind nature, moral character