(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1999 when I was in first grade. I have to say that I benefited from my mom, who introduced me to Dafa cultivation. Back then, I only knew that Falun Dafa is good, but I didn’t understand the “Fa” principles very well. Mom often took me to the local practice site. We studied Dafa books and did the exercises with other practitioners, and we passed the blessing of Dafa on to other people, as we hoped they would all benefit from Dafa. I bathed in the wonders of Dafa, and mom read “Zhuan Falun” for me every day. It was truly a happy time.
But I also want to share my experiences, including some issues that I encountered during cultivation.
1. Mom illegally arrested and persecuted
Soon after I started practicing Dafa, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong and attacking Master. In an instant, the sky darkened and everything was shrouded in red terror. The wicked Party bombarded people daily with vicious lies about Dafa and Master through the media. To my dismay till this day, I believed the shameless slander and even tried to persuade mom to give up Dafa. Mom kept “clarifying the truth” to me, and I eventually rejoined the cultivation path.
I remember putting Master’s articles and truth clarification materials practitioners had made in my backpack and delivering them to other practitioners. No one paid any attention to me because I was young, and I grew more enthusiastic as I did more work. One day, when I was going home with a light heart carrying a bag full of materials, I spotted a police car in front of practitioner A’s home, and several police officers were walking behind practitioner A as they entered the building. Practitioner A glanced at me. I was extremely nervous and ran home as fast as I could. Mom was burning a VCD on the computer. I told her what I saw. She didn’t seem too worried and said, “That’s OK.” She told me to send forth righteous thoughts with her to support practitioner A, so A could break free as soon as possible. We ignored our own safety. One week later disaster struck.
One morning I was ready to leave for school. As I was about to open the door I heard the police pounding on the door. I knew they would take mom away. Dad, mom and I tried our best to hide all of our Dafa-related things. I felt as if the sky had collapsed and it was the end of the world. I heard mom saying [to dad], “We’ve hidden everything. When they come in and ask who practices [Falun Gong], just say you don’t know. No matter what happens - one of us has to get out and take care of our child.” Tears gushed out of my eyes, and I couldn’t stop it. Mom opened the door, and in came the officers. They carried themselves with such a menacing air - like they would swallow everything alive. A cameraman also came in. I knew they were going to defame Dafa again by fabricating lies on TV.
The police started ransacking our home. Mom tried to push me out but the police wouldn’t let her. Mom said, “What? The kid can’t go to school? Step aside!” She managed to push me out. As the door shut behind me I knew I would not see mom again for a long time. I felt sad and helpless on my way to school, and I could not focus in class. After the first class I ran home and saw a police car taking mom and dad away. I cried.
I opened the door and saw a complete mess. The police had rummaged through everything and took away the computer we had used to make truth clarification materials. I was surprised and overjoyed when I found a Dafa book in my room. I felt like a drowning person snatching a tree branch. I knew at least I could still study the Fa, and I would not be separated from the Fa. I held the book in front of my chest for a very long time. I felt safe when I held the book, because I knew Master’s Fashen was inside the book. I felt like I was hugging Master. I cannot recall how I spent the rest of that day. In the evening I went downstairs and saw dad and grandma. The police still had mom, and grandma had come to take care of me.
Later on I found many other Dafa books at home. I was ecstatic. Dad said, “I want to destroy all of these books. We can’t keep them here.” I grabbed his arm and said, “No! These are Master’s books. You will create karma if you destroy them. Just give them to grandma.” We asked grandma to keep all of the Dafa books, including the first book I found in my room.
I could no longer study the Fa or do the exercises. From then on I only knew “Falun Dafa is good;” “Truth-Compassion-Tolerance is good.” I remembered the days when I could freely study the Fa, when mom read Zhuan Falun to me—I was so happy! But now, it’s an impossible luxury to even think about listening to Master’s Fa.
Three years passed, during which I did not study the Fa at all. Mom finally came home after the illegally imposed sentence had expired. I was very happy because her return meant my hope [for Fa study] had also returned.
I told mom that I still wanted to study Fa and practice cultivation. Mom went to fellow practitioners’ homes, but they were arrested. We asked grandma for the Dafa books we had asked her to keep, but she said she had destroyed the books. She warned mom and I not to practice cultivation. We couldn’t get Dafa books elsewhere, so we pleaded with Master to help us. Another year went by.
One day mom found a job. One of her colleagues also practiced Falun Dafa. She gave mom Dafa books, lecture cassettes and exercise tapes. Everything came back to us.
I truly thank Master for giving mom and me the opportunity to study the Fa. I felt very close to Master when I listened to the familiar voice in the lecture tapes. It was great! I studied the Fa and did the exercises daily, and sometimes I was able to read Master’s new articles. Over time I realized I must step forward to clarify the truth and do well with the “three things” Dafa practitioners are supposed to do.
2. Clarifying the truth and validating Dafa at school
I went to middle school and started to do what a Fa rectification period Dafa disciple must do. Although I knew my responsibilities, hidden fears served as roadblocks. Several of my best friends who knew I practiced Falun Gong told me there were Falun Gong-slandering things in one of our textbooks. I was shocked. It took me a long time to collect my thoughts. I panicked and didn’t know how to clarify the truth to my classmates. I was overwhelmed. I thought, “I didn’t have any opportunity to validate the Fa before; now that the opportunity has presented itself, how can I back off? No matter what happens, I most certainly will validate the Fa!”
I had originally planned to stand up and clarify the truth as soon as the teacher said something disrespectful about Master or Dafa. I knew if I didn’t say anything, then even if Master forgave me for being a new practitioner who didn’t study the Fa for a long time and didn’t have a good understanding of Fa principles, I would not be able to forgive myself. I would be tormented by a guilty conscience.
Speaking from an ordinary perspective: I know Master saved mom; therefore He helped our whole family. Master revealed to me the truth of the universe and the true meaning of life. Even ordinary people know they should “return a spring for the favor of a drop of water” [a Chinese proverb]. I’m a cultivator and am judged by a higher standard. As a Dafa practitioner I know people who are deceived by lies. The evil manipulates these kind and innocent people and uses them as tools to persecute Dafa and Dafa practitioners. These people are also a part of the universe. They have a right to know the truth, yet they are being deceived by the evil. They should know the truth and choose a future for themselves.
The day finally arrived when I could clarify the truth. The moment I saw that the teacher was going to slander Falun Gong, I started to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the rotten demons in other dimensions. I wanted to wait until she said something, but she told us to read our textbook, and I didn’t have an excuse to open my mouth. I was a little upset. To my surprise there was a lesson in the book that slanders Falun Gong. I couldn’t help but shout in my mind, “Heavens! The evil is taking advantage of every little loophole. They do not even spare the young kids! How terrible they are!”
I calmly reflected on what had transpired. I realized that although Dafa practitioners should not have fear, I still had fear because I had not studied the Fa well and didn’t know how to validate the Fa. I regretted not doing well and was determined not to let fear get in the way next time. If I had strong righteous thoughts I would be just fine, and I would not have to worry about my safety because Master said, “If thoughts are righteous, evil will collapse.” (“What’s to Fear?” Hong Yin II)
What is there for me to fear? After this experience I became much more rational through Fa study.
Once, the political education teacher started slandering Falun Gong. Several friends who knew I practiced Falun Gong said, “Will you dare to stand up?” I firmly answered, “Why not?” I immediately stood up and explained how my mom was sick from many illnesses; she had taken lots of medications that didn’t help, but a series of miracles took place after she started practicing Falun Gong.
My heart raced and my body trembled as I spoke, but I was finally able to speak the truth. I also recounted how the police mistreated my mom and other Dafa practitioners, including specific vicious acts. The teacher didn’t say anything and told me to sit down. The students started talking among themselves, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I heard people say, “The Communist Party is disgusting.” Someone else said, “What’s going on, really?” I felt my abilities were limited, and it was difficult for me to rescue 48 people in my class.
Fa rectification presses forward ever more rapidly; yet many people are still waiting to be offered salvation. I became anxious and remembered Master’s poem, “The cultivator’s mind is loaded with Fa” (“What’s to Fear?” in Hong Yin II)
I realized that studying the Fa well and developing strong righteous thoughts are what I should do at the present time. After the fourth class period, the head teacher called me over and said to me, “How could you do that? No matter if it [Falun Gong] is good or bad, you can’t say things arbitrarily like you just did.” I explained to her what Falun Gong is, but she looked a little confused. In the end she told me, “From now on, don’t talk silly. Be careful!” To be honest, I always had fear. I wanted to eliminate it but it was still there. Perhaps this is because my righteous thoughts are not strong, and I have not studied the Fa enough.
For quite a long time I didn’t want to study the Fa or do the exercises. My “xinxing” was terrible, and I changed into a different person. I knew demon nature had taken over. I watched TV every day and completely forgot about Fa study and the exercises, until one day. That night, I had dream and saw Master sitting across from me. His eyes were closed, and he looked very serious. When I woke up, the dream was still vivid in my mind. I knew Master was reminding me of something.
Feeling lost, I visited Ms. Wang, another practitioner. I had a bad thought that was totally wrong, “Perhaps Master doesn’t want me anymore?” Ms. Wang said lots of things to me and tried to uplift my spirits. I felt somewhat better, but the same question lingered in my mind.
It was dark when I left Ms. Wang’s home. In my perception the sky was covered with dark clouds, and I was an abandoned child who couldn’t find his mom. I cried and took the dream to mean that Master would no longer take care of me. The sadness increased with each passing minute. Suddenly I felt something nudging me. I turned around and saw a small dog near me. It rubbed against me, stood up on its hind legs and looked at me. Suddenly, a light went on in my head and I said out loud, “Oh! I understand.” The dog went away. Actually, Master never gave up on me and has always looked after me. He reminded me in my dream when I was not doing well. How could I take Master’s compassion for abandonment? It was awful of me. The dark clouds immediately dispersed, and I was in a much better mood. I returned to Dafa.
Later that night, Ms. Wang and another practitioner came to visit me. The other practitioner shared with me her experience of validating the Fa. Her words answered a lot of my questions. More importantly, I now knew how to clarify the truth. She said, “Come and study the Fa with us!” I agreed. Her words touched me on a deep level, and I knew that everyone coming in regular contact with me should be rescued. I cannot stay away from clarifying the truth like the older practitioners simply because of my young age. I must also clarify the truth and rescue sentient beings.
When I went to a barbershop for a perm, the hairdresser talked to me, and I wanted to rescue her. I pleaded with Master in my heart to strengthen my righteous thoughts, so it was very easy. She agreed to quit the Party and told me that her relative practiced Falun Gong, but she never had the chance to get a better understanding.
When I went to a class, I brought my MP3 player loaded with Dafa information. After class, a few boys thought it was pop music, so they grabbed the MP3 and listened to it. They were shocked. One boy said, “Where did you download this? How can you still believe in it? Aren’t you afraid of the police arresting you? Haven’t you seen the Tiananmen self-immolation?” I said, “You have been fooled. The self-immolation was staged!” They looked at each other in disbelief and then asked, “Why do you say that?” I explained the facts to them but they still had a hard time believing me. I said, “What is done in the dark will eventually come to light. There are so many suspicious things and discrepancies in the self-immolation video. The evil is afraid of the righteous, so the evil does everything possible to frame the righteous. The righteous cannot be defeated; there will always be people who know the truth who will speak up!” In the end, all of them agreed to quit the Communist Youth League. Another boy asked, “Aren’t you afraid of getting arrested?” I said, “I don’t belong there [in prison]; how would they dare to arrest me?” We all laughed. It felt very natural. It’s such a joy to see people be rescued.
Several days later a teacher brought in a sheet of paper. The classroom was very quiet. He paced back and forth in front of the room with the paper in hand. He said, “Students, let’s memorize some information from the government.” We listened and waited. “What is an evil cult? It is using a belief…” At this point, I was certain he was going to slander Falun Gong. I was much more cool-headed by now. First, I eliminated the evil and asked Master to strengthen my righteous thoughts. Right after I finished sending forth righteous thoughts the teacher said, “What is Falun Gong? Falun Gong is…” He said something ridiculously untrue and degrading. I said, “No!” The teacher paused and looked at me. Several classmates also looked at me. The teacher went back to reading from the paper. I said again in a louder and firmer voice, “No, it’s not!” The teacher was startled, as were the classmates. The teacher said to me, “What are you doing?” I immediately stood up and said loud and clear, “Teacher, you are wrong! Falun Gong is a righteous belief, not a [slanderous word omitted] like you just said.”
The classroom was so quiet it was almost suffocating. I explained how Falun Gong practice cured my mom, and Falun Gong’s principles are based on Truth-Compassion- Tolerance. The teacher’s face stiffened and he said, “In fact, none of us know whether it’s good or bad. This is what the government says, and we have no choice but to do it.” I interrupted him and said, “You should not do something irresponsible like this to the students when you yourself don’t know the truth.” The teacher didn’t say anything. He had planned to make the students memorize the paper, but he never mentioned it again. Some of the students chuckled. The teacher looked slightly embarrassed but nothing more.
When I clarified the truth, I felt a powerful energy field around me, and I only thought that the students should not listen to the lies. I no longer had fear. Master was strengthening my righteous thoughts the whole time, which is why my righteous thoughts were so strong.
I went to an evening class, and a few students asked me, “Hey, did your teacher ask you to memorize it this morning?” I said, “No.” It turned out the teachers in the other classes had asked the students to recite the slanderous paper. I asked if they had memorized it. They laughed and said, “Why should we? It’s garbage!”
One of the teacher’s daughters was in my class. She stood by the door and looked at me during class, but I didn’t know why. After class she came to me and asked me to play with her. When I clarified the truth to other students before, she would come even closer and ask me, “What is the Communist Party? What is Falun Gong?” She is very young and couldn’t understand everything, so I told her what she could comprehend. She immediately agreed to quit the Young Pioneers. She said she had cut all ties to the wicked Party. She asked again what Falun Gong is. I was surprised at her curiosity. Usually, people are satisfied with a general understanding. She had asked me several times already and seemed quite interested in Falun Gong. Right after class she pulled me into her classroom and said, “I want to learn Falun Gong.”
I was even more surprised. I finally realized she was predestined to obtain the Fa. When she met me, her knowing side was trying to seize every opportunity to obtain the Fa. No wonder she always stays with me. I told her to say in her mind every day, "Falun Dafa is good," and "Truth-Compassion- Tolerance is good." I could tell she took it to heart. At first I thought she wanted to learn Falun Gong simply out of curiosity and would forget about it after the initial enthusiasm. When I went back to the class in the evening, however, she pulled me into her room and showed me a long list of names. I could hardly believe it when she told me she helped more than 30 classmates to quit the Young Pioneers. She did great! She said to me, “Look, all of these people are rescued, isn’t it good?"
I was thrilled and incredibly amazed. She has never read any Dafa books and only knew that Dafa and Truth-Compassion-Tolerance are good. How did she do it? When I asked her she said, “I don’t know. I told them Dafa is good, and they all agreed to quit it. It was easy!” I immediately took out a Dafa book from my backpack and told her to read it every day. She held it in her arms like the most precious treasure in the world.
I went to her home the next day, and she said to me, “Dafa saved my life!” I asked why? She said when she and her friend went to a piano class, a car darted straight toward them. When it was very close to hitting them they both said, “Falun Dafa is good” and the car immediately pulled away; it was as if an invisible hand had pulled the car away! Her friend said, “Falun Dafa is good” because she had told her to. I felt happy for both of them.
She came to my home. I played Master’s exercise instruction video for her, and she learned the exercises. Right away she said her whole body warmed up, and something was spinning in her fingertips.
I had to study for the final exams, so I didn’t visit her for a long time. During the holidays I went to her home, but she was again deceived by Communist propaganda. Her sudden change shocked me. How could she turn around so quickly? I guessed that her parents don’t let her practice Dafa. I felt sorry, but I believe she will return to Dafa. I will not give up on her. Demons will interfere with cultivation, and that’s what makes it difficult.
Now, Fa rectification moves forward more quickly than ever. I hope we can all keep up with Fa rectification. I can only recall this much. I am in eighth grade and have lots of course work. Please, benevolently point out anything inappropriate.
