Cultivating with a Young Practitioner

(Minghui.org) I started cultivating Falun Gong in 2017, after which my health improved. A year later, my young daughter was diagnosed with herpangina, a condition where sores appear in the mouth and throat. She had a fever and wasn’t able to eat or drink anything at times. I thought, “If I benefited from Falun Dafa, my daughter should, too!” I knew I had to encourage my daughter to assimilate to the Fa, and that she must have a predestined relationship with me as well as Dafa.

Young Practitioner Walking the Cultivation Path

My husband did not listen to the truth about Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong), and thus did not support my cultivation. I knew that obtaining the Fa was the most important thing in life, and that I should not let him interfere with our daughter’s cultivation. I decided that she would study the teachings, do the exercises, and be a young cultivator.

My daughter’s herpangina disappeared after studying the Fa for only four days. It was truly a miracle! In the past, it would usually take 10 to 15 days for it to heal completely. Seeing the changes in my daughter gave me confidence and I was sure that she was predestined to cultivate.

My husband was working out of town then, so I had time to study the Fa with my daughter every night. Her stomach issues slowly got better, and she no longer cried in pain. Her cough disappeared, too. Although she caught colds from time to time, I knew that this was Master purifying her body, that I should not pay attention to them, and they would disappear.

As my daughter got healthier, her personality also improved.

I taught my daughter the exercises last year, when she turned seven. When she started to attend elementary school, she was required to stay for evening self-study and would get home very late, so we were only able to read one section of Zhuan Falun and do one of the exercises. During this year’s winter break, we were not able to go outside due the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus. She and I were able to read one or two lectures of Zhuan Falun every day.

Letting Go of the Attachment to Sentimentality

I noticed small blisters between my daughter’s toes in February. They itched, and it seemed as if part of her skin was peeling off. I told her that this was eliminating karma and that she should pay no attention to it. But a month later, the blisters worsened. I told her that everything happens for a reason, and that we should look inward and finding any attachments we may have. I helped her find her attachments, since she was still young and did not understand the concept of looking inward.

My daughter liked to watch cartoons on television, and since there was no school due to the CCP virus, she had even more time to watch television. I said, “You will need to eliminate this attachment to watching cartoons.” I started to read articles on the Minghui website and told her that practitioners with their third eye open could see bad things coming out of the TV. But she still wanted to watch. I realized that I had not cultivated well enough because sometimes when it was time to send righteous thoughts, I turned on the television so that she would be quiet, and would watch for almost an hour. It was then difficult to turn it off because she’d gotten glued to it.

I realized I was being selfish and irresponsible by turning on the television for my daughter just so she would not bother me while I was sending righteous thoughts. There were other ways I could have kept her engaged while I sent righteous thoughts. I knew I was wrong, and yet I still chose the simplest and easiest way.

When classes resumed in April, her feet were not completely healed. Each time she told me she had argued with her friends, I told her that it was an opportunity to elevate her xinxing, and that by upgrading her xinxing, her feet would be healed. With the weather getting warmer, more blisters appeared on her feet. The blisters now festered and oozed. Her skin was peeling and her feet itched even more. When we were sitting in the full lotus position one day while studying the Fa, my daughter scratched her legs constantly. I wasn’t sure if she was paying attention to the Fa, but I was very troubled.

I told her that she needed to look inward and find any attachments she might have. Then her xinxing would elevate and she would be able to pass this tribulation. She did not know what her problem was, and I was troubled as to whether this was eliminating karma or the old forces interfering. Were the old forces taking advantage of my sentiment for my daughter? Should I send righteous thoughts?

My daughter’s feet were looking pretty bad, as the blisters had spread to the soles of her feet. The skin on her feet was peeling, and they looked very red and wet. One morning while I was doing the fifth exercise, my daughter was rubbing her foot against the blanket. The itching woke her up and she couldn’t go back to sleep. It was hard for me to witness this, because this sickness karma was now affecting her sleep.

Looking Inward Is a Magical Tool

I realized that this was my attachment of sentimentality for my daughter and I needed to send righteous thoughts to eliminate it. The old forces were using this sentimentality to interfere with my cultivation. I thought, “Should I give her medicine? Am I being too hard on her?” I asked her if she wanted any medicine. She said firmly, “No!” I hesitated for two days but ended up going to the pharmacy to get some medicine. Instead of getting better, the blisters worsened after using the medication for three days.

My daughter’s feet were also starting to smell bad. I suddenly recollected what Master said:

“Some veteran practitioners say: ‘Teacher, why do I feel uncomfortable all over my body? I always go to the hospital to get injections, but it doesn’t help. Taking medicine also doesn’t help.’ They were not even embarrassed to say that to me! Of course, they would not help. Those are not illnesses. How could they help? You may go ahead and have a physical exam. There is not anything wrong, but you just feel uncomfortable.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

I suddenly enlightened to the fact that no medicine would help in this case!

I was certain that my daughter did not have an illness, so what was the problem? When I was meditating the next morning, I suddenly thought, “Foot odor,” which has the same pronunciation as being very picky. It seemed as if I had found the problem.

My daughter is not very independent, so I had enrolled her in a private boarding school. She had trouble blending in with the other students and cried constantly, so I took her to school every day. I realized that neither of us had passed the test of sentimentality. That was my first realization.

Secondly, because of the CCP virus, parents were not allowed to drop off or pick up their children, so the teachers asked that my daughter live on campus. My daughter started to cry and said that her stomach hurt every day, and she even vomited. My husband felt bad and got a doctor’s note so that she could live at home.

I told my daughter what I had enlightened to, and told her that cultivators should not be picky, that we should be able to endure hardship, because only by enduring hardship can we eliminate our karma. The black substance, karma, can then be transformed into virtue. I also told her that she needed to let go of the attachment to watching cartoons, as being too attached to something isn’t right. Cultivation is a serious matter. My daughter seemed to understand what I said.

I needed to look for my attachments, because everything happens for a reason, and it just so happened that I was involved in this. I was always looking at my daughter’s problems, but shouldn’t I be looking within as well? Wasn’t my daughter a mirror image of myself? Master told us that looking inward is a magical tool, so I, too, needed to reflect on myself.

Because my daughter was very attached to me, she was unwilling to live at school. In school, she wrote notes saying how she missed me and her father. Similarly, I was also very attached to her. Though I am less attached to her now, I am still far from meeting the standard of a true cultivator.

Whenever I saw her in pain, my heart ached. Why did I still give her medication when she said she didn’t want any? How muddleheaded I was! I realized that I wanted my daughter to look inward to satisfy my attachment of sentimentality because I wanted her to suffer less. It was precisely my attachment to sentimentality that increased her tribulation, and I needed to eliminate it.

One evening, I read three articles on the Minghui website. A 13-year-old practitioner wrote an article about how he was able to get rid of the attachment to watching television, playing with pets, and watching video games. I thought that this article was directed at my daughter. Besides being attached to watching cartoons, my daughter also liked pets and loved playing on her electronic watch. I read this article to her and talked about how I felt. From then on, she wasn’t as attached to watching cartoons and spent less time playing on her electronic watch. I am truly grateful for my daughter’s improvement, and sincerely thank Master for enlightening us.

Once I found my own attachments, I was not as worried or anxious as before. I know that Master arranges everything and that she will be fine. I understood that whether it is sickness karma, tribulations, or sufferings, these are all chances for us to look within, upgrade our xinxing, and improve in our cultivation.

At times, however, I have chosen to avoid discomfort and seek a more comfortable solution. I would forget the true meaning of life: We have come here not to seek comfort but to proactively cultivate ourselves and return to our true origin.

My daughter’s feet are now healing, and will soon be completely healed.