Remaining Truthful to Win a Scholarship

(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner who has been cultivating with my mother for almost 16 years.

During my fourth year of college in 2018, the class committee informed me that my third year’s intellectual score was high enough for me to apply for the department’s scholarship award, which would then allow me to apply for the university-level scholarship.

However, as my moral score was a bit low I needed to add five points to the score by getting an internship or social service certificate through working for an organization.

Both the class leader and those in the class committee were excited since all the department’s scholarships had gone to students in other classes for the past three years. It would be a huge honor for our class if I won it this time.

I was also excited thinking about the thousands of yuan the scholarship awarded the winner. I thought: If only I could ask my father or a relative to issue a fake certificate for me, then I could get the scholarship.

I had never participated in any type of internship or social service project during the previous three years and I didn't want to do it. But if I got a fake certificate, wouldn’t this be cheating?

It would be a total deviation from the Fa principle - Truthfulness.

But if I couldn’t raise my moral score, I wouldn’t even qualify for the scholarship.

The class committee and class leader constantly tried to persuade me to get a fake certificate, as many students had bought fake certificates to increase their scores before.

I later called my mother and she told me outright that buying these certificates was wrong, even if others were doing it. She said, “We cultivate truthfulness, so we shouldn’t do it. The moral score measures one’s morality. Wouldn’t it be the biggest scam if you cheated on this?”

Her words immediately woke me up. How could I even think of doing this? Since my moral score was not high enough, didn’t it mean that I was not up to par?

Master said, 

“If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)

When I explained my decision to the class leader and class committee they thought I was crazy. But no matter what they said, I was clearheaded and knew that my decision was correct.

I went home that weekend and got a call from the class leader telling me she had talked to the management about my situation, and they had agreed to add five points to my score. So I should prepare to apply for the scholarship.

I later won the first-prize departmental scholarship and the university-level scholarship; I felt happy and guilt-free.

In recalling my time in college, I was only able to come first in the intellectual score because I continued to improve myself according to Dafa's principles 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance'.

It’s easy to get lost in the big dye vat of everyday people. Falun Dafa helps me understand the real meaning of life, how to be a good person, and it enables me to distinguish right from wrong. My heart is full of gratitude to Master and Dafa!