(Minghui.org) I was born in 1999 and was once a little practitioner. Today I have became a young Dafa disciple. Twenty years have passed and I am very grateful that Master has not given up on me. I would like to write about my cultivation experiences and hope that other young practitioners like me will not lose the precious Fa easily just because we have obtained it easily. Let us not allow ourselves to be lost in this big dye vat of ordinary society, ultimately missing this once in a thousand millennia opportunity.
Getting injections and taking medication were business as usual for me, as I was very sickly since birth. My parents were usually very occupied with work since they were both schoolteachers, so I was brought up by my grandparents. My grandmother started to cultivate Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, when I was in elementary school. I started to recite poems from Hong Yin. Though I did not understand the meaning of each poem, I was able to memorize every poem in Hong Yin II.
I still remember there was a time when my body was purified while I was at my grandmother’s house. I had a high fever, more than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, and my body felt achy and hot. I asked my grandmother to take me to the hospital to get injections. My grandmother told me that Master was purifying my body and I believed her. Not long after, my fever was gone. Since then, I’ve never taken any medication or got any injections.
I was very tall for my age, so when I was six-years-old I started first grade. My grades were not ideal because I never knew what my teacher was talking about. But in second grade, I miraculously came third in my class and received a certificate of merit. This was because I cultivated Dafa and Master bestowed me with wisdom.
In middle school, I started to live with my mother and she made sure I practiced the exercises and studied the Fa every day. I was very unwilling to do them since all I wanted was to go out and play. However, because my mother was very strict and I was afraid of her, I memorized a paragraph of Zhuan Falun every day. My academic scores experienced a great transformation through studying the Fa. I ranked first in my class and was also ranked first several times in my grade. I was also accepted to the best high school in the city.
Though I would study the Fa, I never abided by Dafa’s standards. I started to think highly of myself because I would always get high grades. I was completely oblivious to the fact that Dafa had given me wisdom. There was a lot of peer pressure and competition in high school and I was beginning to be like an ordinary person; my academic scores were starting to take a dive. My mind would be filled with things like getting revenge on people who didn’t treat me nicely, wearing name brand clothing, and eating well. I was like this for three years in high school. Master still didn’t give up on me.
My college was very small and run-down. On top of that, I had to share a dorm room with seven other people. I almost wanted to drop out, but due to the fact I would have to retake all my courses, I decided to stay. During my second year in college, I was able to let go of my attachments to material things. However, due to spending time with people from all walks of life, I gained many attachments such as jealously, the mentality of showing off, comparing myself to others, pursuing beauty and feeling inferior. I could feel my cultivation state was not at its best, so I would study the Fa to purify myself.
Though I had more time to study the Fa in college, I still was not able to meet the standards of a cultivator. I have always thought that I am better than ordinary people; at least I am not competing for fame and profit. Now that I think about it, it was a very pitiful thought. Not only did I not follow Dafa’s standards, I also used the distorted and fragmented standards of everyday people to measure myself.
I was not satisfied with my college, so I worked hard to get many different certificates and credentials. I also planned to get my Master’s degree to further improve myself, thinking that, as long as I was accepted by a prestigious university, I would be very happy. I wanted to prove my own abilities, all of which comes down to fame, profit, and wanting to have a comfortable life in ordinary society.
Before my initial examination for my master’s degree, I applied to a prestigious university. I was not confident that I’d get in but my mother encouraged me and used Master’s Fa to guide me. I scored very well in the initial examination and was qualified to take the second round of testing. I truly experienced the miracles of Dafa.
This year, due to the CCP virus, I got to stay home and study the Fa with my grandmother. This pandemic has allowed me to reflect upon myself and I was able to study Master’s lectures and read practitioners’ experience sharing articles. I have come to realize that I was far from being a true Dafa disciple. By spending more time studying the Fa, I was able to gradually eliminate many of my bad habits such as watching television, checking my cellphone, and putting on makeup. Life was simpler during the pandemic and I did not have many attachments.
While waiting to take the second round of testing for my master’s degree, I was notified that my thesis statement for both my majors (I had two) was due on the same day. I believe this happened because I kept thinking about how I would celebrate, prove myself and show off once I took the second round of testing; I was only steps away from obtaining my master’s degree. So, with all the attachments piling up, I started to become very anxious and agitated. In a month’s time, attachments such as fame and profit, jealously, the mentality of showing off, ego, resentment, not wanting to be troubled and comfort all surfaced. It was truly difficult for me to endure.
I started to study more Fa and looked inward. Fellow practitioners encouraged me to do the same and eliminate any attachments that I may find. Everything became very clear and I would constantly eliminate attachments as soon as I found them. Later on, I realized I should not regard the attachments as part of my true self; in fact, these notions have all been forced upon me. I had to disregard them and relinquish them completely. I needed to listen to Master and walk on the path that He arranged.
The hardest thing to let go of was the attachment to fame and profit. For a long time, I’ve always thought that getting accepted into a prestigious school was a good thing. However many attachments, such as fame and profit, the competitive mentality, and showing off, were all present deep down in my heart. When the date for the second round of testing got closer, these attachments grew stronger. As a result, I passed neither the oral defense for my graduation thesis or my second round of testing for the Master’s degree at the prestigious university. I was truly whacked in the head with a “stick warning!”
I came to realize that I had a serious problem with my attachment to fame and profit. I made sure to study more Fa and send righteous thoughts to eliminate it. Gradually, things started to change once I let go of this attachment. I received three universities’ notifications for the secondary testing for a master’s degree, and I ended up enrolling at a teacher training university.
Actually my name was initially not on the admission list of that teacher training university. Someone in the admission list gave up their spot, and so I was admitted. I was very surprised when the school called to let me know. I could not believe my ears nor did I know if I should go to that university. The school called me again and told me to seize this opportunity. Ultimately, I accepted this university’s invitation. Everything happens for a reason and it is all arranged by Master to upgrade practitioners’ xinxing. I am now able to truly experience “... "After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!"” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
It made me realize that Master has given us many chances; as long as we believe in Master and the Fa, everything is possible. We are very lucky to be Dafa disciples because Master is protecting us. We should also live up to Master’s expectations and I hope if you were once a young Falun Dafa disciple, wake up from this big dye vat and go back home where you truly belong. Only by being diligent can we repay Master.