(Minghui.org) I am a young practitioner born in the 1990s. I began to practice Falun Dafa 15 years ago when I was in middle school.
My mother began to practice in the mid-90’s but stopped when the persecution began in 1999. Her health declined rapidly and she suffered from many ailments. A local practitioner saw with her celestial eye that my mother’s primordial spirit was about to leave her body. She paid us a visit and convinced my mother to resume practicing because only Master could help her.
During her visit, the practitioner played Dafa music for us and it was the first time I heard Pudu. The beautiful melody filled my soul and I experienced indescribable joy. I began to practice and repeatedly read Zhuan Falun, Dafa’s main book of teachings. I encouraged my mom to practice and stick with it no matter how hard it got.
When I started practicing, the local authorities put in a lot of effort into persecuting Falun Dafa. At school, we were often taught the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s lies that slandered and defamed Dafa.
When my Chinese teacher repeated the CCP’s lies about Dafa, I stood up and stopped her. I told the entire class that Dafa teaches people to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and to be good people that contribute positively to society. I explained in detail why the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident was a hoax. The teacher hastily concluded the lesson.
After class, I talked with two of my friends and explained in depth why it was important to separate themselves from the CCP. They both agreed to quit the Party’s youth organizations. At that moment, I knew more clearly than ever that I was a Dafa practitioner and it was my responsibility to safeguard the Fa no matter when or where I am.
Because I had good grades and was popular with my classmates, my homeroom teacher assigned me to be the class leader. When she found out that I was the one giving out copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and that I practiced Falun Dafa, she was shocked.
While she was worried about my grades and safety, she was also worried that I might be a “bad influence” on the other students. She often pulled me out of class for special “thought education” in the staff office where several other teachers regularly joined her.
I used the opportunity to tell them what I knew about Dafa. I told them about the Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax, pointing out that the 12-year-old “victim” Liu Siying, who supposedly had undergone tracheotomy a few days prior, was able to speak clearly during an interview and sang for the reporter.
A biology teacher who was very aggressive at first became silent and thoughtful as I talked. My homeroom teacher didn’t say anything against Dafa again. I knew they must have been thinking carefully about the discrepancies and trying to figure out for themselves what was fake and what was real.
One math teacher always smiled when he saw me on campus and told the other teachers, “That’s a good kid.” I believe that his knowing side knew I was trying to help him. Even though the school administrators and my teachers put a lot of pressure on me to give up my belief, I did well academically. In the practice exams, I scored the highest in math in my entire grade. My math teacher praised me non-stop, saying that I had a good brain and that I was ready for the real high school entrance exams.
I had a heavy workload during my last year in middle school. But my mom was strict with my Fa study. Each night after studying the Fa, mom stayed by my desk to help me with my homework. Even when I had to stay up until after midnight to finish my homework, she was always there.
My score was the fifth-highest in the high school entrance exams and I was accepted by a great high school. I later heard from a younger friend who attended the same middle school that my homeroom teacher often mentioned me to her class. She told her class I did the Falun Dafa exercises in the morning with my mom and studied the Fa at night. She was proud that I was accepted by the best high school in the city. She told all her students to learn from my example.
I know that everything that I’ve achieved was given by Dafa and Master. No matter how hard it gets, Master is always by my side watching over me. I’ve encountered dangerous situations a few times but came out unscathed thanks to Master’s protection.
Master compassionately saved my mom and me. Falun Dafa has been the light in the dark that provided guidance in my life.
Once I started college and moved away from home, I was alone. Without the familiar cultivation environment of my mother and other practitioner relatives, I slacked off in my cultivation and my human attachments and notions surfaced.
I became addicted to watching Korean drama series, reading novels, and online shopping. My attachments to comfort and lust grew bigger and stronger and I forgot all about my sacred vows as a Dafa practitioner. My mom was very concerned. Although I sometimes felt deep regret and anguish, as soon as I was with my friends, I was surrounded by many temptations and I couldn’t control myself.
Since I couldn’t pull myself out of the situation, Master arranged for other practitioners to help me. However, I felt helpless when it came to changing the state of my cultivation, as if there was a thin membrane separating me from Dafa. “Cultivation is like swimming against the current—if you’re not moving forward, you are bound to fall behind.”
After each long heartfelt conversation with a practitioner family member, I became clear-headed, but I soon fell back into old habits and became attached to ordinary people’s things. I couldn’t study the Fa well, and as time went on, I became indifferent and easily irritated. I was glued to my cellphone and completely forgot my mission to save sentient beings.
A practitioner relative was sad to see me like this and said, “How are you going to save those people who have been waiting for you?” Desperately needing a change, I challenged myself to resume doing the exercises in the morning with my mother.
The very first day I woke up early to send righteous thoughts, I had a vivid dream when I went back to sleep. I entered a world where the water was clear and the mountains were beautiful, jutting high into the sky. I met an elderly woman in a white headpiece and a white outfit.
She told me a story. Long, long ago, her king descended to the human world with an even higher divine being to rectify the Fa and eliminate evil. Although there was a chance that he might never return, her king was determined—he must go for all the sentient beings in his world.
Everyone in the kingdom gathered at the square to see him off. The clouds started churning and a time tunnel gradually opened up in the sky. Their king jumped with all his might and transformed into a huge white tiger with wings. As he flew into the time tunnel, his people wept in great sorrow because they didn’t want to see their king leave. The elderly woman said she had been waiting there for a long time for their king’s return.
I woke up from that dream weeping. I felt that king was me. The pain and sadness I experienced at that moment shocked me to my core. I could not control my emotions and tears streamed down my face. As a Dafa practitioner I shouldered the great mission of saving sentient beings. After that dream I gained a deeper understanding of the great hopes the beings in my world had for me.
To intensify my Fa study, I started hand-copying Zhuan Falun. After I finished copying the entire book the first time, I felt calm and at peace. The many temptations of the human world didn’t matter as much to me anymore and I was able to take them lightly. As if they’d been a wisp of smoke or fog, they dissipated.
Copying the book strengthened my understandings of the Fa principles. The incredible thing is, whenever I struggled to let go an attachment and felt distressed, as soon as I pulled out my notebook and started copying the Fa, a ray of sunlight shone through the window onto my notebook and filled my heart. I knew that Master had always been by my side, encouraging me every step of the way. I decided to work on getting rid of my attachments and never give up.
After the wonderful results of copying Zhuan Falun, I went on and copied Master’s other books, including Essentials For Further Advancement, Essentials for Further Advancement II, and The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III. As I copied more and more Fa, I realized the importance of getting rid of attachments. I gradually enlightened to layers and layers of the Fa’s profound meanings.
I used to only go with my mom at night to post stickers with Dafa information and to distribute the Nine Commentaries, Dafa fliers, or DVDs. I started mailing truth-clarification letters. When I saw mailing addresses posted on bulletin boards in residential communities, I copied them down. On my way to school, I took a detour and went to these communities to drop truth-clarification letters in the mailboxes. I knew that the majority of my letters were received, because my teachers, classmates, and the school administrators mentioned them.
My mom and I also teamed up to make truth-clarification phone calls. Every day after dinner, I hopped on my bike with my mom on the backseat and we headed out to ride around the neighborhood. While our phones do most of the work dialing and playing pre-recorded truth-clarification messages, Mom and I recited Hong Yin. We liked to recite this particular poem by Master,
“Ten thousand miles I gallop, breaking demons’ battle arrayCutting down all dark minions, eliminating wicked deitiesI heed not their thick fog or the gale winds they whip aboutMountain rains en route wash off dust from the expedition”(“Expedition,” Hong Yin Volume II)
In 2015, several practitioners filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin, the former head of CCP who ordered the persecution of Falun Dafa. My mom and I again teamed up and helped many local practitioners finalize their complaints. Working with other practitioners, we quickly printed and mailed them out.
The day after Mom and I mailed our complaints against Jiang, we bought some squash at the market and were delighted to find two pure white Udumbara flowers on one. We placed the fruit with the flowers in front of Master’s picture. The squash has since dried up but the Udumbara flowers are still blossoming. These sacred and beautiful flowers are a huge encouragement from Master. Every time I think of them, I feel immensely grateful to Master.
After graduating from college, I found a steady job. I spent seven days learning all the software required to do my job. I strive to meet the standards of a true Dafa disciple at work—I always consider others first and never fight for self-interest or get involved in conflicts. I was promoted three times and named the Star Employee of the year three years in a row.
Most of the employees at my company are older. They lag behind in their knowledge of computer technology. As our equipment and software gets replaced and upgraded regularly, some find it hard to keep up. When they turn to me for help, whether or not the task is my responsibility, I do my best to help—and with a smile.
Master told us, “We should be good persons wherever we are.” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland)
When the lead employee in charge of an international certification proposal put in his two-week notice, the management approached me to lead and complete it. The job involved getting our company’s core technology and product certified by a foreign company. This required strong technical knowledge and proficiency in English, which most of our employees lacked.
I work in administration and don’t have the technical background nor the language skills required—I wasn’t the right choice. However, the company management liked my work ethic and trusted that I would learn quickly. They sincerely asked me to consider leading the project. I told my manager, “I will try. However, if I really can’t do it, please find someone more qualified.”
The truth is, I was so confused at first that I had no clue where to start. I went down the list of specifications and certification requirements provided by our agent overseas and gathered all the required documentation. I translated the documents the best I could and sent them over to the certification company for preliminary review.
I received a list of more than two dozen suggested edits to the proposal, including additional information such as a summary of the company structure, product quality, and production specifications. I needed help from other departments to get that information and data. However, the head of each department felt differently about this project and imposed many obstacles. I looked inward as problems arose and each time I let go of my attachment to getting things done quickly. When I tried to expand the capacity of my tolerance, I saw a possible solution.
It took me five months to complete this project, while many of our competitors spent a year or more on the same certification. Even then, some failed to get certified. The manager was very pleased with my work and promised me a big bonus. The project made the company 200,000 yuan, and if I’d been awarded 5% of the profit as a bonus, that would be a hefty sum. However, I only received 600 yuan at the end of the year.
Our technician consulted an outside company that specialized in putting together such proposals for certification and received an invoice of 4,000 yuan for the consultation session alone. Some of my co-workers thought I was treated unfairly and suggested that I bring it up to the manger, but I didn’t. As a practitioner, what I wanted was to raise my state of being instead of gaining monetary benefits. I remembered what Master said,
“Some people knew that he was a practitioner and asked him, “As a practitioner, you don’t want anything. What do you want?” He responded, “I’ll take whatever others don’t want.” Actually, he was not foolish at all and was quite bright. Only in terms of personal, vested interests, would he be like this. He believed in following the course of nature.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun )
As an administrator I need to interact with many people both within and outside the company. In today’s society, many people receive kickbacks and red envelopes (bribes) and it’s the norm. If someone does not use their position to earn a little extra cash for themselves, others think this person is mentally ill. As a practitioner I measure myself against Dafa’s standards and don’t do what ordinary people do.
I am in charge of purchasing for the company cafeteria and many vendors want to sell grain, oil, and vegetables to our cafeteria. Some found out where I lived and visited me with expensive gifts. Others tried to slip me red envelopes with money inside, but I turned them all down.
The vendors that we currently buy from worried about losing our orders. Whenever there was a holiday or right before the Chinese New Year, they always tried to give me gifts. I told them that, as a Dafa practitioner I adhere to the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in everything I do, so I would not take anything.
I assured them that I would not change the way I did things or my principles just because someone gave me a gift. I told them not to worry. I also don’t make a big deal out of others’ mistakes, hold grudges, pay less, or not pay just because someone makes a small error. All the vendors that I have worked with said, “The purchasing manager is such a good person.”
Besides work, I also use what I learned in school to help with truth clarification. With our help and encouragement, many local elderly practitioners learned how to log onto and browse the Minghui website. I regularly update and upgrade their systems and software and help them follow safety protocols.
My attachment to getting things done quickly surfaced sometimes when things got busy. I also complained when my practitioner relatives depended on me for tech support. Each time I failed to maintain my xinxing, I ran into technical issues that seemed simple but I couldn’t solve.
My mom always reminded me, “Just leave it for now and go study the Fa.” Sure enough, after studying the Fa for a while, the problem was resolved as my wisdom had increased.
Since the outbreak of the CCP virus pandemic, I’ve worked from home. My mom keeps busy clarifying the truth to our relatives and tells them to remember “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
My father’s older sister suffered from many ailments and was frequently hospitalized. My mom tried many times to clarify the truth to her but my aunt always brushed her off. My mom called her again during the pandemic and clarified the truth to her. My aunt said that she was shocked that all the things my mom kept telling her all these years played out exactly the way mom said they would. She completely changed her attitude and told my mom she would say, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
The next day we learned that the persistent lower back pain that had put my aunt in the hospital so many times was gone! She even got rid of her cane that she depended on. After hearing this, our relatives all said, “Dafa is incredible.”
Seeing how my mom is so anxious to save more people, I realized where I fell short. Even during the pandemic, I still didn’t feel the urgency to clarify the truth to people. I strengthened my Fa study, looked inward, and found my selfishness was stopping me and making me indifferent to the people around me. Even when I was on the phone with my good friend who lived in the epicenter of the outbreak, I couldn’t bring myself to clarify the truth. I let fear and selfishness get the best of me and at that moment, I didn’t feel like a cultivator.
One night as I sent righteous thoughts at midnight, my third eye opened and I saw a big flood inundate all the buildings, and people were running in all directions. I couldn’t believe what I saw. When I saw the same scene again while doing the exercises, I felt that time was pressing.
I started taking over the workload of our home material production site and have learned to make desk calendars, cards with VPN information for people to bypass the firewall, truth-clarification booklets, and Dafa amulets. I clarify the truth to people that I run into when I go out and to my co-workers. If I can’t get my message across the first time, I find another opportunity to talk to that person again. People around me have gradually changed their attitudes and become receptive to the truth about Dafa.
My mother and I visited my grandma during the Qingming Festival this year. We brought Dafa keepsakes, copies of Minghui Weekly, and truth-clarification booklets and visited the families in the village one by one. We were able to make some progress clarifying the truth to each family we visited. The climate is changing and people are eagerly waiting to be saved.
That morning, we helped 12 people quit the CCP and its youth organizations. Not even one person refused to accept the truth-clarification booklets we were giving out. Even when little children walked by, they stopped and smiled and asked, “How are you?” I was deeply touched to see sentient beings with the look of joy and hope. I truly felt Master’s boundless compassion. Thank you, Master!
I have stumbled along in my cultivation over the past 15 years, knowing most of the time that my attachments and human notions were blocking me. However, I know that all things in our cultivation, whether they appear good or bad, are all good things. As long as I continue cultivating and I remain steadfast, I will make it. I have faith in Dafa and I have faith in myself.
I would like to share this passage of the Fa as an encouragement for us to cultivate diligently.
“Dafa disciples, you are golden light in the mortal world, the hope of the world’s people, Fa-disciples who help Master, and future Fa-Kings. Keep diligent, Awakened Ones that walk the earth: Everything of today will be the glory of the future.” (“Congratulatory Message,” The Essentials Of Diligent Progress Vol. III)
My deepest gratitude to Master!