(Minghui.org) I am a post-90s Dafa practitioner in China. This is the first time I have submitted an article to the Minghui website. I would like to share how I started practicing Falun Dafa, the changes that I experienced, and the miracles I witnessed during my cultivation.
Wandering
My mother is a veteran practitioner. However, I had no interest in practicing Falun Dafa until junior high school. In my third year of junior high, I was reading the main text of Falun Dafa, Zhuan Falun, for half an hour every night. One semester later, I did much better than I had ever done on my high school entrance exams. I got into the best high school in the province and won a scholarship.
However, at that time, I had read Zhuan Falun for only a few months, didn’t have a deep understanding of Dafa, and didn’t believe in Dafa completely. As a result, in my first year of high school, I started to play around and stopped reading the Fa. I also became obsessed with reading online novels. My mind became dull. My grades dropped, and I did very poorly at the end of my second year in high school. At that time, my mother feared being persecuted by the Communist Party and stopped practicing. She encountered many hardships and hurdles and didn’t notice the changes in me. By my last year of high school, I couldn’t concentrate because I spent too much time reading novels. My parents had to watch over my shoulder when I studied. It was a tough year for my parents and I. But later, through Master’s arrangement, I was admitted to the top three universities in China.
I learned my lesson and stopped reading novels during my four years of undergraduate studies. I spent all my time fighting against my thought karma, so I could finish my school work. However, I didn’t resume cultivation. Occasionally, I listened to the audio recordings of Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) teaching the Fa, or I meditated for a while. I found that I improved in what I did after doing so. Unfortunately, I still had not realized the significance of cultivation. Although I thought I was a practitioner, I only viewed Zhuan Falun as a book that teaches people to be good. I did not see the higher Fa principles, so I could not cultivate diligently.
Reflections
During my graduate school years, I studied and worked hard at my internship. I once worked until midnight and felt exhausted. I suddenly thought, “If I believe a part of what Zhuan Falun says, why don’t I believe all of what it says, and follow what the book asks me to do?” However, due to fear of being persecuted, I wanted to be sure that Dafa was entirely true before I dared to devote myself to cultivation.
I decided to first look at what Falun Dafa was doing overseas. As a result, I found the Minghui website, and I found Master’s recent teachings. After reading some experience sharing articles on the Minghui website, I found that Dafa practitioners are compassionate and kind. When they encountered conflicts, they constantly looked inward instead of fighting back. I believed what they said. Many practitioners worldwide also shared what they saw in other dimensions and miracles they experienced. I told myself that all these suggested that what Dafa says is true.
I also read Master’s recent teachings and thought a lot about them. I felt that all of Master’s depictions of history and culture, the current social chaos, and the persecution were solid and indisputable. I thought more deeply about the meaning of truth-clarification and Master’s attitude toward the persecution. Ordinary people would either give up or fight back upon facing such unfair treatment and persecution. Instead, Master asks practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts to stop the persecution. This can prevent evil people from persecuting practitioners further, thus creating karma for themselves. This shows Master’s compassion.
Moreover, while helping people to learn the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution, Dafa disciples not only save sentient beings, but they also remove their attachments and cultivate themselves.
Master said:
“It is not to have you simply become a hero among everyday people in counteracting the persecution. Rather, it is to have you validate the Fa while negating the old forces' arrangements and opposing the persecution, and to, through this, progress towards godhood.” (Master’s Fa Taught in the International Teleconference)
After having amazing experiences, I completely believed in Master and the Fa. I also urged my mother to resume cultivation. We started to do the three things together.
Unlike many other fellow practitioners, who were steadfast soon after studying the Fa, I decided to believe in Dafa and Master after thoroughly thinking about and analyzing it. As a young person who walked into cultivation from ordinary society, I hope my own journey can give other young people some help.
Enlightenment
After I resumed cultivation, I realized that I didn’t know how to cultivate and I didn’t understand the Fa principles due to my thought karma. I then read a lot of sharing articles on the Minghui website. Whenever I had a problem, I searched on Minghui for articles using keywords such as thought karma or attachments to comfort, lust, and so on. Those articles by fellow practitioners helped me a lot.
Moreover, when I occasionally slacked off, Master enlightened me in different ways. For example, when I developed attachments to comfort and slacked off, the water pipe in my home suddenly leaked, or the beverage I purchased leaked. In those cases, I realized that Master was giving me a hint that I had a loophole.
I also had dreams that were hints about my attachments. Once I dreamed that I was dropped from college, and had to go back to take a new exam, but I didn’t know how to write the exam. I realized it meant that I need to be diligent and study the Fa more. Another example is the nightmares I had after I occasionally watched movies and read novels to relax. (Later, I learned that they do not really help me relax.) It happened each time. I had very clear nightmares at night that I was in a big, clean, glowing classroom where all the students were waiting for an exam. However, I went downstairs just before the exam started and missed taking the exam. I sometimes had dreams when I had an attachment to lust, I dreamed of being chased by lust demons all night long. I clearly remember the face of one lust demon, which was very white and evil, with a fishy smell.
When I did well, Master also encouraged me. For example, when I was doing the second exercise one day, I saw a white fog-like substance floating into my body and I felt very comfortable afterward. I also became energetic when I did all the Dafa exercises every day. One day, after reading the Dafa book for a while and doing the fourth exercise, I felt that my energy channels were open. It felt so comfortable and light. I was even strong enough to actually lift up my mother, who was a little heavier than I, which I could never do before. On another day when I got up early to do the exercises, I suddenly thought, “I want to give up all my attachments and cultivate diligently!” This thought was probably righteous, as I saw a golden statue of Buddha while I was meditating with my eyes closed. It was a statue of Buddha less than an inch in size with transparent skin and golden light.
I was also encouraged to send forth righteous thoughts after reading a Minghui article titled Falun Dafa Disciples’ Divine Powers. For example, I used a specific audio player when I sent forth righteous thoughts, which suddenly stopped working. After reading the article, it worked again. This significantly strengthened my faith in Master and the Fa. On another day, when we went out to clarify the truth to people, some people were staring at us. I was concerned, so I sent forth righteous thoughts. Sure enough, they quickly turned away.
I used to be attached to my career development, expanding my network, and so on. I now know that my destiny is determined by the amount of my karma, and is arranged by Master. I will let go of all my attachments!
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Category: Improving Oneself