Young Falun Dafa Practitioner: Maturing and Growing in Dafa

(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner and I’m studying for my Master’s degree.

I grew up in a family of cultivators and was immersed in Dafa since I was very young. Even though I did not practice very diligently, Master always protected me. I rarely had to see the doctor, and if I experienced any discomfort, I’d recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and listen to Master’s audio lectures. The discomfort would disappear.

When I was six years old, I fell off a bicycle and struck the back of my head. The bystanders who witnessed what happened hurried over to see if I was okay, but I did not feel any pain. I only had a minor scratch on my leg. I had chicken pox when I was in high school. My whole body felt itchy and painful. I persisted in studying the Fa and doing the Falun Dafa exercises. I knew I was eliminating toxins in my body and this was a cleansing. Within a week, the chicken pox went away.

Another amazing thing was doing well on the National College Entrance Examination. I had never been an exemplary student or had high grades in school. However, I did very well when I took the important examination.

During middle school, I placed more emphasis on my academics and studied the Fa as a formality. I did not score well on the High School Entrance Examination and thought that my chances of getting into two of my ideal high schools were slim. However, I was accepted by one of them!

Taking Cultivation Seriously

Obtaining the Fa came to me naturally since I grew up in a family of cultivators. I did not experience the long, painstaking process of seeking Dafa. Therefore, I never truly reflected on the true meaning of cultivation. I did not realize how precious Dafa was and how tight time was. I began to take cultivation seriously and started to study the Fa and practice the exercises during my third year of high school.

Despite the heavy workload and busy school schedule, the happiest part of my day was when I read the Fa and practiced the exercises during my lunch recess. Although I gave up my nap, I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. I felt as if I had slept for an hour, when in reality I only napped for ten minutes. I persisted in studying the Fa and reading Master’s lectures, and took my High School Entrance Examination. I felt happy from the bottom of my heart when I read the Fa.

I did fairly well in my Chinese class. I was also interested in Chinese history and traditional culture. Besides studying in school, I enjoyed reading practitioners’ cultivation experience articles. I watched New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) and history programs on the weekends. I accumulated a lot of writing skills unknowingly and started to reflect on my surroundings. Before, I had to rack my brains to write an essay, but now inspiration flowed naturally for me and I was able to analyze a situation in depth. I was praised by my teachers and classmates.

I was not nervous when I took the High School Entrance Examination. My heart was as calm as a pond and my thoughts were very clear. My family found it unbelievable when I scored 80 points higher than usual!

I Begin Slacking Off

The environment and surroundings became more relaxed when I started university. I started to steer away from studying the Fa and conducted myself like an ordinary person. Only when I visited home during school holidays, was I able to have a calm heart to study the Fa and practice the exercises.

I was preparing for graduate school during my third year of university. I only studied for a bit and spent most of my time sleeping or playing on my cell phone. I was getting lazy and had no goals. I could not focus or concentrate when I studied the Fa. It was not until a month before the graduate test that I finally realized I needed to step up. I started to wake up early in the morning and slept late at night to study. I started to get anxious, worried, scared, and nervous. Negative emotions took over me and I started to go to extremes. I became like an ordinary person, fighting for personal gain and profit. I seemed to have lost my true self in the process and felt that I had more attachments than that of an ordinary person.

My mother shared her cultivation experiences with me and told me to look at everything with a calm heart.

Master said,

“For students, right now we can only tell you to study well—since you’re a student you should study well.” (“Fa Teaching Given at a Meeting in New York,” Teachings at Conferences in the United States)

I needed to do better in school and not worry about the results. I understood that the goal in life isn’t fighting for personal gain and profit. Everything is already pre-arranged and it is not something we can fight for.

I started to study the Fa every day and became more efficient in studying. I saw a significant improvement in my English reading skills. Everything went much smoother than I’d imagined during the examination and I achieved good results.

My friend said, “You never make big mistakes during the most important part of your life.” Indeed, thinking back over the years, my days in school and academics went smoothly. I am deeply grateful to Master for arranging my path for me.

At times, I would also waver between the importance of my studies and cultivation. Sometimes I pursued fame, fortune, and my credentials. I know that as cultivators we should not pursue these things. Encountering Dafa is the most fortunate thing and returning to my true origin is why I am here. Indulging myself in surfing the Internet and being attached to comfort can ruin a human being. There are many temptations in ordinary society that will make people lose themselves. They won’t be able to focus in school and will drift farther away from the divine path.

I am trying my best to eliminate the attachment to going on the Internet and looking at my cellphone. I also constantly remind myself to study the Fa no matter how busy I get. I was afraid of clarifying the truth about the persecution to people in the past. However, this year, I overcame this attachment and started to distribute truth-clarification materials. I know I still have a lot of shortcomings and I need to do better in my cultivation.

I will make use of time to be more diligent in cultivation. Only with righteous thoughts can I better save sentient beings.