(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner in junior high school. I believe I am truly fortunate to have become a young Falun Dafa practitioner.

Last year, I had a dream in which someone told me that others’ cultivation scores were between 50 and 80, while I only scored 3. After I woke up, I understood that Master was reminding me to be diligent. However, I didn’t try to improve given my strong attachment to comfort. It wasn’t until Master’s recent article A Wake-Up Call was published that I realized the seriousness of cultivation and began to make an effort to truly cultivate. By comparing my status with Master’s teachings, I realized that I hadn’t studied the Fa for a long time and my mindset did not meet the requirements of the Fa.

When I had conflicts with my friend in the past, I judged the situation using ordinary people’s reasoning and thought it was her fault. I looked down on her when her behavior and what she said didn’t align with my views, and I was often impatient with her.

After realizing my issues, I treated my friend better. But even though I seemed to treat her well, it wasn’t out of genuine kindness or consideration. I was afraid she would say bad things about me or that we would have a conflict. My motives were selfish, so whenever we had disagreements I still felt unhappy. If my mindset had indeed reached the standard of a cultivator, I would have understood that these conflicts were meant to help me remove my attachments.

When I started to think about things from her perspective, I realized that every time we had a conflict, she felt bad, too. If I had used those conflicts to improve myself, I could have eliminated karma and let go of attachments. Every one of our arguments was meant to help me improve. I should be grateful to her. I used to think that she had all the shortcomings I disliked. I later realized that the problem wasn’t with her; it was that I was narrowminded and couldn’t tolerate other people. My resentment caused our ongoing conflicts.

I realized that I didn’t let go of my attachment to my ego. I was attached to my reputation. I liked to be told I was a good person, and I always thought that I was. Whenever I did something good, I hoped people would say good things about me instead of doing it purely to help.

I also didn’t follow the principle of being truthful at school. For example, when classmates asked me for answers during the tests, I would tell them the answers. Even though I knew this was wrong, I was afraid they would be upset with me if I didn’t.

When a friend complained about other people, I sometimes agreed with her against my better judgment. I did it to protect myself because of selfishness. I didn’t want others to say bad things about me. I was afraid of being criticized, so sometimes I tried to cover up my mistakes. All of this went against the principle of “Truthfulness.”

One time when I tried to think about a situation from my friend’s perspective, I realized that I might have hurt her through a careless act, and I was very sad. One day while I was studying the teachings, I realized that I should not spend too much time regretting things that have happened.

Master said, “We cannot intentionally harm or take lives, but we should not be overly concerned with these trifles.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)

I came to realize that feeling sad or regretful does not help. They are human notions. I need to look at things from the standpoint of the Fa. I shouldn’t worry too much as long as I didn’t harm her intentionally and interacted with her with compassion.

On New Year’s Eve, after watching the Shen Yun performance DVD, one lyric really moved me:

“Salvation is not hard won;it is merely our own thoughts that block us”(“Thoughts Block the Way,” Hong Yin VI)

I realized that I had missed many opportunities to clarify the truth about Dafa to my classmates and teachers because of my fear. Even though I felt ashamed and regretted being so fearful, I was still scared. I knew it wouldn’t be as difficult as I imagined if I genuinely decided to look within and eliminate my attachments. My mindset was holding me back, making it only seem difficult. I decided to be diligent in the new year and focus on saving people.

I planned to get up and do the exercises on New Year’s Day morning. I found a music player but it had stopped working. I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t work, but as soon as I plugged it in, I heard a faint sound from the player. I thought, “It’s working!” Sure enough, it worked! I felt Master was encouraging me. I never expected such a miracle to happen to me as I was not diligent in cultivation. After that I got up before 6 a.m. to send forth righteous thoughts. I could not do it every day but I will do better in the future.

In my cultivation I often avoid hardship and look for shortcuts. I always hope that by studying the Fa, I can easily let go of attachments and eliminate the troubles of ordinary life. I also hope to find motivation from studying the Fa to improve effortlessly.

Studying the Fa with this mindset showed a strong attachment. It meant I was studying with a pursuit, trying to avoid hardship and take the easy way out. Most of the time, I only thought of myself as a cultivator when I faced problems. When I felt comfortable and happy, I didn’t want to be diligent and just wanted to enjoy life.

I’m sharing my recent cultivation experience to encourage fellow practitioners. There were times when I didn’t feel like writing, but I realized that, as a practitioner, I should share my experiences.

Writing this has brought me a lot of clarity and opened my mind. I’ve regained the feeling of improving my character and have strengthened my confidence in cultivation.