A Young Practitioner Resolves Conflicts by Looking Within

(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master and fellow practitioners!

My name is Owen. I’m 10 years old, and I’m a fourth-grade student at the Minghui School.

I’ve recently learned to practice forbearance and look within. My temper has improved, I’ve become better at controlling my emotions, and I’ve started to be more tolerant. I’d like to share a recent story.

One day, I was playing pool with a classmate named Andy [alias] and I lost. At school, there’s a rule that if you lose, you step aside, and the waiting classmate gets to play. But after winning, Andy left to do something else, leaving just me and another classmate, Charles [alias]. We started a new game.

During our game, Andy suddenly returned and complained that no one was playing with him. He tried to take Charles' cue stick to continue playing, but Charles didn’t give it to him. Then Andy turned to me, grabbed my cue stick, and said, “You already lost, so you should’ve left. It’s my turn to play.” He even made a face at me.

I was very upset and felt he was being unreasonable. He was the one who chose to leave and play another game, but now he regretted it and came to take our cue sticks. I tried to explain that he left first, but he wouldn’t listen and insisted I step aside. I thought about it and realized that arguing with him was pointless, so I handed him the cue stick. This was the first conflict I had with Andy that day.

Since Andy took the cue stick, I went to play card games with other classmates. Shortly after we started, Andy came over and wanted to join, but the game had already begun, so we refused. He got very angry. Then the bell rang for class, and we decided the card game was a tie. But Andy kept shouting loudly that I lost. I withstood the test of character and didn’t argue with him. This was the second conflict with Andy.

After two consecutive incidents where Andy challenged me, I didn’t argue with him, and I thought I had passed this test. But later, in class, as I went to the back of the classroom to get a textbook and was returning to my seat, Andy deliberately blocked my way. At that moment, I felt I couldn’t hold back anymore and wanted to argue with him. Seeing him block my way made me very angry, and a thought of pushing him to the ground flashed through my mind. But I understood that, whether I was right or not, hurting others is always wrong. I paused for a moment and, in the end, just squeezed past him. The third conflict was thus resolved.

Master said:

“I don’t think we should argue with others about things. If trouble really befalls you and it looks like somebody is wronging you, I think it could well be that you, a cultivator, owed it from a previous lifetime. Endure it (ren) and let it go. Even an ordinary person knows that two people will leave upset after they have a clash; friction arises and the two get entangled. When the friction persists for a long time it will get increasingly harder to resolve, and in the end they will become enemies. But we are able to tolerate it, disregard it, and give a little ground. In China there’s a saying, “With one step back, you will discover a boundless sea and sky.”” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland)

Reflecting on this friction with Andy, wasn’t it exactly what Master taught us—“endure it (ren) and let it go”? If I hadn’t followed Master’s teachings, I might have had a hard time passing this test.

In the past, I wouldn’t have given up the cue stick. I would have argued with him or even fought, and the conflict with Andy might have escalated, turning us into enemies over trivial matters.

I’m very glad I upheld my character, didn’t argue too much, and didn’t get too angry. I realized that when facing conflicts, taking a step back to see the big picture can resolve many issues.

I also found that when I looked within, I could see where I needed to improve, and my heart no longer felt angry or wronged. For example, this time, although I didn’t argue with Andy on the surface, when he blocked my path, an unkind thought still flashed through my mind. I hope next time I can avoid getting angry in my heart and not have bad thoughts at all. That way, I can elevate to a higher level.

Thank you, Master, for teaching me how to resolve conflicts.

(Selected Sharing Article Presented at the 2025 Canada Fa Conference)