(Clearwisdom.net) There are many young practitioners in a certain city in Heilongjiang Province, who have regarded Fa study an important part of their cultivation. They would usually study the Fa with their parents, but in 2006 Fa study groups were set up by local practitioners to enable young practitioners to study the Fa together during their summer and winter vacations. This year, more Fa study groups have been set up, and young practitioners have been able to improve together in their cultivation.
An experience sharing conference was held for the younger practitioners on August 6, 2010. Their diligence in cultivation was obvious from their experience sharing papers, which inspired the adult practitioners to cultivate more diligently. We also began to understand with greater clarity the importance of creating a good Fa study environment for young practitioners. We hope practitioners in other regions will take this issue seriously so that we can help all practitioners to do better during the Fa rectification period.
The following excerpts are from some of the articles shared at the conference.
Things that have happened in my cultivation
Written by Xiaoshuang
Greetings Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I am 13 years old, and started practicing Falun Gong when I was very young. Sometimes I was lazy and unwilling to study the Fa.
When I started to practice, I was too young to read, so my mother guided me in Fa study and taught me to recite Hong Yin. She told me that Dafa was powerful, but I was not convinced. One day I caught a cold and had a runny nose, but I did not take any medicine. Instead, my mother read the Fa to me and I recovered several days later. This really surprised me. From that point on, I put more faith in Dafa and kept studying the Fa's teachings and doing the exercises with my mother.
One of my neighbors recently set up a Fa study group for young practitioners. His grandmother informed all of us living in the neighborhood and asked us to study the Fa together. I was very happy and agreed to attend right away.
We decided to start studying the Fa at 8 a.m. and then do the exercises. The whole process lasted about three hours, but the time passed very quickly. As the days went by, my desire to study the Fa grew stronger and stronger. When I did the Falun Standing Stance exercise on the first day, my mind was unsettled and I was reluctant to continue. My arms felt so heavy, my face was covered in sweat and I turned pale. I wanted to take a rest, but was stopped by the thought that I would attain nothing if I did that. So I made up my mind to keep going. After the exercise, I crouched down and cried. My legs were numb, and I felt dizzy and sick. A veteran practitioner told me that this happened because Teacher was purifying my body and said I would be fine. When I did the Standing Stance the next time, I was afraid that the same thing would happen, but I made up my mind to do it and asked Teacher for help. When I did this exercise, it was as if my arms were being supported by two pillars and it felt really relaxing. I knew Teacher was helping me.
When I was studying the Fa with other young practitioners one day, for some unknown reason, I simply could not concentrate. I was looking around while others were reading Zhuan Falun, and when I read, I could not remember anything. A practitioner told me that it was because my mind was distracted. He was right. When I read more carefully later, I understood more about the Fa.
I have told my classmates and teachers at school that Falun Dafa is good, and most people agreed with me. But some of my classmates did not understand and even said things against Dafa. I told them that they shouldn't because they might end up with bad fortune for doing that. I also told them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Quite a few people who believed Falun Gong is good, and those who had trust in me, quit the party.
I will be diligent in my cultivation and do the three things well, so that I can go back to my genuine home with Teacher.
Miraculous experiences
By Xiaoxin
Greetings Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Gong when I was three years old. During the past ten years of my cultivation, I have gone through many tribulations and have enlightened to many things. I would like to share them with fellow practitioners.
When I had a fever once, my grandfather wanted me to take medicine, but my mother, who is also a practitioner, told me, "You will be fine if you trust Teacher and the Fa. Let's study the Fa now." I followed her advice and believed that Teacher would help me. We studied the Fa well in to the night. When I woke up the next morning, I was wrapped in my quilt, soaked with sweat, and my fever had gone.
In my first year of middle school, I did not study the Fa very much. The old forces took advantage of my loophole and I broke a tooth while riding my bike. The dentist tried to set it back to its original position, but it did not work, so I gave up. I believed that Teacher would help me. I watched the Fa lectures on video and went to sleep. I had a dream that Teacher was fixing my broken tooth. The dream was so real that I could sense the terrible pain in my body when he operated on me. When I woke up, I found the broken tooth was fixed. I was very excited by this miracle and was very grateful to Teacher for his compassionate care. I also felt that I had failed to live up to His expectations.
During the school holidays, we set up a Fa study group for young practitioners, and the time spent on studying the Fa was a lot more than before. Some practitioners were reluctant to do the exercises at home, but at Fa study they would eagerly do the exercises. No one would stop doing the exercises until the time was over. We were all modest and kind to each other, as we all knew that we were there for Dafa. We would not miss a chance to improve our xinxing and cultivated diligently.
The above are some personal understandings, please kindly point out anything improper.
Conviction
Written by Jiajia
Greetings Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Gong in 1996, when I was two years old. When the persecution started in 1999, my parents were sentenced to a forced labor camp, and I went to live with my 77-year-old grandmother. I was only five years old at the time. My grandmother's health was not good and she could not take care of herself. Her condition worsened when my parents were arrested, and she passed away two months later.
I then went to live with my aunt. But one month later my aunt and uncle were arrested and taken to a brainwashing center. I was then taken in by another uncle, with the precondition that he took possession of my family's farm. He forbade me from practicing and all of his family members spoke ill of Falun Gong. When I refused to do what they told me, they would verbally abuse me and say that I had the exact same stubbornness as my parents. Afraid that I might be heard, I would recite Hong Yin in my mind. Their attitude never made me waver in my belief in Dafa.
All my teachers and classmates looked down on me, and no one would play with me. I would just sit on the stairs alone, watching them play. One day I was blown over by a gust of wind and fell down the stairs. My classmates laughed at me. Although I was in pain, I got up from the ground and then started sobbing. I never enjoyed the happy life that my peers had, but I kept one thought in my mind, "When the day of Fa rectification arrives, my parents will come back to me."
My mother was released eight months later, and when she appeared at the door, we cried. We had to live in very poor conditions. Both my family and my uncle's family lived on a small income that my aunt made when she worked in another city. This aunt was later sentenced for practicing Falun Gong.
Four months after my mother returned home, my father was released and our family was reunited. I thought nothing would separate us again, but before the Olympic Games in 2008, my father was reported to the police by the head of the village, and was sentenced to the Changlingzi Labor Camp in Harbin City.
When my father was taken away, I went with some of my relatives to the Dancheng Police Station to ask for his release. I said to the police: "What law did my father break? Why did you arrest him?" They had no answer and just ignored me. My father was released two months later, but he was in critical condition because of the mistreatment he had endured in the labor camp. My father passed away nine days later.
As grief-stricken as my mother and I were, we continued to do what we should. We attended the Fa study group and did the exercises every day. We helped each other in our cultivation and went to distribute truth clarification materials in the surrounding villages. It is our mission to save sentient beings and it is what Teacher wants us to do. I found many loopholes in my character, as I would stubbornly argue with my mother when I was at odds with her. I would treat her as my mother instead of a fellow practitioner, and I also failed to treat myself as a practitioner. I will try to get rid of these loopholes and treat myself as cultivator. I will be more diligent and walk well the path arranged by Teacher.
Stories of my cultivation
Written by Xiaohui
Greetings Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
I am ten years old this year. When I was five, I remember that I wanted to play with my mother, but she was listening to Teacher's Fa lectures at the time. So I decided to take a nap and sleep for a little while. When I woke up, I saw that she was still listening to the lectures. I became very impatient and broke her lecture tapes. She became angry with me and I thought she would never play with me again.
I had a dream that night where I saw Teacher standing on top of a high mountain, and I was standing at the bottom of the mountain. Teacher gave my mother a lotus flower, and I wanted to sit on her lotus but simply could not reach her. I cried out to her but she did not respond. Teacher also did not respond to me. My mother sat on the lotus flower and flew away with Teacher. I cried so much that I woke up. My mother asked me what happened, so I told her my dream. She said, "You should not interfere with your mother's Fa study. You should respect Teacher and Dafa. Now let's study the Fa together."
One day I had a dream in which many celestial maidens flew towards me. After a long journey of flying with them, they took me to a big house, where I saw Teacher sitting on a stage with many people sitting below. The maidens led me to Him. Teacher placed me on his lap and talked to me for a while. When I woke up I happily told my mother the dream. She asked me, "What did Teacher say to you?" When I told her that I did not remember, she said, "Didn't he tell you to study the Fa well?" I said, "Yes, that was one of the things he told me."
When I got good grades in my class, my mother told me that it was because of the wisdom that Dafa had given to me.
Studying the Fa, cultivating my xinxing and saving sentient beings
Written by Xinyu
Greetings honorable Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
My name is Xinyu, and I am 10 years old. I am an elementary school student in the third grade. I have practiced Falun Gong for ten years under the guidance of my mother. I would like to share with you my understandings about Dafa.
1. Studying the Fa and doing the exercises
I would normally recite the Fa with my mother and sometimes I transcribed the Fa by myself. The biggest lesson that I learned from reciting the Fa was that I must do it with a pure mind, and free of any selfishness. I patiently recited the Fa sentence by sentence with no aspiration of remembering everything all at once. I become so tranquil that the time passed very quickly. I did not have a routine for reciting the Fa and would just remember as much as I could. Sometimes I would remember one or two paragraphs and continue to remember them for a long time, but other times I would not remember anything of what I read.
I was in a bad cultivation state for a while, and I spent all my time playing at school. I would also get sleepy whenever I did my homework or read Zhuan Falun. My mother was very anxious. One day I wanted to go to sleep after I finished my homework, but my mother asked me to recite the Fa with her. Despite my reluctance, my mother took me out of bed. I started to read the book, and initially had to read each sentence many times. I did not go to sleep until I finished reading an entire lecture. I really didn't want to and was foggy headed. But little by little my mind became clearer, and I did not stop reading until I had finished the lecture. The next morning I went to school as usual but I did not feel sleepy at all. I was surprised to find that I could accurately recite all of the Fa that I read the night before. The Fa stood out in my mind.
I felt that I could attain more tranquility when transcribing the Fa than when reciting the Fa. Sometimes I might transcribe a single sentence two or three times. After I finished doing this, the Fa was carved in my brain so sharply that I could visualize each sentence word for word. It felt good sometimes to do the exercises in the morning but at other times I was hindered by my laziness and could not get up without my mother pushing me. I should do better in this regard.
2. Saving sentient beings
I like to go out with my mother to distribute truth clarification materials to residents living in the apartment buildings nearby. We cooperated very well. When we finished distributing all the materials, I was very tired but my mind was full of joy, as I felt that I had done a great deed to save sentient beings.
I also clarified the truth about Falun Gong in my school, without telling them that I was a practitioner. I told a classmate that a neighbor of my grandmother is a practitioner, and he told me that heaven will bless me if I recite in my mind, "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good." When he asked me why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes Falun Gong? I told him that Falun Gong has done nothing wrong, that it's just because the CCP is bad by nature. He said he had seen the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party put on his door step, but his grandmother threw it away before he could pick it up. I said, "It will be good for you if you quit the Young Pioneers." To which he replied, "Yes, I will quit."
3. Every thought must be righteous
I believe that we can do well in saving sentient beings if we take this task seriously. Of course, rectifying ourselves and looking inside are also important. When I decided to participate in this experience sharing conference, I was very excited and my mind was focused on how to write a good contribution for the conference. Maybe I was in some way too zealous. I was very sleepy the next day when I studied the Fa with other young practitioners, and also failed to concentrate when I recited the Fa with my mother that night. It felt like I was floating in complacency.
My mother pointed out my attachment, but I tried to defend myself and argued with her, "You asked me to participate in the Fa conference, so it is only right for me to consider how to make a good contribution for it. I would not be going to the conference if you had not told me to go." She clearly saw my attachment. She said, "Do you think that because you are going to participate in a conference, it means that you have really improved in your cultivation?" I realized that I had been too attached to writing a worthy contribution. She said, "It is an arrangement made by Teacher for you to participate in the conference. This is a good chance to improve your cultivation by learning the good points of other young practitioners. You should not take it as an opportunity to show off." I realized that she was right.
Please kindly point out anything that is incorrect.