[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] Young Practitioner: Cultivating when Studying

(Minghui.org) I’m a young Falun Dafa practitioner. Currently I’m in my first year of university. I was lucky to obtain Dafa in the middle of 2018. Thus, I would like to share with everyone some of my cultivation experiences.

Obtaining the Fa

One day in the middle of 2018, when walking along the riverbank, my mother and I saw a group of people doing the Falun Gong exercises. Curious, we stopped to watch a little. A practitioner then gave us a small handmade lotus flower and a brochure introducing Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa).

My mother had heard about Falun Gong and how people benefited from practicing this cultivation. Therefore, when we went home, she went on the internet to find additional information. Then she decided to step into the Dafa practice. At first, I didn’t intend to practice Dafa because I thought I was still young. I wanted to wait until later.

However, one day when I was watching a video that recorded a scene of Master teaching new practitioners in China how to do exercises, an indescribable, moving emotion rose from deep within me – an emotion I had never experienced before – when I saw Master’s compassionate face. I said to my mother, “Master is definitely not an ordinary person!” From that moment, I began to practice Falun Dafa together with my mother.

Physical and Mental Improvements

My health has improved significantly since I began to practice Dafa. I used to have allergic rhinitis and acute bronchitis, which bothered me a lot because even a little strange smell or cold wind could easily affect my respiratory system and prevent me from breathing normally. I had to visit the doctor frequently and had to be on medicine almost daily.

Since I began to cultivate in Dafa, I recovered from all my illnesses, and I no longer take any medicine. My body became lighter, healthier, and I was filled with energy. I used to easily become tired when doing household chores, but now I can help my mother from morning to evening without feeling tired.

When I was first introduced to Dafa, I heard other practitioners saying that the book Zhuan Falun – the main book of Falun Dafa, which teaches people how to become good people by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance - could answer many questions about life. At that time, I had a lot of questions that no one could answer, so I tried reading Zhuan Falun. I was fascinated by what I read in Zhuan Falun. Those questions had haunted me since I was a little child. They were: “Who am I?” “What do I live for?” and so on. They were all answered in Zhuan Falun.

Master’s Fa was like a light in my heart, chasing away the darkness and showing me the way to a bright future.

Cultivating in a Study Environment

Since I started cultivating, Dafa has given me wisdom. My thoughts are clearer, and my memory is much better. I can understand and remember lessons quickly. When I was still in high school, most of my friends had to spend a lot of time and money taking extra classes in order to get good study results.

I don’t need to study that hard, but I am still at the top of the class. When my friends saw this, they were very surprised and asked me for the secret. I told them it was practicing Falun Dafa that helped me improve my memory and my ability to think and solve problems.

Some of my friends then wanted to learn more about Dafa, so I gave them some truth-clarifying fliers and hand-made lotus flowers. I also introduced Falun Dafa to some of my teachers. They were all happy to receive the lotus flowers and one even wanted to read Zhuan Falun.

Sometimes I didn’t balance well the relationship between cultivation and studying. I started to rely on the wisdom Dafa had gifted me. I didn’t do my homework because I thought it wasn’t necessary. I just wanted to spend more time studying the Fa and doing the exercises. I thought that would improve my cultivation state. But, on the contrary, my cultivating state worsened. I wasted a lot of time while doing things because I couldn’t concentrate. Therefore, my time for cultivation and studying became less and less. After looking inward, I realized that I didn’t follow what Master had taught.

Master said,

“That’s because a practitioner should demonstrate that he is a good person wherever he is.” (Zhuan Falun Fajie - The Law of Zhuan Falun Explained)

“Think about it: For a [Falun Gong] student who is a school student, your natural duty is to study well, since you are a student.” (Zhuan Falun Fajie - The Law of Zhuan Falun Explained)

After I corrected my state, I was doing well as a student – everything changed immediately. My study result improved, and I also had enough time to finish studying the Fa and do the exercises.

There was a time when I couldn’t do well on tests. I was afraid of getting bad scores, so I intended to copy my friend’s answers even though I knew it wasn’t right to do so.

Xinxing Test

I realized that was a xinxing test for me, so I gave up the thought of cheating. At that moment, the answers suddenly popped into my head and I was able to complete the test.

In my high school class, a classmate seemed to dislike me. Whenever I got a high score on a test, she would say sarcastic and provocative words. I tried to stay calm and not talk back. Once she even sent me a letter, saying how much my behavior irritated her. At first, I felt hurt. Then I calmed down and asked myself what kinds of attachments were emerging.

I realized that I had only tolerated it on the surface, but in my heart, I hadn’t really let go of my attachments. For example, I had always thought that she was envious of my study results, but had not realized that I was jealous of other students’ scores and ranks too. I did feel uncomfortable when seeing others get higher scores than me. This was a manifestation of jealousy, of not wanting to be surpassed by others.

Reflecting further, I noticed that many times before, when I got good grades, even though I didn’t brag, in my mind I still developed complacency with my abilities. I also found out the attachments of rectifying oneself, striving for fame, showing off, and not wanting to listen to harsh words. After finding those attachments, I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate them, and tried to keep my mind from being driven by them.

I kept a cheerful and friendly attitude and treated her well. Her attitude toward me then gradually changed. She became more and more friendly and took the initiative to start chatting with me. After graduating from high school, although we don’t study at the same university, we still keep in touch with each other.

Learn How to Become a Truly Good Person

Ever since I was a small kid, I have always wanted to be a good person. But in reality, people in this society are always fighting and cheating each other for personal gain. I found it really hard to be a good person. Some people said that being too kind would only bring me disadvantages and that I should be wiser to protect my personal interests. I didn’t want to lose my good nature, but I didn’t know how to do it. This had bothered me all the time until I encountered Dafa.

Learning Master’s Fa helped me realize how to become a truly good person. Before, when comparing myself with most people in society, I assumed that I was a good person. People around me also said that I was kind and loving. However, when comparing myself to the Fa, I realized that I hadn’t met the standard of a truly good person. It was because behind my purpose of being a good person was the desire of being loved and respected by other people and staying away from tribulations. They were the attachments of striving for fame and reputation. My real purpose for being a good person was still governed by selfishness.

Master said,

“Zhen-Shan-Ren is the Sole Criterion to Discern Good and Bad People” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

I realized that a truly good person follows the principles of Truthfulness–Compassion–Forbearance, would be a selfless person who would always care about others first, and would not expect to receive anything from doing good deeds for others. Therefore, I tried to change my purpose from the root. In everyday life, I learned how to think and care for my family, my friends, and everyone around me.

I will try my best to cultivate myself according to Master’s Fa to finally become a selfless and altruistic being.

Epilogue

I have gained a lot of mental and physical benefits since I started cultivating in Dafa. It was as if I had been given a new life. I no longer feel tired and lost. Now I know which kind of person I should be and what the real meaning of life is.

Looking back on my cultivation path, I realized that Master has always been by my side – he guided and took care of me. Master often gave me hints through fellow practitioners’ words, or passages of Fa teaching I accidentally read. They encouraged me when I was facing hardship. There are no words that can describe my gratitude to Master and Dafa. I will cultivate myself well and live up to great Master's compassion! I hope that more and more people throughout the world will hear and understand that “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”