Young Dafa Disciple: Becoming More Diligent in the Face of Life's Challenges

(Minghui.org) I’m a young Dafa Disciple; I started practicing Falun Dafa with my parents when I was in elementary school. After the persecution of Dafa started in 1999, I questioned the practice in my mind. Then one day, I saw five Chinese characters on a concrete wall that read, “Falun Dafa is Good!” Tears began to pool in my eyes. Dafa was still in my heart, and Master has always guided me and given me hope through the years.

When I was a child, my classmates always bullied me and beat me up. Those experiences made me introverted. However, after obtaining the Fa, even though I was not too diligent, my sinusitis and thyroid problems went away, and my grades improved to where I was ranked number one in the class. I became more popular and a role model at school, which boosted my confidence. I wore a pendant with Dafa information on it to school. And I handed out materials about the persecution with other practitioners.

Getting Rid of Human Emotions and Cultivating My Character

During middle school, I refused to join the organizations related to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and successfully convinced the teacher not to write Mao Zedong’s quotes on the classroom blackboard. I once dropped some paper money on campus with the two phrases ‘Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ printed on it, and a classmate reported me by saying I wrote those phrases on the bills. After sending forth righteous thoughts, however, the situation resolved itself peacefully. 

I kept a diary in middle school. At the end of each entry, I wrote something like, “Work hard. Don’t forget the Fa … Be diligent, and return to heaven with Master.” At that time, however, I became addicted to romantic novels, and it severely interfered with my cultivation. Before my high school entrance exam, I had a high fever, and my parents were worried. I then wavered and went to see both Western and Chinese doctors. None of their methods worked. When I sat down and sincerely studied the Fa, the fever went away. Despite my missing a lot of school, my grades were at the top of the class, and I successfully got into high school. 

The High School Environment and Its Challenges

Upon entering high school, I was faced with many xinxing tests. For example, my dorm roommates swept their trash underneath my bed, and my classmates humiliated me in public. I didn’t know what to do in these situations, neither did I like how I was being treated. I performed poorly academically, and my teachers criticized me. When I went home, my parents criticized me and called me a “good for nothing.” With all of these things happening, I had thoughts such as, “What is the point of being alive?” Only one teacher at school regularly encouraged me, and it really helped me to keep going; so I wrote a truth-clarification letter to him anonymously. 

Afterwards, I tried to do the Falun Dafa meditation in my dorm room while hiding underneath my blankets. I also read Zhuan Falun whenever I had time. When I felt alone, I dreamed of Master and me walking onto the high school campus. I was eager to assist Master in saving people, so I told friendly classmates and my teacher that Falun Dafa is good. During this time, I was sometimes moved by my attachment to emotions, but because I maintained my xinxing, I gained insights and writing abilities beyond my peers. My teacher constantly praised my writing.

Before the nationwide college entrance exam, the xinxing tests became more intense. For instance, one of my roommates yelled at me in the middle of the night because my turning-over in bed was affecting her sleep; a teacher singled me out when everyone was entering the classroom and had me stand in the hallway; and several of my close friends suddenly kept their distance from me.

Despite feeling frustrated, I had Dafa as my guide and after passing a few smaller tests of character, more and more classmates came to talk to me, even students who previously cursed me began to cozy up to me. However, on the day of the entrance exam, a teacher chased after me and started yelling while I was on the phone in the bathroom. I didn’t want to be moved by this because I worried it would affect the other students, so I started reciting “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I later found out I made the top score for that section of the exam.

Light at the End of the Tunnel; Saving People with Righteous Thoughts

After getting into a college, I received a scholarship every year. I joined a student association, and performed in talent shows. After seeing other students in relationships, my attachment to being in a relationship surfaced. However, I didn’t get what I pursued but suffered in those relationships. The class also voted another student as the most distinguished student, and I was placed as second. I wanted a recount of the votes, but then I realized I’m a Dafa Disciple and felt embarrassed about wanting that. I contacted the teacher and said that the student they nominated was very deserving. After elevating my character, I won a spot in an academic event and got admitted to a prestigious graduate school. 

During graduate school, I struggled with my studies despite all my efforts. I decided to just let it be and spent the majority of my time doing the exercises and studying the Fa. 

I always thought of myself as a sentimental person. Then Master let me see the male characters that I had reincarnated as throughout history. So I realized that my thoughts of being a sentimental person were false notions. At first, I thought this sentimentality had to do with my laziness, always being in a rush, and not paying attention. Suddenly a friend’s advice gave me a hint, and I solved my problem. I also saw blooming Udumbara flowers twice. 

During this time, however, I met a married man who was helpful to me, so I didn’t even reject his inappropriate sexual advances. Because I didn’t behave according to the Fa, he became schizophrenic and exhibited a bipolar personality. He became violent and sometimes slandered Dafa. My mind was filled with attachments of lust, competitiveness, jealousy, and anger. I suffered significant financial loss because I did not mind my speech. Despite facing this difficult tribulation, I chose to look at the issue from his and his wife’s perspective, and it gave me the opportunity to see my hidden demonic nature. 

Through this experience, I realized that many modern notions about marriage and relationships are twisted and inappropriate. After I elevated my xinxing, this man became normal again and said, “The CCP is about to fall. It is the reason I am the way I am. I believe what you say.” He then helped his wife quit the CCP and told his family to recite the two auspicious phrases.

I realized that the Old Forces interfered when I couldn’t see the issue clearly, and I got entangled with a married man. At the same time, I also rejected a very good job opportunity near my home. After a long time of applying for one job after another, I was on a mental roller coaster. I then met a fellow practitioner who was diligent and optimistic. The practitioner’s demeanor affected me deeply. Afterwards, I began to memorize the Fa every day and, eventually, my mind became unmoved by ordinary things. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil beings that interfere with the salvation of sentient beings working for any company that was going to interview me.

I then found a job that everyone said was a great job. The benefits and compensation were almost identical to that first job I turned down. This new workplace was much further from my house, and I didn’t know anyone in that part of town. But I was able to create opportunities to save those with predestined relationships. I made a presentation to help ordinary people break through their notions of atheism and evolutionism. A fellow co-worker saw my presentation and gave it to more people.

The tribulations I faced helped me break through my attachments to fear and saving face. I was eventually able to clarify the truth to multiple former classmates and teachers at the same time. I also worked diligently to help the people I knew, including those close relatives who had made fun of me before, to quit the CCP.

A teacher once raised a hand to the sky to quit the CCP because he felt it was more formal to do so with some type of ritual. A professor once told me during the pandemic that he still remembered when he quit the CCP two years ago. 

I continue to enlighten to the meaning of compassion, and I can feel Master’s immense compassion on a daily basis. Some friends continued to stay in contact with me until they finally quit the CCP. A friend of mine proclaimed, “I believe everything you say. I, on this day, will quit the CCP and its related organizations. I only admire one person in this world, and that is Master Li Hongzhi!”

Conclusion

Throughout my childhood, I seldom felt angry when people treated me badly, but I did get burdened with sadness and melancholy. This was the biggest challenge for me, and it caused a lot of tribulations related to human emotions. When I was determined to eliminate those substances, I saw a black heart sealed in another dimension. I realized this was a mechanism of the Old Forces. As I became more diligent, I began to regret the opportunities I missed to cultivate and save people; I also remembered Shakyamuni’s number one female disciple, Uppalavana, who was once a call girl; however, she cultivated diligently and became very famous. The past is in the past, while the Fa is immense! We must continue to strive forward on our cultivation paths to return home, even though we are going against the tide.