(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings to our most respected Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I am a young Dafa practitioner in China. I started practicing Falun Dafa when I was three and I am thirteen now. I studied the Fa very little and did not read Zhuan Falun throughly due to persecution by the evil. I have floated with the tide of ordinary society and I became addicted to an everyday person's lifestyle. Recently, I read all of Teacher's new articles, and came to realize that I have not kept up with the Fa-rectification process and nearly missed the opportunity that only comes once in tens of thousands of years.
1. Eliminating "Sleep Demons"
I previously became sleepy when I read Teacher's new articles or Dafa books, and I even left out words or otherwise lost track while participating in group Fa study. I also tried sitting in the full lotus position for hours, as recommended by a fellow practitioner in the "Minghui Weekly" to eliminate "sleep demons," but this did not work for me because I wanted to take more time to study the Fa but I could not sit with my legs crossed on top of each other for a long time.
For security reasons, I close the door and windows when I read the Fa during summer vacations. It is very hot so it's not easy to fall asleep. I do the exercises when I get up in the morning, then read one lecture of Teacher's "Fa".
From afternoon to midnight, I send forth righteous thoughts every hour. When I feel a little sleepy, I wash my face, which makes me feel very good. Through intensive and continuous Fa study, I came to realize that my righteous thoughts are not strong because I did not study the Fa enough. Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston,"
"Crossing your legs when you are reading the book will, for one, enable you to practice crossing the legs more; and secondly, it will amount to doing the [meditation] exercise. This is very good."
I realize that I won't be sleepy when I cross my legs [sit in the lotus position] while studying the Fa and I read the book slowly and carefully.
2. Improving Character
I believe that what is taught in school is brainwashing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. For example, 8th Grade history covers the CCP's chronicle as fabricated by the regime. So I don't listen to the history teacher and that class has the worst discipline in our school. We chat and change seats in class, etc. I was pleased with myself, thinking, "See, my classmates are lucky. Because of me, they are less poisoned by CCP culture."
However, through systematic Fa study, I realized that respect for teachers and education is a Chinese tradition. The teacher who taught history is also a victim of poisoning by the CCP regime. Teacher taught us,
"...if you are a student, if you didn't complete your homework or aren't attentive in class, then can you say you are a good person? A good person, you know, he is good in whatever setting it may be. If you are a student you should study well." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston")
I did poorly, which caused our class to have poor discipline. Teacher mentioned,
"So long as you, a Dafa disciple, do things righteously, you will transform the environment around you, and you will change people." ("Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005")
Just when I realized this, our class was split into two classes and so I missed the opportunity to help them understand the truth, which will require more effort in the future.
I try to behave according to Teacher's requirements. "...don't hit back when beaten, don't talk back when slandered..." (Zhuan Falun) when I have conflicts with my classmates, but sometimes I forget that I am a Dafa practitioner, and I have fought back when I did not study the Fa well.
As to believing in Teacher and believing in the Fa, previously I thought that I did pretty well. Through intensive Fa study, I realized that what I previously said about, "believing in Teacher and believing in the Fa" is not totally righteous. It implies taking advantage of Dafa because "believing in Dafa" can bring me benefits or protection. I am ashamed of myself. Through Fa study during summer vacation and through reading experience-sharing articles by fellow practitioners in "Minghui Weekly", I became aware of my shortcomings in cultivation, and am trying to make up for them in due course.
3. Clarifying the Truth
When I was reading Dafa books during summer vacation, I thought that I should clarify the truth to my classmates and friends. However, when the new semester began, I did not open my mouth because of the attachment to fear.
After reading articles by fellow practitioners, I thought that I had nothing to fear, but I actually had much fear at that time, especially of my teachers. So I have to come through this step by step. First I placed truth-clarification materials on my teachers' desk and sent forth righteous thoughts towards the materials, asking them to bring the truth to the predestined people.
I found that when I clarify the truth to some people with preconceived notions, the outcome normally is not as good as expected. When I validate Dafa, rather than validate myself, some classmates immediately agree to quit the CCP and affiliated organizations after hearing the truth.
Of course, some still hesitate and some do not want to quit. In this case, I send righteous thoughts to
disintegrate the evil factors behind them. I am sure we will do better and better as long as we have righteous thoughts, keep pure hearts and be genuinely responsible for sentient beings.
Please kindly correct anything improper.
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