(Clearwisdom.net) Even from a very young age, I felt that Falun Dafa had graced my life. When I was five years old, my mother took me to an all-adult Fa study group, held in a classroom in a local kindergarten. There were always lots of toys laying around and the adults would often give me some to play with. When they brought me a toy, I asked them to take it away. They all said that I was a good boy.
Sometimes I did the Falun Gong exercises with my mom, and as a result, I was very healthy. According to her, I was naturally immune to all kinds of medicine. For example, whenever I experienced the symptoms of a headache or fever, my mother would encourage me to swallow some tablets. But as soon as I swallowed them, I would immediately vomit. The only way she could get me to swallow the tablets was to crush them up and mix them with water.
After I learned Dafa, I understood that any sickness karma that I experienced was nothing more than Master purifying my body and that I simply did not have any illnesses. At that time, I was very happy and I felt like I was melting into the Fa.
While I was in my first year of elementary school, the persecution of Falun Gong had just begun. One day, after arriving home from school, I realized that my mother had not come back home from Beijing, where she had gone to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong.
I was later informed that she was detained by the Beijing police. The warmth that used to permeate my home was gone and I saw my father's hair start to turn gray from worry. After what seemed like ages, my mother returned. Seeing that I was doing well in my studies, she smiled. I knew that when my mother was not around, Teacher was always by my side taking care of me.
I have always measured myself against Dafa. Besides doing my homework, I also helped my father with some household chores. My neighbors and relatives all praised me and said that I was like a young adult. I knew that as a Dafa practitioner, I was different than the other children my age. When mother was not home I would conduct myself even better, so that my father did not need to worry about me.
The authorities often came by our home to harass our family. They always asked me where my mother was, but I never answered their questions. Although I was distraught, I never cried in front of anyone. Instead, I would wait until I went to bed at night and sobbed under the bed covers.
In my fourth year of elementary school, my faith in Teacher and Dafa was tested. I was diagnosed as having an acute and incurable case of stomach ulcers. My lower back was very itchy and sometimes I cried out in pain.
At this time, my mother, along with my fellow practitioners, greatly encouraged me. They also sent forth righteous thoughts for me. Every day I did the Falun Gong exercises and studied the Fa. Whenever I couldn't ignore the pain and itchiness, I would recall Teacher's Fa:
"When it's hard to endure, try to endure it. When it seems impossible to do, or just hard to do, give it a try and see just what you can do." (Zhuan Falun)
Under Teacher's care, I recovered two weeks later. It was truly a miracle.
When I was in middle school, one of my classmates was chosen as the class supervisor instead of me. I felt my teacher's decision was unfair and found it hard to accept, as I had been a class supervisor throughout elementary school.
I felt unfairly treated and said to myself: "Why was she chosen?! I've been a class supervisor for many years now!" My mind was full of grievance and anger. After I went home, I happened to read the section in Zhuan Falun about jealousy.
Teacher said:
"So that's why we just let things happen naturally. Sometimes you think that something is yours, and other people tell you it is, when in fact it's not. So maybe you think it's yours but it turns out it's not. That will reveal whether you're able to let it go. If you can't let it go it's an attachment. That method has to be used to get rid of your attachment to personal gain--that's the idea. Ordinary people can't grasp this truth, so they compete and fight when there's something to gain at stake." (Zhuan Falun)
I realized, "Ah, am I not like that person who thought he was more competent than others but was still not appointed to a supervisory position? I have learned the great Dafa, why do I still bother to fight and compete with ordinary people for the title of class supervisor?" After coming to this realization, I felt an immediate sense of relief.
At the time of my high school entrance exam, my class ranking was not high enough to qualify me to take the exam, causing my teacher to worry about me. My mother said: "Don't worry. Studying the Fa well is your top priority."
I followed her suggestion. While I was attending my classes, I paid attention to my teacher and studied hard. When I got home from school, I used most of my time to study the Fa. I remembered my mother's words, "You will validate the Fa if you get high grades in the entrance exam." I calmed my mind down and did the three things well. As a result, I got high grades in the entrance exam.
Before the exam, my mother and I were confronted with a xinxing test. To qualify to take the entrance exam, I needed to pass the physical education exam, which I had not well in the past. This made me very anxious, as I might lose points in the entrance exam for this.
Then the head teacher in my class told me and a fellow classmate of mine, that we could go to a hospital to obtain an injury certificate. With this certificate in hand, we were entitled to receive fifty percent of our full grade without being required to take a physical education exam. The teacher asked us to go home and discuss the matter with our parents. I thought: "Nothing happens by chance. I know that I will not lose any points in the exam by getting this injury certificate, but isn't this a form of cheating? I am healthy, so how can I claim that I am ill?"
My family had high expectations of me, so if I lost points because I failed to do well in my physical education exam, going to a good school would be out of the question. I talked the situation over with my mother and she proposed that I take the teacher's suggestion and go to the hospital.
Although I was very glad that she came to this conclusion, I was still a bit hesitant to go through with it. Finally I put aside my hesitation and regarded getting good grades in the entrance exam as my top priority. Later that afternoon, I went to the hospital with my mother. A nurse there told us that any doctor would issue an injury certificate and they had already written out many of them before noon. Then mother talked to two doctors there and told them the true reason why we wanted this certificate. As a result, both doctors refused to grant me the certificate.
My mother saw a fellow practitioner pass by and discussed our situation with him. When we got home, my mother told me that the practitioner told her that we were cheating by doing this and that it wasn't necessary. He told us that I would surely pass the physical education exam if my thoughts were righteous.
I was so worried and depressed that I would not be able to pass the physical exam that I cried. After that, several fellow practitioners stopped by our home and talked to me about my problem. Through studying the Fa, I realized that I had failed to genuinely trust Teacher and the Fa and that I had put the goal of getting good grades before Dafa.
On my way to the physical education exam, I thought to myself, "I am a young Dafa practitioner. I will walk the path that Teacher arranged for me and negate the arrangements of the old forces." When the exam concluded, although I did not get very high grades, the grades I got were much higher than in any previous preliminary test. I knew all this had happened because of my trust in Teacher and Dafa, and because of my fellow practitioners' help.
The longer I practiced, the more I came to understand why Teacher has always emphasized the importance of studying the Fa. In 2007 we set up a small truth clarification material site at our home. My mother and I produced truth clarification materials and supplied Minghui Weekly to our local practitioners. When we finished producing a set of materials, we sent forth righteous thoughts together, with the intention that everyone who read our materials would be saved.
When we were not diligent in our cultivation, the machines that we used to produce our fliers malfunctioned. When we looked within and found our attachments, the machines would suddenly start working again. One day, while we were distributing Falun Dafa related fliers in a city, it rained really hard. Nonetheless, mother and I still distributed all the materials that we had brought with us.
On the way home we saw a police car stopped on the side of the road with its lights on. Although it was already past 11 p.m., we were not scared at all. We sent forth righteous thoughts toward the police officer sitting in his car so that he could not see us. With the compassionate blessings of Teacher, we made it back home without incident. Even though we were soaking wet, we still felt warm in our hearts.
I am currently in my first year of high school. Shortly after the semester started, I saw twenty-three Udumbara flowers blossoming on my classroom window. I felt that Teacher was trying to inspire and encourage me.
All students at my school are required to board there. Although I have to work very hard at my studies, I never forget that I am a Dafa practitioner. When the lights in my dormitory are switched off, I simply read the Fa under my blanket with a flashlight. When I do this, I feel completely refreshed after a hard day at school.
As a young Dafa practitioner, I always conduct myself according to the requirements of Dafa, even though I sometimes don't do as well as I could. For example, sometimes I am tempted by my attachments, but I always feel regretful later on. I will remove these attachments and become a good Dafa practitioner. By doing so, I will be able to keep up with the pace of Fa-rectification.
Written on November 5, 2009
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