(Minghui.org) I am an undergraduate student in Guangdong Province, China. I started practicing Falun Dafa in 2015. In the past two years, Falun Dafa turned me from a young punk headed for no good into a dedicated, goal-oriented college student.
At this World Falun Dafa Day, I would like to share my cultivation experience to express my gratitude to Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa. I also want to help the world’s people, especially my peers, see the greatness of Falun Dafa.
Cultivate Compassion
Quit Vulgar Language
Nowadays people often speak vulgar language at will, even college students who appear educated and decent. Some vulgarities are spread around widely as popular slang.
Living in the dye vat of ordinary society, I was not an exception. I developed a bad habit of speaking rude language. At first I felt it was pretty cool. Gradually this bad habit became my conditioned response to whatever I did. I uttered vulgarities when I joked around, greeted people, or when anything went wrong.
After I started practicing Falun Dafa, I was aware of this wrong behavior and decided to quit it. However, it had become a habit. How to quit it? I forced myself to practice forbearance. As a new practitioner then, my will was not that strong, so I couldn't help speaking dirty language from time to time. Sometimes when I was not aligned with the Fa and calculating in my mind about ordinary things, dirty words just slipped out of my mouth.
Master said,
“Some people also know that it is not good, but they just cannot quit. In fact, let me tell you that they do not have correct thoughts to guide themselves, and it will not be easy for them to quit that way.” (from Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Master's Fa points out exactly my problem. One time, while I was listening to the solemn Dafa music “Pudu,” I felt warm currents running through my body and the word “compassion” surfaced in my mind. Yes, it's true. As a Dafa practitioner who practices truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, we are cultivating compassion and we should be broad-minded and able to tolerate all worldly sentient beings. When I spoke vulgarities, where was my compassion, where were my righteous thoughts?
Once I understood this Fa principle, I started to watch my every thought. I put others first and wished them good things from the bottom of my heart. I tolerated the shortcomings of others.
My state also changed dramatically as a result. Previously I forced myself to hold my tongue when I was about to speak dirty language. Now it was different. When dirty words surfaced in my mind, I felt uncomfortable and knew they were bad.
I was able to identify hidden attachments including arrogance, show-off mentality, and other bad thoughts. As I let go of these attachments, I no longer said bad words and they no longer surfaced in my mind. The last time I said a bad word was long ago.
After my compassion emerged, I viewed the world completely different.
Master said,
“When our compassion emerges, we will probably find all living beings and every person suffering. This will happen.” (from Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Willing to Help Others and Wish Them Well
I changed gradually as I practiced cultivation. When I interact with others, I no longer look at their shortcomings. I want to help others and wish them well and this has become my conditioned response.
Once one of my roommates was drunk and threw up in the dorm. He sat in a chair unable to move. It was midnight and I was going to sleep. The other roommate ignored him and played games on his cell phone. I cleaned the vomit off the floor.
It was absolutely impossible for me to do this before I practiced Falun Dafa. I was a neat freak and even stayed far away from the restroom while drinking water. At the sight of even a bit of dirt, I felt like vomiting and couldn't eat any food.
However, practicing Falun Dafa and letting go of my attachments made me stronger, more flexible, and considerate of others. Cleaning the toilet of our dorm became my job. It was unimaginable for me to do so before I practiced Falun Dafa. It was compassion that emerged from my cultivation of Dafa that made me who I am today.
Resist Temptation and Stick to Principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance
At school, I was educated to focus on the developing economy. Money was the criterion to judge everything. Guided by such a principle, people competed for personal gain with all means, even using fraud and hurting others.
I followed the same way and attached importance to personal gain before I practiced Falun Dafa. Now I understand many principles from Dafa. I understand bad luck or happiness in life have their reason. The right path to the happiness in life is to emphasize virtue, practice compassion and follow the heavenly principles. Gradually I was able to take personal gain lightly.
It's inevitable to encounter many temptations and tests during cultivation, but I remained clear-minded.
One time in a college awards program, I was a candidate for the award. As an excellent event organizer, both teachers and classmates acknowledged my qualifications. My senior fellow student, our director at the time, also wanted to give me the award.
However, the candidate had to be a Youth League member. I was not, so I declined. He kept urging me to apply for it and said the judges might ignore the fact that I was not a Youth League member and approve it. I was not moved at all.
Most of my classmates would have taken the award at my position because it could help one gain recognition, scholarships, and better job opportunities.
I saw it differently. Master taught us the principle,
“In ordinary human society, people compete with, deceive, and harm each other for a little personal gain. All of these mentalities must be given up. Especially for people who are studying the practice today, these mentalities should be given up even further.” (from Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Since the award was really not mine, how could I compete for it? I was very calm and had no regrets at all. It's interesting that not long after, I won the first-class award in an academic contest, which was a higher honor in the eyes of most students.
My major requires many professional exams for accounting practice, securities, trade futures and CPA. No courses are open at campus for such exams. We have to prepare from online courses. Some students do not want to pay for the online courses. During exam periods, some students download the courses online and share them with others via WeChat or other online group apps.
As a Dafa practitioner, I understood such a principle,
“There is a principle in this universe called "no loss, no gain." To gain, one has to lose. If you do not want to lose, you will be forced to lose.” (from Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Those online courses are the fruits of teachers' hard work. Anyone who wants to learn should surely pay for it. Learning from the pirated courses is equivalent to stealing.
Anyone who does such a thing would lose his virtue and fortune. The more he gains, the more he loses. As a practitioner, doing such a thing would add karma to his path of cultivation.
I am not from a wealthy family, but I would rather save money for the online courses than going against the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, losing precious virtue to trade in karma and hurting others.
For such things, many honest people could also do well, but as for me, a Dafa practitioner, I understood clearly the principles about loss and gain, and was not lost in the face of the temptation. I didn't force myself to do so, but from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to become a noble person. Falun Dafa can truly change people's hearts.
Live in Tranquility and Happiness
I have been practicing Falun Dafa for only two years, however, I changed dramatically during this period. I took on a new look in just days. I appear the same as I did two years ago, but I am a completely different person within. The three words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” have been engraved in my heart and life. I am a totally new life forged by Falun Dafa.
My cultivation experiences seem very ordinary as I just practice cultivation in this ordinary world, do ordinary things, say human words and encounter troubles in ordinary society, but as a practitioner, my realm constantly elevates in this human world.
Some troubles have brought me wrenching pain which might have caused ordinary people trauma if they couldn't let it go. For a practitioner, things are different. I look inside to identify my shortcomings and improve my realm. Trouble for me ends up only in greater enlightenment, and is wonderful and sacred beyond human words. Only practitioners understand that kind of realm.
I always remind myself of Master's teachings,
“Cultivate your xinxing without a moment’s pause,To taste the wonder, so immeasurable, at Consummation.” (from “Real Cultivation,” Hong Yin)
I know I still have many attachments and shortcomings, so I will continue to improve myself. I am so happy to practice cultivation in Dafa.
I was born in the 1990s. As a child, I did not know Dafa was spreading throughout China. I was still too young when the CCP started persecuting Falun Dafa. Our generation didn't witness the period of Cultural Revolution and June 4th Massacre in 1989. We lived in an isolated environment and were brainwashed by the CCP. Many people were lost in this materialist world, lost an independent way of thinking and their conscience.
There are still many people who misunderstand Falun Dafa. It's really difficult to see the truth about Falun Dafa in such an environment. I am so happy to see many Dafa practitioners of my generation born in the 1990s practicing cultivation secretly, constantly improving their spiritual levels, resisting temptations and becoming good people in this turbulent world, just like lotus flowers growing in the mud.
I sincerely hope that the precious Chinese people can understand the truth of Falun Dafa. You will be blessed once you understand the truth. Even if you do not want to practice cultivation, you can follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, believe the principle of good being rewarded with goodness and evil paid back with evilness, and emphasize virtue.
If we Chinese people want to have a bright future, we cannot count on politicians or business leaders, but only on ourselves with sense of righteousness and justice.
I wish all the kind people in the world peace! Thank you again, Master, for your saving grace!
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