(Minghui.org) Greetings, compassionate and great Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
A Gift from the Heavens
My name is Shiya Lin and I am eight years old. My mother told me that I came to this world to obtain the Fa. I’m usually moved to tears whenever my mother reads me the story Thank You For Coming Into This World To Be My Baby, about how an angel flies everywhere looking for his mother. The angel call out: “Mommy, Mommy, where are you?” While looking for his mother, lightning zaps across the skies and the angel is sent into his mother’s belly.
My mother tells me I cry because my mother is a Falun Dafa practitioner. Ever since I was a baby, my mother has taken me to group Fa study. She told me I am her cultivation partner, as well as a gift sent to her from the heavens.
Cultivating Away My Temper and Inability to Accept Criticism
My babysitter, who is also a Falun Dafa practitioner, taught me how to recite poems from Hong Yin when I was one year old. Although I can already recite all the poems up to Hong Yin IV and I’ve also memorized Lunyu, I’m still easily agitated. Whenever I stomp my feet and get angry, my mother smiles and say, “Sound like an great, big elephant stomping around here!” She also says that she’ll collect all my tears and make a bowl of salty soup.
My mother and I have completely different personalities. My mother is a school teacher and she is well-known for her good temper. While speaking to my mother and me one time at school, my teacher said, “Shiya, you should practice Falun Dafa with your mother!” Perhaps my teacher was thinking that my temper would improve if I cultivated Dafa. My mother, on the other hand, thinks that Master is enlightening me to cultivate myself.
My mother taught me how to read Zhuan Falun when I was four years old. At that time I started experiencing tribulations. My bad temper also often caused my mother to be very upset. Whenever my mother would patiently correct my mistakes while reading Master’s lectures, I would explode and argue back, “I know it already!” My mother told me that I have an attachment of not being able to take criticism. Since I was so young and did not understand what my mother was trying to tell me, I would get frustrated and refuse to study the Fa.
However, my mother never gave up on me. I was able to do the double lotus position and read Zhuan Falun for thirty minutes when I got older. I still get upset if I misread, skip characters, or add them in while reading Master’s lectures. It was not until I started attending second grade that I realized I should no longer get upset when my mother corrected my mistakes.
I recalled a section of Master’s lectures.
Master said,
“Some people have become like matches—one stroke and they ignite. They’re like land mines—one step and they detonate. [They are acting like,] “You can’t criticize me. I can’t take any criticism.” They no longer listen to any expression of disapproval or disagreement, whether it was meant out of good or ill will, was intentional or unintentional; they reject everything flat out, and even less do they examine themselves. It has gotten quite severe. I’m not blaming you, but from now on you all must pay attention to this. You must get to the point where you are able to take criticism, regardless of who it’s from. If there is truth to it you correct it, and if not, you are mindful of it. If you can stay unruffled while being criticized or chided, you are improving.” (Teachings at the Conference in Los Angeles)
Perhaps I have improved in my cultivation. Thank you, Master for spreading this magnificent Fa to me. Thank you, Master for allowing me to rectify myself.
I was able to read and recognize most of the Chinese characters in Zhuan Falun when I was seven years old. My teacher was very surprised when she saw I knew so many Chinese characters. My mother took this opportunity to clarify the truth to her and told her that Dafa has bestowed wisdom on me.
“Don’t Lose Your Precious Jewels”
I befriended a little girl when I was in preschool. She liked bossing the other children around. She threw my hair clip far away and told me to go fetch it one time. I did not quarrel with her and simply brought the hair clip back.
When I told my mother what happened, she praised me for doing a good job in not fighting back. I thought of a section of Master’s lectures once again.
Master said,
“Therefore, from now on when you come across a conflict you should not consider it a coincidence. This is because when a conflict occurs, it will take place unexpectedly. But that is not a coincidence—it is for improving your xinxing.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I often encounter conflicts like the one mentioned above. One time, I even told my mother, “I don’t want to go to school anymore. Being a human is truly hard. I want to return to my true home up in the heavens.” My mother smiled, “You should be thankful for these conflicts because they are opportunities for you to upgrade in your cultivation. You will later treasure these precious cultivation opportunities. They are good things.”
I adjusted my mindset and decided to help the little girl. I persuaded her not to curse and yell at people and explained that by doing so, one loses virtue. I told her that virtue is a like precious jewel and if one does a bad deed, these precious jewels will be given to others. She understood what I told her and said she will stop cursing at me.
Immersed in Master’s Protection
I will be nine years old in four days. I’ve never taken any medication. My mother clarified the truth to a doctor in the hospital one time, and the doctor found it unbelievable when my mother told her that I’ve never taken any medications.
While living with a housemaid when I was one year old, I had a fever. Since the housemaid was also a Falun Dafa practitioner, they did not take me to a hospital or give me any medications like ordinary parents. They cooled me down with a wet towel and in 12 hours, my fever broke.
I was able to slowly understand a section of Master’s lectures.
Master said,
“Why does a new student who has just begun studying the practice, or a veteran student whose body has been adjusted, experience physical discomfort in his cultivation, as though he were seriously ill? And why does this happen once in a while? I told you in my Fa lectures that this is to eliminate your karma and to improve your enlightenment quality while eliminating the karma from your different previous lives. Besides, this is also to test whether you are determined in following Dafa; this will continue until your cultivation reaches Beyond-Triple-World-Law. This is putting it in general terms.” (“Sickness Karma,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I also recited “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” whenever my stomach hurt, since I knew I was eliminating karma. The pain would usually soon disappear.
I got dizzy and felt like I might vomit one time while in the car with my father. My father asked, “What would you like to do? I can make a right turn and go to the hospital or continue driving forward and go home.” Without any hesitation, I replied, “I want to go home!” I know that cultivators do not have any illnesses. We only have karma that needs to be eliminated.
My mother played Master’s video lectures in Australia once I arrived home. While watching the lectures, I had to run to the bathroom several times. If my parents were ordinary people, they would have taken me to the hospital. However, we are all cultivators and my parents remained very calm. I believed what I endured is nothing compared to what Master has gone through. I am determined, and believe that I am eliminating karma from my past lifetimes. I rested for one night and I was fine the next morning.
I was in the study room with my father one summer day. While my father was tending to other tasks on the computer, I opened up a cabinet to get some drawing paper. I accidentally grabbed my father’s camera and it fell on my toes. I shouted so loudly that my father hurried over. He carried me downstairs and placed an ice-pack on my toes. The blood flowed profusely and did not stop for a long time.
Since my father has some knowledge about dressing wounds, he did not take me to the hospital. When we took the bandage off a couple of days later, I saw that a piece of glass had slashed my toes. Both of my toenails were bruised and had turned black.
New toenails started to grow out in a couple of weeks and I clipped off the injured ones. It almost seemed like I’d never gotten hurt. Master protected me once again. I knew I eliminated karma and I feel truly fortunate to be a young Falun Dafa practitioner.
Master Arranges Predestined People
Master has said that predestined sentient beings will use many different methods to obtain the Fa through us. I will give some examples.
I visited my grandparents in Taipei one time. While eating at a restaurant, I attempted to put my water bottle back in my backpack but my arms were too short. An older man walked past me and helped me put the water bottle back. My mother took this opportunity to clarify the truth and handed me a paper lotus flower. I offered it to the man and he said thank you. I enlightened that Master always arranges for predestined sentient beings to come and learn about Dafa.
My mother and I were waiting at the train station one time while reciting poems from Hong Yin. This caught the attention of an elderly man and he asked how old I was. When my mother told him I was in preschool, the man was amazed at how many Chinese characters I knew. My mother handed him a truth-clarification flyer and said, “We practice Falun Dafa and this practice has bestowed wisdom on my daughter, so she can read many Chinese characters.”
Another time, my mother and I were supposed to visit an old friend. My mother started to have second thoughts about visiting him and asked for my opinion. I said, “You have already promised him that you were going. You need to go!” My mother listened to my advice and headed over to his house.
Upon arriving, we realized that Master arranged for us to meet another predestined person. He was a friend of the grandfather and both of them were waiting for my mother. The grandfather and his friend have a good impression of my mother from her teaching skills at school. Clarifying the truth to both of them went quite smoothly. I enlightened that we need to accomplish the things we promised to do. Master had already arranged everything for us and all we needed to do is to step out and do it. If we had backed out from going to the grandfather’s house, we might have missed a chance to tell another person the truth about Dafa.
There are still many people waiting to learn about Dafa. We need to make use of our time so people won’t miss this extremely rare and precious opportunity. I still have a lot of shortcomings and I hope I will be more diligent in the future. I will not let compassionate Master down and will return home with Master.
I would like to end this experience sharing article with a poem from Hong Yin.
Set the Mind at Ease
The destiny is tied,And Fa what you cultivate,Study the book a lot,Consummation draws near.(Hong Yin)
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2021 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
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