(Minghui.org) I’m a young practitioner who started to practice Falun Dafa in 2015. Although I had a late start, I feel very honored and fortunate to have learned Dafa amid the persecution in China.
How I Became a Practitioner
I first learned about Falun Dafa when I was in college. A teacher told me and another classmate about the practice and the persecution. With the help of practitioners, I gained a better understanding of Dafa, and I read the book Zhuan Falun. I felt good and happy after reading the book, even though I didn’t know why. I now know it is the kind of happiness one experiences upon realizing that the meaning of life is to return to one’s true self.
Being a Good Person
I had a lot of bad habits before I started to practice Falun Dafa. For example, I liked to take advantage of people and situations to benefit myself. I was vain and self-centered. I lied and often swore. I talked back to my mother and even stole money from my family. My being addicted to the Internet only strengthened these bad traits.
Many of these bad habits gradually disappeared after I became a practitioner. When faced with an advantageous situation, I would stop myself from going forward. When someone cheated me out of money, I thought it was due to my bad karma and it was time to pay it back. When I had conflicts with others, Master’s (the founder of Falun Dafa) words came to mind, and I restrained myself from arguing. Cultivating in Dafa is truly amazing.
I used to quarrel with my mother. Even though I knew she meant well, I refused to listen to her. She once got so mad at me that she threw a shoe at me, and I found it amusing. One time I made her cry, and I didn’t even feel bad about it. Not only did I not put others first, I also didn’t think I was wrong.
After reading the Dafa books, I learned how to conduct myself. Master taught me to be a good person, to get along with others, and to handle things according to the Fa. He explained why we should not fight back when hit and why we should put others first. No one had ever taught me—with such sincerity and compassion—to behave properly and without seeking any payback.
As time went by, my attitude toward my mother changed. When we got into a conflict or an argument, I put myself in her shoes and did not talk back. Then I explained my thoughts afterward. I felt bad if my tone of voice was not kind, since I should respect my elders, let alone my parents.
My mother said that, of all our family members, I have changed the most. It is because Dafa transformed me, and it is truly incredible!
Becoming a Genuine Dafa Practitioner
Master told us to study the Fa often, and I think we should follow his teachings. After reading the Dafa books frequently, I understood the meaning of cultivation and the reason why we are practitioners at this time. That is, cultivation is not just for consummation, but, more importantly, we have the responsibility to awaken people. Master also made arrangements for me to participate in truth-clarification efforts. One practitioner gave me a printer, and another one showed me how to set up and use a computer. I finally established a small Dafa information materials production site at home.
I’m the only practitioner in my family, and other fellow practitioners live far away, so it’s easy to become lax in cultivation. Even though I was diligent from time to time, I failed to seize the opportunity to clarify the truth a few years ago, owing to my cultivation state. It wasn’t until the outbreak of the pandemic last year that I realized the urgency of things. I re-arranged my daily schedule last year: to study the Fa in the morning, print Dafa brochures at noon, and distribute them in the afternoon after sending forth righteous thoughts.
In distributing truth-clarification brochures, the selection of information is important, and the content in Minghui Weekly is relevant, up-to-date, and comprehensive, so I use it. I wrapped the pamphlets nicely and hung them on people’s doorknobs. I distributed them mostly during the day. After I finished one building, I waited outside to see if anyone threw them away. I live in a small city in the south, and I never saw a truth-clarification brochure when I was growing up. So it seemed that people were waiting to learn about Dafa, and it was my job to provide the information to them.
Distributing Dafa materials was a big challenge. I was scared at first, but I managed to get rid of that fear, and I can now talk to people with righteous thoughts. If you ask me how I was able to do it, I have to say it was the power of Dafa. I sensed Master’s presence and compassion, pointing things out to me. Whenever I encountered difficulties, Master’s teachings would come to mind:
“…All know the sea of hardship has no shore.If your will is not firm,The hurdles are like mountains.How will you transcend this mortal life?”(“Severing (in Yuan verse),” Hong Yin II)
I’ve only been cultivating for six years, but I’m grateful for Master’s salvation. I cried when I wrote this article, thinking about my experiences. I wrote about many good things I’ve done, but there are still many areas where I haven’t done well.
Please rest assured that I will cultivate and do the three things well and live up to Master’s expectations.
Thank you, Master!
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