(Minghui.org) Master said this when talking about demons that have incarnated as humans:

“And so that’s the role they play in this world, trying to steer and destroy humanity with modern thought, with all sorts of tactics that corrupt people, and with a variety of different approaches. Many people have really fallen for it, especially young people. The evil ones have made students, especially college students, their main target of attack.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.,” (Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)

Such phenomena are seen in universities in all countries, including China. This article reminds young Falun Dafa practitioners studying in universities in China and their families not to be dragged down by evil, and to walk well the last part of their cultivation path. 

As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to tighten its control of people and lower their moral standards, the environment in universities in China has turned from bad to worse, posing a considerable challenge to the cultivation environment of young Dafa practitioners attending universities. 

At the respected university where I study, there is a club for those who are sexually promiscuous. Members behave lasciviously in bars and constantly undermine human morality. Some date several people at the same time and have unprotected sex, which results in unwanted pregnancies; some live together for a long time although they are not married; some sell their bodies for money; homosexuality, drinking, smoking, tattooing, and even drug abuse are commonplace in universities in today’s China. There are often drunken students crying and screaming in the student residence corridors in the middle of the night.

In addition, constant propaganda from the CCP, living in a dormitory for a long time, the prevailing unjust postgraduate recommendation based on credits and the comprehensive assessment, overuse of electronic gadgets, and the increasing amount of personal free time have adversely affected the cultivation of young Dafa practitioners. Many that I know were once very diligent while living with their parents but didn’t maintain their cultivation state after they went to college. As a result, they have stopped cultivating and indulge in feasting, sex, and sensuality. Some behave even worse than ordinary people.

Dealing with Evil Elements of the CCP

The CCP has always tightly controlled the higher education sector. Surveillance is intense, and lecturers are not allowed to talk about religion in class. Meanwhile, staff and students are indoctrinated with the fallacies of communism. Students are forced to take courses, such as the Principles of Marxism, an Introduction to Mao Zedong’s Thoughts, and the Contemporary World and China throughout their four years of study. Every week there is a mandatory study session for members of the Communist Youth League. Youth League meetings, seminars, essays, tests, and group activities are held that enthusiastically praise the CCP. Such activities are, in fact, a way to show loyalty to the corrupt CCP, resulting in complaints from students because they consume a large chunk of their spare time.

I once took a course in bel canto singing and was asked to join the choir organized by the teacher to offset class hours. To my great shock, each person was required to stand up and sing “Sing a Folk Song for the Party” [a Communist propaganda song contrafacted from a traditional folk song] individually. Thanks to Master Li’s help, I quit the course before the semester was over due to a scheduling conflict.

In situations when we cannot escape such activities, we can choose to remain silent, do our own thing, or quietly send righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil elements in other dimensions. When writing compulsory essays or exams, we can choose relatively open topics. For example, we can focus on the heroic Chinese individuals in their fight against Japanese aggression instead of praising the CCP, which focused on strengthening its power for the preparation of taking over China from the then government of the Republic of China. 

When the university authorities force us to sign onto the so-called anti-cult website, we must maintain our strong righteous thoughts to resist. One weekend, the instructor told us to upload screenshots of our signatures. I kept sending righteous thoughts to negate the order. The request was eventually dropped because the students had too many activities that week. 

When walking on the campus, we should pay attention to the bulletin boards. I have twice removed propaganda posters vilifying Dafa, and have not seen such posters on those bulletin boards since. 

Truly Let Go of Attachments to Fame, Gain, and Sentiment

Some relatively good universities stick to the postgraduate recommendation system, which incorporates a student’s comprehensive assessment instead of formal tests. In order to get selected for the few available places, many students resort to despicable means, such as trying to get an upper hand in initial course selection, cheating on exams, buying certificates to earn extra credits, engaging in plagiarism, etc. Some even go so far as to delete other candidates’ exam registration information for their gain. Others steal large sums of research funds from state-organized research and innovation projects by forging receipts. Students get into fights over scores and rankings every year. I saw two good friends become enemies over just 0.1 extra point.

Fame or gain is earned through the merits one accumulates in life. However, the vast majority of people in China no longer know or believe that fact.

I remember the first day I reported to the university, when there was no one else around, one of my roommates stared at me fiercely and said, “Don’t forget, we are competitors.” I was a little surprised by her remark but just laughed it off. Less than a month later, she said the same thing to me again. Later, I came first in a particular subject in the selective examination organized by the university. I was told that this roommate enquired about my score during lunch. I felt very sorry for her—she had put herself in heavy shackles to achieve her goals. 

In the second term, I started a research project and included her on my team. However, after I sent the name list to the system, she suddenly said she wanted to drop out. By then, it was too late for me to replace her. I felt a bit annoyed at the time but didn’t let it show.

Towards the end of the first semester, she started to show symptoms of mental problems and rushed home for a rest without taking any end-of-term exams. I washed all the clothes she left behind, packed up her things, and helped deal with other issues in her absence.

Three terms passed, and then one day, she invited me for a meal. She apologized for her past inappropriate behavior. During the pandemic, she also came to ask how I was doing. Other classmates told me that she used to say that the reason I said I didn’t want to pursue a postgraduate degree was so they would relax their vigilance. But now, she said that many of my views were proper and reasonable. 

As students, it is our responsibility to study hard. But if we become obsessed with high scores, getting a postgraduate recommendation, funding, etc., or even resort to the wrong means to achieve these, then it would be totally against the principles of Dafa practitioners. If we feel resentful because someone else has received a scholarship or commendation, such jealousy can lead us in an evil direction. I hope that we all take the Fa as our guide, look within more often, and pay attention to every thought. 

Many of my classmates have fallen in love, and every evening, when I walk from the classroom to the dorm, I see many couples hugging and kissing. I, too, had a relationship with someone as a result of a momentary impulse, but it turned out to be a rather painful experience. I was quite depressed for a while and would refuse to get out of bed for 12 or more hours a day. Later, through constant Fa study, I realized that my “love” for that person had seriously affected my cultivation state, so I asked Master to help me. Not long after, the person told me that he wanted to end the relationship. I felt relieved upon hearing this. 

I know a fellow practitioner, who was very diligent in cultivation while she was in high school. She kept up with Fa study and did the exercises every day regardless of the heavy school load. Later, she was admitted to a university in Taiwan, where she met a boyfriend, and gave up cultivation. She even stopped attending classes and spent all her time in the dorm. Her mom (a practitioner) was very worried about her. 

There is nothing wrong with falling in love and getting married. Dafa disciples should be clear-headed about what is important at this critical moment. Are we tempted simply because we want to experience the feeling of being in love? Or is it because we cannot let go of human sentiments and desires that we sometimes behave irrationally because of emotions? Do we want to waste our precious time on such things and bear the subsequent pain and agony?

Cell Phones

Cell phones are an indispensable tool for university students these days. They need to use them to scan QR codes to sign in, receive notifications, do online courses, etc. Even clothes washing machines have special software that requires the use of a cellphone. However, the relevant convenience of cell phones has also brought us many new problems. For instance, some students become addicted to video games or watching videos on social media; and some are obsessed with TV series and variety shows. It is no exaggeration to say that the first thing most students do when they wake up in the morning is look for their cellphone and play games on it. 

I have been working part-time in self-media for a long time, I found it difficult to forgo my cellphone. Sometimes, I could chat with friends for over an hour or watch short videos with the excuse that it was relaxing. While I was in high school, I would spend all day playing with my cell phone on my days off. I often complained about other people, and my grades fluctuated up and down. 

Eventually, I realized the seriousness of my problem and decided not to touch my phone anymore. As a result, my grades rapidly improved, and I came first in the total scores in my grade, something I could never have imagined would happen.

I tried various ways to keep away from my phone. For example, I used to read a certain number of books before I would use my phone, or I put my phone in a different room so that I could not see it. I even changed to an old cellphone with a severe lag to reduce the time I played on the phone. But they all proved to be ineffective, and ordinary people’s news and unhealthy messages often came to my mind while I was doing the exercises, causing significant interference to my meditation.

Practitioners have asked Master Li a number of times during Fa conferences about young practitioners playing with electronic devices. Master said this: 

“Those things are alien technologies, and they are being used by demons to seduce people, making them give up all that they had going for them, and leading them to become obsessed with those things. You’re wasting your life with them, yet still unwilling to give them up!”(“Fa Teaching Given at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)

Dafa disciples are here to uphold morality amidst chaos, and to save sentient beings in times of peril. If lower beings used by demons control us, how can we possibly help improve the morality of humankind as a whole? How can we set good examples in society as one body?

I have not done very well in letting go of my cellphone, and sometimes I still watch everyday people’s news and sports games and chat online with some friends. I will try to do better in this respect. I would also like to remind other young Dafa practitioners to reduce the amount of time they spend on their phones and to devote more time to Fa study and reading articles on Minghui.org to eliminate interference from ordinary society.

Other Issues

Conflicts and grudges among roommates are a big problem in universities in China, and they have serious consequences. The random allocation of roommates often results in students from different family backgrounds, who have different personalities and living habits, being put in a small dorm room, and interfering with each other. 

Three of my roommates started showing symptoms of mental problems. One suffered a relapse of depression she had in high school due to relationship problems. She often threw things around and cried at night. One roommate would take a large dose of prescription drugs, such as sleeping pills, whenever she felt upset to ease her mental pain, which physically harmed her body. Another one suffered auditory hallucinations for a long time and ended up dropping out of school. 

Initially, I didn’t handle the situation very well when I ran into conflicts with a roommate. As a result, she moved out and her parents came from out of town to live off-campus with her. 

Later, I shared with a roommate who suffered psychological problems how to get better scores in a comprehensive assessment. When our scores were very close, and we were competing for the same postgraduate placement, she told me about the pressure from her parents to get into higher education. We became very good friends later on, and I visited her in the city where she lives. 

In addition to the conflicts among students, young practitioners have constant tests because of various influences. Among my friends, some enjoy fan circles, some are keen to keep pets, some are crazy about celebrities, and some are obsessed with Japanese cartoon characters. Each time I talk to them, they bring up such topics. At a time like this, we should show kindness and understanding and, at the same time, remain unmoved in our hearts so that we don’t develop attachments to such “hobbies” of everyday people. It is a huge test for me, and I remind myself not to be affected each time they ask me to watch videos, read short stories, or go shopping with them. I say to myself: I’m a Dafa practitioner, and I’m different from them. 

Unreasonable regulations, the long-term malfunction of the academic administrative system, rude faculty members, unsatisfactory lectures, and outdated hardware facilities often lead to students’ complaints, and some students also scold teachers and administrative staff. Cursing the university is commonplace on campus. 

My roommates often criticize lecturers whose expertise is lacking and even give them nicknames. Some students physically attack certain teachers in public. Whenever they feel angry over something, they start complaining. In a situation like this, I remind myself to keep calm, try to be in a state of “Listening, but caring not to see” (“Abiding in the Dao,” Hong Yin), and to not go along with them. 

I remind young practitioners to pay more attention to cultivating speech and forbearance. We should always look inward first when encountering issues and eliminate the elements of the CCP culture that give rise to impatience, irritability, pursuit of results, etc.

After the pandemic lockdowns were lifted, traveling became a hot topic among students. I have always loved traveling, and sometimes, I travel for over a month across a few provinces, boasting that I learned a lot on the trip. Such a long time traveling caused me some physical problems, and at the same time, I found it very hard to calm down after I came back because I thought about when I would take the next trip. It became a strong attachment. Even from the perspective of everyday people, I went to extremes by spending a lot of time traveling around. After I made cultivation my top priority, my attachment to traveling and having fun became weaker, and I no longer crave traveling around.

Some Suggestions

Keep up with Fa study

Master said, 

“I can tell you that watching the videos [of the Fa lectures], group study, group practice, and conferences like the one we're holding today are the only forms of Dafa cultivation that I have left you.” (“Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.”)

One’s environment is very important. Practitioners studying at a university in another city can contact local Fa study groups. If this is out of the question, be sure to keep up with Fa study on your own. 

As Dafa books are eye-catching, it may be dangerous to read them on campus with surveillance everywhere. I have always read an e-book when in public places, with a dark screen and white font, and the brightness set at the lowest level. This way, it would not attract the attention of any students who are around me. 

Master told us, 

“Reading the books more and studying the books more is the key to truly elevating yourself.” (“Melt Into the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

It is also challenging to do the exercises on campus, so I usually meditate on my bed after others have fallen asleep. 

It’s a good idea to keep reciting poems from Hong Yin in your spare time or when you are walking. You can also reflect and see if you have conducted yourself by Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and if you are worthy of the sacred title of Dafa disciple.

Reading Minghui.org

Before visiting the Minghui.org website, I told myself that all surveillance cameras and my classmates could not see what I was doing. Once, while I was surfing Minghui.org in the dorm, a roommate came over and looked at my screen. I was shocked and quickly asked Master to prevent her from seeing what I was reading. Shortly afterward, she left without saying anything about it. That didn’t happen again. 

Clarify the Truth to Fellow Students

We should clarify the truth to our classmates whenever possible. Young students in China have been deceived the most by the CCP’s lies. Some of them completely reject and refuse to listen to the facts about Falun Dafa because they have grown up in families that praise the CCP and have absolutely no idea about the various political movements carried out by the CCP in China’s modern history. We should use our wisdom and guide them gradually to see the true picture of what is happening in China and the degenerate nature of the regime.

The authorities in Shanghai employed terrible lockdown measures during the pandemic, which resulted in many deaths. Angered by the CCP authorities, some of my classmates went to the Chinese Youth League Committee on campus to withdraw from the organization; some cursed the CCP and its leader loudly in the corridor after they saw through the corrupt nature of the CCP. I helped those who wanted to withdraw from the Youth League quit the organization online and told others who realized the degenerate nature of the CCP to quit its organizations for their future safety. 

University students have relatively higher education and can think more deeply than their parents’ generation. Some classmates asked me: “If a new regime replaces the CCP, but the Chinese people are still tuned out, does it mean that China still has no future?”

In a situation like this, we can talk about how the CCP destroyed traditional Chinese moral values and ethics and help them see clearly the harm and disasters the CCP has brought to the Chinese people. Many students are unhappy about the Chinese regime’s internet blockade, so they spend money on software to bypass the Great Firewall. Many software companies do not have such censorship firewalls, so interns in those companies can surf websites freely, including Wikipedia. Such environments make truth clarification a lot easier. 

Be Vigilant About Safety

Dafa practitioners must pay attention to their safety when talking with people about Falun Dafa or the persecution. The situation in universities in China can be quite sinister. Some students, out of self-interest, post slanderous rumors on social media about other students who are outstanding in their academic studies and are good-looking. There are also cunning and crafty instructors. In 2022 many students died in a big fire in Xinjiang because the authorities didn’t take the proper safety precautions. The authorities blamed the victims for not knowing how to escape the fire. One of my roommates secretly showed support for the victims and was caught by an instructor. The instructor threatened to report her to the authorities unless she took the blame for a misdemeanor by another student, thereby protecting the guilty party. There is another student who worked very hard to perform at the university, but all the credit went to another student designated by the instructor earlier. 

Practitioners who make cold calls and talk about Falun Dafa are members of the phone call project. Once, I gave all the phone numbers I collected to a practitioner on the team. However, out of a few hundred names on the list, only a very small number of students answered the calls. Some students also verbally abused the caller and said that they would report her to the police. Altogether, she only helped one student quit the CCP organizations. Students usually mute their phones and don’t answer calls from unknown numbers, so I have found that talking face-to-face with people is a more effective option than making phone calls.

There isn’t much time left for us. I sincerely hope that young Dafa practitioners remember their historical missions and responsibilities during the Fa-rectification period even though they are far from home, stick to their original aspirations, cultivate diligently, and return with Master upon consummation. I also hope that fellow practitioners who have children studying at universities will help and encourage them so they can wash away the dust and get out of the chaotic confusion of today’s world. 

The above is only my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything in the sharing that is not in line with the Fa.

Thank you.