(Minghui.org) Greetings, respected Master! Hello, fellow practitioners!
My name is Vito, and I’m nine years old. I was born in Melbourne. I started to practice Falun Dafa with my parents when I was very young. I know I must be a good child who aligns with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I’d like to share some experiences on my cultivation journey.
I have a brother who is much older than me and already has a job. My English isn’t very good, but he speaks English well. I used to hope that he could help me with English, but he wouldn’t. My mother told me that I had to work hard on my own, and I have been working very hard. Some classmates at school say I’m foolish, but I know I’m not because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I know I can do well with my studies. This year, my math and writing have improved, and my grades are better than last year. I know it’s because Master is helping me.
When I watched Shen Yun last year I saw the musicians in the orchestra pit, and I thought they were amazing. I wished that I could be like them. I told my mother that I wanted to learn the oboe. She asked me if I wanted to and if I could persist no matter how hard it was. I said that I could. I promised her many times, so in March this year, she bought me an oboe. That’s how I started learning my second instrument. After each lesson, the teacher gave me a lot of homework. Some parts were really difficult, and I couldn’t do them. I became frustrated and didn’t want to practice anymore. My mother told me, “You made the choice, so you must persist. What did Master say?”
Then I remembered what Master said:
“When I practiced cultivation in the past, many great masters told me these words, and they said, “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I want to follow Master’s teachings, and I know that I will be able to play the oboe well. If I want to become a Shen Yun oboist, I must work hard and not be afraid of hardship. I’ve been learning for six months now, and I practice every day. When I feel like playing around, I remind myself not to waste time and to keep practicing. I’m now enjoying the oboe more and more, and I will keep going.
I am the youngest in my family and sometimes my family members scold me, making me feel like everything is my fault. I look within and find that in some cases I am wrong.
Sometimes when my mom scolded me, I got angry with her, and then she ignored me. I knew I shouldn’t be angry with her, and that I hadn’t fulfilled the virtue of ‘filial piety.’
My brother sometimes scolded me too. If I did something that didn’t align with his thinking, he raised his voice and I felt scared. For example, if I played while eating or didn’t eat properly, my brother scolded me loudly, saying, “Can’t you just eat properly?” Sometimes I felt like I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he still scolded me. When my mother told my brother to speak to me kindly, he said that she spoiled me, which made me feel even more wronged.
Master taught us:
“Whatever you experience during your cultivation—whether good or bad—is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating.” (“To the Chicago Fa Conference,” in Essentials for Further Advancement III)
I know that I should focus on eating properly. My brother was right and my mother also told me that my brother was helping me improve my xinxing. When I thought like that, I let go of my grievances. I know I am a young Dafa disciple, and Master’s teachings say that we must maintain our xinxing. Since everything is good, I should follow Master’s teachings to be a good young Dafa disciple. When I think this way, I no longer feel upset. Thank you, Master.
My mother and I study the Fa every day. When I come across words I don’t know, I read that part repeatedly until I understand all the words. Through repeated Fa study I gradually understand what Master is trying to tell me. Then, if I find areas where I haven’t maintained my xinxing, I correct myself according to Master’s teachings.
On weekends my mother usually takes me to play basketball. One day at the basketball court I had a conflict with a friend. I was aggressive and focused so much on shooting hoops that I accidentally hit my friend. He got very angry.
This friend attends the same school as me and the next day he told other classmates that I hit him. Hearing this made me feel uncomfortable, so I told my mom about it when I got home. She asked me to reflect and see if I had done something wrong. The next day at school I heard my classmates talking again about me hitting my friend, and I still couldn’t let it go. Not only did I tell my mother, but I also called my friend’s mom to explain.
That evening when I studied Zhuan Falun with my mother, Master said:
“One would compete and fight for personal gain among everyday people. Isn’t this going against the characteristic of the universe?” (Lecture Two. Zhuan Falun)
I felt like this passage was describing the conflict between me and my friend. My mother also encouraged me to look within, and I realized that I always wanted to be the best, and win, hoping to be number one. The next day at school when I heard my classmates talking about me hitting my friend again, I wasn’t moved. I had let it go.
This year my family took part in a truth-clarification event in Canberra. My dad drove there and many practitioners joined us in the car. I felt very happy to be participating with everyone. When we arrived in Canberra, practitioners were doing the exercises on the lawn in front of the Parliament House. I didn’t join in because I didn’t bring a raincoat. It was raining that day and the weather was awful. I watched as my mother and the other practitioners practiced the exercises. Many practitioners got completely soaked during the heavy rain, yet they persisted. I thought that this must be interference from the old forces, but they endured it. I felt that Master was watching over them, but I didn’t join in.
Another time in Canberra, we arrived at a subway station at 7 a.m. to hang banners and do the exercises. I didn’t want to practice, but my mother told me to practice exercises 1, 3, and 4, so I did, and I felt very comfortable.
Another morning, my mother encouraged me to try the second exercise, the Falun Standing Stance. I was still hesitant, but my uncle said, “Don’t run around. Either practice or leave.” I thought, “I can’t leave, I have to practice.” That day, I persisted with the exercise and felt really good. I think Master was helping me.
On September 28, the Vietnamese community invited young practitioners to perform, and I was excited. However, the performance hadn’t been going for long when the music suddenly stopped and had to be restarted. Everyone continued performing. Then the music suddenly skipped to the middle. One of the young Vietnamese practitioners didn’t understand Chinese, so I told her to go on stage, but she didn’t. One person went on stage, but another didn’t, and I started to feel frustrated.
There was an exercise demonstration after the performance. A little practitioner next to me wasn’t doing the movements correctly, so I nudged her. After it was over we sat with our parents to share our thoughts. One auntie said, “We all need to look within to see what attachments we have.” She also asked us why we were performing. I raised my hand and said, “To let more people know about traditional Chinese culture and help them understand the beauty of Falun Dafa.”
Another auntie said that some practitioners were complaining, which wasn’t good since we are a unified whole body.
When we got home, I asked my mother, “Was it wrong for me to nudge the little practitioner to remind her?” She said, “You can remind her quietly, but you shouldn’t use your hands because the performance was being recorded.”
I looked within and realized that I shouldn’t criticize others, I didn’t do well myself. I also found that I had a strong sense of frustration. That auntie was trying to help me, and I will change.
Once in a dream, Master praised me and said I did well and I should keep working hard. I knew Master was encouraging me to persist in practicing the exercises and sending righteous thoughts every day. I didn’t do well with this before, but I will improve from now on.
This is my current limited understanding. Please correct me for anything that is not in line with the Fa.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2024 Australia Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)