(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master！Greetings, fellow practitioners！
My name is Eric, and I’m 15 years old.
In 2019, when I was 9, I learned about Falun Dafa when my mom began cultivating. I did not know what Falun Dafa was, nor had I heard of anything called “cultivation practice,” but, my mom told me about the Fa’s principles and taught me proper morals, decorum, and the characteristics of the universe Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance). I was too young at the time to truly grasp the essence of what she told me, but I knew Falun Dafa was good, and I’ve always known it to be so. I did not choose to practice at the time. Even after my mom explained how it improved her health drastically and how it changed her life.
Master’s Recent Teaching Woke Me Up
Years passed and I was maturing by the day, yet I never truly devoted myself to cultivating. Of course, living in an environment with my mother—a diligent cultivator—I read Zhuan Falun and did the exercises with her, but only when she asked and never truly of my own accord. This continued for years.
Somewhere along the line, I lost sight of what Falun Dafa really is and thought of it only as a cure for health problems. I had a notion that when life is going well and one has no tribulations, why waste your time practicing cultivation?
Whenever I was ill, I read Zhuan Falun, hoping I’d recover faster. After I recovered, I went back to my everyday life and stopped reading the book. Deep down, I knew this wasn’t right.
Master said,
“Speaking of qigong, some people might say, “Without an illness, who would practice qigong?” This implies that qigong is meant for healing illness. That is a very, very shallow understanding.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun).
My mom reminded me to genuinely study the Fa, and not only when I had hardships. So I changed my thinking and started to read Zhuan Falun every day, but only half-heartedly. Sometimes I even skipped reading. I was not diligent, nor did I truly consider myself a Falun Dafa practitioner. Then, in 2025, something clicked.
Suddenly my everyday life became bleak, and uneventful. I lost interest in the games I used to play and all other activities—it was all unappealing. Having read the book a couple times, I realized I should start cultivating seriously.
My mom often shares with me about the importance of being a true practitioner and the duties one has to fulfill, like assisting Master in saving sentient beings. One night, I thought of the sentient beings I’ve been called upon to save, that there were lives out there depending on me. Yet, I still didn’t start cultivating properly. All of these factors pushed me closer to finally start cultivation, yet it still wasn’t enough.
My mom read Master’s newly published article a few days later, and shared it with me. In “Critical Times Reveal One’s Spiritual State,” Master said, “There is little time left!”
I found what Master said was very good, but this sentence “There is little time left!” shook me to my very core It was only then that I truly searched within myself to find the reason I didn’t start cultivating. I contemplated the issue deeply in the dead of night. The fact is, my mom had told me many times that the time left to cultivate was dwindling by the second. I pondered what truly matters at present: to delude myself in society or to fulfill the vow I made to Master. At last, I truly wanted to practice cultivation and devote myself to saving sentient beings.
Prioritizing Cultivation Practice
I began to read one lecture of Zhuan Falun, do all the exercises, and send forth righteous thoughts every day. But, being a student, it’s hard for me to fit in reading and practicing along with academics in my schedule. I decided to sleep less and get up early in the morning to do the exercises. My day began with two hours of practice in the morning. I read the Fa in the afternoon and sent righteous thoughts at the designated times. I’ve not missed practicing or reading since the day I began, February 2, 2025.
At first, I kept to this schedule. But it’s hard to remain strict with yourself when you practice alone. I had a perfect partner to work with, ensuring I remain vigilant: my mother. We set a schedule of both reading and practicing that aligns with our responsibilities. We practice early in the morning and read Zhuan Falun, and at night we read Master’s other lectures. My mom told me, “Ever since we started practicing together, you’ve helped me remain diligent as I often procrastinate.” I could relate to this. Doing this together created an environment where neither of us slacked off, as we would have on our own.
Refining My Character by Reciting the Fa
As my reading progressed, I gained a clearer understanding of how practitioners should conduct themselves. I began searching withing myself for areas that I may need to refine so my behavior conforms to the Fa.
First and most notably, I suppressed my desire to play games and use the Internet. Master said,
“This is aliens’ technology, and demons are utilizing it to get you hooked, get you to abandon everything you have, and have you devote yourself to it. It’s wasting your life, yet you are loath to put it down！ Even from the perspective of being human you are not right, let alone in cultivation.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)
I mustered all my resolve and restrained my desire to go on my computer. I strictly avoided using the Internet for trivial means for a specific period of time, and I allowed the passage of time to weaken my attachment to video games. Of course, giving up the Internet was hard. Sheer willpower and understanding of the Fa through reading greatly contributed to my letting go of this attachment. When I gave up games and surfing the Internet, my head felt much lighter, and the brain fog I once had disappeared. I also found myself significantly more proactive in terms of creativity regarding school work. These are the few changes I’ve noticed since I’ve overcome this attachment.
Next, I paid attention to my temper. I’d always been short-tempered and lacked patience and understanding. In other words, I wasn’t tolerant. This attachment was deeply rooted, and I could rarely predict when I would lash out. For example, when I spoke to my sister, I might have belittled her when she was slow to understand me. When I spoke to my mom, I often raised my voice when I was impatient. After reading Zhuan Falun several times, I corrected this behavior and practiced restraint. There is a sentence in Zhuan Falun I found useful in dealing with this problem. Master said;
“If you always maintain a heart of benevolence and compassion, when a problem arises suddenly, you will have a buffer and room to think.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun).
I remembered Master’s words whenever I was confronted with a problem, and I remained calm during conversations and disputes. I found that memorizing this sentence made all the difference, because whenever I’m in a conflict, I can recall what Master said and stay composed.
An odd situation arose. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been excellent in whatever I do, be it physically or academically. I excelled in both areas. This led the people around me to respect and praise me. With the constant stream of admiration, I developed the attachments of showing off and competitiveness. Suddenly, my friends became jealous and disrespectful. It was only when this happened that I realized I had these attachments, which were deeply hidden. I saw that, deep down, I was always troubled by what others thought of me and felt I needed to show what I was capable of to gain favor. Since I was always on top, I feared losing status and I competed with others.
When my friends who once respected me began to mock and denegrate me, I realized my competitiveness and showing off had an impact on what others thought of me, and, over time, they became jealous. Where they once complimented me, they now criticized me. I realized their sudden shift in behavior was Master’s arrangement to help me discover my deeply concealed attachments. I quickly worked on removing them.
I found another attachment—the attachment to food. Growing up, I often asked, “What are we having for dinner?” I wasn’t particularly picky about what food was to be served, but I preferred tasty things. I took swimming classes. During one class, I swallowed a mouthful of water and was literally drowning—I genuinely thought I was about to die. The first thought that came to my mind was, “I can’t die today, we’re having fried chicken dinner!” I forced myself to breathe as hard as I could, and, miraculously, I survived. This attachment was quite strong when I was younger, but now, as I’m older, the attachment has faded. In order to repress and remove this attachment, I recited a sentence Master said:
“If one does not have any attachment, it is fine to eat just about anything to fill one’s stomach.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun).
Once I identified this attachment I eliminated it. I resisted the temptation to ask about what we were having, let go of my overall preference for meat, and became indifferent to all types of food.
Overcoming Fear and Anxiety
I had another big attachment: the attachment to fear and anxiety. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been afraid of displaying myself. I fear people’s stares and always felt someone was judging me.
I always struggle to maintain my composure when I feel I’m exposed—I often feel quite embarrassed. As I write this, I fear that if I am chosen to speak on stage, I might just break down, as I’d have to speak in front of many people, something I can’t imagine doing.
Encouraged by my mother, however, I willed myself to write this article in hopes that it might be of use to other new practitioners like me who may be dealing with similar situations. With this thought in mind, I felt more confident in my writing and thought that if I had to go on stage I’d do well.
Now that I am diligently cultivating, I have to follow Master’s expectations and do the three things practitioners ought to do. I practice the exercises, read the Fa, and send righteous thoughts every day. All that’s left to do is to tell people about Falun Dafa and save sentient beings. I began going to the local community center with my mom every weekend to do the exercises so people can learn about Falun Dafa.
I started distributing flyers to promote Shen Yun. My mom showed me how to do it and what to do in certain situations.
I had a remarkable experience. While I was leaving flyers on people’s doors, some people were outside their homes. Due to my attachments of fear and anxiety, I wanted to avoid interactions at all costs, so, most of the time, when I saw garages open or people outside, I skipped those houses. I was about to skip a house because the homeowner was outside, when a powerful gust of wind blew a flyer out of my hand and dropped it on the person’s driveway. The man picked it up and asked what Shen Yun was. I explained Shen Yun’s purpose and how communism in China was suppressing citizens and destroying traditional culture. He was quite knowledgeable about the Chinese Communist Party, so we had a long conversation. He acknowledged Shen Yun, and how evil the Party was. This incident really stuck with me. I believe this was Master‘s arrangement to help me to abandon my attachment of fear and complete my task as a practitioner.
Closing Remarks
I’m eternally grateful for having obtained the Fa and even more so for the destiny to learn it. I thank Master, who’s helped me in various challenges throughout my cultivation journey thus far; my mother, who always reminds me to remain diligent; and all the practitioners who’ve assisted me.
I’m incredibly thankful that I learned about Dafa and accepted it. In this day and age, young people my age have been exposed to the degenerate culture of today’s world, be it video-games, social media, or any other types of interference. I found it difficult to adapt from a modern youth’s degraded lifestyle to that of cultivating in Falun Dafa, but, as Master has said:
“We have said that Dafa is boundless, and it is completely up to your heart to practice cultivation. The master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you, yourself to practice cultivation. It all depends upon how you, yourself practice cultivation. Whether you can practice cultivation all depends upon whether you can endure, sacrifice, and suffer. If you can commit your mind, no difficulties can stop you. I would say that there is not a problem.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun).
I believe that, if you’re determined to cultivate, there will be no problem—even if you have been raised in this modern day environment. I promise, Master, I’ll thrive in cultivation, be resolute, and fulfill my mission well.
Heshi.
(Selected Sharing Article Presented at the 2025 Canada Fa Conference)
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