(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) when I was in elementary school. I learned it with my mother four years before the persecution began. Throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and graduate school and from being a student to an employee, I’ve followed Dafa’s principles to improve my character and be a good person.
First Tests
Just several months after I began practicing Dafa, I was involved in an incident similar to the one described in Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, of an elderly woman who was hit by a car.
I was with some adults who were going to take a bus to visit relatives in the countryside. As we approached the bus stop, I felt a wave of dizziness and was jostled forward by a crowd of people. Suddenly, the crowd dispersed, and a truck came speeding from behind, hitting me hard. The impact sent me spinning to the side about 10 meters ahead. My mind was reeling, but I remembered Master said in the book that the driver did not do it on purpose. I didn’t want the adults to give the driver a hard time, so I told them I was fine, and they let the driver go.
On the bus, my lower back and hips hurt, but I didn’t tell anyone. In the countryside, I was walking along a field path with a relative’s child. I noticed that when I didn’t dwell on the accident, the pain was less, but whenever I became anxious and thought about the crash, the pain intensified.
Just then, a cow charged straight toward me. In my attempt to dodge it, I fell into the field. The other child grabbed its horns and calmed it down. But the animal suddenly went wild again, and the child, frightened, also fell into the field. Just then, an adult appeared on the ridge above and shouted a command that stopped the cow. It felt as if I had re-injured my lower back. Yet, remembering that pain would serve as a hardship for me to endure so that I could eliminate karma, I did not mention this to the adults.
These two incidents occurred on the same day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The very next day, I began to experience severe back pain. The pain intensified when I was anxious but eased up and became manageable when I was calm. After a month or two, the pain subsided, flaring up only when I was physically active.
This condition persisted for two to three years and was accompanied by frequent urination. I knew it was karma elimination, so I maintained my xinxing and didn’t fuss about it. It wasn’t until I was in middle school that, one day while mopping the floor at home, I suddenly noticed my back pain had vanished. From then on, the frequent urination also largely disappeared. The whole process was a test meant for me to improve my xinxing.
How I Handled Schoolwork
From elementary school to college, the main cultivation tests I faced during my student days were how I handled my schoolwork and treated my classmates.
When I was very young, I sustained a head injury, which caused frequent dizziness and made it difficult for me to focus on my studies. I also loved playing with my friends. My grades were merely above average. After I obtained the Fa, my mind cleared up and the dizziness went away. I knew Master cleansed my body. Within a single semester, I shot to the top of the class. From then on, my scores were consistently among the best in the class.
I attended highly sought-after “key” schools from elementary through high school, and the teachers, parents, and students all focused on academic performance. I was surrounded by two prevailing mindsets. The first was a long-standing belief that education existed solely to improve one’s standard of living and secure wealth and status. Driven by concerns about their future prospects, students competed fiercely over grades. What permeated both the school campus and after-school tutoring were social comparison, exclusion, and jealousy.
The second was a widespread attitude, reminiscent of the “uselessness of education” rhetoric from the Cultural Revolution, that disparaged academic study in favor of securing a desirable career through personal connections, such as pulling strings or using “backdoor” channels to gain admission to elite schools or land prestigious jobs.
Those holding the first view often regarded the pursuit of fame and fortune as the primary motivation for learning, whereas those holding the second view often dismissed education as merely a means to utilitarian ends.
Just as I was pondering whether learning was utilitarian, I read what Master said:
“I can tell you this: what you do to achieve some personal goals of yours and satisfy your own interests and desires are attachments, whereas the things you do for the public, for the common good, for others, or in trying to do a good job at work and school, are what you should do. Think about it: for a [Falun Gong] student who is a school student, your natural duty is to study well, since you are a student.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Guangzhou,” Explaining the Teachings of Zhuan Falun)
From this, I understood that both views about education were far from following Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, being a good person, and doing things for the common good. The true meaning of education lies in discovering something better that can help others.
So I asked myself: “Given my parents’ financial difficulties, is my education merely a means to ensure my own survival? Or am I striving for high grades solely for the sake of future prospects, fame, and fortune? Do I look down on my classmates with poor grades or envy those who excel? Do I need to go to tutoring classes just to boost my scores? Are the tutoring programs truly beneficial and oriented toward the well-being of others? How much of what is currently taught in schools represents objective truth and correct understanding?” I wanted to discover, through my studies, what is truly beneficial and altruistic, so that I could apply what I learned to better serve others in the future. Consequently, throughout my student years, I worked hard to overcome negative thoughts and influences.
I made some breakthroughs in these areas:
Eliminating Jealousy
In schools across China, especially at sought-after schools, competition is fierce, often involving covert rivalry, and relationships between students—as well as between students and teachers—can be tense. By following the principles of Dafa and letting go of jealousy and the urge to compare myself with others, I helped my classmates with an open and sincere heart. This helped temper the feelings of jealousy over grades in my class and fostered positive interpersonal relationships.
From middle school through university, I maintained excellent relationships with my classmates, and gossip among students never reached me. Furthermore, my classmates, regardless of their academic performance, were able to come together for open discussions to share ideas about specific problems, study methods, and perspectives on society.
Letting Go of the Desire for Fame, Fortune, and Gain
Once it was clear to me that the purpose of learning was to benefit others, I could view the pursuit of fame and gain with indifference. With a clear mind, I was able to distinguish the beneficial and essential parts of the school curriculum, discarding the useless elements and avoiding training focused merely on tactics to boost test scores. With this in mind, I made excellent grades.
My Thoughts on Extracurricular Tutoring
For today’s students, tutoring classes have become the norm, starting in elementary school and continuing through the increasingly high-pressure years of middle and high school. From reading Zhuan Falun, I found better approaches. Instead of simply having students memorize classical texts and idioms, it would be far more valuable to grasp the essential meaning in classical literature. In short, I believed that a vast store of knowledge did not equate to true intellectual depth. On the contrary, it can scatter one’s attention and act as a barrier to achieving a coherent, integrated understanding.
No Need for a Perfect Score in Every Subject
The content of many subjects in the current curriculum aligned poorly with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and there was little worth knowing. Schools champion high scores, parents demand perfection, and students strive for full marks to avoid corporal punishment or verbal abuse. But was it really necessary to aim for a perfect score in every subject? My answer was no. The current curriculum for middle and high schools, particularly in subjects like Chinese, Politics, and History, is full of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) theories.
Earning a perfect score required giving answers that precisely aligned with the prescribed standards, so, how could one make a high overall score without fully embracing those problematic elements?
My strategy was to disregard the demands of current political ideology. Instead, I focused on maximizing accuracy in subjects like Mathematics, English, Geography, Classical Chinese, and ancient history to offset the points lost on political questions. For the Politics subject, I often answered with concepts from classical European philosophy. While this meant I didn’t get full marks, it allowed me to avoid parroting the regime’s evil theories. In the end, my less-than-perfect performance in Politics did not hinder my college entrance exam results. I earned a high overall score and was admitted to a prestigious university.
Changing the Environment With Righteous Thoughts
After the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Gong, schools were not exempt. During the first few years of the persecution, my school was forced to organize anti-Falun Gong events, coercing all students and faculty to participate. I managed to resist it on occasions.
One time, under pressure from higher authorities, the school was compelled to gather the entire student body in the square to listen to a broadcast filled with malicious propaganda. It was said that everyone would be required to publicly declare their stance. Both teachers and students deeply resented this kind of forced formality.
When I heard that we were expected to declare our position after the broadcast, I asked my homeroom teacher for permission to skip it, and the teacher agreed to let me return to the classroom. Afterward, I came to realize that a cultivator’s righteous thought can change the environment. Surrounded by righteous thoughts, there would be no place for anything unrighteous.
Master said:
“If you can have sufficient righteous thoughts, you can then be towering and massive within your expanse and suppress any bad things that might exist there. Were every Dafa disciple able to achieve this, the entire world would change, since each of you assumes responsibility for a large expanse in this world and represents a certain segment of sentient beings.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume X)
After graduating from university, I was selected for a project funded by an overseas organization. The training program included a section designed to disparage Dafa. I sent forth righteous thoughts to prevent the material from being presented. When the instructor began the lecture, the computer automatically shut down after just over 10 minutes, making it impossible to play the content. Furthermore, many fellow participants asked the instructor to stop discussing the topic, saying that there was no need to re-schedule it. The instructor, having no desire to continue either, did not return, and the section was canceled.
Cultivating as I Contemplated My Career
At the university, the CCP department recruited students, promising benefits like improved graduate school entrance exams and job prospects. Many of my classmates were lured in by these promises.
When the classmate responsible for recruiting new CCP members approached me, I told her outright that I wasn’t interested in participating in such things. When she asked again, I told her I wasn’t even willing to go through the motions just to play along. After all, such credentials wouldn’t necessarily be required for my future career.
In fact, when I graduated from the university, I was offered several highly coveted positions at universities and foreign-owned enterprises based solely on my academic performance. None of them required a specific political affiliation. Similarly, when I was selected for an overseas-funded project, the criteria focused on professional competence rather than Party membership.
It can be seen from these examples that it was possible to find a good job without being swayed by the Party’s inducements.
Preparation for Undergraduate Thesis Defense and Graduate Entrance Exam
During my undergraduate liberal arts studies, I encountered a problem: the campus was saturated with political and historical theories containing malevolent elements, distorted ideas stemming from Western modernism, and ideologies that reject the divine. In Chinese universities, whether a student majors in foreign languages and literature, modern Chinese literature, history, or philosophy, they inevitably encounter these malevolent, distorted ideologies. For the Western liberal arts studies, even if students could avoid the CCP theories, they still have to face the distorted modernist ideas and anti-divine ideologies in disciplines such as language and literature, history, philosophy, and economics.
In my courses at university, I leaned toward traditional and classical culture, discarding ideas that were malevolent or distorted. My undergraduate theses focused on the decisive influence of the “Way of Heaven” on both Eastern and Western traditional cultures, as well as the educational philosophies rooted in this concept. Such topics were rare for undergraduate and master’s theses, yet I succeeded every time in persuading my advisor to approve them. My undergraduate thesis earned an outstanding thesis award.
Another example on achieving success by swimming against the tide and improving character was how I chose the study materials and research directions for the graduate school entrance exams. Because I had to work to cover my tuition and living expenses, I spent only three months preparing for the exam alongside my university teaching duties.
For graduate entrance exams in China, the Politics subject is mandatory and carries significant weight. When I began reviewing the subject a month before the exam, I found the material to be nothing but CCP theories and ideology.. Even Western classical philosophy was completely absent. Although my heart rejected the material, I was compelled to memorize its key points. Consequently, symptoms of illness karma appeared a week before the exam, and I remained in that state throughout the entire examination period.
I failed the Politics subject on the preliminary exam. Furthermore, because the specialized subject exam was based on specific chapters from the curriculum of the university I was applying to, and as a student from a different institution, I was unfamiliar with the material. Given the very limited admission slots, my advisor informed me that, even factoring in the results of the second-round exam, it was highly unlikely I would be admitted.
I reflected on myself and was clear that my motivation for pursuing graduate studies was not the pursuit of fame or fortune. What material should I prepare for the second-round oral exam? I drew upon examples of classical culture I had gathered during my previous studies to substantiate my plans on the specific classical culture topic I intended to research in graduate school and explained its significance. During the oral exam, the professors, whom I was meeting for the first time, really appreciated this research direction and gave me a high score. Consequently, my performance in the second round offset the deficit from the politics and specialized subject in the preliminary exam. Out of more than a dozen candidates who entered the second-round, I was admitted with the second-highest score.
From my experiences in education and employment, I have learned that it was Master’s compassionate protection that enabled me to go against the tide, identify and eliminate my attachments, improve my character, and overcome hardships.
Hardships and tribulations are opportunities for us to improve and cultivate better. As long as we study the Fa well and keep righteous thoughts, we will be able to walk on the right cultivation path and validate Dafa. What Master arranged for us is always the best. I am so grateful to Master!
