(Clearwisdom.net)
Emily: Greetings Master, Greetings fellow practitioners. My name is Emily Huang. I am 14 years old.
Nathan: Greetings Master, Greetings fellow practitioners. My name is Nathan Huang. I am 11 years old.
Emily: We have been cultivating with our parents for almost seven years. Seven years is a long time, but whenever we hear other practitioners' experience sharing and see how well they have cultivated, we feel ashamed. I often asked myself, "What is wrong with me; why don't I have such good experiences? How come I cannot improve myself like other practitioners?"
Nathan: We had not been cultivating very well. Sometimes we did not want to do the exercises or send forth righteous thoughts. We did not read the Fa often and always looked for excuses. About six months ago, our father installed Teamspeak on the computer for us so we could read the Fa with other young practitioners. An elderly practitioner, living in Dallas, leads the reading group. We read English Zhuan Falun every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Chinese Zhuan Falun every Tuesday and Thursday. We read for 30 minutes each time. Reading the Fa in English helps me understand it better. My Chinese reading skills have also improved. I feel very lucky to study such a great Fa. It is time to send forth righteous thoughts after we finish reading, so we have naturally been more diligent in sending forth righteous thoughts as well. It is summer break now, so we read on Teamspeak for an hour each time.
Emily: I am in high school now. I am busy with schoolwork and also on the tennis team. Before, I often told myself that I was too busy to read the Fa every day. I didn't go to Minghui school often either. I felt that my cultivation status was getting worse. My parents often pointed it out, and I felt ashamed. Since we started reading the Fa on Teamspeak every day, I feel that I've improved a lot. Now, when I am reading with my parents on weekends, I can read fluently. Sometimes, I also read one lecture by myself without any external help.
Reading the Fa on Teamspeak helps me in other aspects too. Since we read the Fa in Chinese twice a week, my Chinese has improved. I have become one of the top students in the Chinese school. When other people ask me how I have improved my Chinese, I tell them that I read Chinese Zhuan Falun. Since my Chinese is very good now, I entered a Chinese speech competition on behalf of our school last month. I also won second place in a Chinese Karaoke competition.
Through cultivation, I realized what thoughts are righteous for a practitioner. I am taking chemistry now. It is hard for a student like me, who is not exceptionally smart. Once, I had a chemistry exam the next day, but I had not learned the textbook contents. I also had to write an essay for my English course and make a poster for my Chinese project, which were both due the next day. After I got out of school, I started working on my projects at 3 p.m. I read the chemistry textbook for a while, then worked on the Chinese poster, and then I came back to chemistry. When my brother asked me to read the Fa with him, I told him to go ahead by himself because I didn't have any time. At night, I felt everything became worse. My English essay was horrible, my poster was a mess, and I still didn't understand some of the chemistry contents.
I don't know if my father knew that I hadn't read the Fa that day. When he came into my room, he asked me to read with him. I was mad. I told him that I didn't have time, but he insisted. Finally, I reluctantly read a section with him. After we finished it, I was still not happy because I thought I had wasted time. I thought that I could read the Fa at any time, so why did he ask me to read that night when I was so busy? After a while, I was disappointed at myself for having such unrighteous thoughts. However, a miracle happened. After the Fa study, I finished my English essay and Chinese project very quickly. My mind became clear, even though we just read a short section of the Fa. I got 90 out of 100 on the chemistry exam. I then realized that I had been looking for excuses when I thought that I was busy. Actually, no matter how busy I am, reading the Fa is the most important thing. If I tell myself that I have time, if I have that thought, then I must be able to find time to read the Fa and do the exercises. I learned that righteous thoughts are very important.
Nathan: Clarifying the truth is one of the three things that Master asked us to do. I and other young practitioners often participate in all kinds of community activities. We clarify the truth through traditional Chinese performances. The girls dance and I perform the lion dance with another boy. I have to follow him, because I am the rear part of the lion's body. Some movements are very difficult and exhausting. Sometimes, my back hurts and my legs feel painful. One time, I was already very tired, my body was in pain, and I was sweating a lot, but the other boy still asked me to practice a difficult movement - jumping on top of my thigh. I was unhappy, thinking, "It is easy for you to say that. I am very tired already. If you think it is easy, why don't you try?" Sometimes, during rehearsal, our coach tells us "Let's do it five more times, then you can have water and a break." I was so tired, but when I remembered I was doing this for Dafa, I could endure the pain and the tiredness.
Emily: I often participate in truth-clarifying activities with other young practitioners. I practice Chinese dance at Minghui School every Friday. We are often invited by all kinds of organizations or schools to perform. Besides dancing, we demonstrate the exercises every time. We also pass out truth-clarifying materials after or before we perform the Chinese dances.
Every Friday night, we need to practice for two and a half hours. Sometimes our teacher asks us to repeat some movements. I am not happy and sometimes a little mad at the teacher. But most times, I am able to tell myself that I should not think that way. I often tell myself that my purpose is to learn the dance, then to clarify the truth through dance. When I think that way, I become happy.
Nathan: Although we have made some progress in cultivation, we still have some shortcomings. For example, I lied to my parents recently, which made them mad. I was in a hurry to have breakfast, so I said "yes" to mother, when she asked if I brushed my teeth or not. My mother saw that my toothbrush was dry, so she knew I lied. It is wrong for me to lie and I should have known better as a practitioner. I will obey the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and not lie anymore.
Emily: Master often asks us to look inward. When I look inward, I see a big problem of mine, which is that I don't like to be criticized. Once, our family drove somewhere and we listened to Master's lecture on the way. At a gas station, I fought with my brother. My father criticized me. I was mad. I yelled at my father. At that moment, the volume of Master's lecture, which was played on my father's cell phone, all of sudden became very high. My father smiled. He pointed at the cell phone, and said: "See? Did you hear what Master said? When you are criticized, you get mad." I listened and indeed Master was talking about this issue. I was embarrassed. I realized that my xinxing level needed to improve.
Nathan: I still struggle with my attachment to computer games. My parents told me that I should do something else, such as read the Fa, do the exercises, read school books, or do my summer homework. However, I often play computer games when I get a chance. It is a big attachment. A cultivator should not have it. I recently realized that I should spend more time reading the Fa and doing the exercises and be a better cultivator.
Although my sister and I still have many attachments, compared to how we were before, we have improved a lot. We do the exercises at home by ourselves and do the whole set of exercises with our parents on weekends. We send forth righteous thoughts more often. We are more open to criticism from our parents and other practitioners. We will try our best to do better and better in cultivation.
Thank you everyone.
