(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Before the persecution of Falun Dafa began in 1999, many children practiced with their parents and some were even able to see beautiful scenes in other dimensions.
Unfortunately, many young disciples had difficulty practicing after their parents were persecuted. As they grew older and mingled with everyday society, they became attracted by the temptations of the ordinary world and stopped practicing.
I would like to share my daughter's cultivation experience with the young people who used to practice. I wish to encourage them to resume practicing.
My Daughter Begins to Practice
By the time she was 4 years old, my daughter had vision problems. She had amblyopia and astigmatism in one eye, and the other one was nearsighted. She had to wear special glasses to correct her vision, and a piece of cloth was taped over the other lens. She was only able to see with one eye.
When she was in first grade, she often read the questions on tests incorrectly due to her poor vision. During the parents' meetings, her teacher asked me, “How can your daughter be so sloppy?”
My daughter's grades were below average. I knew how she was struggling, but I felt helpless.
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997. After I practiced a year, my husband noticed how my outlook on life and my health had improved. He thought Dafa was amazing and encouraged our daughter to also practice. Our daughter happily agreed.
When we did the exercises together one Sunday morning, I happened to glance at my daughter as we were doing the second exercise, the Falun Standing Stance. Both her arms were raised above her head, and her eyes were closed. Yellow mucus flowed from her nostrils and rolled down her chin. She did not move one bit. I admired her willpower.
After that day, she did the exercises and studied the Fa with us after finishing her school work. Her sinus problem went away and her eyesight improved gradually.
She knew she was a practitioner and behaved according to the teachings of Falun Dafa. For example, when it was her turn to clean the classroom, she often did the chores her classmates did not want to do. She mopped the floor and emptied the trash when her classmates had already gone home.
When I did not see her coming home, I went to the school to pick her up. When I saw the dust on her clothes and hair, I did not have the heart to scold her for being late. Children today act like “little emperors”, and expect their parents to wait on them. My daughter was like a “little servant girl,” happy to serve others.
I was never able to take my daughter to school because I had to work. So she walked to school alone, carrying her heavy book bag. The other parents often told me, “Your daughter is self-reliant, and she will accomplish big things in the future. She does well in school and is a good person. How did you teach her so well?” I always told them, “She behaves so well because she practices Falun Dafa.”
Persisting in Cultivation and Achieving Academic Excellence
In July 1999 a former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), used his power to carry out an unprecedented persecution on Falun Dafa. The CCP used the school system to teach children to hate and fear Falun Dafa.
In her political science class, whenever the teacher mentioned “Falun Dafa,” all the other students' eyes turned to my daughter. No one understood the pressure she had to endure.
The teacher often called my daughter to the office, in order to convince her to stop practicing. My daughter always said, “My mom and dad tell me that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good. How is this wrong?”
Many times, there were questions on the final exams which slandered Falun Dafa. No matter how many points were assigned to those questions, my daughter never answered them. One concerned teacher kindly told me, “I don't object to your beliefs, but please don't ruin your child's future. Those questions are worth several points and can help your daughter in school. I'm really worried about her!”
The middle school hired an American as their English Language teacher, and my daughter became very proficient in English. After dinner, she would go out for a walk with the American teacher and his wife and conversed with them in English.
The couple praised my daughter for her diligence in learning the language, and they were very friendly with her. My daughter told them about Falun Dafa and how it's being persecuted, and the couple was sympathetic and supportive. This was a great encouragement for my daughter.
The city often hosted English Language competitions for middle school students, and the school recommended that my daughter participate.
When she graduated from junior high school, the school leaders and teachers gave her the highest grade on her outstanding aptitude. They also added ten points to her application for the city student merits.
It was mandatory for high school students to live in the dorms, so my daughter lost the cultivation environment she had at home. We bought her an MP3 so that she could listen to Master's lectures in the evenings.
It was usually late in the evening by the time she finished her school work. She was usually so tired, that she often immediately fell asleep and she could not listen to the lectures.
She came home one weekend and said, “Mom, I feel like a non-practitioner when I don't study the Fa. I still have a strong attachment to jealousy. I cannot stand others having better grades than I do, and I don't like it when the female students wear makeup.”
I said, “No matter how much pressure you have in school, you must take time to study the Fa. Can you spare 15-20 minutes each day?”
My daughter was determined. She listened to Master's lectures before going to bed, even if it was only one section of the lecture. “Listening to Master's lecture every day is my compulsory course,” she said.
My daughter continued to study the Fa during her three years in high school. Dafa helped her raise her cultivation level and broadened her heart. She had good grades and always helped her classmates.
When her classmates had questions, she patiently explained the answers and shared her notes with them. Her friends said to her, “Our time is so tight, where do you find the time to help others?” She knew time was of the essence when preparing for the college entrance examination, but she thought that as long as people needed her help, she should be selfless and help them.
The other students were nervous the night before the college entrance examination. Some barely slept, and some forced themselves to sleep. My daughter was sound asleep by 9:00 p.m., and her classmates were very envious that she was so relaxed!
Three years of intense school work did not weaken her eyesight. On the contrary, her eyesight was better than 20/20! I believe it was because she never gave up practicing and so she experienced the wonders of Falun Dafa.
Remaining Diligent
Because of her excellent scores, my daughter was admitted to a good university. The curriculum in college was much easier than in high school, but there were many activities. It's not easy for a young person to continue cultivating, as there are many temptations in society, and the Party culture permeates every aspect of life in China.
Master said,
“While many beings from high planes have come here, so have many demons that have incarnated as humans; they stir up trouble in this world, and have been constantly trying to get people into “new” trends of thinking.”
“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.,” Yellow Team Translation)
Many girls wore makeup, permed their hair, got eyelid surgery, pierced their ears, and wore nail polish. They also talked about boyfriends, played games, and chatted online. It was a big challenge for my daughter living in that kind of environment. Could she resist the temptations and continue to cultivate?
My daughter was an English language radio show host at her university. She was in charge of programming and some students suggested broadcasting love stories. My daughter said there were already too many love stories, and suggested a brand new program.
She found stories of traditional culture that were suitable for young people, which she translated into English and edited for the program. The show was broadcast into every corner of the school. She once said to me proudly, "I am a lotus flower rising out the muddy world! [meaning she is able to maintain a pure heart in the face of temptations]."
My daughter always had the MP3 with her during her university days and listened to the lectures in her spare time. She aligned her thoughts and actions with the Fa's principles.
Sometimes she felt wronged when others blamed things on her, even though she was not at fault. Whenever this happened, she would listen to the lectures and understood that nothing was coincidental on our cultivation paths. When she enlightened to the Fa principles, the conflict was resolved. She often said to me, “Mom, I feel so fortunate to practice Falun Dafa!”
After she graduated from college, the school recommended a highly sought after Masters and Ph.D. program at a prestigious university to accept her.
When I heard this, I became emotional. My daughter has been cultivating for 20 years. Despite the changes in her environment and the time when my husband and I were persecuted and jailed, she never stopped practicing.
No matter what kind of hardships she encountered, Master and Dafa always protected her and helped her, and she remained steadfast on her cultivation path.
Thank you, Master!
