(Minghui.org) I am 14 years old. I am from Vietnam and the Netherlands, but I have lived in Kenya for about nine years. I began practicing Falun Dafa on February 9th this year. My grandmother showed me the exercises and told me about Falun Dafa when I was nine or ten. At the time, I read some lectures in Zhuan Falun and occasionally did the exercises, but it was mostly because my mom asked me to.
But since February, I have been actively cultivating by studying the Fa, doing the exercises daily, and sending forth righteous thoughts. I am determined to study the Fa, practice Falun Dafa diligently, and help others by telling them about Dafa.
Striving to Practice Diligently
When I decided to become a practitioner in February, I did the exercises every day, but I only read a few sections of a lecture in Zhuan Falun each day. I also did not read Master’s lectures from Fa conferences. But then I began to study the Fa more and I became more diligent.
I decided that, on school days I would get up at 4:30 a.m., and my mother agreed. So my mother and I began waking up at 4:30 a.m. to do the exercises on most school days—until online school began. Even now, since school is online, I wake up around 5:00 a.m., but I am not as consistent as before.
I’ve also started to read a lecture a day and with my mother. I also read Zhuan Falun Volume II or Essentials for Further Advancement in the evening. On Sundays, I read the Fa conference lectures with my nanny, my mom, my grandma, Auntie Mei, and her friends. Sometimes during online school, I finish my work early during the class period and I use the time to read Zhuan Falun and other Fa lectures. Sometimes I can even read about half a lecture. Each day, I do the exercises early in the morning, afternoon, or sometimes in the evening. That way, when I do my schoolwork, it is so much easier and I have a lot of energy to get through the day. The days pass by so quickly.
Regarding tribulations, I have not come across major ones, but on some days my mind is not at rest and I keep thinking of bad things. When this happens I usually recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” in my mind and remind myself that Falun Dafa targets one’s mind, and after enduring, I can build my own mighty virtue. After this, my body feels a lot lighter and schoolwork is much easier. Waking up early is also not a problem anymore. And I feel everything is wonderful!
I also recently joined a Fa study group to memorize Zhuan Falun. My mom and grandmother are also in the same study group with many of my family members. I try to memorize a paragraph or half a paragraph each day depending on the length of the paragraph. Sometimes when I do not have enough time to memorize a paragraph, the next day or maybe the following day, I will memorize two paragraphs. At present, the people in our Fa study group are memorizing Lecture Four.
Relinquishing Attachments and Improving Myself
I used to play video games, but after practicing Falun Dafa I don’t play them anymore. I used to play video games on my phone or computer, and sometimes I would play until very late at night. I also played video games while riding the school bus or at my friend’s house. I even bought a computer mouse with my allowance. During online school in 8th grade, I played video games so much that I hardly got any schoolwork done. I used to play video games so many hours a day that I hardly got out of the house to play sports like I used to. Now I don’t really play sports nor do I play video games. When I went to my friend’s house I played a lot of video games with him. My friend and I only played a little because he asked, but I did not find it fun at all. I think this attachment is very bad, maybe even as bad as the attachment to smoking, so I have stopped it.
I now hardly use my phone and laptop, unless it is for Minghui or FalunDafa.org or for school purposes. I know I relinquished this attachment because benevolent Master has helped me.
Another attachment I eliminated was the attachment to food as I used to buy candy from the shop every week. But now, even when I go to the shopping mall with my parents, I do not buy candy.
I have a Vietnamese nanny who has been with our family since I was one year old. When I got older, especially after we moved to Kenya, Nanny and I often argued about things such as food. But now that I am a Dafa practitioner, I do not argue with her anymore. When she shouts at me, I just let it go. We would often argue about me eating food outside of mealtimes but now, as a Dafa practitioner, I no longer do that.
Before I became a practitioner, my dad and I would often argue about things, anything from using the proper cutlery during meals to my future plans. But now that I am a practitioner, my dad and I no longer have any conflicts—because to have a conflict you must have at least two people to fight or argue, and I do not fight or argue back.
Master told us,
“When one runs into a conflict, it may manifest as a xinxing tribulation between two persons. If you can endure it, your karma will be eliminated, your xinxing will improve, and your gong will increase as well.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
When my dad gets angry or yells at me, I usually do not say anything, unless he asks a question. I just let it go and remain calm. It is not even a challenge anymore.
Master told us, “You should always maintain a compassionate and calm heart.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I also used to tease my little sister about her math questions she could not answer. Sometimes I teased her so much that she would cry. Since I am now a Dafa practitioner, I now know I need to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be kind to her. I no longer tease her. I try to be as compassionate as possible and my little sister also has become kinder to me. She even gave me a piece of homemade chocolate she made herself.
When I examine myself I see there are many things I need to improve on in my xinxing, such as relinquishing attachments, forbearance, having a clearer and cleaner mind, and an unmoved heart. These are areas where I still need to improve. But as a Dafa practitioner, I have to be a good person in all circumstances, so I am constantly improving myself.
Besides my mom and me, many other family members in Vietnam and in Sydney practice Falun Dafa, especially on my mom’s side.
Clarifying the Truth and Telling Others about Falun Dafa
I usually send forth righteous thoughts three or four times a day. One day, I told my mom that I wanted to wake up every day at midnight to send forth righteous thoughts with her. Some days we didn’t manage to wake up for the late night sending righteous thoughts. Other times the alarm goes off, but I do not wake up. Recently we have been waking up to send forth righteous thoughts.
One of my friends has started practicing Falun Dafa as well. He’s a very good friend, and we did the exercises together a few times at our house before he began practicing on his own. I showed him the exercises and my mother and I gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun. When we go to each other’s houses we do the exercises, send forth righteous thoughts, and read Zhuan Falun together. I have also given lotus flowers and leaflets to other classmates and friends in school.
My mom and I also give brochures to people on the street and at the shopping mall. Once, we saw some people washing cars, and we gave them brochures. When my mom explained Dafa to them, they were interested and wanted to learn. So we came back a couple of times to show them the instructional video on how to do the exercises. As my mom was holding her phone to show them the instructional video of Master teaching the exercises, they followed Master’s movements attentively.
There are some Indian-Kenyans that live near our house. They were suffering from the loss of a family member and couldn’t sleep. My mom and I went to their house to show them the meditation, and they really appreciated it. We went to their house a couple of times a week, and now they also practice by themselves every day. One of them—a little boy—had some heart problems and difficulty breathing. After doing the Falun Dafa meditation for two weeks, his mom said his health improved dramatically.
During spring break, I practiced writing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Chinese characters on large pieces of paper and I wanted to ask my teachers to hang them up in their classrooms. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are currently in school online, but on May 10, the schools began reopening here. I plan to give brochures to the people in school before it closes for the summer holidays. On May 13, World Falun Dafa Day, I also plan to bring a lot of brochures to school and give them to people to clarify the truth.
Before I practiced Falun Dafa I often got angry and frustrated with my family and friends. I sometimes wouldn’t finish doing my homework or turn in my assignments, and I was not happy in general.
Now that I am a Dafa practitioner, I do not get angry or frustrated even when I face tribulations. I know that tribulations are to improve my xinxing, relinquish human attachments, and eliminate bad things. I feel much happier, and I know being a Dafa practitioner is a different kind of happiness. It is true happiness.
Dafa has helped me find true peace and my true self.
I am very and forever grateful to our venerable Master. Falun Dafa is great! Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2021 Online International Young Practitioners Experience Sharing Conference)
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