(Minghui.org) My name is Xiaoming, and I am a 16-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner. As I began to cultivate more diligently in the latter half of 2020, I realized the extent to which attachments can alter a person. I first stepped onto my cultivation path with many layers of attachments and I was not truly cultivating. Looking back now, I feel ashamed. After online classes began at the start of this year, I consistently began studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and doing the exercises for an hour every day. I have since added the fifth exercise to my schedule and whenever the opportunity arises. I also go out and clarify the truth. Through this brief period, I have gained some experiences that I hope to share with you.
Peer Tutoring and Removing Notions
Before online classes began, I used to do in-person tutoring for students in my school and the sessions were quite easy-going as my peers were fairly smart. It was easy for them to understand what I was saying, and they quickly picked up on what I taught. After classes were moved online, a classmate asked if I could tutor him, and I said yes without much thought. But as soon as our first session started, I became impatient with him. His English wasn’t the best, and I also didn’t speak the language he spoke, so it was quite slow to tutor him in chemistry and algebra. This led me to become impatient and aggravated. I sighed a lot and my voice became quite loud with him at times. Whenever the person next door heard me, they would say, “You’re tutoring him again? This is surely a test for you.”
At first, my tone of voice became impatient as soon as I began to tutor him. This continued for about two weeks until I remembered that I was a cultivator and that I needed to look within unconditionally. So why didn’t I?
I found that I had quite a lot of resentment towards this person, and had a bad impression of him ever since he came to our school. I looked down on him, thought he wasn’t very smart, and that he looked foolish. Looking back, I feel very bad that I thought this way. He was very brave to come to the U.S. After interacting with him for a period of time, I found that he was actually very gifted. The next day I tutored him we went over a practice problem he was struggling with.
In the past, I would’ve scolded him with phrases like: “How could you not understand such an easy concept? These are the basics!” But at that moment, I realized that it was time for me to eliminate my resentment. I needed to reject those negative thoughts, and it didn’t matter if he was able to solve the question today or not. As long as I removed my resentment, then I had already accomplished something big. As soon as I had this thought, the correct answer slipped right out of his mouth.
After that, I maintained a peaceful mentality and continued to calmly tutor him. I found that although he struggled with the English language, he was actually great in many other respects. There were many things he understood without too much explanation. It was really as Master said,
“We say that when you take a step back in a conflict, you will find the seas and the skies boundless.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I understood that a tough situation can be changed by compromising a little.
Experiences of Living with a Fellow Practitioner
It is not easy living with another practitioner, as there are many xinxing tests that come with it. Would it be considered a test if it didn’t really get to us when we try to overcome ordeals during our cultivation? I now understand that even when a fellow practitioner has done something wrong, I still must look inward and cultivate myself.
For example, my housemate and I decided to wake up early every day and study the Fa, but sometimes she would oversleep and delay our Fa study schedule. She always had her own version of events and excuses when this happened, and I half listened to her reasons why. Sometimes when she overslept, I just let her continue sleeping and read the Fa by myself, hoping it would be a lesson for her. But after a while, I thought that this wasn’t right either. I realized it was not right for me to wake up early alone and not concern myself with the fact that I let my fellow practitioner sleep in. When I woke up, I also woke her up to do the exercises and study the Fa.
I also realized that there were some grudges and hidden resentment in my interactions with her. Since she’s fairly busy, I often handle most of the housework – which includes doing the dishes, cooking, vacuuming, tending the garden, or just household chores in general. Because I am strong, I don’t let her do any physically demanding work either. Unwittingly, some arrogance also manifested in my heart. Whenever she did something wrong, I would seize the opportunity to criticize her. I thought what I had to say was very reasonable, but my tone was often very bad.
I started to change my way of talking to her. I still pointed out her wrongdoings, but Dafa looks at one’s heart. If I’m pointing out faults for the sake of scolding her, then that thought is wrong. If I’m pointing out something for the sake of helping her, however, she tends to be more receptive and the result tends to be better too. After changing my tone when I speak with her, I’ve found that our interactions have become much more harmonious.
Understandings on Modern Technology
About alien technology Master said,
“It was they who created science for human beings. So this science was set up by aliens. Their purpose was to unify human beings and simplify their thoughts to the point of being as uniform as machines. And they unified knowledge to make it easy for them to later on control and replace human beings.” (Teaching at the Conference in Switzerland)
When I first read this I felt it was hard to believe, but I gradually realized that other than extraterrestrial beings, no other life form could invent such degenerate technology.
This is my own understanding, but I’ve also recognized the incredibly harmful impact of technology on myself, my friends, fellow practitioners, as well as the sentient beings we’re here to save. Technology is everywhere. As someone born after 2000, I came into contact with TVs and computers as soon as I was born. I received my first smartphone when I was around ten years old, which meant I could go on the Internet, play games, and watch whatever I wanted all day long, all of which only served to encourage my attachments.
A while ago, I made the decision to delete all apps not related to school work or my cultivation from my phone. After doing so, I felt that my mood was lifted and as if pressure had been lifted off of me. I used to validate using social media apps with reasons like being able to easily contact friends and fellow practitioners, but these were actually all excuses that inevitably led to more distractions in this chaotic world.
The Changes Cultivation Brought Me
I actually was not really a great person before, but many of my bad habits are slowly being resolved through my cultivation. Before taking up cultivation, I didn’t understand what modesty was and I thought I was extraordinary. Of course, that was not the real me, but it influenced me greatly. The most prominent characteristic of those who believe firmly in materialism is that they focus their attention on worldly things, and ordinary people’s baseline for morality is also very ambiguous. In the past, I often talked with a non-practitioner friend about the issue of morality. Since I am a cultivator, I believe in the existence of higher beings, but he thought that such things were only imaginary. I asked him where the baseline for morality is drawn, and asked him who drew it.
When looking at the current chaotic state of the world, how can he distinguish between right and wrong? I was also exactly like this ordinary person before entering cultivation, as I used to be very materialistic and loved to indulge in the pleasures of life. I thought that the purpose of life was to get rich, achieve something that I could hold on to, and that was it.
That was such a shallow understanding, so I will share with you the changes I went through.
Before I began cultivation, the harmful things I did could be categorized into three areas. One is the psychological damage, which included taking in harmful things via playing video games, watching TV shows, and listening to rock music, etc. These things corrupted my mind. The second was the physical damage I brought to myself, which was through things like smoking and drinking. These habits also damaged me physically. The third was the harm I caused to the environment of classmates, parents, and teachers. I was disrespectful to my classmates, especially those younger than me. Whenever they did something that didn’t align with my thoughts, I’d become impolite and raise my voice, almost as if I wasn’t satisfied unless I yelled at someone. I was also very disrespectful towards my parents and teachers, sometimes getting into arguments with them that would almost escalate into fights. Whenever there was something I didn’t agree with, I would feel the anger course through my veins and I would often argue with my parents.
I think we can safely conclude that I wasn’t a very nice person.
Here I’d like to thank my school and my teachers; as once they found that I was deviating on my path, they used nothing but compassion to reason with me, and adjusted my environment into one where I could diligently cultivate. They helped me cool my head.
When I began to sincerely cultivate, I resolved to change my ways and become a new person. If I had continued on like this, I would have surely ruined myself. After gradually increasing my Fa study and exercise time, I found that I managed to turn my situation around.
One example of this would be that I no longer listen to rock or modern music, or even the so-called modern relaxing background music. These things really can’t be called music, they’re really just audible manifestations of power, fame, and emotion. I also don’t watch the videos and movies that I used to watch, as they have a negative effect on me. The biggest area in which I’ve improved is my interactions with others, and I’ve fixed most of the bad habits I had before. In ordinary people’s words, I’ve now learned how to express respect for others.
This respect is reflected in my behavior towards fellow students, parents, and teachers. With students, it means I am calm and rational in discussing issues. To my parents, it means putting their compassionate intentions first and not arguing or quarreling with their well-intentioned instructions and rules for me. Now, at home, I often help with the housework, but the most important part is that I understand these are all my responsibilities as a son. At school, I was more understanding towards my teachers, not neglecting my homework, I communicate with my teachers in a respectful tone, and never hesitate to do what the teacher asks me to do.
For all of these positive changes and many more not mentioned, I would like to thank Dafa.
My cultivation journey thus far has not been long, and my sharing isn’t very profound. I ask for the understanding of fellow practitioners and to please point out to me anything that I’ve said that didn’t align with the Fa.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow cultivators!
(Presented at the 2021 Online International Young Practitioners Experience Sharing Conference)
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