(Minghui.org) When I was in the third grade, I got interested in Zhuan Falun one weekend morning. I had seen my mother read the book, the main teachings of Falun Dafa, many times before, but I had never opened it once. That day, however, I became curious about what was in it and began to read. I felt very excited as I read through it. It covered so many things, from prehistoric culture and the origin of human beings to the changes in faith systems over time, other dimensions, and virtue as well as karma.
Although just a third-grader at the time, I had already been seriously influenced by the atheistic education I received at school. Nonetheless, there were many things that textbooks could not explain. I often read books like Unsolved Mysteries in the World. The textbooks could not explain those mysteries and even dismissed them as “hoaxes.” But all my questions about such mysteries were answered in Zhuan Falun.
I said to my mother later that day, “Mom, how come you did not recommend such a good book to me before?” She said she thought I was too young to read it. That was how I started to practice Falun Dafa.
Before that, I was an average student. Beginning in fourth grade, however, I was one of the top students in my class. And I continued to be—in middle school, high school, and college. I made top grades without attending tutoring classes like many other students did. I knew that my academic excellence was a blessing from Dafa.
No More Dirty Words
After I became a Falun Dafa practitioner, I realized that many things I said and did in my daily life were not consistent with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. One example was using dirty words.
Due to today’s low moral standards, kids my age often used bad words when we spoke. Most of the popular slang we learned on the internet was improper, too. Wanting to fit in, I followed suit and used bad words from time to time. Then I saw what Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, said:
“When we speak, we should simply speak in a manner befitting a practitioner, and not say anything bad or divisive.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I decided to change my behavior. Before I opened my mouth to speak, I would check to see if I was planning to use any dirty or inappropriate words. If so, I would remind myself to hold them in.
It was easier than I thought it would be. After about a week, I naturally stopped using any dirty words. I knew this was the power of Dafa. Not using bad words or other inappropriate popular internet phrases is rare among young people, as they often resort to them to express their emotions.
Staying Truthful
I also tried to apply the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in all areas of my life. Cheating, for example, was common among students. Before becoming a practitioner, like other students, I considered cheating without being caught an “ability.” This totally changed after I read Zhuan Falun. I understood that being truthful must be from a person’s heart, not for the purpose of showing off or avoiding consequences; rather, it should be part of who we are.
When I was in college, we once had an open-book exam. The exam proctors hardly stayed in the classroom. Many students openly searched for information on their phones or shared answers with one another. I focused on answering questions without using any prohibited sources. When they learned of the cell phone cheating afterward, the school conducted an investigation and disciplined over half of the students.
Another time, there was a scholarship opportunity. I noted that one of the requirements was to show financial need. Since I did not meet that criteria, I did not apply. After some time, the class president in charge of collecting applications said to me, “I did not see your application in the system. Did you forget about it?” “No, I am not qualified because my family is not of low income,” I replied.
He was surprised and said that the main criterion was actually academic performance, not financial need. “Everyone with good grades in the class has applied except you,” he added. “I had initially included you as a potential candidate for the scholarship, but the school said candidates must file applications. You didn’t. How unfortunate!”
From what the class president said, I knew many applicants must have misrepresented their financial needs in order to qualify for the scholarship, but as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I would never lie for self-interest.
Helping Others
My grades were always good after I started practicing Falun Dafa as a third grader. Other students often asked me questions about the course materials, and I always answered them with patience. One classmate commented, “He [meaning me] is the best. Other students with good grades do not have the patience to help anyone else. Only he never refused and always helped out while sharing his notes.” Because they trusted me, other students voted for me to be a student officer in high school.
As time went on, many classmates knew I would not lie. One time, Gang said something that Wei did not believe, so Wei said, “I will go check with Bin [meaning me], since he knows about this, too.” After talking with me, Wei went back to Gang and said, “I believe what you said now. Bin said the same thing and he never lies.” Because of this trust, when I told them the facts about Falun Dafa and how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defamed the practice with lies, they were able to understand the vicious nature of the CCP.
Able to Forbear
I also became more tolerant after I began to practice Dafa. For a while, Chen and I were responsible for collecting homework from classmates. Chen had a bad temper and often got angry and criticized others. He often complained and scolded me when we worked together. As a Dafa practitioner, I never argued back. “He has many difficulties and I should support him,” I thought. Some classmates saw this and said I should reason with Chen to stop him from doing that. I just smiled since I remembered what Master said:
“As practitioners, you won’t fight back when you’re beaten or sworn at.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Somehow, Chen also changed after some time and no longer criticized me.
The Falun Dafa teachings also made me more open-minded. In the past, when I saw classmates whispering in small groups, I would be curious about what was going on and want to join them. After I became a practitioner, I realized two attachments related to this: One was worrying if others were saying negative things about me, and another was the fear of being left out if something good came up. As a practitioner, I worked to let go of these attachments and was not so curious about those groups anymore.
Not Attached to Personal Gain
Being a Dafa practitioner means I need to eliminate attachments to fame and material interest. Here are a few examples.
There was a math competition in elementary school, and only the best students in math could attend. Although several students in the class and I had similar grades in math, the teacher chose them and not me. I was upset, thinking I had lost the opportunity. After becoming a Dafa practitioner, I remembered Master Li talked about the principles of loss and gain, that they were determined by one’s virtue and karma. So I was no longer worried about things like that.
As mentioned above, I always helped others when they needed help. Few high-achieving students had the patience to explain things to poor-performing students. But as a Dafa practitioner, I knew what I was supposed to do so I never hesitated to help others.
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