(Minghui.org) I was born in the 1990s and I practiced Falun Dafa with my mother. Although I had attachments to comfort, I remembered that I was a practitioner and followed Falun Dafa’s standards.
However, after I became an adult and began working, driven by society’s concepts, I began following modern lifestyle trends. When I pursued desires like ordinary people, I felt uneasy because I was a practitioner.
Master said,
“Luxury and feasting—the modern worldFascinated by demons, dancing hysterically,all of which leads to depravityIndulging demonic nature, apart from the divineAfter entering Hell, there's no chance of getting out” (“Lacking All Restraint” Hong Yin III)
I tried to rectify myself by reading the Fa, but my attachments to competition, jealousy, resentment, fame and vanity, which practitioners should eliminate, were nourished by the modern concepts I accepted, and they became stronger. I also had an attachment to lust and was concerned with my appearance.
I played on my cell phone until 2 or 3 a.m. I had to drink a lot of coffee and tea to stay awake at work. Although I realized that I could not go on like this, every time I thought, “Young people all live like this! I’m better than ordinary people!”
Under the influence of modern concepts, I could not correct myself. I became narrow-minded and irritable. Even though I still believed in Dafa, I was no longer as kind and tolerant as I used to be. I felt that I was drifting away from my spiritual path. I almost lost confidence in my cultivation. When I watched a Shen Yun DVD, I thought, “In the past, I felt I was as pure as these dancers, but now their realms are too high for me to reach.”
I became depressed and felt life was bitter. I often wept as I drove to work. I tried to relieve my stress through entertainment, but it didn’t work.
Master never gave up on me and used various ways to encourage me to study the Fa and do the exercises. During the pandemic in 2022, I had some COVID symptoms. In order to “cure” my illness, I began to read the Fa and do the exercises again. I often had interference due to a lack of righteous thoughts and my attachment to pursuit. I was absentminded when I read the Fa and often made excuses to not read.
My mother suggested I hand-copy the Fa, so I began copying Zhuan Falun and Hong Yin VI. When I started hand-copying, my handwriting was neat and tidy, but then it got sloppy. Sometimes I could not focus. But I insisted on hand-copying the text. Without realizing it, the Fa changed me. I became calm and was able to focus. I realized that hand-copying the Fa was also a cultivation process.
During the 2023 Chinese New Year, I watched a program about practitioners’ stories on New Tang Dynasty TV. Their amazing cultivation stories inspired me. I realized from the bottom of my heart the importance of cultivation.
I started to take practicing the exercises seriously. I didn’t want to do the second exercise from the time I was a child. When the second exercise’s one-hour version was released on the Minghui website, I was torn between doing it for the full hour or just half an hour. I decided to give it a try. When I did the second exercise for the first time this year, I struggled to hold my arms up, but I felt relaxed and full of energy afterwards.
After I resumed practicing, my efficiency at work increased. I was able to concentrate. Master also opened up my wisdom, and I easily handled difficult assignments.
I was always concerned about my appearance and figure since I was a child. I even did skincare since I was a teenager. However, my skin was not good, and I often had acne. After I started studying the Fa and doing the exercises, my skin became soft and smooth. In the past, even if I wore make-up before going to work, I still didn't look good, but now I hardly ever wear it.
Master said,
“By doing a practice for both mind and body, you will gain a youthful appearance and look much younger than your years.” “If I’m allowed to tease a little, I’d say that young women will naturally achieve the beautiful skin tone they’re always after, provided they sincerely do mind-body practice—and without needing to go to the lengths they once did.” (The Fifth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I realized that studying the Fa, doing the exercises, and sending forth righteous thoughts were all connected, and I should do all of them.
To have more time to study the Fa, I spent less time playing on my cell phone. This bad habit negatively impacted me when my righteous thoughts were not strong. Sometimes, I could feel that my true self did not want to play with the phone, but something in my mind wanted to pick up the phone.
The interference from other dimensions was pervasive. After I stopped watching entertainment programs, I began watching programs related to traditional Chinese medicine. Although I knew there was bad information behind many videos on the Internet, I still found excuses to watch videos about food and massage.
I recently had a dream in which I was walking with a stranger. We walked next to a cage filled with animals when he suddenly handed me one and said, “One for you, too.” I was scared and refused to take it.
After I woke up, I was still afraid and realized that there were evil spirits behind these videos.
Master said,
“A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains. All of what a person sees with the eyes and hears with the ears are: violence, lust, power struggles in literary works, struggles for profit in the practical world, money worship, other manifestations of demon-nature, and so on. With his head filled with these, this kind of person is truly a bad person, no matter what he appears to be. A person’s behavior is dictated by his thoughts. With a mind full of such things, what’s a person able to do?” (“Melt Into the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that I was filling my head with bad things when I played with my cell phone. I uninstalled several apps I frequently browsed. I eliminated my phone apps and deleted photos. When I was writing this article, I realized that I still had many apps on my cell phone that had nothing to do with cultivation, but which hid my attachments to lust and money. I will do better and completely eliminate my bad habit of browsing my cell phone.
I am single and have a strong attachment to lust. Because I couldn’t let go of this attachment, I met all kinds of men that didn’t suit me. Some even humiliated me. I was angry, but I didn’t know how to look inward. As I studied the Fa more, I realized I was a disciple and should measure myself against Dafa’s principles. I should follow traditional culture and appropriately handle the relationship between a man and a woman.
Because I had not cultivated myself solidly, it was difficult for me to resume cultivation. After all these ups and downs in looking for a boyfriend, I thought, “Well, I’ll just practice Dafa and do the exercises every day.” However, my state was sometimes good and sometimes bad.
I discussed my cultivation issues with my mother. She said that my motive for practicing was incorrect and that I was practicing for my own benefit.
I looked inward and started to find my attachments and eliminate them. I was not happy at work. Even though I seldom had conflicts with people, I silently complained about others. I was tired of the trivial work I was asked to do. Wasn’t this an unwillingness to suffer? It was selfishness. I looked inward again and found the root of my attachment was jealousy. Why didn’t I realize that the main reason for my stress at work was jealousy?
Master said,
“Now that I’ve explained this to you, who are practitioners, you really need to stop this folly. You must be free of jealousy if you want to ever achieve real spiritual progress. And it is for this reason that I’ve singled it out.” (The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Master taught the Fa so clearly, but I was so blinded by my attachments that I didn’t know how to cultivate myself. My attachments also prevented me from understanding the Fa principles, so I didn’t believe in Master and the Fa completely. How dangerous that is!
In the complicated environment of China, staying away from social media and removing Party culture is challenging. Young people nowadays like to complain and make comments on WeChat about everything. Lying has become second nature for some people. Some young people even take courses on how to cheat people.
When I read the section on cultivating speech in Lecture Eight of Zhuan Falun, I knew I had to stop making casual remarks. I also realized that I had a habit of making excuses. I decided to get rid of these bad habits. If I didn’t want to answer, I should just smile and not say anything, but I should not lie. Master teaches us everything in detail.
I listened to the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, Disintegrating the Party Culture, and other materials. Party culture permeates every aspect of our lives. I suggest all young practitioners read the Nine Commentaries to rectify themselves.
The people around me all talk about becoming rich overnight. I mistakenly thought it was a positive attitude and I didn’t realize it was against traditional culture. I am now memorizing the Fa. I recently began to understand how to cultivate myself. I memorize the Fa, and correct my speech and deeds. I found I could live up to Dafa’s standards in my daily life. I also learned to cultivate every thought.
I hope this article will remind all young Dafa disciples to walk the path of cultivation correctly and not be pulled into ordinary people’s society.
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