(Minghui.org) I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner in China who recently took the National College Entrance Examination. I am very grateful to Master Li and Dafa for helping me get good grades and do well in school.
The head teacher during my third year of high school was heavily indoctrinated with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. He had a bad temper and would reprimand his students hysterically. My classmates would talk behind his back, and I also held a grudge against him. It took me time to enlighten to the fact I was a Falun Dafa practitioner and should not conduct myself as an ordinary person. I needed to take everything with a calm heart and not be moved. I was able to let go of my resentment towards the teacher. Whether he reprimanded me or not, I would not mind at all. I also encouraged my classmates to stop talking about the teacher behind his back.
I have been using electronic devices every day since I have been doing remote learning from home due to the pandemic. Oftentimes when I got tired from doing homework, I would play games on these devices. I realized that these electronic devices are built on alien technology; as a cultivator who should be focused on progressing to higher levels, how can I be controlled by them? Isn’t this an attachment? I decided to not touch my cellphone at all unless it was for schoolwork. After keeping it up for a week, I was no longer tempted to use the cellphone.
While doing remote learning, the teacher would give exams. Many of my classmates used electronic devices to look up answers and scored very high on tests. They also tried to copy homework from each other and made exam cheat sheets. I knew I needed to be truthful and should not cheat. Even though I was ranked at the bottom of my class, got reprimanded by my teachers and had to take makeup exams due to my frequent failure of exams, I still did the right thing and didn’t cheat.
When school reopened in April, my grades suddenly improved and I ranked first in a mock examination. My teacher became ecstatic. I knew Master had unlocked my wisdom. I thanked Master and Dafa from the bottom of my heart and understood that this would not have been possible if I did not abide by Dafa’s principles and relinquish my attachments.
Many of my classmates started to look up to me; my teachers also praised me for being so hardworking during the pandemic and told me that I had a lot of potential. I never took their compliments to heart or felt superior to them since my grades improved.
Master said,
“For a cultivator, all the frustrations he comes across among everyday people are trials, and all the compliments he receives are tests.” (“A Cultivator is Naturally Part of It,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Many of my classmates asked me questions about schoolwork. After a period of time, I got tired of their questions and resented them. I complained, asking why they were having trouble with the easiest questions. But Dafa disciples need to be selfless and always think of others. I needed to view these issues as an opportunity for me to improve myself. My classmates always said I was easy to get along with. My desk at school was always crowded with classmates.
We would always go to my grandparents’ home over the weekend. I always regarded them as a waste of time and wanted to focus on schoolwork. I know this is a human notion, but as a cultivator I need to put others first. Therefore, upon visiting my grandparents, I would always chat with them, and they would be very happy.
I put a box of tissues on my desk at school, and it would always be used up within two or three days because my classmates always took them when they passed by my desk. My mom criticized me for being wasteful.
Master said,
“Fame, gain, emotion—cultivate each away,And ascend to the Firmament at Consummation”(“Success at Consummation,” Hong Yin, Translation Version A)
Why should I be so petty about personal profit and gains? I might have owed my classmates debts in my past lives and now they are taking back what is rightfully theirs. I should thank them instead of being angry with them.
When I go to and from school, I silently recite poems from Hong Yin. At times I would reflect to see if I’ve abided by Dafa’s principles. Since walking from my classroom to the cafeteria is quite a distance, I silently recite, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
My third year of high school was very tiring because of all the academic pressure I faced. Nevertheless, I would always have a smile on my face and look at things positively. My classmates often wondered how I managed to be happy all the time. I know this was all possible because of the blessings from Dafa and Master. There are also lots of challenging homework assignments and I was the only student in my entire school to fully complete them at school. I did not attend any tutoring classes, either.
In the past, I always had trouble with math and would even start crying during tests because I got so nervous. When I truly abided by Dafa’s standards, all the challenging questions were solved and I scored very well. Additionally, my memorization skills have also improved. Though I get home late from school, I always make time to study the Fa.
I ranked third in my school for my end-of-year examinations. My teachers were all surprised by my test scores.
My physical condition improved as well. I used to have sinusitis and seasonal respiratory tract infections, but these sicknesses disappeared after I started to cultivate. I was also overweight during my second year of high school and was unable to run 400 meters (about a quarter of a mile). After losing weight, I started to run 2,000 meters (about 1.24 miles) with the boys in my class. My facial features also became better, and all my pimples disappeared. I know this was all possible because of Dafa. From now on, I will be more diligent and cultivate myself until I reach consummation.