(Minghui.org) My granddaughter Lan had excellent grades when she was in her first year of high school. She consistently ranked in the top ten of her class and was the top student in a subject. Her grades later fluctuated wildly. When her grades dropped, Lan felt embarrassed and distressed, so she played video games to take her mind off it. She became addicted to video games, skipped classes, and made up all sorts of excuses to avoid going to school. She spent hours at home playing them.
My daughter and son-in-law took her video games away and locked them up in a closet. Lan was upset and smashed things. When they forced her to go to school, Lan skipped classes. When my daughter came home from work, she found Lan sitting in the yard or garage, crying her eyes out. Her behavior was unpredictable. She might agree to go to school, but before she even stepped out the door, she would change her mind, throw her schoolbag down, and refuse to go—this cycle repeated itself. During her crucial senior year of high school, she frequently skipped school.
Lan’s parents and her father’s parents tried to persuade her, but it was of no use. Her teacher visited her, but Lan refused to listen. Her father tried to talk to her, and her mother cried and begged her to go to school, but Lan remained unmoved. She was determined not to go and said, “Future, family—none of it matters. I don’t want any of it. Life is too painful. I might as well die of thirst or hunger.” She refused to eat or drink, closed her bedroom door, drew the curtains, and lie in the dark room, ignoring everyone and everything.
The day of the college entrance exam registration, Lan's parents urged her to register, but she refused, saying, “I won’t take the exam. I don’t want anything.” My daughter asked me to persuade her to register. After learning about this situation, I realized the seriousness of the problem. My granddaughter was depressed. If it continued, it would be very dangerous, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
My daughter went to work, and my son-in-law was away on a business trip. I coaxed Lan, and she finally opened the door to her room. The lights were off, so it was dark. I tried to open the curtains, but she wouldn’t let me. She'd gone back to bed. I tried to help her sit up, but she was limp. I cooked for her, peeled fruit, and tried to feed her, but she kept her mouth tightly shut, saying, “I want to starve and die of thirst. I don’t want to live anymore. Living is too painful.” She said she resented her parents for giving birth to her and causing her so much suffering.
As a practitioner, I know Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) said, “... so suicide is sinful.” (“Lecture Given at the Conference in Sydney”) I explained this to Lan and said, “You might feel liberated by committing suicide, but you will suffer even greater punishment afterward. Because you disobeyed the will of Heaven, you will be punished.” Lan stared at me blankly.
I continued, “Sweetheart, eat. Please don’t create trouble for yourself and torture yourself. I’m so old and still have to take care of you.” I fed her as I spoke, and she ate.
I asked Lan, “Sweetheart, are you all right?”
She replied, “There’s a bad girl inside me, just like me. You don’t know how heavy my legs felt when I was in school. It was so difficult to even step into the building.”
I said, “No matter how hard it is, you can only move forward, not backward. You only have this one chance to register for the college entrance exam. Please don’t miss it. Register now, and you’ll have some leeway whether you take the exam or not.” I said we would not care about the exam results.
I tried to reason with Lan, but she covered herself with the blanket and wouldn’t listen. Time ticked by, second by second, minute by minute, but nothing I said persuaded her. That day, I tried to get her to register from morning till evening. As 6 p.m. approached, I decided to ask Master to help her. I begged Master to save my granddaughter, remove her inner demons, and remove the evil thoughts controlling her. By 6:30 p.m., Lan finally took that step and registered for the college entrance exam. The entire family wept with joy, finally relieved of their anxiety.
Making Progress
Although Lan registered for the exam, she was still not enthusiastic about school and stayed in bed when it was time to go. No matter how her parents pleaded with her, she remained unresponsive, indifferent, and apathetic. My daughter and son-in-law wept every day. My daughter said, “Lan does not care about her family. She doesn’t care whether her parents live or die.” My son-in-law said, “I’ve given up hope. I’m almost suffocating from the stress.”
I went to their place every day to help out, but Lan refused to get out of bed. She wanted to do well, but her addiction to video games was interfering with her. When she wanted to go to school, the bad thoughts got into her mind and prevented her from going. This went on and on.
I know it wasn’t her intention to do this, nor did she become bad and deliberately torment her parents and herself. Rather, it was this negative thought controlling her, preventing her from doing well. Actually, she was also suffering greatly, experiencing immense torment, which is why she acted irrationally and said irrational things. So I had Lan read what Master taught.
Master said,
“Video games are really harmful to people, and not just Dafa disciples’ kids. They really draw people in, and have had a negative effect on everyday people as well. They make you do poorly in your work, sleep poorly, rest poorly, and make you devoid of human affection or warmth of feeling, make you neglect your family, make students neglect their studies, and entice you and draw you in. They are contributing to humankind’s destruction.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
Master also said,
“I’d like to give you my take on what people normally refer to as 'addiction.' In the medical sciences, it’s believed that addiction occurs when the part of the nervous system associated with addictive behaviors is stimulated and develops to a sufficient degree. But that’s not it. What’s happening, then? Over time, that addictive substance accumulates, and forms inside of your body an identical version of you that comes to control you. Because it is composed of strong attachment, and has your appearance, it has an equally strong desire to control you; it was formed out of strong desires, after all.”
“Spending unnecessary time on the computer or playing video games has the same effect; it’s the same idea. If you want to quit, that thing won’t want you to since it would die. And so it will do all in its power to make you engage in those things. And if you try not to, it will interfere with your work or studies by causing your mind to crave them. If you refuse, it might even make you do those things in your dreams.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)
After she read what Master said, Lan seemed to understand that games harmed her. However, that substance remained—it controlled and trapped her in a quagmire from which she couldn’t escape. Humans are weak; she lacked the self-control to deal with and overcome this inner demon. She was in great pain, listless, irritable, depressed, unstable, weak, with a vacant stare.
I said to her, “After reading Master’s lectures, you might have understood this. The bad girl in your heart isn’t the real you; it looks exactly like you, but it's fake. Your bad thoughts aren’t something you created; it’s harming you by sending these bad thoughts into your mind, and you think you’re the one who thought them. So you must not listen to it. You must reject it, not want it, and distinguish between your true self and your false self. Ask Master to help you get rid of this bad thing. Master will help you. She nodded.
I also said to my daughter and son-in-law, “What do you plan to do with your child?”
My daughter replied, “We’re at our wits’ end. We’re so depressed.”
My son-in-law said. “Lan does not care about us. We’ve given up hope.”
I said, “The only hope is to ask Master to let her learn Falun Dafa. At the same time, you two should say, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,’ and ask Master to save your child.” They agreed.
The Situation Changes
I said to Lan, “Sweetheart, Master Li can help you. Let’s read the Fa. Your parents agreed, so you can study with peace of mind now.” Her eyes lit up. She nodded her head and immediately sat up. We read Zhuan Falun. When we got tired, we listened to Master’s lectures, the podcasts of Our Teacher, cultivation stories, traditional culture, and Falun Dafa songs and music. She loved them.
After studying Master’s lectures for two days, my granddaughter became more talkative, her eyesight returned to normal, and she smiled again. She opened the curtains, got out of bed, and ate. She became stronger and more energetic. Later, she went back to school. I told her, “Please say, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ every day. When righteous things are in your heart, bad things dare not enter.”
She replied, “Grandma, don’t worry, Dafa has taken root in my heart. I say ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ every day. My mood improved. I feel confident and peaceful.”
I said, “Is that bad girl still in your heart?” She said, “No.” I knew Master eliminated the interference, pulled her out of the mire, and saved her. It was also because my daughter and son-in-law believed in Master and Dafa.
Then I had a vivid dream: a person was leading a chubby, adorable little lion. I said to the little lion, “You must remember ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’”
The person said, “If you tell her that, I won’t worry anymore.”
I continued, “Little lion, look at this big river in front of us. The black waves are rolling, and we don’t know how deep they are. There’s no bridge, and we have to cross it. Our destination is on the other side. Do you have the ability to cross it?”
In the blink of an eye, we arrived at the destination. I said, “This little lion is really quite capable.”
I told Lan about my dream and said, “That little lion was you. You came from heaven. Just go and take the exam with peace of mind. You’ll definitely pass this test. Master has arranged the best for you.”
She laughed and said, “I don’t want to be a little lion.”
I replied, “Do your best and you’ll become a celestial maiden.”
She smiled happily—something she hadn’t done in a long time.
My granddaughter took the college entrance examination as scheduled and achieved good results. She is now pursuing a master’s degree at her desired university. The worries of our whole family turned into smiles, and the dark clouds dispersed. We know Master Li saved Lan and our entire family. We are very thankful.
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