Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- On the Topic of "The Thought of a God or That of a Human"
- Looking Within Ourselves to Eliminate Sickness Karma
- Strengthening Righteous Thoughts, Allowing One's True Self to Emerge
- My Understanding of Dealing with Illness Karma
- How I Understand "Looking Within"
- Diabetes Disappears After Looking Within
- 1. Welcome
Welcome to the August 2014 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.
In this issue, we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles gleaned from Clearwisdom that always shine through because of their insights and fine quality of sharing. It is important to read the Clearwisdom, Pureinsight and other Dafa sites. We make an effort to select Articles from the Archives which people don’t go back to and are relevant even today. Contributions are welcome from practitioners.
Heshi! Hope, you like the selection of Articles and gain some new insights!
Note: "All the contents in this newsletter - except for quotations and excerpts of writings of the founder Mr. Li Hongzhi - are only ideas and experiences of practitioners and do not represent Falun Dafa in itself."
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- 2. What’s Happening?
Practitioners from Bangalore had a screening of FREE CHINA for 800 students of Sindhi college followed by a Q & A session and a lot of students showed support of sharing it on social media.
Bangalore practitioners also organized a screening of FREE CHINA for the entire Vincent De Paul School.
Practitioners introduced Falun Dafa to the students and teachers at St. Alphonsus High School. The teachers showed keen interest in learning the exercises.
Bangalore practitioners introduced and sat through the Fa study in Kannada with the teachers of the Primary section of Byreshwara School in Srinivaspur. Some teachers have already read the Book a few times and gained new understanding.
Practitioners from Hyderabad distributed fliers to Padmabhushan Dr. Varaprasad Reddy, Chairman, Shanta biotech, Dr. Rattnakar, Director, Global Biotech, Dr. Chagati Koteswar Rao, Dr. B.V. Pattabhi Ram, Dr. Varlu, Dr. Rama Rao (in charge HIV Program), Mrs about Falun Dafa.
Practitioners Introduced Falun Dafa in "The School" to 250 students.
Hyderabad practitioners introduced the practice to 150 State Armed Central Police Lines for one week. Explained about the practice and clarified the truth.
Practitioners also met the Principal, police training college, who gave permission to introduce the practice to 600 police from 1st August.
Practitioners participated in World Hepatitis Day in Hyderabad, distributed fliers to Dr. Boora Narasaiah (Telengana), doctors, police, school students and others. Also, distributed fliers to Mr. Pulla Rao, Agricultural Minister, Govt of A.P. and others in the secretariat in Hyderabad.
Practitioners from Pune introduced Falun Dafa and the exercises in an IT Company where a practitioner works. Some people showed interest in learning the exercises and requested for follow up sessions.
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- 3. On the Topic of "The Thought of a God or That of a Human"
By a practitioner in China
(PureInsight.org)
A fellow practitioner who lives near me has been in the state of "sickness karma" for a long time and has not been able to get rid of it. In trying to help with her situation, I have been doing a lot of thinking. In dealing with tribulations, we know that we must look inwards, eliminate attachments, send forth righteous thoughts, and continue to do the three things well. She has been diligently, at times even painstakingly doing them. Yet, her situation still remains about the same. Why is this the case?
I feel there exists a stubborn and deeply rooted substance that is creating barriers for us. We have merely dusted off our attachments on the surface. However, what lies deep within our hearts remains untouched. We have occasionally encountered it, but we didn't eliminate it completely. We may have thought we did, but we didn't. It occupied us completely in our old life, even invading all of the cells in our body and taking over our every thought. What is it and how can we eliminate it? I pondered this question.
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference")
I tried hard to remember what Teacher said about eliminating tribulations. Teacher gave me a hint and I suddenly remembered two incidents from Zhuan Falun. One was the story of a man walking on the street with a book in his hand yelling out that he was not afraid of being hit by a car because Teacher was protecting him [Teacher mentioned that he will not protect this type of person]; and the other was an elderly female practitioner in her fifties who was dragged by a car for several meters but was not harmed at all after she said, "Nothing is wrong." The two incidents have also been discussed by many practitioners in their experience-sharing articles. However, their understanding have largely been from the standpoint of believing in Teacher and the Fa," which I also agree with. But what exactly was the difference between the two incidents?
After I thoroughly read the section on "Upgrading Xinxing" in Zhuan Falun several times, I understood that Teacher was telling us something when he used the story of the elderly female practitioner who was dragged on the street by a car. When Teacher talked about "one thought," it didn't mean nothing mattered. Instead, I understand it as meaning that even in a life and death situation, if one still has a kind understanding and compassion, and does not cause trouble for others, then that kind of righteous thought is truly a huge difference from that of an everyday person trying to extort money from others.
I now understand that under any circumstance, we should have the state of mind of a genuine cultivator. In the face of personal profit or when encountering critical situations, we should consider others and have a compassionate heart. When we reach this level, Dafa's magnificence and protection will appear and interference will not occur. As for the person walking on the street with a Dafa book in his hand, he is not requiring himself to be a good person, but only trying to show off and cause trouble for others. He is even worse than an everyday person, so how can Dafa protect him?
In the past, I was confused by many things that appeared to be complicated. Now, the center of the problem has become clearer. Feeling lucky isn't hidden by showing calmness on the outside; some of our brave actions do not make our selfishness disappear; being untidy (trying not to look attractive) doesn't mean you have really gotten rid of the attachment of lust; living a poor lifestyle doesn't represent elimination of the attachment to profit; and believing in Teacher and the Fa doesn't really manifest as superficial brightness. Truly changing our nature of selfishness and completely eliminating it is the base for upgrading xinxing.
"I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others--or even future generations--along with Dafa's eternal stability."("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" Essentials for Further Advancement)
This is not the level we will attain after we have reached consummation, but the level of xinxing that we must reach while confronting tribulations and barriers every day! We can then say we are truly practicing cultivation, eliminating the old forces' persecution, overcoming barriers and tribulations, and able to accomplish our mission of assisting Teacher in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings!
Currently, sentient beings are confronting a gigantic catastrophe--facing possible elimination by the old forces. Only those who understand the truth of Dafa and withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party's organizations can be saved. Therefore, as practitioners, we need to do truth clarification with righteous thoughts and actions regardless of any danger or persecution we come across. If we can really do everything in this manner, we will become a great beings with the protection of Teacher's Law Body and the Gods that guard the Fa. So, how can any evil get near us? The evil elements in other dimensions that still interfere or cause trouble will be disintegrated immediately by our strong righteous thoughts. Then, won't the illusory image of "sickness karma" and the persecution - the monitoring, spying and arrests - disappear?
The difference between the thought of a God and that of a human is that the former is for others, whereas the latter is for his or her own interests - unselfishness versus selfishness. To shed our human thoughts and become a God, is to get rid of the nature of selfishness.
A clear principle manifests right before my eyes: cultivation practice is not for our own consummation, but for the salvation of sentient beings. Doing the three things is not just to achieve what we want, but it is what the salvation of sentient beings requires us to do. Eliminating evil is not for our own comfort, but it is for protecting numerous sentient beings within and around our bodies. Negating the persecution is not for protecting ourselves, but it is for ratifying the beauty and mighty power of Dafa. Helping fellow practitioners is not for their safety, but for negating the old forces' arrangement, enabling more fellow practitioners to save more sentient beings.
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- 4. Looking Within Ourselves to Eliminate Sickness Karma
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Shenyang City, China
(PureInsight.org)
Recently, quite a few fellow practitioners around me went through sickness karma. Some had it for a long time, and some even passed away. I would like to share some of my experiences in the hopes that it might be helpful.
One day, my body appeared to have the condition of a stroke. My right leg could not move. When I walked, I had to lean on a wall with my arms to move little by little, which made it quite difficult to do the three things well and go about my daily life. I called a fellow practitioner to tell her about my condition, and her non-practitioner family member overheard and shared that he had the same condition. He planned on going to a hospital to check on it and get some medicine for it. He was concerned that his condition would worsen otherwise.
I began thinking after hanging up the phone, "I am a Dafa practitioner who believes in Teacher and trusts the Fa, unlike an ordinary person. I have got to find what went wrong with my xinxing. I am a veteran practitioner, as I began practicing thirteen years ago. I don't think sickness exists in me because all our energy channels open up and circulate when we first begin the practice." I started reading Zhuan Falun again one chapter after another, and I compared my words and actions with what I understood from the book.
When I got to "Cultivation of speech" in Chapter eight, I found where my problem lay. Usually I didn't do well in this respect. Before becoming a practitioner, when someone at work turned in receipts to me, I would throw them back at the person if the amount was less than expected, adding a few unpleasant words, which created a lot of karma. After becoming a Dafa practitioner, fellow practitioners liked to come to my house to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, and share experiences. Sometimes, when coming across something that would excite me, I couldn't control my speech and thus I created more karma.
For many years, I did not get rid of this bad habit of not cultivating my speech, which resulted in this condition of sickness karma. I then understood: whatever happens to a Dafa practitioner is always a good thing.
After finding my problem, my right leg became normal. With burnt incense in my hands and tears in my eyes, I thanked Teacher for saving me. What little I said above might be helpful to those who have a similar problem. Let us cultivate ourselves well and save more people.
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- 5. Strengthening Righteous Thoughts, Allowing One's True Self to Emerge
By a practitioner in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
(PureInsight.org)
I've often heard fellow practitioners say, "I am not good at this" or "I am not good at that." I would like to ask fellow practitioners: "Are we the ones who do the work?" We are the ones who cultivate and do things the human way, whereas Teacher is the one who actually does the real work. I became enlightened to what Teacher had said in order to strengthen disciples' faith:
"Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master. It is good enough if you have this wish. It is the master who actually does this, as you are simply unable to do it." (Lecture One in Zhuan Falun)
"Can you do that by yourself? You cannot. These things are arranged by the master and performed by the master. Therefore, it is said that cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while transforming gong is done by one's master. You can only have such a wish and think about it like that, but it is the master who actually does these things." (Lecture Two in Zhuan Falun)
As long as we enlighten from studying the Fa and want to do something, Teacher will arrange everything for us and give us the opportunity to establish our mighty virtue. We just do the talking and run some errands, eliminate our attachment to fear, and seize the opportunities before us, and that's all. Teacher does the real work, and that's why it works. There's nothing Dafa cannot do. The principles of the universe restrain everything, and everything is under Teacher's control. Why can't we free ourselves from our acquired notions? Even before you start doing something, you already think that you are not good at it and you don't have what it takes to do it. Mind and matter are one, which means that the barrier in your mind will then interfere with what you do.
Do not use the excuse of your "introverted personality" to keep you from clarifying the truth to people about Falun Dafa. Isn't that the result of the old forces' careful arrangements throughout different levels? The old forces arranged for you to be born into your family, to study and work in your environment. Your journey in life has turned you into a quiet person, and you therefore don't even want to tell people about the truth of Falun Dafa. Is that introverted personality your original true self? Why can't we see clearly? How then do we break through our limitations and the old forces' arrangements? Sometimes we are the ones restraining ourselves.
We should always be clearheaded. We must realize that when our thoughts are not in line with the Fa, these thoughts are not us, and we must eliminate them with righteous thoughts and find one's true self by studying the Fa. We must be confident when we do Dafa work. Everything we do is arranged by Teacher and accomplished by Teacher. Given that, why should we fear this or that and hesitate to take action?
The above is my understanding. Fellow practitioners, please correct me if I've said anything improper.
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- 6. My Understanding of Dealing with Illness Karma
(PureInsight.org)
I began my study of Falun Dafa towards the end of 1996. Before that time I had many illnesses. Like many other practitioners, I don't have any illness now and am quite healthy. This is a blessing that comes from practice in Dafa and I don't want to dwell on it any further here.
What I would like to discuss is what to do when karma appears in the form of illness. Of course, a standard approach in dealing with this problem is to look within oneself to locate the cause. Beyond that I would like to add what I have learned, hoping that this will be helpful to those practitioners who are now facing such problems.
First of all, a practitioner must understand that the so-called illness is not the same as what ordinary people have and must not be dealt with in the same way. Instead, a practitioner must follow what is required by Dafa. I have learned my lesson on this point. As an example, I had a car accident in 2009 and my left leg was broken. After taking an X-ray, the doctor ordered me to stay in the hospital for surgery. My daughter (also a practitioner) and I decided to go home and told our relatives (who are not practitioners) that for practitioners healing would take place faster at home, and this turned out to be true. At the time my leg was swollen and was much bigger than normal. One day I thought it might be better to lie down on the bed while listening to Teacher's audio lecture. This was a human notion. That evening when I went to bed, I had a dream. My spouse and I were lying in a courtyard. I could see some ghosts on the outside wanting to come in to harm me. I was very fearful and suddenly they kicked the door open and jumped on my left leg. I was trying to fight them off and calling for Teacher to help. Later on with help from other practitioners, I understood that the dream was caused by the human notion I held earlier on that day.
With this understanding, I watched more carefully my every thought to make sure it conformed to Dafa. After 25 days, I was able to take care of myself. After forty-some days I was back to normal. At that time many people who knew me were amazed by Dafa and learned that Dafa is good.
Secondly, it is important to read . I have a six-year-old grandson who is able to read Zhuan Falun and a four-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter who can read the book with some guidance from adults. I have been taking care of them since they were babies. We read the book together in the evenings and send righteous thoughts. Generally, when they do not feel well, we let them listen to us reading the book and they recover fairly quickly. However, in the spring of 2009, there was a case that required much more effort. My granddaughter had a fever and difficulty breathing. We did what we usually did--reading the book and sending righteous thoughts for her. In the evening she was back to normal. However, the same thing happened again the next day. We went through the routine again and by evening she again recovered completely. This cycle repeated itself for six days before we realized that the entity attacking her was able to recover itself while we went to bed. Thus, we decided to take turns reading without stopping through the night. On the seventh day my granddaughter no longer had any symptoms at all.
A while back my grandson had a fever and stomachache, and required frequent visits to the restroom. We did the same thing with him as we did my granddaughter. We believe that there are no illnesses for practitioners. It was an attack by some entity from other dimensions. When we were reading, my grandson said, "Your reading to me hurts." We understood that it was that entity using my grandson's mouth to try to stop us. We did not stop reading, and by the second day he appeared to be improving. With help from two other practitioners, we were able to continue reading day and night for five days, and my grandson recovered completely.
The above are my understandings of how to deal with illness karma.
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- 7. How I Understand "Looking Within"
By a practitioner in Heilongjiang Province
(Minghui.org)
I went to a practitioner's home yesterday. As I was not sure if the practitioner was home, I didn't go straight in but knocked on the window and put my ear close to the window, to see if someone would respond. Then I heard a fellow practitioner's voice say, "How many dishes does Xiao Yi's family have for a meal?" She was talking about me. It seemed that they had not heard my knock on the window and continued talking about me loudly. I could hear very clearly outside. Another practitioner said, "I went to her place to study the Fa the other day. They were having dinner, and they had..." I could hear another practitioner's voice. Suddenly, I felt that I shouldn't listen like this, because it was not appropriate to listen to others talking this way. I walked in and cheerfully greeted them. They looked embarrassed and said to me, "Don't be angry, sorry." My reply, "I must look within myself. How can I be angry with others?"
I remembered what Master taught us about looking within ourselves when we encounter things. I thought, "Why did I get to hear this? How could it be a coincidence? What insight should I gain from this?" I discovered several attachments from this incident and would like to let others know how I see it.
When I overheard them my first thought was, "They are talking about me. Let me listen to what they say about me." This reflected my attachment to officiousness, curiosity and envy. Then I immediately realized that I shouldn't eavesdrop on the conversations of others. This thought immediately made me feel broad-minded.
Later, while examining my thoughts, I checked to see if I also gossiped with other practitioners about things that had nothing to do with our cultivation. Even though I would hold no ill feelings, did I talk about others behind their backs and waste precious time we need to use to save people? It shocked me when I realized this was so, and happened quite often. Wasn't this incident a hint for me from Master?
In the past I realized the importance of cultivating speech, because many times I was misunderstood, and it caused needless division and discord among others, due to my attachments. But I could not find where the problems were, so I decided that I would cultivate speech. Improvement came slowly, and from time to time I was still misunderstood. Others occasionally turned my words into completely opposite meanings, and some even added details that resulted in a completely different story. I thought I would broaden my mindset and would not explain myself, thinking I would just keep cultivating myself this way.
Because this type of cultivation was not genuine cultivation but was merely to protect myself from being misunderstood, and for saving face, my xinxing did not ascend and my cultivation level was not raised, either. The old forces took advantage of this and created divisions between practitioners.
I truly realized that one can't cultivate speech before cultivating one's mind. If I spend my time doing the three things and truly cultivate, relinquishing all these show-off mentalities, along with envy, resentment and zealousness, and talk about things on the Fa with few human notions, then others may no longer misunderstand me.
This was clarified when I made a deliberate effort to cultivate my speech, but without much success. I failed to speak based on the Fa because I lacked serenity and held on to too many human emotions, but I could do very well with a serene mind. This made it clear to me that the cultivation of the mind is the most important thing.
Nevertheless, I still felt there were attachments I had not dug out. My family environment is much better than that of fellow practitioners, some of whom decided to leave home to avoid further persecution and live a destitute life. In my current circumstances I am living a rather simple life, and I don't pay much attention to everyday things. A few years earlier I had run a business, and because I had not given up many attachments I was enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. Along with my cultivation I have given up many such attachments, but have perhaps not done well enough.
What other problems do I have? I was thinking to myself, when suddenly a few words came to my mind, "You are treating fellow practitioners with human emotions! You assume others are on the same level in comprehending the Fa as you are!" Immediately I understood where my problems were. Why do I still make the same mistakes?
The practitioner I mentioned above has recently joined our Fa-study group. She has lost her family after being persecuted several times and had wandered to our location. Because she has no income, her life is very hard and I wanted to help her so that she could live a bit better. I also wanted to find her a job. Others told me later that she had been tortured by being shocked with electric needles, which caused problems in her lower limbs, and she still suffered side effects from the torture. Sometimes she would feel her legs twitching. She didn't want to get a job because she felt that would reduce her time to study the Fa and validate the Fa. She would rather live a relatively hard life than get a job. I had thought that she was too lazy to work, and that was why her life was hard.
It is not wrong to help fellow practitioners, but our motives must match the other's needs, and that determines how we help them. Yes, we need to share based on the Fa, but not on the basis of assuming others are in the wrong or paying too much attention to issues of everyday life.
Every practitioner has his/her own cultivation path to walk, as Master often reminds us. Master also reminds us that practitioners, being at different levels, comprehend the Fa differently and will thus be in different cultivation states and levels. No one can force anyone to be in any particular state. How can we possibly expect everyone to be the same?
I began to understand the reasons why I had often failed to break through the barriers between me and other practitioners. It was because I was attached to what I understood, believed I was in the right, and hoped others would understand me. This is a strong ego. I truly understood that my stubborn opinions contributed to the many conflicts I had come across in the past.
I also thought that the root cause for the long-time discord among certain practitioners was that both parties involved held attachments to themselves and both tried to protect themselves. They seem unable understand the cultivation way of other practitioners or the way they validate the Fa, and they believe that what they have understood is the right way. They then try to find basis in the Fa to verify that they are right. When this happens, the evil will take advantage of these strong "egos" to strengthen the attachments on both sides, and what we see in our own eyes are all the attachments of the other side, that have been enlarged by the evil. We then feel that the other side is very dangerous, and what we are doing is protecting the Fa. With this attachment, we look less and less within ourselves, and the evil further strengthens our egos. As a result, the discord intensifies.
In fact, if one can truly let go of one's self in cultivation, if one pays more attention to the other practitioner's good points and carefully listens, thinks and measures what the other says based on the Fa, then he will find that what he says makes sense and touches on the problems at hand.
The above is some of my understanding. Please kindly point out anything improper.
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- 8. Diabetes Disappears After Looking Within
By a practitioner in China
(Minghui.org)
I started practicing Falun Dafa in July 2002. Over the past ten years, I've dealt with numerous bouts of sickness karma, however, no matter how sick I felt, I did not take any medicine. Thanks to Master, I now have a healthy body. I knew all along that my good fortune was the result of practicing Dafa. I am very thankful to Master!
I'm So Fortunate to Learn Falun Dafa
In 2001, I lost my job and had to look for temporary work. My health was so bad at the time, that I couldn't even climb a flight of stairs! After my neck became swollen, I went to the hospital for a checkup. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, an incurable disease that required me to take medicine every day. I was only 40 years old at the time and the news hit me like a thunderbolt. As far as I was concerned, my life was over and utterly meaningless. In addition, I had lost my permanent job, so seeking medical treatment was out of the question. I felt like a withered flower and was always in a terrible mood. Several times, I even considered committing suicide.
In July 2002, my mother-in-law, who was a Falun Gong practitioner, suggested that I start cultivating. “Only Master can save you!” she said. She gave me the book, Zhuan Falun, and taught me the exercises. Within one month, not only had my hyperthyroidism disappeared, but other diseases, as well. I felt extremely lucky to be Master’s disciple! I was so happy!
Witnessing Miraculous Things
Many miraculous things have happened to me since I started on the path of cultivation. One day, while I was doing the standing exercise, I saw through my Celestial Eye that I was standing atop the earth, looking down. At that time, the earth looked so tiny. I was able to view this scene for several days.
Another time, while I was practicing the exercises, my MP3 player stopped working. However, I could still hear the exercise music from afar. I was so excited; I knew that Master was encouraging me.
Once, when I was doing the first exercise, I felt my body flying through many layers upon layers of universes. There were also many other miraculous things that happened to me.
Casting Off Sickness Karma
In the first half of 2012, my vision was very blurred, thus I was unable to read. In addition, I could not move my legs and my heart beat very quickly. My weight steadily dropped and I got thinner and thinner. A family member sent me to the hospital for a checkup. I was diagnosed with diabetes. I knew my xinxing had dropped considerably, as my mind was not focused on the Fa. I felt like my life was in extreme danger. I spent an inordinate amount of time watching Chinese Communist Party TV shows instead of doing the exercises and reading the Fa. Thus, the old forces took advantage of my loopholes and persecuted me.
Master said,
“With human beings… when a being can obtain the Fa today in history, it’s no ordinary thing—he’s so fortunate! But as soon as he loses the Fa, do you know what he faces? It’s really horrific, because when he fails to fulfill the major responsibilities and the huge missions that were bestowed upon him, then, accordingly, that’s like the inverse of a being’s Consummation, and he will truly have to enter the gate of no-life. You folks can’t just go and abandon a person without trying hard enough. No matter what kind of mistakes someone has made, or what kind of a person he is, I still want to give him a chance. Of course, in human society there are, after all, a number of people who aren’t good enough anymore, so just let them be. Today I’m mainly saying that our Dafa disciples need to do better, and we should cherish those who have obtained the Fa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference”)
I realized that I had not cultivated solidly, nor had I treasured the Fa. Instead, I was attached to seeking a comfortable ordinary life. However, Master told us to look within, and as soon as I did, I experienced the magnificence of the Fa. We need to look within, especially when we are going through bouts of sickness karma. Only by doing this can we improve ourselves.
Master told us, “…If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation. … ” (“Cautionary Advice” from Essentials For Further Advancement)
I realized that I am a Dafa disciple and Master is beside me. No matter what agreement I may have signed with the old forces in the past, that agreement is now null and void. We should never acknowledge the old force's arrangements! I only walk the path arranged by Master. Everything of mine is decided by Master.
During the course of looking within, studying the Fa, and practicing the exercises, my diabetes symptoms completely disappeared, without me even realizing it. I appreciate that Master did not give up on me and allowed me to cultivate again. My gratitude toward Master is hard to express in words. I will do the three things very well and return home with Master!
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