(Minghui.org) Many practitioners discuss “cultivation of speech,” but some only talk about it without truly trying to understand its deeper meaning. We all agree that we should cultivate our speech. When the time comes to guard our words, however, many of us forget to. There are practitioners who will talk about everything and anything and never consider the impact of what they say.

Cultivating one's speech is very important. There is even a common saying that goes, “Disaster comes out of the mouth.” During the persecution, one improper sentence may directly cause a practitioner to be persecuted or interfere with their validating the Fa.

Some practitioners will disclose whatever they are asked about because they don't want to offend anyone. They disregard safety or the fact that the matter wasn't supposed to be disclosed, using the excuse they were being truthful. These same practitioners often betray other practitioners when they are being interrogated to avoid being persecuted themselves. They forget that truthfulness in Dafa requires compassion and forbearance, not the truthfulness that is selfish and hurts others.

Practitioner Mei (alias) often told the police what they wanted to know when she was tortured. After she was released, she refused to change. The authorities continued to persecute her. Soon afterward, she and her husband, who were still young, passed away.

Another practitioner who suffered similar mistreatment refused to cooperate with the police and did not give them any information. The authorities did not harass this practitioner much, and the practitioner was able to overcome other tribulations.

Lessons Learned

An article on the Minghui website talked about how a non-practitioner's unintentional act brought about negative consequences. Practitioner Ms. Wang Yanxin worked in a store. A man came in one day and asked one of her co-workers where she was. Without asking the man to identify himself or what he wanted, the salesperson pointed at Ms. Wang. The next day, Ms. Wang was arrested.

After Ms. Wang was arrested, the store made no sales for seven straight days. The store manager then went to seek the advice of a Tibetan Lama.

The Lama said, “A person in your store who cultivated Buddhahood was taken away. Those who took her away now have one foot in hell. The salesperson who identified the cultivator also has one foot in hell, even though she didn’t intend to [cause harm to Ms. Wang]. She has also lost her virtue. If you continue to keep her around, it won't be good for your business.”

Even an unintentional act of identifying a practitioner to the police caused this salesperson to lose virtue.

Take the Fa as Teacher

We should follow Master Li's Fa teachings and harmonize what Master asks of us.

Master said,

“That is because once someone has done grave harm to practitioners, and caused some practitioners to fall—or even to be placed among the ranks of those who will be eliminated—how is such a massive karmic debt to be paid off?” (“Sifting of the Sand” from The Essentials Of Diligent Progress Vol. III)

Practitioners who are influential or in constant contact with other practitioners should pay attention to what they say. They should not casually talk about everything or answer every question if some things are supposed to be kept private.

A practitioner was once accused of being fearful and self-protective because she kept quiet on a certain subject. The practitioners who accused her did not understand that she was not supposed to talk about it. The negative things they said caused interference for this practitioner and affected her cultivation for a long time.

Every practitioner has energy. If we say things that cause trouble for other people, we will be held responsible and will have to pay for it.

We should remain calm as cultivators. But if we always want to know everything and even gossip, how can we stay calm? Our compassion and moral standards should be higher than those of everyday people.

The experiences we share should help improve the group as a whole. Words that might have a negative effect should not be said and should be eliminated with righteous thoughts.

Master said,

“The same goes for those of you present here: Your greatest responsibility is to ensure that your assistance centers and practice sites are free of disturbances and to lead others in cultivation.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Assistants’ Fa Conference in Changchun”)