Without Cultivating Speech, How Can We Awaken People?

(Minghui.org) Some Falun Gong practitioners are diligent in doing thethree things well, but they are not careful about their speech. They often talk about people's weaknesses, blame or complain about others, exaggerate, pass on hearsay, and disclose people's personal information. Some practitioners surf the Internet and share the stories related to fame or love, and other practitioners gossip about people, without any regard for anyone's feelings, particularly when family members are around.

Cultivation of speech actually reflects how well we cultivate ourselves. Are we being compassionate when we blame or complain about other people? Will otherstrust us if we cannot keep personal information confidential? Are we giving others a good impression of ourselves as cultivators if we talk about sensational stories from the Internet that are full of sentiment? Aren't we ignoring others' feelings when we show off? Are we following the teachings of Falun Gong when we speak judgmentally about others, using our own personal criteria?

We all know that cultivation of speech is very important. There have been so many tragedies in history due to speaking inappropriately. This is more true in today's society where morality is corrupt: People can pick a big fight or even kill a life for a few words. As practitioners, the outcome is very serious if we don't pay attention to what we say. We can accumulate more karma, lose virtue and cause conflicts that make it more difficult to awaken people. We can even contribute to fellow practitioners leaving the path of Falun Gong.

Perhaps some practitioners are not aware of the seriousness of their shortcomings in speech. Thus, we should pay more attention to this cultivation issue. If we are in a conflict or people are unhappy with us, we need to think about whether we have said something improper or whether an attachment has made other people feel unhappy.

We cannot say whatever we want. Instead, we should care about people's feelings and try to understand them. In fact, nobody wants to talk to those who show off. One selfish sentence can potentially stir up other people's feelings and push them away.

I believe cultivation of speech starts with cultivating of one's heart. We need to remove our notions and fundamentally change our attitudes. We will become better if we are kind, compassionate, and easy-going, and consider others first under all circumstances.

I have improved, but I still have the problems I just described to some extent. As long as we are determined and follow the teachings of Falun Gong, we will improve, and we have to improve for the sake of others.

Just like a sharp knife, our words can hurt people. It is best to think about any potential consequences before speaking.