(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa 24 years ago. I occasionally got myself into trouble because I didn’t cultivate my speech well, but each time I never caught on until things went really wrong. It happened again recently. I would like to share my experience so that other practitioners can avoid making the same mistake.

My father, who is in his 80s, came to visit me. He also practices Falun Dafa but only off and on. In order to help him, I reminded him of a few unpleasant experiences in the past. When I was a child my mother was hospitalized, my grandmother passed away, and my father’s relatives made big trouble for him. I said that my mother, who was also a practitioner, didn’t cultivate herself well, so she had a lot of troubles. I pointed out that being allowed to practice Falun Dafa was very special so he should not take it lightly. I asked him to be more compassionate.

After he left my teeth hurt, which made me realize that I must have said something wrong. Later my hip tilted to the left. I couldn’t straighten my back or my neck. Whenever I walked or meditated, my shoulder was out of alignment, and my back hurt. I avoided looking in the mirror because I looked like an old woman with a hunchback.

The next day I heard that my father had quarreled with two men on a riverbank at 3 a.m. The third night while I did the exercises, I suddenly felt scared, as if there was a ghost or some entity behind me. I reminded myself that I would be fine because I have Master. After a while, I felt chilly and thought it was karma because I did not cultivate my speech.

Soon after, my brother beat my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law and her two daughters complained to my parents. My parents asked my husband to go there and intervene. We were all surprised because my brother and his wife were usually very happy together.

My parents later claimed that they had 100,000 yuan in cash in their home but 20,000 yuan was missing. My mother suspected my husband took it and even said she planned to report it to the police. When my husband returned and told me about this, that was too much for me.

I said to him, “We need to look inward. Do we still have any attachments to profiting at others’ expense? Do we still resent my mother? Do we still worry about being misunderstood? We should let go of our attachments.”

I had the thought to eliminate all the evil factors that were trying to persecute my husband and me by persecuting my relatives. After I sent forth righteous thoughts for two days, my mother told my husband, “I forgot. I heard your father call someone and then gave him the money.”

I looked within and found my problem—I didn’t cultivate my speech well, which caused troubles. I have some understandings that I’d like to share.

First, I can’t judge my mother, who is a practitioner. I made a mistake by saying she didn’t cultivate well.

Second, as a cultivator, I can’t judge other people or I might unintentionally cause them trouble. I can’t speak ill of others behind their backs, even if the person is dead. I thought I was trying to encourage my father to take everything lightly, but I didn’t cultivate my speech based on Master’s Fa.

Third, if cultivators cultivate themselves well, the environment around them will be good. On the other hand, if the person doesn’t cultivate his speech, the environment will change accordingly.

Fourth, as cultivators, we should be pure and kind. Then, what we say won’t hurt others, and we won’t create karma.

It is very important to cultivate one’s speech. Even one sentence not based on the Fa could cause a tribulation, which might lead to a practitioner failing in cultivation. Therefore, practitioners should cultivate themselves well, remember to maintain their virtue, and not create additional tribulations.