(Minghui.org) Guarding my speech wasn’t something I had paid much attention to, which led me to speak in a casual manner.

I knew a practitioner who was rather sly and cunning. He was not nice to me, and I despised him. I spoke ill of him to other practitioners when I was upset with him.

I later felt pain in my sternum, especially after waking up. I took it lightly, and it didn’t occur to me to search inward.

A thought crossed my mind one day, “If you speak ill of another practitioner behind their back, you’ll be nailed to the cross.” I realized that my body in another dimension was being punished, and that was why my sternum was hurting!

During a recent Fa study, I noticed what Master (the founder of Falun Dafa) said:

“Monks used to believe that even just one inappropriate thought could result in karma, or sin, and they used to take things like this very seriously.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I hadn’t paid much attention to the above sentence before, but it became clear to me. Even if I hadn’t behaved in a negative way, having one bad thought would create bad karma. It is that serious! So how could I not guard my speech?

I no longer say bad things about that practitioner. Although I still think his demeanor isn’t good, it doesn’t bother me as much. There are all kinds of people, good and bad, and their conduct may not conform to my standards. Any kind of behavior is within the norm, especially during the Dharma-ending period. So there is no need to make a fuss about it.

I need to broaden my mind, increase my self-restraint, strengthen my main consciousness, and center myself so that I’m not easily moved by external factors. I should be steady, have a big heart, and not be tempted by people and things, so that I can become a “superior person.”

The reason that practitioner was unkind to me could be because I gave him a hard time during our past lives, and it was time to pay off my debt! Come to think of it, I’m quite glad this happened to me, as I owe less of a debt now. I suppose it’s a good thing after all!

I failed to guard my speech because I couldn’t tolerate. I created more karma amid a test that I failed to pass, thus missing a good opportunity to elevate my xinxing. Perhaps this is part of the cultivation process, where I can’t always pass the tests well. It has taken me many years to lessen my dislike for that practitioner.

It is not difficult to keep my mouth shut, but it’s hard to remain silent when I can’t raise my xinxing level. Therefore, if I want to guard my speech and not add more difficulty to my cultivation, the key is to cultivate my heart.