(Minghui.org) “Guarding your speech” has always been an important part of cultivation.

After reading Zhuan Falun, I understood that as cultivators in the Fa-rectification period, our “guarding speech” is different from personal cultivation, which merely avoids creating karma. Our “guarding speech” includes spreading the Fa, validating the Fa, and helping Master to rectify the Fa.

Master said, “As practitioners we should gauge what we intend to say with the teachings and see whether it’s appropriate. And if it is, then it’s fine to speak.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

So, what about the things that are not appropriate? Should we hang onto them in our minds? Definitely not. If we don't eliminate them, they will keep surfacing. We must clearly identify them, and eliminate them. That is true cultivation. Otherwise it's merely remaining silent.

Thus, “guarding speech” also means that we should correct any incorrect thoughts we have. In this way we are also correcting our own universes and the celestial bodies that each of us represents. From this viewpoint, the meaning behind “guarding speech” is more profound in the Fa-rectification period. Thus, practitioners should pay more attention to it.

Since “guarding speech” means correcting every single thought, it also includes completely denying the old forces' arrangements. I enlightened that many of a cultivator's thoughts are not from their true selves. Instead they come from the old forces' arrangements, including the thoughts which stem from human notions, thought karma, or external interference. So, if we want to completely deny the old forces' arrangements, we must start by examining our every thought. We need to filter and analyze every thought, and see if it fits the Fa. We should measure each thought with the Fa. We need to deny and disintegrate the wrong ones.

In order to deny the old forces' arrangements, “guarding speech” is very important. If we do it well, we can avoid many troubles, interference, or even persecution from the old forces.

I enlightened that we should get rid of all our thoughts and speech that are caused by our attachments, including flattering each other, criticizing each other behind each others' backs, complaining about fellow practitioners, and everyday people's inappropriate jokes. Some of these things come from the Chinese Communist Party culture, and some are arranged by the old forces.

Speaking of making jokes, some practitioners make fun of others. This is a serious problem. Why? Some practitioners think that joking is not serious. They don't realize that making fun of others causes karma, so they indulge themselves, and have no constraint on their speech. They dare to say anything. This unrestrained behavior is demonic.

Making fun of others, mixing the truth with the untruth, protecting oneself and hurting others, distorting the truth and irritating others, and speaking with competitiveness or hatred, all of these will not only cause karma, but also have a negative impact on our ability to validate the Fa. It damages the image of Dafa disciples. If we cannot guard our speech, how can we reach consummation?

How do we guard our speech? We must read the Fa well and have a deep understanding of the Fa. The better we understand the Fa, the better we'll be able to guard our speech.

I hope that all practitioners will pay attention to “guarding speech,” and not cause ourselves additional trouble on our cultivation journey.

This is my understanding at my current level. Please correct me with compassion if I've said anything inappropriate.