(Minghui.org) Recently I have written a series of articles titled “Dialogues With Deities From Mountains.” Here I would like to share about my encounters with law guardians.
Law Guardians
I saw two deities this time, and one of them was a fairy in white. She was cordial with me and I felt we might have had a predestined relationship in the past.
She smiled and her thought reached me, “You and I once searched for a Taoist master together. We found one and he kept me but let you go. He said you have another master and he could not take you as his disciple.
“I paid attention to your reincarnations in the world and found that you have taken a very arduous path. At first I thought it was not worth it, but I later changed my mind. So when you were in trouble later on, I even helped you. My cultivation path later changed, and I am assimilating myself in the characteristics of the universe – Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. So, you do not need to worry about me.”
We then talked about the law guardians for Dafa disciples.
“Law guardians of Dafa disciples are really responsible in carrying out their duties,” one of the two deities said.
“Yes, you are right. After all, some of them are appointed by Dafa Master personally,” I replied.
Our Master told us,
“That’s why once you transcend ordinary people and carry in your body things that transcend ordinary people—and especially when you are cultivating during Fa-rectification—not only am I looking after you, but there are also a Buddha’s Eight Types of Heavenly Law-Guardians around your body guarding the Fa. It’s just that you don’t know it.” (Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.)
As cultivators, we all know that the law guardians around Dafa disciples are to look after and protect cultivators.
I once saw a scene in the vast universe. In the majestic heavenly palace, there were countless high-level beings gathering around the great Master. Under the arrangement of Master, they followed heavenly beings to come down to this human world to protect them. Master assigned different beings one by one to protect different heavenly beings. These beings thus became law guardians of Dafa disciples today.
In fact, not only Dafa disciples have law guardians, some everyday people have them too. Many people in this human world nowadays came from special backgrounds.
The law guardians played a great protective role during the Fa-rectification period. But they are sometimes restricted by the human notions of Dafa disciples.
Master told us,
“Didn't I tell you before that each of you Dafa disciples has eight types of Heavenly Law-Guardians protecting you? It's all because you haven't done well enough that all these Gods are being restrained by the old cosmos's Fa-principles and can't do anything, despite their really wanting to help.” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
Reminders from Law Guardians
The law guardians sometimes saw that Dafa disciples had been lost in the delusion of the human realm after experiencing countless reincarnations. With many attachments and bad habits, these practitioners often failed to meet the expectations for Dafa disciples, and they slacked off in cultivation as well as respecting Master and the Fa. Such loopholes were noted by the old forces and danger could come at any time. The law guardians were really worried because their mission was to protect Dafa disciples.
A deity said, “Several years ago, a law guardian reminded you to help a Dafa disciple. You actually helped her avoid a calamity.”
“Yes, it was six years ago,” I replied.
Request by a Law Guardian
I went to visit a fellow practitioner Guan six years ago. During the conversation, I saw a law guardian was looking at us. He stated that it's time to clean up the Buddha Hall upstairs. I relayed the information to Guan and asked what was there upstairs.
“There is Master's picture and some other miscellaneous stuff,” she said.
“You need to clean out the stuff. Can I help you clean the room?” I asked.“No, I will do it myself,” she said.
Several days later, I went to her home again.
“Did you clean the Buddha Hall?” I asked.“Not yet,” she answered.“Why not?” I said.“I did not have the time,” she replied.“I have some time tomorrow. I will come with fellow practitioner Jin and we can help.” I knew this must be an urgent matter since the law guardian had revealed this to me.
Cleaning up
Jin and I went to Guan’s home the next day, and we saw two-thirds of the Buddha Hall was filled with plastic bags. A bag opened and a bunch of shoes fell out. Jin and I worked half a day, only able to clean out half of the stuff. When I went the second time, a bag of new Dafa books was pulled from under the bed. It was so inappropriate to put Dafa books there. I saw that there was a big axe standing next to the Buddhist altar. Again, so inappropriate. While I was there cleaning the room, Guan was downstairs listening to Master's lecture.
On my way out, I told Guan: “Do not put miscellaneous things in the Buddha Hall. I suggest you better read the Dafa books, as your mind was everywhere when you listen to the Fa teachings. I am impressed that your secondary soul was kneeling there listening to the Fa teachings, much more attentive and pious than you.”
Other Problematic Areas
There was a room on the opposite side of the Buddha Hall. As soon as I opened the door, a musty smell came out. I hurriedly closed the door and thought: It is another room full of trash.
Practitioner Jin quietly told me, “Should we clean this room? Guan was already unhappy that we cleaned her Buddha Hall.”
“Let us clean the room when Guan is not home. This room is full of dirty and filthy things, and it is disrespectful to Master since it is right next to the Buddha Hall.”
We went there again when Guan was not home. We cleaned out many moldy, hardened, rotten things, along with lots of nasty bugs.
After we finished the room, the law guardian appeared again. “Kitchen! Kitchen!” He said.
We helped Guan clean the kitchen. When I took out the waterlogged and deteriorating pages of Dafa scriptures from the brick surface under the cupboard, I felt really bad. That was the scriptures Master wrote in 2003. Guan hid them there for more than ten years.
“I completely forgot that I hid the scriptures there,” Guan said.“You better admit your mistakes to Master,” I suggested.
When I got up one morning, I saw Guan's law guardian again, and he said, “The shed, and there's still a problem in the shed.” I pondered – this was difficult because the key to the shed was hanging around the neck of Guan. The law guardian saluted me, and behind him, there were many more guardians, saluting me together. I said, “Alright, I’ll try.”
I managed to have Guan give me the key and finally opened the shed. There were all sorts of stuff there, including Dafa books. The roof of the shed was leaking, and most of the books were wet. We moved the books out of the shed. We also found expired phonecards, cash printed with words related to Falun Gong, and also materials to make amulets. I sighed: “Guan is so forgetful! It is wasting Dafa's resources.” We also found many old fortune-telling and qigong books and took them out and destroyed them.
Jin and I spent a lot of time cleaning Guan's house, not to mention the pain and exhaustion, I had bruises on my arms and legs and I did not even know how I got them. When I went home and washed my hands vigorously, I still smelled the stench on my hands – the unbearable stench of the pickle jar and the saucepan lingered on. When I was doing Falun Dafa exercises, I saw my body sweeping outward that dirty, microscopic dust.
I thought that the earth is the dumping ground of the cosmos, and Guan's home is the center of the dumping ground, with so much waste.
Jin was puzzled, “Why is that?”
“Practitioner Guan used to be the heavenly official for collecting waste in the universe, and she was once a garbage collector on earth during one of her previous lives. Nothing can be thrown away in her eyes. She took in things that others did not want. Fellow practitioners gave her their old Dafa books since they had new ones. But if one does not keep the Dafa book well, it will generate karma!”
Suffering and Improvement
This was a process for me to look within and improve myself. Shortly after that, an elderly practitioner named Hua blamed me for what I did, “Why do you go clean the house for Guan? She was not happy because something of hers is now missing.”
I got irate immediately and said, “You think I had nothing to do but stir things up for Guan? Do you realize how dangerous it was for her if I did not intervene? When Guan had a car accident and injured her hand and feet, what I saw was her law guardian’s sword was broken into two pieces as he tried to protect her. In order to protect her, Master also suffered a deep wound on his back. We threw out many filthy things, and the Dafa books we took out were all ruined. Isn’t that committing sins against Dafa?”
Hua expressed her pity and said no more.
When Hua saw me again, she raised the same issue again, “I wonder why you had to clean the house for Guan. She is upset because some of her things are missing.”
I got mad again, “Do you think I went there to pick up all the garbage for fun? Did she tell you that the precious Dafa books were all ruined? Did she?”
Hua shook her head: “Look at your temper. Just a question set you off; that is not alright.”
“What did Guan lose? Did she tell you?”
“She said it was a wedding gift, a carpet. She saved it and never used it, but now it is gone.”
“Shall I buy one for her?”
“Oh, no, because she would know it was me who told you.”
When Hua raised the same complaint the third time, I still did not handle it well.
“You see, a carpet is a precious gift back then, and Guan cherished it so much that she never used it. I can understand how she feels,” said Hua.
“You should tell Guan to let go of her attachment. Instead, you understand and feel pity for her. Can she take the carpet to heaven?” I asked.
“Look at you. Why can't you talk rationally? Who do you think you are? You are attached too much to yourself!” Hua replied.
I knew I did not do well after each time I had the conversation with Hua. I was too busy counting others’ problems and resenting them for failing to search within themselves.
Later on, I realized it was a form of jealousy. I was too attached to others’ mistakes. When I kept looking outward, I became more irritated, not forgiving, my temper got hotter, and my demonic nature was intensified. When I kept focusing on other shortcomings, wasn't that the characteristics of the old cosmos? As a cultivator, how can I improve and elevate if I only focus on others’ mistakes? If I do not change myself, how can I be responsible for my own cultivation?
When I had conflicts with Hua, I was not humble, kind, or polite. Instead, I was rude and arrogant. I did not realize at the time that it might be Master hinting for me to improve, to be considerate of others, and to be accommodating. I reminded myself I would look within no matter what.
So when Hua mentioned Guan’s carpet one last time. I calmly replied: “We truly did not notice any carpet. If she really can not let it go, I will go find a nice piece of carpet for her. You also might want to tell her to learn to let go. Shakyamuni told his disciples not to be attached to their begging bowls, and they would not be able to go to heaven with any attachment.” Hua was really satisfied with my answer.
I thanked Master for teaching me to cultivate myself. Thank you, Master, for taking care of me. Looking back on the process, I felt how responsible those law guardians were. They reminded me to help Guan, lined up welcoming me and seeing me off, and paid their respect for a job well done.
It is so fortunate to be a Dafa disciple, having Master watch over us, law guardians protect us, and fellow practitioners support and help us. If we are still not able to do well, we will let down Master, the law guardians, as well as sentient beings who count on us.
Although I have written a series of articles on conversations with deities, I hope readers will not get attached, curious, or talk about them with relish. Cultivation is dependent on where the mind is. It is best if the articles are useful for fellow practitioners’ cultivation and that is the reason I wrote them in the first place.
At all times, we must cherish Dafa and respect Master. The source of our life begins with the Fa. The ultimate destination of our lives cannot be separated from Dafa’s guidance and protection from Master.
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