How can I tell whether I am making progress in spiritual practice?

Look at whether you have become clearer and more at ease than before, and whether the way you treat people, handle things, and respond inwardly is changing for the better. Strong spiritual perceptions or occasional unusual visions cannot take the place of this work. Spiritual practice should help us become better. If practice keeps making life harder and things continue to deteriorate, we need to find what requires adjustment.

The most useful comparison is with your past self. When you face criticism, misunderstanding, or something that does not go your way, does your mind still get carried away immediately? Can you understand the other person from another perspective and see what you need to learn or change? These situations are like tests that show how much of what we have learned we can actually put into practice. Look at your life, your state of mind, and your character. Someone saying that you are impressive does not mean you have completed all your spiritual work.

Looking back at Sheng Zhen Men's move from a space of ten ping to forty ping and then to nearly a hundred ping, I see development in a positive direction through ongoing learning and adjustment. Still, the results of helping others cannot be measured only by how much money we earn. Some of the care I have experienced from the deities has come in the form of peace and safety, which income cannot fully measure. So when you consider your growth, do not focus only on wealth or the size of a venue.

Sheng Zhen Men has not always done everything perfectly either. Not understanding something or doing it poorly in the past does not mean we cannot change now. Master Ji Gong teaches us that being better today than yesterday is a good thing. Acknowledging our shortcomings and being willing to correct them allows us to begin learning in the very areas where we used to fall short.

I believe the deities will still accept people who did wrong in the past but are now willing to change. However, the situation being discussed at the time did not involve acts as serious as murder, arson, or major violations of the law. A willingness to change is the beginning of further learning. The choices and actions that follow are still our own responsibility.