If things improve after visiting several temples, how can you know which deity helped?

After praying to different deities in sequence and seeing improvement, you cannot assign all the credit to the deity worshipped last simply because that visit came last. There may have been different kinds of help or cooperation among them. We do not need to rush to compete for credit on the deities' behalf.

Someone once came to Sheng Zhen Men to pray for work and later prayed elsewhere too. As work gradually improved, the person felt more gratitude toward the later deity. Some students felt this was unfair, and I had similar thoughts in my earlier years. As I understood spiritual practice more deeply, however, I increasingly felt that what mattered was the person's actual improvement.

Which side had helped was not established at the time. I felt happy for the person and reflected on whether I had done my best when able to help. Spiritual practice means taking responsibility for ourselves. Another person's gratitude does not have to be the sole measure of whether each contribution was worthwhile.