At a place where there are true cultivators, demons often come to test them. They come to test the cultivators, to see if their hearts are true. One such example that comes to mind is that of Filial Son Wang. This is an event that happened during the Ch'ing Dynasty in the village of Ch'ang Ch'un in Manchuria:

Filial Son Wang, whose given name was Meng Hsing, sat by his mother's grave to observe the practice of filial piety. The practice is an excellent method of cultivating the Way. Filial Son Wang was so strict in his ascetic practices that he ate only raw food. Every day people would come to the grave to offer him rice, and every day he would eat just a handful of raw rice grains. It is the case that if a person truly cultivates, then others will come and make offerings to him, so a lot of people offered Filial Son Wang rice and money. But he wasn't the least bit greedy; he didn't want the money. He'd just let it lay an the ground. The copper coins would pile up in huge stacks, while the paper bills would just get blown away by the wind. But he didn't pay heed to any of it. He had truly seen through it all and put it all down.

One day, some bandits came along. Seeing the large stacks of coins on the ground, they scooped them all up and stole off with them. Filial Son Wang didn't even bat an eye. When the bandits finished counting the money, they found that it was a considerable sum, and they had this thought, "If there's this much money outside the grave, surely he must have even more stashed away inside. Why don't we go again and rob him clean this time?" So during the night they went to the grave where Filial Son Wang was sitting. The head bandit placed a sharp knife right against Wang's neck and threatened him, saying, "Bring out all your cash--it's your money or your life!"

Filial Son Wang told him, "You already took away all the money this morning," The bandit wouldn't believe him. He persisted with his threat. "If you don't bring it out, I'll knife you!"Filial Son Wang said, "Even if you kill me, I can't give you any money, because you already took it all."

The bandit still didn't believe Filial Son Wang, and so he jammed the knife into the latter's neck, making a cut two to three inches deep. He slashed Wang's throat. Then the bandits disap
peared into the night. Filial Son Wang continued to sit uprights. Though his throat was slashed, his breath was not completely cut off.

In the morning, the people discovered the stabbing and reported it to the authorities. Because Filial Son Wang was so respected, the authorities turned out in full force. Ambassadors from America, England, Japan, and France all came along with the Chinese officials. They said to Wang, "We're determined to find the thief who knifed you and to avenge the wrong done you. There are five nationalities that reside in the village of Ch'ang Ch'un. Since you can't talk, we'll each ask you in turn. If the murderer happens to be the same nationality as the person who asks you, just nod your head."
And so they took turns in asking him the American, the Englishman, the Frenchman, the Japanese, and the Chinese. But each time Filial Son Wang shook his head, "no". They were perplexed! "Well, if the murderer doesn't belong to any of these five nationalities represented here, could it be the case that heaven is responsible?"

At that, Filial Son nodded his head firmly, and shortly after that he died. Since that was the way Filial Son Wang interpreted the incident, the authorities couldn't press any charges, so they buried him in a mound alongside his parents' graves. Nothing happened for several decades, and everybody thought that the case of Filial Son Wang was over and done with. Then came a time when the Japanese, who were occupying Manchuria, decided to renovate the village of Ch'ang Ch'un. In order to rebuild the town, they first set about excavating the graves. All the graves were dug up. But when the workers tried to excavate Filial Son Wang's grave, they'd faint right on the spot before they could dig even a shovelful. They would just keel over and fall to the ground with a thud. The people were amazed and perplexed. This happened repeatedly, until eventually they reported this to the Japanese foreman, who personally came to try his hand at digging. On the first shovel, he also rolled over unconscious. But the Japanese weren't going to let that stop them. They tried to use dynamite to blow up the grave. But the dynamite wouldn't go off. Next, they dropped bombs from airplanes overhead, but each time the bombs landed, they wouldn't go off.

Then a voice came out from the grave; it said in a clear sound, "It's not yet time to move my mother's bones; whether my grave gets moved or not is up to heaven's will." People understood, and nobody tried to meddle further with his grave. In Manchuria, the grave of Filial son Wang is one of the most famous landmarks, Everyone in the entire province knows about it.
Now you think about it: Filial son Wang was such a good cultivator, eating only a handful of raw grains every days and yet he was assassinated. Was it the case that the Dharma Protecting Spirits didn't come to protect him? No, they were just testing him to see if he really had a mind for the Way, whether he was willing to sacrifice his body for the Dharma. Therefore, although his body was killed, his spirit continues to live on, and his name continues to inspire the generations for posterity.

At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, demonic obstacles are an everyday occurrence. Why? It is because we are true. Many DeoDle from the outside slander the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and try to create all sorts of trouble for us. But is it
the case that because those people speak ill of us we should resort to doing untrue things and start putting on a false front? No, absolutely not! We should have our feet firmly planted on the ground, and continue to do what is real and true. It doesn't matter what type of demons come to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas; eventually they will be subdued. No one can stir up trouble in the Way Place, because if they do, theYlil reap a bad retribution. In cultivating the Way, you must bring forth your true mind, it's not permissible to fake it. Instead, you should have this attitude:

Unchanging in the face of a thousand demons;
Non retreating in the face of ten thousand demons.