07 - Liao Fan 4 Lessons

Master Yun Gu: Mr. Kong had predicted that you will not receive an imperial appointment or have a son. We can think of these as the decrees of heaven, but even that can still be changed. You only need to reform your ill ways, practice kind deeds and work to accumulate merit and virtue. These are your own transactions to create fortune, no one can take it away. How is it then possible that you will not get to enjoy it? The I Ching, Book of Changes, was written to help kind people bring about good fortune and avoid adversity. If everything is predestined with no room for change, how can we improve upon our fortune and avoid adversity? The very first chapter of I-Ching Book also said,


Narrator: 'families who often perform kind deeds will have an excess of good fortune to pass onto the next generations.' Do you believe in this?

Liao-Fan: I understood and believed in the Master, and paid my respects to him in gratitude. Then I began to repent of all my past wrongdoings, whether large or small, in front of the Buddha image. I wrote down my wish to pass the imperial examinations, and vowed to complete three thousand meritorious deeds to show my gratitude towards heaven, earth, and ancestors. Upon hearing my vow, Master Yun Gu showed me a chart, and taught me how to keep a daily record of the kind and evil acts I committed . He told me that bad deeds could neutralize the merits I accrue from good deeds. The Master also taught me how to recite the Jwun Ti Mantra; it is a way to train my mind for single-minded concentration. Only with a pure and unscattered mind could what I seek for come true. Master Yun Gu then said:

Master Yun Gu: You can also learn the proper way to practice the art of written mantras. It is said, "Those who practice the art but do not know the right way to do it will be laughed at by gods and spirits." The secret behind writing mantras is the absence of thought from start to finish. In the process of drawing, one must not give rise to a single improper thought; even kind thoughts have to be let go of. Only under these circumstances can a mantra be successful. When one prays or seeks something in terms of changing fate, it is important that one does it when the mind is still. In this way, wishes will be easily fulfilled.

Master Yun Gu: Mencius stated in his Principle of Forming Destiny that there is no difference between longevity and short life. At first glance, one would find this hard to understand - how can longevity and short life be the same? In actuality, when we look within our hearts, we will find no duality, no difference. We should see everything with eyes of equality and live morally regardless of good or bad times. If one can practice accordingly, then one can master the fate of wealth and poverty.

Master Yun Gu: Therefore, when we are able to create and form our own destiny, it does not matter whether we are presently rich or poor . Just as a wealthy man should not become careless in his thoughts and actions because he is rich, a poor man should not resort to committing evil deeds due to his poverty. In either case, one should keep to one's place in society and be a virtuous person. If one can practice morality regardless of conditions, then he or she will surely change a poor life into a prosperous one, and a prosperous life into an even longer lasting prosperity.

Master Yun Gu: One should also look upon long life and short life equally. A person who knows he is short-lived should not think, 'I'm going to die soon anyway, so there's no point in being virtuous, I should steal and kill for my benefit while I can.' Instead, one who already knows he has a short life to live should be even more diligent in cultivating kindness, hoping to gain a longer life next time, and perhaps his or her merits from practicing kindness can even elongate the present life. One who is long-lived should not think, 'I have all the time in the world, it doesn't matter if I do some evil once in while.' We should know that longevity does not come easily, and should be cherished and used to cultivate even more kindness and virtue. Otherwise, you may very well use up your longevity all too soon. If you understand this principle, then you will be able to change a short life into a long life through virtuous behavior.