Liao-Fan: Every time I performed a kind deed, I would record it in a book. Your mother, who could not read or write, would use a goose feather dipped in ink and make a red circle on the calendar for every kind deed she did. Sometimes she gave food to the poor, or bought living creatures from the marketplace to free in the wild. She recorded all of these with her circles on the calendar. At times she could accumulate more than ten red circles in one day! [Narrator]: That means she performed more than ten kind deeds in a single day.
Liao-Fan: Everyday we practiced like this, and in four years, the three thousand deeds were completed. Once again I made the dedications, this time in our home. On September 13th of that same year, I made my third wish, and that was to pass the next level in the imperial exam, thejin-shr level. I also vowed to complete ten thousand meritorious deeds. After three years, I attained my wish and passed the jin-shr level. I was also made the mayor of Bao-di prefecture. While in that office, I prepared a small booklet to record my merits and faults, and called it the Book of Disciplining the Mind.
Narrator: The book was called Disciplining the Mind in hopes of helping him avoid selfish and improper thoughts.
Liao-Fan: From that day, I recorded all my good and bad deeds in that booklet, and kept it on my desk. Every evening, I would bum incense and make a report of my deeds to the heavens at the little altar in the garden. Once, your mother was concerned when she saw that I had not accumulated many merits and asked:
Wife: In the past, I was able to help you in your accumulation of kind deeds, and we were able to complete the three thousand meritorious deeds. Now, you have made a vow to complete ten thousand kind deeds, and there are fewer opportunities to practice them here at the government residence-, how long will it be before your vow can be fulfilled?
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