The Third Lesson: The Way to Cultivate Kindness
Narrator: The previous chapters poke about the many ways to correct one's faults in this present life, naturally assuring that a good life will not become a bad one. However, we are still unable to transform a bad life into a good one. Though we may be good and virtuous in this life, we do not know if we committed offenses in past lives. The retribution for past deeds still has to be undergone. Therefore, in order to change a bad life into a good life, we not only have to reform our faults, but also have to practice all forms of kindness and build upon our virtue. Only in this way can we rid ourselves of the karma created in the past. Once the Member of our kind practices accumulate, our bad life will naturally turn into a good life; thus, the practice of changing destiny can be proven!
Liao-Fan: The I-Ching Book of Change stated:
Narrator: "Families who perform kind deeds will accumulate fortune which can outlast many generations".
Liao-Fan: Let me give you an example. Once there was a family by the name of Yen. Before they agreed to give their daughter in marriage to the man who later became Confucius' father, they looked into the past deeds of the family. After finding the family to be one that practiced kindness and accumulated virtues, the Yen family felt assured that their daughter would be marrying into a family that would be prosperous with outstanding descendants. Sure enough, their daughter later gave birth to Confucius.
Liao-Fan: Confucius had once praised Shwun, an emperor of early China, on his filial piety, saying:
Confucius: Due to his great filial piety, Shwun and his ancestors will be known and respected by others. His offspring will be prominent for many, many generations.
Liao-Fan: These sayings were later proven true through history. Now I will prove to you in these true stories that merits can be attained through performing kind deeds.
Liao-Fan: In Fukien province, there was a prominent man named Rong Yang who held a position in the imperial court as the Emperor's teacher. His ancestors were boat people who made a living by helping people cross the river. Once, there was a storm which lasted so long that fierce flooding washed away all the people's houses. People, animals, and goods were carried down river by the current. Other boaters took advantage of the situation and strove to collect the floating goods. Only Rong Yang's grandfather and great grandfather took interest in rescuing the drowning people. They did not take any of the goods that floated by. The other boaters all laughed and thought them to be very stupid. Later on, when Rong Yang's father was bom, the Yang family gradually became wealthy. One day a saint disguised as a Taoist monk came to the Yang family and said:
Taoist: Your ancestors have accumulated a lot of merit; your offspring should enjoy wealth and prominence. There is a special place where you can build your ancestral tomb.
Liao-Fan: So they followed the Taoist's suggestion and shortly after, Rong Yang was bom. Rong Yang passed the imperial examination when he was only twenty years old and later received imperial appointments. The emperor had even bestowed his grandfather and great grandfather with the same imperial honors. His descendants are still very prominent today.
Liao-Fan: Zi-cheng Yang from the prefecture of Ninpo, Chehkiang province is another example. Zi-cheng worked as a member in the staff of the prefectural courthouse. He was a kind, humane, and law-abiding man. Once, the prefectural magistrate punished a criminal by beating him until his blood spilled out onto the ground. The magistrate's anger did not subside and as he was about to continue, Zicheng knelt and pleaded with him to stop beating the prisoner. The magistrate said:
Magistrate: It's all right for you to plead, but how can I not be angry when this person has broken the law!
Liao-Fan: Zi-cheng replied:
Zi-cheng: When even those in government positions of prestige and power are corrupted and do not follow the Righteous Path, how can one expect the common people to abide by laws and orders? Also, extreme beating can force an innocent suspect to plead guilty. Thus in a case like this we should be more understanding.
Liao-Fan: The magistrate was quite touched by Zi-cheng's speech and ceased the beating. Although Zi-cheng came from a very poor family, he never took any bribes. If the prisoners were short of food, he would always take food from his own home even if it meant going hungry himself. This practice of compassion never ceased and eventually Zi-cheng had two sons. The elder's name was Shou-chen and the younger was named Shou-zi. Both sons became very prominent, and held important government positions. Even the descendants of the Yang family remained prominent for a long time as well.
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