Liao-Fan: There was a scholar named Wei-Yan Chang from Jiang-ying who was very learned and wrote good essays. He was also very well-known among many scholars. One year he took his exam at Nanking and stayed at a Taoist temple. When the test results were posted, he found that he had not passed the exam. He became furious and loudly accused the examiner of being blind for not recognizing his obvious talents. At that time, a Taoist monk stood by smiling, and Wei-Yan immediately directed his anger towards the monk. The monk said to him,
Monk: Your essay must not be good!
Liao-Fan: Wei-Yan got even angrier and said,
Wei-Yan: How do you know it's not good when you haven't even read it?
Liao-Fan: The monk said,
Monk: I often hear people say that the most important element in writing good essays is a peaceful heart and harmonious temperament. Your loud and angry accusations just of now clearly shows that your mind is certainly not at peace and your temperament is violent. How could you possibly write good essays?
Liao-Fan: Wei-Yan obliviously submitted to the Taoist's words and in turn asked him for his advice. The Taoist said,
Monk: Whether you pass or not depends on your fate. If you are destined not to pass, then no matter how good your paper is, you will still fail the exam. You yourself will have to make a few changes!
Wei-Yan: How can I change it if it is predestined?
Monk: Though the power to form your destiny lies in the Heavens, the right to recreate it is in yourself As long as you nothing you ask that you will not receive.
Wei-Yan: I am only a poor scholar. What good deeds can I possibly do?
Monk: Practicing kind deeds and accumulating hidden virtues all stem from the heart. As long as you constantly harbor the intent to practice kindness and accumulate virtues, your merits are infinite and boundless! Take the virtue of humility for example, it does not cost anything, why can't you be humble and reflect on your own essay instead of blaming the examiner for being unfair?
Liao-Fan: Wei-Yan Chang listened to the Taoist monk, and from then on, suppressed his arrogant ways. He became very mindful of his own actions and tried not to make mistakes. Everyday he put forth additional effort to do more good deeds and accumulate more merits. Three years later, he dreamed one night that he entered a very tall house, and saw a booklet that contained all the names of the applicants who passed the exam that year. He saw many blank lines. Unable to understand what it meant, he asked the person next to him,
Wei-Yan: What is this?
Liao-Fan: The person replied,
Person: This is the booklet that contains all the names of the applicants who passed the exam this year.
Liao-Fan: Wei-Yan asked,
Wei-Yan: Why does it have so many blank lines?
Liao-Fan: The person answered,
Person: The spirits of the underworld check on the applicants every three years. Only the names of those who practice kind deeds and do not make mistakes are allowed to appear in this booklet. The blank lines used to bear the names of those who were supposed to pass the exam, but due to their recent offenses, their names have been erased.
Liao-Fan: Then, pointing to a line, the person said:
Person: Ah-ha, for the past three years you have been very careful and have exerted such self-control that you haven't made any mistakes. Perhaps you should fill this blank. I hope you will cherish this opportunity and take care not to make any mistakes!
Liao-Fan: Sure enough, Wei-Yan passed the exam that year and placed 105th.
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