[Liao-Fan]: One year, I went to the Capital to pay my respects to the Emperor. I met a scholar named Jian-Suo Hsia who had all the qualities of a great man without a trace of arrogance. I felt the intense aura of his virtue and humility all about him. When I returned home, I told my friend, "When heaven wants a person to prosper, it will first bestow him with wisdom. Wisdom can make a person honest and well-disciplined. Heaven has already bestowed Jian-Suo with wisdom, or he couldn't be that gentle, kind and good. Surely, heaven will now make him prosperous." Sure enough, when the test results came out, Jian-Suo passed the exam.
[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!
[Liao-Fan]: Wei-Yan asked, [Wei-Yan]: How can I change it if it is predestined? [Liao-Fan]: The monk replied, [Monk]: Though the power to form your destiny lies in the Heavens, the right to recreate it is in yourself. As long as you are willing to do kind deeds and cultivate hidden virtues, there is nothing you ask that you will not receive.
[Liao-Fan]: Wei-Yan said, [Wei-Yan]: I am only a poor scholar. What good deeds can I possibly do?
[Liao-Fan]: The monk said, [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.
[Liao-Fan]: From the examples given above, we know that spirits and gods are always watching our behaviors from above. Therefore, we must immediately do whatever is beneficial to others and avoid doing whatever is violent, dangerous, and harmful to others. These are all things I can decide for myself. As long as I harbor good intentions; refrain from evil-doings; don't offend the heaven, earth, spirits, and gods; humble myself; be tolerant and not arrogant; then the heaven, earth, spirits and gods will constantly have pity on me; only then will I have a foundation for my future prosperity. Those who are full of conceit are definitely not destined to be great men. Even if they do prosper, they will not be able to enjoy their fortune for long. Intelligent people would definitely not make themselves small and narrow-minded and refuse the fortune they are entitled to. Besides, those who are humble always increase their opportunities to learn. If a person is not humble, who would want to teach him? Also, humble people are always willing to learn the strengths of others. When others perform good deeds, the humble person will learn and follow their examples. In this way, the kind deeds humble people accomplish are boundless! For those who wish to cultivate and improve upon their virtues, they especially, cannot do without the virtue of humility.
[Liao-Fan]: The ancients had an old saying, [Narrator]: Those who have their hearts set on attaining success and fame, will surely attain success and fame. Those who have their hearts set on attaining wealth and position, will surely attain wealth and position.
[Liao-Fan]: A person who has great and far reaching goals is like a tree having roots. A tree with roots will eventually sprout into branches, flowers and, leaves. A person who has set down great and far reaching goals must humble himself in every thought and try to relieve another's burden even if the occurrence is as insignificant as a speck of dust. If you can reach this level of humility, you will naturally touch the hearts of heaven and earth. Furthermore, I am the creator of my own prosperity; if I truly want to create it, I will certainly succeed. Look at the applicants who sought for fame and wealth, in the beginning, they did not harbor a sincere heart; it was only a passing notion. When they fancied it, they sought it. When their interest dropped, they stopped. Mencius once told Emperor Shuan Chi, [Mencius]: Your Highness has a love for music. But your love for music is only a personal pleasure. If you can expand from the heart which seeks after personal happiness to that of sharing happiness with all your subjects, and make them just as happy as you are, then, surely the nation is bound to prosper!
[Liao-Fan]: I think it is the same for those who are seeking to pass the imperial exams. If a person can expand upon the heart which seeks to pass the exams to that of diligently doing kind deeds and accumulating merits, putting forth his best efforts to improve his character, then both destiny and prosperity are his to create.
Dear Listeners and Friends, We hope you have benefited from listening to Liao-Fan's Four Lessons and will acquire the same spirit in creating your own destiny. We encourage everyone to do their best in 'refraining from evil and practicing kindness'. The teachings in Liao-Fan's Four Lessons can lift the morale of the public and transform our society into one of peace and harmony. We welcome all interested parties to sponsor the distribution of this audio book as teaching material for schools and colleges. Let us all be a part in the rebuilding of our children's morals and virtues. We hereby announce that we do not reserve our copyrights, and welcome all to reproduce and distribute this audio book for the benefit of the general public.
Here at The Education Foundation of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons, our goal is to promote the study and practice of these teachings worldwide. Therefore, we will have editions of this book in English, Japanese, German, French, and Spanish. Through understanding and practicing these teachings, world peace is possible. We welcome your comments, support, and sponsorship. Thank you very much!
Liao-Fan's Four Lessons Audio Book Original work by Mr. Liao-Fan Yuan of the Ming Dynasty Interpreted by Mr. Zhi-Hai Huang Re-edited by Police Officer Wang Sponsored and recorded by The Education Foundation of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons
