[Liao-Fan]: Master Yun Gu continued to ask: [Master Yun Gu]: What were Mr. Kung's predictions regarding your entire life? [Liao-Fan]: I told him in great detail, from the placement positions in the examinations, to my appointment as an official, and finally, the date of my death.
[Master Yun Gu]: Do you feel you deserve imperial appointments or a son?
[Liao-Fan]: I reflected upon my previous deeds and attitudes in the past for a long time. Then I answered him saying, "No, I do not feel I deserve an imperial appointment or a son. Those who receive imperial appointments all have the appearance of good fortune, and I do not. I do not work towards accumulating virtues to build up my fortune, either. I am very impatient, intolerant, undisciplined, and speak without any restraint. I also have a strong sense of pride and arrogance. These are all signs of scant fortune and non-virtue. How is it possible for me to receive an imperial appointment?
[Narrator]: Next we will see why Liao-Fan has no children. Liking cleanliness is a good thing, but it can become a personality problem if one gets too immaculate. There is an old saying, 'life springs from the dirt of the earth, and water too clean often harbors no fish.' [Liao-Fan]: The first reason why I feel I do not deserve a son is because I am addicted to cleanliness, resulting in the lack of thoughtfulness for others. The second reason is that 'harmony is the cultivator of all life', but I have a quick temper and easily become angry. The third reason is based on the principle that 'Loving kindness is the basis of reproduction, and harshness is the root of sterility', I overly guard my own reputation and cannot sacrifice anything for the sake of others. The fourth reason is that I talk too much which wastes a lot of chi, or energy. The fifth reason is that I also delight in drinking alcohol, and that depletes my spirit. To remain healthy, one must not sleep during the daytime and stay up through the nights. The sixth reason I do not have a son is my habit of staying up nights, not knowing how to conserve my energy. Aside from these, I have many, many, other faults which are too numerous to mention. Master Yun Gu then said: [Master Yun Gu]: According to you then, there are too many things in life you do not deserve, not only fame and a son! We should know that both good and bad fortune are all formed from one's heart; a wise person knows that everything one achieves or fails at in life are only consequences of their own actions and thoughts. Only a fool assumes that all is the work of fate and destiny! We must understand that those who have thousands of dollars in this life must have cultivated the fortune worthy of that amount in the past. Those who have hundreds of dollars must also have fortune which is worthy of containing that sum. Those whose fate is to die of starvation, in fact were meant to die in that manner. We must understand that the fate of these people was created by their own past thoughts and actions; the retribution today is simply the fruit of their deeds. Heaven does nothing more than punish evil beings with the suffering they deserve, and reward kind ones with the fortune they deserve.
[Narrator]: The following section is Master Yun Gu's advice to Liao-Fan, using the views of worldly folk, persuading him to cultivate virtue. [Master Yun Gu]: Bearing children is similar to bearing fruit from seeds; if the seeds are planted well, so will the fruits they bear. If the seeds are not planted well, then the fruits will become malnourished. For example, if a person has accumulated enough merit and virtue for a hundred generations, then he or she will have descendants to last a hundred generations. One who accumulates enough merit and virtue to last ten generations will then have ten generations of descendants to live out that fortune. The same goes for three generations or two generations. For those who have no descendants at all, it is because they have not accumulated enough good merit and virtue - they may have amassed sins instead!
[Master Yun Gu]: Now that you recognize your own shortcomings, you can work to change and reform the misdeeds which cause you to not have a son or become an imperial official. You must cultivate virtue, tolerance, and treat others with compassion and harmony. You must also care for your health and conserve your energy and spirit. Live as though everything of the past dissolved yesterday, and all of the future begins today. If you can accomplish this, then you are a person born anew. If even our physical body is governed by the law of fate, then how can a mind of virtue and discipline not evoke a response from heaven? As said in the Tai Ja Chapter in the Chinese Book of History, [Narrator]: 'One may run from the decrees of heaven, but one can never escape the retribution for one's own evil deeds'. In other words, one can alter the retribution due from past deeds, but if one continues to behave immorally, then there is no chance of avoiding disaster.
[Master Yun Gu]: It is also said in the Book of Poems, [Narrator]: 'A person should often reflect upon his own thoughts and actions, to see if they accord with the ways of heaven. If one practices such, then fortune will come without being sought. The choice to seek either good fortune or to bring about adversity is all up to you.' [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 Change, 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 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.
