A Person Who Miraculously Changed His Destiny (Part 2)
 
Yuan Liaofan asked him, “Why is that so?”
 
Monk Yun Gu said, “It is normal for an ordinary person to have greedy thoughts. Once greedy thoughts arise, they will be restricted by a pre-determined life and predictions. A person of ultimate kindness will no longer be restricted by a pre-arranged fate. In the first chapter of I Ching, it says, 'A family that keeps accumulating kindness and virtues will have more fortunes than the previous arrangement.' Therefore, one's fate can be changed. Buddhism provides clarity about the relationships between the ultimate kindness and ultimate evil. After one comprehends that, then one can control their own fate and create their own fortune. If I do evil, I will decrease the fortune I originally have; if I do good deeds, I will obtain fortune. Ancient poems and books also described this, and it is very real. In Buddhist scriptures, we learned that a person can be wealthy if he wants to; a person can have sons and daughters if he wants to; a person can live long if he wants to!”
 
These words awakened Yuan Liaofan who had lived in illusion for years. He started to follow these words to change his life. Since then, he was very careful about his conduct. Even in places where no one else was around, he would do well so as not to offend heaven and earth. When he encountered people who disliked him and slandered him, he would take it calmly, and would not try to debate it with others.
 
One year after he met Monk Yun Gu, he attended the Imperial exam. According to Mr. Kong's prediction, he would rank third in this exam; however, he was number one when the results came out. Mr. Kong did not say that Yuan would pass the next level of exam, which would give him an official post. That autumn, Yuan Liaofan passed the exam. These things did not belong to him in his pre-arranged life destiny.
 
Yuan Liaofan then vowed to do three thousand good deeds. With over ten years' effort, he finished doing the three thousand good deeds. He even had a son thereafter. He asked his wife to record the good deeds he had done. His wife did not know how to write, so she pressed a red circle with a goose feather on the calendar every time Yuan did a good deed. For example, when Yun gave away food to the poor, or when he bought a live animal and released it. Sometimes, there were over ten red circles in one day! A few years later, he passed the final Imperial exam and became a Jinshi, the highest level for scholars. He was appointed Mayor of Baodi County. At this point, he made another wish to do ten thousand good deeds.
 
At Baodi County, he prepared a booklet, which he called “Writings on Restraining the Heart.” That is, he was very strict with himself, and tried to discipline himself to not develop evil thoughts. Every morning when he handled civil lawsuits in the courtroom, he would ask his servants to deliver the booklet to his office desk. Every day, he would record all the good deeds and bad deeds he had done on that day in the booklet. When dusk came, he set the table in the backyard at home, changed into official clothes, and burned incense to pray to gods in heaven and also report on his conduct. He did this every day.
 
His wife was concerned that he had too many official duties to take care of and that he would not have enough time to do ten thousand good deeds. She said, “I used to do good deeds at home so you were able to accomplish the three thousand good deeds. Now you have vowed to do ten thousand good deeds, but there are not many good deeds to do in the courtroom. When will we be able to complete this vow?”
 
Yuan had a dream after the couple had this conversation. He met a god in his dream, and he told the god he might not have enough time to do ten thousand good deeds and explained the reason behind it. The god replied, “Within your term as the Mayor, you reduced the tax money and tax crops for civilians. This single act is enough to reach ten thousand good deeds.”
 
Indeed, Yuan thought that the taxation for farmers in Baodi County was too heavy, and he reduced it by almost 50%. He therefore had done a good deed for all the farmers in the county.
 
Hence, Yuan continued to do good deeds during the remainder of his life. Mr. Kong predicted that he would pass away at the age of 53, but he remained healthy until the age of 69. He wrote about his experience of changing his fate in the booklet Four Admonishing Statements of Liaofan, and he passed this book to his son and the later generations.
 
Yuan's story is quite thought provoking. In traditional Chinese culture, the key theme of many stories is “kindness will be repaid with kindness, and evil will be repaid with tragedy.” There are countless examples noted throughout ancient books and texts. Yuan Liaofan's personal experience, about which he made the effort to document, is just one such example. To this day, Four Admonishing Statements of Liaofan continues to influence each generation of Chinese people and it is an excellent counter to atheist beliefs.
 
《了凡四训》与更改自己命运的奇人(下)
 
袁了凡问：何故？云谷禅师对袁了凡说：一个平常人，不能说没有胡思乱想的那颗意识心；既然有这一颗一刻不停的妄心在，那就要被阴阳气数束缚了；既被阴阳气数束缚，怎么可说没有数呢？虽说数一定有，但是只有平常人，才会被数所束缚住。若是一个极善的人，数就拘他不住了。《易》开章第一义，便说：‘积善之家，必有余庆。‘所以命是可以自己改的，而佛家是让人识透极善极恶之理力量的，识透了按照去做，命由我自己造，福由我自己求；我造恶就自然折福；我修善，就自然得福。从前各种诗书中所说，实在是的的确确，明明白白的好教训。我们佛经里说：一个人要求富贵就得富贵，要求儿女就得儿女，要求长寿就得长寿！
 
一番话点醒梦中人，袁了凡开始了改变自己命运的道路，从此以后，就整天小心谨慎，虽然是在暗室无人的地方，也常恐怕得罪天地鬼神。碰到讨厌他、毁谤他的，也能够安然的接受，不与旁人计较争论了。从见了云谷禅师的第二年，到礼部去考科举。孔先生算的命，应该考第三名，哪知道忽然考了第一名，孔先生的话开始不灵了。孔先生没算出袁了凡会考中举人，那知道到了秋天乡试，竟然考中了举人，这些原来都不是他命里注定的。
 
接著他先发愿要做三千件的善事，经过了十多年的努力，才把三千件的善事做完，结果夫人生了个儿子，取名叫天启。后来，每做了一件善事，随时都用笔记下来；他夫人不会写字，每做一件善事，都用鹅毛管，印一个红圈在日历上，或是送食物给穷人，或买活的东西放生，都要记圈。有时一天多到十几个红圈呢！也就是代表一天做了十几件善事。到了丙戌年，居然又中了进士，吏部就补了袁了凡宝坻县县长的缺，他又发了做一万件善事的心愿。
 
做宝坻县的县长时，他准备了一本有空格的小册子，这本小册子，袁了凡叫它作治心篇。意思就是恐怕自己心起邪思歪念，因此，叫“治心”二字。每天早晨起来，坐堂审案的时候，叫家里人拿这本治心篇交给看门的人，放在办公桌上。每天所做的善事恶事，虽然极小，也一定要记在治心篇上。到了晚上，在庭院中摆了桌子，换了官服，仿照宋朝的铁面御史赵阅道，焚香祷告天帝，天天都是如此。夫人见他忙于公务所做的善事不多，常常皱著眉头说：我从前在家，帮你做善事，所以你所许下三千件善事的心愿，能够做完。现在你许了做一万件善事的心愿，在衙门里没什么善事可做，那要等到什么时候，才能做完呢？
 
在夫人说过这番话之后，袁了凡晚上睡觉偶然做了一个梦，看到一位天神。他就将一万件善事不易做完的缘故，告诉了天神，天神说：只是你当县长减钱粮这件事，你的一万件善事，已经足够抵充圆满了。
 
原来宝坻县的田，每亩本来要收银两分三厘七毫，袁了凡觉得百姓钱出得太多，生活太苦，所以就把全县的田清理一遍；每亩田应缴的钱粮，减到了一分四厘六毫，这件事情确实是有的；就这样， 袁了凡一生不断地做善事，孔先生算他到五十三岁时应该寿终正寝，但他到六十九岁身体还好好的很健康，并且把自己身体力行改变命运的事，写成了一本小册子《了凡四训》，传给他的儿子天启和后人。
 
袁了凡更改自己命运的事的确是应该使人深思的，在中国传统文化中，最重要的部份，都是以善恶有报为基点而展开的，翻开历史上数不清的古人笔记小说，大都记载和阐述著这样的道理，而袁了凡只是其中的一位并且结合自身实际把它记录下来了，所以《了凡四训》才能直到现在仍然影响著一代又一代中国人，岁月的磨砺已使它成为戳破无神论谎言的很好的一支利箭了。