Skip to main content

Liao Fan's Four Lessons

 　　[Persuading People to Do Good] One can persuade people with words for a time, but with books for a hundred generations.

　　One must strive to recognize one's faults daily and correct them daily; a day without recognizing one's faults is a day of complacency; a day without faults to correct is a day without progress. There are many intelligent and talented people in the world, yet those who do not cultivate virtue or expand their knowledge do so simply because of procrastination, thus wasting their lives.

　　Helping others according to circumstances is a complex matter, but its essence can be summarized in ten points: First, be kind to others; Second, cherish love and respect; Third, help others achieve their goals; Fourth, persuade others to do good; Fifth, rescue those in danger; Sixth, undertake projects of great benefit; Seventh, give alms for good; Eighth, uphold the Dharma; Ninth, respect elders; Tenth, cherish all life.

　　When one's heart is solely focused on doing good, with righteous thoughts present, evil thoughts will naturally not be able to pollute the mind. Like the sun shining brightly in the sky, evil spirits vanish. This is the true transmission of single-mindedness.

　　Those who say that fortune and misfortune are of their own making are speakings of sages and worthies; those who say that fortune and misfortune are solely ordained by Heaven are merely worldly opinions.

　　　　What is your fate?

　　Even if you are destined for glory and prominence, always contemplate loneliness; 

　　even if things are going smoothly, 

　　always contemplate adversity; even if you have enough to eat 

　　, always contemplate poverty; even if you are loved and respected by others, always contemplate fear; 

　　even if you come from a prestigious family, always contemplate humility; 

　　even if you are highly learned, always contemplate shallowness.

　　Those who are good at correcting their faults do not forbid the act itself, but first understand the principles.

　　Whenever a poor scholar is about to achieve success, he invariably displays a humble

　　and admirable demeanor. Goodness can be genuine or false; upright or crooked; hidden or revealed; right or wrong; biased or correct; half-hearted or full; large or small; difficult or easy; all should be deeply discerned. To do good without thoroughly understanding the principles is to claim one is practicing virtue, unaware that one is creating evil, wasting effort, and achieving nothing.

　　Think of the virtues of our ancestors, and the transgressions of our parents; think of repaying the country's kindness, and the blessings of our family; think of helping those in need, and the evils of our own conscience.

　　[Rescuing those in distress] Kindness need not be great, but it is enough to help those in distress.

　　[Being kind to others] We live in a degenerate age; do not use your strengths to overshadow others; do not use your virtues to make others look bad; do not use your abilities to burden others. Conceal your talents and wisdom, appearing as if you have nothing. Now that you know your mistakes, 　　you should thoroughly reform 

　　your past shortcomings of not achieving academic success  and not having children; 　　strive to accumulate virtue, be tolerant,  　　be loving, and cherish your spirit.  　　All that has passed is like yesterday's death;  　　all that is to come is like today's birth; this is the rebirth of the body according to righteousness. 　　Have you not seen the Sixth Patriarch say, "All fields of merit are within one's own heart; seek from the heart, and nothing will be unattainable"? Seek within yourself, not only to obtain morality and righteousness, but also to gain fame and fortune; to obtain both internally and externally is to seek what is beneficial. Even 　　the flesh and blood body has its limits;  　　how can the body of righteousness not reach the heavens?  　　Tai Jia said: Heaven's calamities can be avoided;  　　self-inflicted calamities cannot be escaped.  　　The poem says: "Always speak in accordance with destiny, and seek abundant blessings for yourself."  　　Master Kong predicted that you would not pass the  　　imperial examinations and would not have children; these are calamities caused by Heaven, which can still be avoided.  Now, 　　you cultivate virtue,  　　diligently perform good deeds, and accumulate unseen merit;  　　these are blessings created by yourself.  　　How can you not enjoy them?  　　The Book of Changes  　　advises the virtuous to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune;  　　if one says that destiny is constant, how can good fortune be sought, and how can misfortune be avoided?  The first principle of the opening chapter 　　states: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings."  　　Do you believe this?  　　I believe his words, bow 　　, and accept his teachings. Humility and modesty are the foundation for receiving blessings. Those who are arrogant are certainly not capable of great things; 　　even if they achieve success, they will not benefit from it. Those who say that fortune and misfortune are sought by oneself are the words of sages; those who say that fortune and misfortune are solely determined by Heaven are merely worldly opinions. 　　But those who wish to correct their mistakes must first cultivate a sense of shame; second, a sense of awe; and third, a sense of courage.  　　Possessing these three qualities, their mistakes will naturally melt away like ice in spring exposed to the sun. However, people correct their mistakes in three ways: some by addressing the actions, some by addressing the reasons, and some by addressing the heart. The effort differs, and so do the results. 　　When others fall short, we should be sympathetic; when things go against reason, what does it matter to me? There is no reason to be angry. Furthermore, there are no self-righteous heroes in the world, nor are there any scholars who blame others; any shortcomings are simply due to insufficient self-cultivation and inadequate spiritual influence. If I reflect on myself, then slander and defamation will become opportunities for refinement and improvement; I will gladly accept these gifts, so why be angry? 　　What does it mean to correct mistakes from the heart? There are countless faults, all created by the mind; if my mind is unmoved, how can faults arise? Scholars need not seek out every fault—lust for beauty, fame, wealth, anger, etc.—but should simply focus on doing good, with righteous thoughts present, so that evil thoughts cannot pollute them. Like the sun shining brightly in the sky, all evil spirits vanish; this is the true essence of perfect unity. Errors arise from the mind, and can also be corrected by the mind. Like cutting down a poisonous tree, one should sever it by the root; why bother felling every branch and plucking every leaf?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

There's a kind of meeting that feels like a long-awaited encounter.

     When     I first arrived in this city, the weather was a hazy, grayish white. It was already the height of summer, and there was a humid, stifling heat.     At the subway exit, I saw Mo Xiaobei struggling to find me in the crowd. She took my suitcase, then pretended to be incredibly strong, smiling happily at me and revealing her cute little tiger teeth. I followed Mo Xiaobei through several subway stops until we finally arrived at her rented room. The moment I opened the door, it felt like I had entered a disaster zone. Just as I had imagined, her room was a mess. Several pairs of shoes were scattered haphazardly on the floor, and bottles and jars were strewn about on the table, along with leftover food that had been moldy for days. I turned to look at Mo Xiaobei, who scratched her head sheepishly. "I haven't cleaned the house these past few days. Since you're here, could you help me tidy up?" I knew she was always like this, so I shook my head h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five-degree slanted characters (Part 2)

  　　Chi Zhoumu played three games of League of Legends in a row. Whenever he encountered a problem he couldn't figure out, he had to shift his focus to prevent himself from being trapped by his chaotic thoughts. After the three games, Chi Zhoumu stared at the computer for a long time, lost in thought. "No, I have to go out for a walk and relax," Chi Zhoumu thought to himself. 　　 　　When Chi Zhoumu went out, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening. The streetlights emitted a quiet, dim yellow light, and only a few people were running on the playground. The moonlight was faint, casting overlapping shadows, and the road was deserted. He went to the pavilion, sat down on a bench, and lazily admired the reflection of the library lights on the lake. Two or three couples were scattered on the small island in the lake. "It's hard to find such peace and harmony in the bustling city," he thought. 　　 　　After sitting for about twenty minutes, just as he was ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking up at the starry sky

     The night is deep, and I can't fall asleep alone. I open the window and see the twinkling stars, but are you the brightest one?     I remember the first time I saw you was in my final year of junior high. I stood nervously behind you, watching my classmates register one by one, and my name was left unassigned. Yes. I was timid and cowardly, and because I didn't have the money for tuition, I didn't dare to speak to you. I just stood there, standing there.     Later, you noticed me, smiled slightly, and asked, "Have you registered?" I shook my head. You asked again, "Are you having trouble?" I nodded. "Come with me!" When I took out my blankets from a corner of the school, I saw tears in your eyes; and I couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears. You took the blankets, took my hand, and walked towards the dormitory building.     I've always thought of myself as a stubborn child, someone no one could melt the thick ice in my hea...
Post a Comment
Read more