Liao Fan's Four Lessons

by Mr. Zhi-Hai

[Liao-Fan]: Usually, there are signs which signal impending danger or of coming good fortune. These signs are a reflection of one's heart; though it is the heart from which thoughts arise, the body and its limbs can fully portray a person's character. For instance, if a person is kind-hearted, then his every gesture would indicate steadiness and solidity. If a person is evil and mean, then his body and limbs would naturally portray a petty and small character.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Classics

60 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1602

Reviews

[Yasoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half goodness and whole goodness. This book can be a guide for those who seek to cultivate kindness and find true happiness.

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

430-Liao Fan's Four Lessons-Yuan Liaofan-Psychology-1602

Barack
2022/08/06

The Four Lessons of Liaofan was first published around 1602. Based on personal experience, the author explains how to change one's destiny through four parts: the study of establishing destiny, the method of reforming, the method of accumulating good, and the effect of modesty. This book was originally used to teach the author's own son, so it was named "Xunziwen"; it was later used to enlighten the world, so it was changed to this name.

Yuan Liaofan was born in 1533 in Weitang Town, Jiashan County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and died in 1606. The first name was Biao, then it was renamed Huang, the word was Qingyuan, and the word Kunyi and Yifu. The first name was Xuehai, and then it was changed to Fan.

When he was a young man, he was smart and sensible, and he was very talented. He was taught by Zen Master Yungu, and he studied astronomy, arithmetic, water conservancy, military affairs, medicine, etc., and made up for all living beings. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565), the magistrate established an academy and ordered top students to learn from Yuan Shoujing. In the fifth year of Wanli ( 1577), it was initially planned to take the first place, but it was defeated because the policy theory violated the chief examiner. In the fourteenth year (1586), he was a jinshi and was one of the three famous scholars in Jiaxing Prefecture in the early Wanli period. He was instructed to clean up Su Song's money and grain, and submit them to the "Fuyeyi". He also requested to reduce or exempt more than 10 additional clauses of rice and silver, but was blocked by the gentry and gave up. In the sixteenth year of Wanli (1588), he was granted the magistrate of Hebei Baodi (now Tianjin) and served for five years with a brilliant performance. In the 20th year of Wanli (1592), he was transferred to the head of the Ministry of War, in line with Japan's invasion of Korea and the imperial court's large-scale eastward expedition. Ji Liao Jingluo Song Yingchang invited Yuan Huang to the military camp to praise paintings, and Liu Huangshang floated across the Yalu River. Later, when the Japanese army attacked the city, Yuan Huang led his subordinates and 3,000 Korean soldiers to repel it. Soon, Li Rusong was defeated in the Biti Pavilion, and Shi Xing, the Minister of War, advocated appropriation to negotiate peace. Li Rusong falsely accused Yuan Huang of ten crimes.

Table of Content
The first book of life
The second revised law
Chapter Three: The Way to Accumulate Kindness
Chapter Four: The Effect of Modesty

Sometimes I wonder, is there a certain destiny? Can we really fully infer a person's future? If it can be inferred, and the fortune-tellers we meet are reliable, is it really good to infer the future fate? If the inferred result is good, we may get carried away and cause this disaster, like winning the jackpot and getting into a car accident. If the inferred result is bad, will we be so unhappy and so depressed that we can't even live well in the present moment?

In the past, it is like dying yesterday; in the future, it is like being born today. Every time I wake up from sleep, it feels like a new life. Yesterday I am one, today I am one, and tomorrow I am one. In other words, I am a different person every moment. If so, try to overcome your ego. I of today must have the courage to let go of the mistakes of me of yesterday, and understand that I of tomorrow may overthrow me of today again. judge right or not. rather than clinging to the ego.

A family of good deeds must have Yu Qing. The author is obviously a Buddhist, so he devoutly uses Buddhist methods to do good and accumulate virtue. The avenue is up to the sky, perhaps more than this path. There are probably some rules for the number of days, but it shouldn't be down to the smallest detail. In other words, Tiandao defines the rules of the game and the direction of the trend, and it may not be accurate to every player's actions and endings. Therefore, it is said that "heaven and earth are not benevolent". Heaven and earth are not just rules. How can there be a distinction between good and evil, and a difference in preference? For each game, the rules are set, and even the trend is set, but each player's flag determines how the game will develop. Also like a card game, the cards that each player draws may have been decided, but how each player chooses and chooses the cards is his own decision. If God is destined to be good luck, then the advantage can be maximized through the efforts of the day after tomorrow. If God is destined to be bad luck, then through the efforts of the day after tomorrow, the disaster caused by bad luck can be minimized as much as possible.

Master Yungu believed that "everything is created only by the mind". It is mortal who think that fate is determined in a few days. He is a hero who believes that acquired will and actions can affect the direction of fate. Great good people and great evil people can all be heroes. Mortals who lack courage fall into the rut of fate. Do not believe in destiny from beginning to end, is a hero in the eyes of mortals. With the will of disbelief, the will drives active thinking, and thinking will guide action. All three are indispensable. The so-called faith is unreasonable because faith comes after the truth.

Only when people have a sense of shame will they want to change their wrong behavior, overthrow the old, and pursue the good. If you don’t have the thought of shame, you will feel that everything you do is right, and you will not feel ashamed in your heart. Even if you admit your mistakes on the surface due to external factors, it will be difficult to truly change in the future. Pain is a gift from nature. Physical pain makes people avoid doing things that hurt themselves; psychological pain is the driving force for people to overcome their instinctive inertia to correct their shortcomings. Of course, we must also pay attention to balance to prevent excessive shame from forming an inferiority complex.

Why do good people have to go through ninety-nine-eighty-one hardships to become Buddhas, while wicked people only need to put down the butcher’s knife? It is so difficult for a good person to become a Buddha, but it is so easy for an evil person to become a Buddha. Isn’t it unfair to the good people? Perhaps this shows that change is no less difficult than persistence. For a good person to become a Buddha, what he needs is persistence. It is difficult to be good at the beginning and end without moving forward. It is hard to deny oneself and turn back to the right side.

To change mistakes, you need to start from the thoughts in your heart. This is the deepest change. At this first-level level, you can distinguish between good and evil and stifle evil thoughts when you move your thoughts. The second level is to understand good, bad, good, and evil by understanding the truth. Although it is impossible to control the generation of evil thoughts, after rational analysis, it is found that doing so will be harmful, so it will not be done. The lowest level is that you can neither control your thoughts nor understand the truth, so you can only be controlled by the coercive force of the outside world. It's like a child who has to live within the rules of conduct set by adults. Restricting oneself by setting external limits is a typical symptom, but not the root cause, and there may be thousands of external behaviors. This time the wrong behavior is avoided, and it may appear in other forms next time. Behind 100 different behaviors, there may be only 10 reasons; behind 10 reasons, there is only one idea. That's why "checking things to get knowledge, sincerity, and sincerity" is the cornerstone of self-cultivation.

[Phoebe Gao · Rating 5 out of 5]

命由我作，福自己求。

一切福田，不离方寸；从心而觅，感无不通。

积功累行，以基厚福；

地之秽者多生物，水之清者常无鱼；

和气能育万物；

从前种种，譬如昨日死；从后种种，譬如今日生；此义理再生之身。

永言配命，自求多福。

积善之家，必有馀庆。

准提咒：南无飒哆喃(nā mó sà duō nán)，三藐三菩陀(sān miǎo sān pú tuó)，俱胝喃(jù zhī nán)，怛侄他(dá zhí tuō)，唵折戾主戾(ǎn/ōng， zhé lì zhǔ lì)，准提娑婆诃(zhǔn tí suō pó hē)

到此自有战兢惕厉景象，在暗室屋漏中，常恐得罪天地鬼神；遇人憎我毁我，自能恬然容受。

汝之命，未知若何？即命当荣显，常作落寞想；即时当顺利，常作拂逆想；即眼前足食，常作贫窭想；即人相爱敬，常作恐惧想；即家世望重，常作卑下想；即学问颇优，常作浅陋想。

日日知非，日日改过

第一，要发耻心
第二，要发畏心
第三，须发勇心

吾辈处未世，勿以己之长而盖人；勿以己之善而形人；勿以己之多能而困人。收敛才智，若无若虚；见人过失，且涵容而掩覆之。

[清 · Rating 5 out of 5]

从立命之学，改过之法，积善之方，谦德之效等四个部分讲解如何改变命运。很有启迪。

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

立命，改过，积善，谦德

[Peta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was written in 16th century China, it is possible to interpret the meaning of all four lessons within our modern society. I found this to be the book I needed to read and can be useful to anyone who is trying to break old, seemingly unbreakable habits. This is done by understanding that everything in our life-good and bad- comes from the state of the heart. To learn to correct inappropriate behaviour and attract a happier more prosperous life, one must learn to cultivate a kind heart and perform kind deeds. Liao Fan teaches the principles and actions to achieve this along with the importance of humility when interacting with others, something I think we could all benefit from in this day and age.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend recommended and let me borrow the book (I still have it! It's been two years!) when we both had the same interest in Buddhism. We used to go to this place in Broadway to visit a Bodhi Tree.

Liao Fan's Four Lessons is recommended to everyone. It is not hard to understand, hard part begins when you try to carry it out. ;)

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reading for those interested in Buddhism. It helps someone grasp a stronger, deeper depth of the principles behind the religion/philosophy. I found it very helpful and I plan on buying a copy or two for a friend.

[Kelli Tompkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a 1994 version booklet, which was my first introduction to Buddhism, from a temple in SLC sometime in the early 2000s.

I've read it quite a few times in the past 10-15 years & it continues to soothe my soul when lessons are needed.

[Diane Lin Presser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book 4 times for it to absorb. The art of kindness is the most important thing in China. This is the secret behind modesty.

[Agata Pascarista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book "a path to true happiness"

[Isaac]

I had not read a Chinese book for a long time so I chose to read this book one day. It was a Kindle book free of charge and I spent a week on it and another week was for digestion. This book tells me that whenever and wherever you are, you need to be benevolent because the benevolence that comes from you is able to affect people around you. Anyone cannot change other people's mind but he can influence people. Of course, it is a fact that there are malefactors around you. What you can only do is to stay away from them, which could help you reduce trouble or conflict to the minimum, and both the malevolent and you will be delighted all the time.

We do not believe in destiny but we should believe the god is keeping an eye on us and our deeds. Whether a person in public or he is alone, harboring benevolence is paramount and can give you a pleasing afterlife.