Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons 了凡四訓 – A Classic Work about How to Change One’s Destiny

 

了凡四訓 ISBN: 9787807594659

I’m reading Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons 了凡四訓 recently. The book was recommended to me by many: Master Chin Kung, my parents etc. Over the years, I got to know bits and pieces of this book, but never made a decision to read. Now, I started, and I can’t put it down.

Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons was written by Liao-Fan Yuan in Ming Dynasty (16 century), China. The book was intended to teach his son, Tian-Chi Yuan, on the true face of one’s destiny. One’s fate is controlled by oneself. The book discussed how to tell good from bad, correct one’s faults and practice kind deeds. It also provided living proof (Mr. Liao-Fan Yuan himself) of the reward and outcomes of people who practice kind deeds and cultivate virtue and modesty.

Fate cannot bind those who cultivate great kindness. Because their virtues accrued from kind acts are so great that these acts will alter their ‘original’ destiny for the better.

The Four Lessons are:

• Lesson 1 – Learning to Create Destiny
• Lesson 2 – Ways to Reform
• Lesson 3 – The Way to Cultivate Kindness
• Lesson 4 – The Benefit of the Virtue of Humility

If people would read and take the advice from this book, then this is a book not only precious to one’s spiritual needs, but is also capable of transforming unhealthy attitudes in today’s society.

The posts are arranged by my daily reading progress. Following the original Chinese text, is the English translation, along with my notes and thoughts. The English translation is a re-work of Mr. Zhi-Hai Huang’s translation. I adjusted some of Mr. Zhi-Hai Huang’s translation for certain references to Chinese culture and history.