🧭 Introduction: Can We Change Our Fate?
Is our destiny fixed at birth? Are health, wealth, family harmony, and wisdom all preordained—or can we change them? 🤔 For centuries, countless people have pondered this question. The good news is that change is possible. And one of the most powerful manuals for transforming destiny is the classic text The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan 📖.
This profound guide was written by Yuan Liao-Fan, a Ming dynasty scholar, who used it to teach his son how to improve character, cultivate virtue, and change fate. It reveals the secrets of altering our karma through sincere effort, right action, and deep introspection 🌱.
In this series, we will explore The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan through the lens of Venerable Master Chin Kung (净空法师), who gave an in-depth televised commentary on the text in April 2001 on Phoenix TV 📺. His teachings will help us apply Liao-Fan’s wisdom to our modern lives.
Let us begin this journey together—of discovering how to transcend limitations, recover our true nature, and reshape our destiny through the timeless principles of sincerity, self-reflection, and compassionate action 🌈.
📜 1. The Legacy of Liao-Fan: A Journey of Self-Transformation
Mr. Liao-Fan’s surname was Yuan, his given name Huang, and his courtesy name Kunyi. He was a native of Wujiang County in the Jiangnan region, born in the fourteenth year of Emperor Jiajing’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (1535 CE), more than four hundred years ago. The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan is a book composed of four heartfelt instructions written by Mr. Liao-Fan for his son, with the aim of guiding him in moral cultivation and the transformation of fate 📘.
From its content, we observe that the process of self-reformation is a truly arduous endeavor—especially during the first twenty years of practice. It was only in his later years, once his cultivation had matured, that the practices of eliminating evil and cultivating virtue became increasingly effortless and natural 💪.
🧡 2. Master Yinguang’s Preface: The Foundation Lies in Sincerity and Clarity
Great Master Yinguang composed a preface to Liao-Fan’s Four Teachings, and this preface holds profound significance. It begins with the statement:
“The way of sages and worthies lies solely in sincerity and clarity. 圣贤之道，唯诚与明。”
“Sincerity” refers to genuine honesty—this is the true mind and inherent nature of all sentient beings. “Clarity” refers to innate wisdom—also inherently possessed and not acquired from external sources 🌟.
If a person conducts themselves according to this true mind and innate nature, they are called a sage; in Buddhism, they are referred to as a Buddha or Bodhisattva. From this, it becomes evident that the difference between Buddhas, sages, and ordinary beings lies in the nature of their minds 🧘.
🌀 3. The True Mind vs. The Deluded Mind
Buddhas and sages act from the true mind, while ordinary people operate from the deluded mind. The true mind is purely good. As the Three Character Classic says: “At the beginning of man, nature is inherently good (人之初，性本善).” The Mahayana sutras echo this truth: “All sentient beings are originally Buddhas.（一切众生本来成佛）”
If we are originally Buddhas, why are we not Buddhas now? 🤷♀️ It is because we do not use the true mind, but instead rely on the deluded mind. The deluded mind is false emotion and deceit; it gives rise to immeasurable evil karma. In contrast, acting from the true mind generates boundless merit and blessings.
People in the world who seek good fortune often do not realize that true blessings flow from the true mind, while all misfortunes arise from the deluded mind 💭. The goal of both Confucian and Buddhist education is to teach us to abandon the deluded mind and return to the true mind—this is the fundamental principle, which Master Yinguang clearly pointed out at the outset.
💎 4. Sincerity and Reverence Lead to Wisdom
Thus, the teachings of both Confucianism and Buddhism begin with sincerity and reverence. With one degree of sincerity and reverence, one manifests one degree of wisdom; with ten degrees, ten degrees of wisdom arise naturally 📈. Through such wisdom and virtue, one gains insight into the true nature of the universe and human life—past, present, and future—transcending the limitations of time and space 🪐.
🤔 5. Why Have We Lost Touch with Our Buddha Nature?
Why, then, have we become the way we are today?
The Avatamsaka Sutra states:
“All sentient beings possess the wisdom, virtue, and dignified appearances of the Tathagata（一切众生皆有如来智慧德相）.”
These qualities—wisdom, virtue, and noble attributes—are inherently present in everyone; no one is lacking them, and they exist equally in all 💖. “Yet, because of deluded thoughts and attachments, they cannot realize them.”
This sentence tells us that we have transformed our inherent wisdom (original clarity) into ignorance and delusion, our boundless virtue into discriminative thinking, and our sublime qualities into attachments and afflictions. This is the result of delusion and non-awakening 🌫️.
One who remains deluded is an ordinary being; one who awakens from delusion is a Buddha or Bodhisattva. Thus, the distinction between the mundane and the sacred lies in a single thought 🧠.
✂️ 6. From the Root: Letting Go of the Self
But we have been deluded for far too long. For immeasurable kalpas, we have lost touch with our true mind and original nature, and have always acted from the deluded mind. At the root of this deluded mind is the belief in a self.
As the Diamond Sutra says: “If a bodhisattva retains the marks of self, others, sentient beings, or lifespan, he is not a true bodhisattva.（若菩萨有我相、人相、众生相、寿者相，即非菩萨。）”
To “have” is to grasp and to discriminate. If we continue to discriminate and cling to the notion of a self, we are not bodhisattvas ⚖️.
The great masters teach us to cultivate from the root. The root is the attachment to "self." To correct this mistaken view is to repair from the root 🌱. Thus, we must let go of selfishness, fame and gain, sensual desires, and greed, anger, and arrogance. With these discarded, the path to enlightenment becomes smooth and unimpeded 🛤️.
From ancient times to now, many have cultivated diligently. They were not lacking in effort or time. Yet few attained realization. Why? Because the "self" was not relinquished. Their every thought and action stemmed from selfish intent. As a result, progress in the Way was nearly impossible 🚫.
On the other hand, those who did attain realization—great masters and sages—did so because they abandoned selfishness and acted with every thought and deed for the welfare of all beings 💞.
🌍 7. Crisis and Opportunity in Our Time
Today, we live in an age of unprecedented turmoil, unmatched in both ancient and modern history. Life in this world is filled with suffering 😔. Even those with vast wealth or high status—presidents, kings—find no peace of mind.
In such a time, we are both pitiful and fortunate. Pitiful, because we were born into a chaotic and insecure world, with little safety or happiness. Fortunate, because if we can see through this illusion, let go of attachments, and resist the current of worldly confusion, then cultivating virtue and benefiting society becomes the greatest opportunity to generate vast merit and achieve true realization 🌟.
Master Yinguang guided us to begin with Liao-Fan’s Four Teachings. This is the right path. Therefore, we should study these four essays not only as ancient prose, but as daily practice. Reflect carefully on every word and phrase, examine how to apply it in our thoughts, speech, and conduct. In doing so, we will gain true benefit 📚.
From this foundation, when we further enter the Dharma, we will find our progress doubled with half the effort 🧭.
🔮 8. Looking Ahead
In the next lesson, we will begin exploring the fascinating life story of Liao-Fan himself—a tale full of insight, transformation, and inspiration ✨.
📚 Source: Venerable Master Chin Kung’s lecture on The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan, delivered on April 16, 2001, on Phoenix TV
✨ Essential Questions & Takeaways
Here are the central questions drawn from this chapter’s teaching. They are designed to clarify the main ideas and help you integrate the lesson into your daily thoughts and actions.
Can we really change our destiny?
Yes. Destiny is not fixed. Through correcting faults, cultivating virtue, and sincere effort—as taught in The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan—we can transform our karma and future.
What is the difference between Buddhas, sages, and ordinary people?
The difference lies only in the mind. Buddhas and sages live from the true mind (sincere, clear, inherently good); ordinary people follow the deluded mind (selfish emotion and deceit), creating endless suffering.
Why are sincerity and clarity the starting point of the path?
“Sincerity” is our genuine, honest heart; “clarity” is our innate wisdom. The more sincerity and reverence we develop, the more wisdom naturally appears, allowing us to see cause and effect clearly and change our fate.
If we all have Buddha nature, why do we still suffer?
We all possess the wisdom, virtue, and dignified qualities of the Tathagata, but deluded thoughts and attachments cover them. One thought of awakening returns us to our Buddha nature; one thought of clinging keeps us in confusion.
What is the root practice for transforming our life in this chaotic era?
The root is to let go of “self”—selfishness, fame and gain, desires, greed, anger, and arrogance—and act for the benefit of all beings. In today’s troubled world, this becomes both our greatest protection and our greatest opportunity to create vast merit and true peace.