✨ In this lesson of The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan, we learn how destiny can truly be transformed. Master Yun Gu taught that dependent retribution follows primary retribution—our environment and circumstances shift in accordance with our blessings. 🌱 When blessings are abundant, treasures and opportunities appear before us; when blessings are lacking, they remain hidden.
💡 When the mind changes, the environment changes; fortune rises and falls with one’s accumulated virtue.
By reflecting on faults, reforming habits, and cultivating hidden merit, one can break free from fixed fate and turn misfortune into blessings. This chapter shares the practical steps to change destiny, showing how sincerity and effort reshape both life and environment.
Master Yun Gu said:
“It is not only about passing examinations for official titles! In the world, those who possess great wealth and noble status, owning millions in property, are certainly people of immense virtue.” One must have blessings in order to enjoy fortune. If blessings were not cultivated in past lives, how can one expect to reap them now? If blessings were cultivated deeply in the past, then in this life one receives abundant fortune. If cultivation was shallow, one receives small fortune. If no blessings were cultivated, then even dying of hunger is the result of one’s own heavy negative karma. This retribution is self-created and self-endured; it has nothing to do with Heaven, deities, or Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Thus, “Heaven does not give preference, it simply responds according to one’s nature, never adding the slightest bias.” Heaven is indeed fair to all beings—this is the natural law of cause and effect. Heaven has no prejudice whatsoever. These are words of ultimate truth, and we must carefully reflect on them.
Master Yun Gu, using common human understanding, advised Mr. Liao-Fan to accumulate merit and virtue. “A hundred generations of virtue”—in Chinese history, when ancestors were virtuous, dynasties prospered: the Xia dynasty lasted 400 years, the Shang 600 years, and the Zhou 800 years. Zhou endured the longest, due to the accumulated virtues of King Wen, King Wu, and Duke Zhou. “If there is virtue for a hundred generations, then there will be descendants for a hundred generations to preserve it.” This is viewed from a worldly perspective. Even those not on the throne, such as Confucius, through impartiality, sincerity, and universal love—teaching without discrimination and helping all beings awaken from delusion—accumulated immense merit. Thus, his descendants are still respected by people today.
“Ten generations of virtue” refers to emperors of successive dynasties. Looking at the present, wealthy families generally last only two or three generations. Some decline after just one generation; some even prosper in middle age but collapse in old age. This is because “virtue was too thin.” Without accumulating merit, their thoughts and actions are selfish. Even when they do good deeds, they cling to fame and profit, so their virtue remains shallow. Many engage in charity only if they can gain public praise or government recognition—this is false goodness, not true goodness.
Master Yun Gu gave these examples, then instructed him: if he could truly correct his faults and renew himself completely, his fate could be changed.
How to Reform Destiny
Where does one begin? Start by correcting one’s habits and faults. Since he knew his shortcomings, he had to change those that caused him to fail in attaining official rank and to remain childless. One must accumulate virtue. In the past, he was arrogant, often using his talents to suppress others, always competing and unable to tolerate people. Now, he must correct these faults. “Be tolerant” means to broaden one’s mind and embrace everything. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are great precisely because their hearts are vast: “The mind embraces the universe, and the capacity encompasses all worlds.” Therefore, expanding the mind brings blessings.
“Be harmonious and loving”—always be gentle and kind.
“Cherish your vitality”—do not drink alcohol, stay up late, or damage your health and spirit.
These are the key points Master Yun Gu emphasized, urging him to earnestly cultivate goodness, accumulate merit, and correct his faults.
Leaving the Past Behind
“All past wrongs are as if one died yesterday.” The past is gone and should not be dwelled upon. “From this day forward is like being reborn today—this is the body recreated by principle.” As long as one reforms, destiny cannot bind him.
In Buddhism, this is called making vows; in secular terms, it is called setting aspirations—they mean the same thing. But to make a vow to serve others, one must first have the ability to serve. In other words, one must cultivate virtue, knowledge, and ability in order to serve society. Therefore, once a vow is made, one must cultivate moral character, practice good Dharma, eliminate afflictions, accumulate merit, and establish learning and virtue—only then can one’s wishes come true.
If one vows to help suffering beings but lacks the necessary conditions, then the vow is empty and will never be realized. An empty vow is deception—deceiving Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and beings. This carries sin, not merit.
The first of the Four Great Vows is: “Sentient beings are boundless, I vow to liberate them all.” Since beings are infinite, we must vow to help them awaken and find happiness. But first, we must have the ability to do so. After making the vow, we must diligently cut off afflictions and learn Dharma methods: eliminating afflictions perfects virtue, learning Dharma methods perfects knowledge, and ultimately one accomplishes Buddhahood and completes merit. Such a vow is real, not false. If vow-power surpasses karmic force, one can “return again by vow.” Then one’s destiny will undergo a 180-degree transformation—this is truly being “reborn by principle.”
Flesh-and-Blood Body vs. Body of Principle
The “flesh-and-blood body” is our current physical body, manifested by karmic force. Because we cannot abandon delusion, discrimination, and attachment, we fall under numbers and calculations—destiny can be predicted.
To transcend destiny, one must reform the mind—change unwholesome thoughts and actions, align entirely with principle. Then one’s body becomes a “body of principle.” In Buddhist terms, if vow-power exceeds karma, this is called the “body of vow-power,” also known as “returning by vow.”
The flesh body is selfish and self-serving. The body of principle is impartial and selfless, living only for the welfare of beings. When the body serves society and all beings, free from karmic ties, it is called the body of principle, or returning by vow. If beings have blessings, such a body will remain in the world; if beings lack blessings, it will naturally depart. In Buddhism, this is called “ending birth and death, transcending the three realms.”
Quotes from Ancient Texts
King Tai Jia said: “If Heaven creates calamity, it can still be avoided; but if one creates his own misdeeds, life cannot continue.”
The Book of Poetry says: “Always speak of matching destiny, and seek much fortune yourself.” “Always speak” means the ancient sages constantly emphasized this. “Matching destiny” means aligning with Heaven’s heart, uniting human hearts with Heaven’s heart. What is Heaven’s heart? “Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life.” It is impartial, loving, and equal. If we can cultivate such a heart, elevating our wishes to complete selflessness and equality toward all, then we are “matching destiny.” Fortune naturally follows.
Reforming Destiny Is Possible
Master Yun Gu said: “The fortune teller predicted you will neither attain rank nor have children. This is the calamity created by past karma, but it can still be changed. If you now expand your virtue, diligently practice good deeds, and accumulate hidden merit, then this is the fortune you yourself create—how could you not enjoy it?”
Hidden merit means doing good without others knowing. Such merit brings deep rewards. If one does good but loudly publicizes it, fearing others will not know, the reward is immediately consumed. True goodness should not be flaunted. If one insists on publicity, then it is false goodness. This shows one has not let go of the desire for fame and profit—it is not genuine sincerity.
In ancient times, truly virtuous people concealed their light and cultivated quietly in seclusion. Their virtue grew ever deeper, and when the time was ripe, they emerged to serve the nation and people. This contains profound wisdom we must carefully reflect on.
Fate Is Not Fixed
“It is easy for the noble man to seek fortune and avoid misfortune. If destiny were fixed, how could fortune be pursued or disaster avoided?”
These lines strengthen Mr. Liao-Fan’s confidence. If destiny were absolutely predetermined, the teachings of the Book of Changes on “seeking fortune and avoiding disaster” would make no sense. In truth, destiny can be changed. Every thought of goodness increases fortune; every thought of evil decreases it. Thus, our daily words and actions affect the rise and fall of destiny.
Why can fortune-tellers calculate ordinary people’s fate so accurately? Because their changes in merit and fault are small—the fluctuations remain close to the baseline. But if one’s good or evil is extremely great, the fluctuations are vast, and destiny cannot be calculated. Great goodness frees one from destiny, and great evil does the same. With great goodness, disasters turn into blessings; with great evil, blessings turn into disasters. This is the principle.
✨ Next week in The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan Series #9: Study without action is fruitless on the path.
✨ 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.
1️⃣🌱 What does “dependent retribution follows primary retribution” actually mean?
Your environment—family, wealth, opportunities, obstacles—is a mirror of your inner virtue. When the mind is purified and blessings rise, the surrounding world transforms automatically. Change the self, and circumstances follow.
2️⃣🔍 How do faults and habits block fortune and create fixed destiny?
Arrogance, anger, selfishness, staying up late, harming vitality, and craving fame weaken virtue and shrink blessings. Unless these habits are reformed, destiny remains fixed and fortune cannot rise. True change begins with correcting the mind’s tendencies.
3️⃣💎 Why is hidden merit more powerful than visible charity?
Good deeds done quietly, without seeking praise, create deep and lasting fortune. Publicized charity turns into “immediate consumption”—the merit is spent quickly. Hidden goodness plants the seeds for profound, long-lived blessings.
4️⃣🪷 How do vows transform a karmic life into a “body of principle”?
When vow-power surpasses karmic force—living entirely for the welfare of beings—the practitioner shifts from a karma-driven body to a vow-driven life. This is “returning by vow,” transcending destiny and serving the world with impartiality and compassion.
5️⃣⚖️ If destiny can be predicted, how can it also be changed?
Ordinary people show only small fluctuations, so fortune-tellers can calculate their fate. But large changes in virtue or evil create massive shifts:
Great evil → blessings collapse into disasters
Thus, destiny is not fixed; it rises or falls with every thought.
Great goodness → disasters turn into blessings
📚 Source: Venerable Master Chin Kung’s lecture on The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan, delivered on April 16, 2001, on Phoenix TV