Liao-Fan Yuan taught that true transformation begins in the mind. Fate is not changed by luck or prayers, but by cultivating virtuous thoughts and right understanding. In this lesson, he reveals six standards of Right Thought — reflecting on our ancestors’ virtue, shielding family faults, repaying the nation’s kindness, creating family harmony, helping those in need, and guarding against inner evils. These six contemplations serve as the foundation for moral growth and the key to reshaping one’s destiny through humility and self-reflection.
📜 Understanding the Changeable Nature of Destiny
孔公算予五十三岁有厄。余未尝祈寿。是岁竟无恙。今六十九矣。书曰。天难谌。命靡常。又云。惟命不于常。皆非诳语。吾于是而知。凡称祸福自己求之者。乃圣贤之言。若谓祸福惟天所命。则世俗之论矣。
Mr. Kong calculated that Mr. Liao-Fan’s lifespan would only reach fifty-three. Liao-Fan believed this prediction, so he did not make any special prayers for longevity. When he reached fifty-three, he passed that year safely and peacefully. Later, in the year he wrote the Four Lessons to teach his son Tianqi, he was already sixty-nine years old, having retired from his post as the magistrate of Baodi.
“The Book of Documents says: ‘Heaven is hard to rely on; destiny is not constant.’” Why does the Book of Documents say that the way of Heaven is hard to trust? Because destiny is not fixed; it can change and is not permanent. It also states, “Only destiny is not constant,” meaning that heavenly fate is not unchanging (a person’s destiny will not stay the same forever) and that cultivating virtue is essential. These words are true and not false statements.
Mr. Liao-Fan understood this principle and accepted the teachings of the sages. He realized that he could transform his own destiny and take charge of his own fate. A person who understands this is a true hero and is completely different from ordinary people.
Ordinary people spend their whole lives being controlled by destiny. Those who commit wrongdoings and deplete their blessings and shorten their lifespan are extremely ignorant. Even if they are wealthy and hold high status, by creating unwholesome actions, their blessings and lifespan will decrease. These are the most foolish people in the world.
Therefore, one must receive education, especially the teachings of the sages. Only through receiving sage teachings can one understand the truth, transform one’s destiny, and elevate one’s state of life.
🌿 Cultivating Humility and Right Thought
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。
No one truly knows what their destiny holds.
Even if your fate is to enjoy honor and success, you should often reflect on loneliness and humility.
Even when life is going smoothly, you should often reflect as if facing adversity.
Even when you have ample food and resources before you, you should often reflect as if living in poverty.
Even if people love and respect you, you should often reflect with a sense of inner caution and fear—fear of becoming arrogant or losing humility.
Even if your family holds high status and prestige, you should often reflect as if coming from a humble background.
Even if your academic knowledge is excellent, you should often reflect as if you are still shallow and unlearned.
These teachings were what Mr. Liao-Fan taught his son — to cultivate humility. The Book of Changes (I Ching) says: “Among the six auspicious hexagrams, only one is the hexagram of Humility (Qiān).”
The Book of Documents states: “Arrogance invites loss; humility brings benefit.”
Whether one is in favorable circumstances or in difficult conditions, one must remain humble and must never become arrogant.
🪷 Six Standards for Right Thought (正思惟)
Think broadly of the virtues of your ancestors;
Think closely of the faults of your parents that you should cover with filial piety;
Think upward about repaying the kindness of your country;
Think downward about bringing blessings to your family;
Think outward about helping others in their time of need;
Think inward about removing your own evil thoughts.
The word “reflect” (思) means “to contemplate.” These six points are indeed what Buddhism calls Right Thought (Sammā Saṅkappa).
A person must not live without correct thinking — and these six principles serve as the proper standard.
🌸 1. Think Broadly of Carrying Forward the Virtues of Our Ancestors
To glorify and continue the virtues of our ancestors is the foundation. Who are considered our ancestors?
According to historical records, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen, King Wu, and the Duke of Zhou are regarded as the ancestors of our Chinese civilization.
As for each individual family, its ancestors are the ones who inherited and passed down the teachings of ancient sages and virtuous people. Therefore, we must always remember to uphold and promote traditional Chinese culture.
Chinese culture has a long history. It emphasizes harmonious relationships between people, mutual respect between humans and nature, and proper reverence among humans, Heaven, Earth, spirits, and all beings.
We should show respect and love, support one another, and cooperate with sincerity.
We should constantly reflect on how to apply the virtues of our ancestors in daily life, so that these virtues can benefit the people and society of our present time.
💮 2. Don’t Air Family Faults, and Highlight the Good
This refers to what is close to us. The ancient sages of China often taught: “Do not expose your family’s shortcomings to outsiders（家丑不可外扬）.”
It is inevitable that a family will have imperfections or misconduct. If such matters are spread outside, others will look down upon the family, or worse, may harbor malicious intentions and cause harm, destroying family harmony.
As the saying goes, “Disaster comes from the mouth（祸从口出）.” What applies to a family applies equally to society.
Why has society become so chaotic today? Because we have strayed from the teachings of the ancient sages.
The elders taught us that, toward society and others, we should conceal others’ faults and praise their virtues.
When we see others’ shortcomings, we should not dwell on them; when we see others’ strengths, we should acknowledge and praise them.
Such encouragement awakens a sense of honor and shame within people, which leads to social stability and peace in the world.
But today, we suffer greatly because what we see is the exact opposite: People conceal good deeds (善) and magnify evil — evil deeds are widely reported, while good deeds (善) are ignored.
This discourages good people and encourages those who do evil, eventually resulting in social unrest and global instability.
Within a family, if parents or siblings have faults, we should cover them; however, covering up blindly is also incorrect. We must gently guide them to correct their mistakes and cultivate good deeds (善).
Guidance should be done privately at home, never in front of outsiders.
🌼 3. Reflect on Repaying the Nation’s Kindness
Buddhism teaches students to constantly remember gratitude — “to repay the Four Great Kindnesses above, and to relieve the suffering of beings in the three lower realms below.”
The Four Great Kindnesses are: the kindness of parents, the kindness of teachers, the kindness of the nation, and the kindness of all sentient beings.
We live in this world and cannot exist independently from others. Our food, clothing, housing, and transportation all rely on the support of the greater community.
Therefore, there is mutual kindness among people, and we should always keep this gratitude in mind.
How do we repay this kindness?
By dedicating our wisdom and virtues to serve the nation and society — this is the concrete way to repay such kindness (恩).
🏮 4. Reflect on Creating Blessings for One’s Family
“Creating blessings for one’s family” refers to bringing harmony to the household — keeping the family well-organized, orderly, and upright.
What is the standard for this order? Ethics. Ethics represent a natural order.
When a nation has order, the country is strong; when society has order, it is stable; when a family has order, it prospers.
When a father is kind and a son is filial, when elder siblings are friendly and younger siblings respectful, when a husband is righteous and a wife gentle and compliant — this is the family’s natural order. It was not invented by ancient sages such as Confucius; it is the way of nature itself.
From the Buddhist perspective, this order arises from our true nature — the virtues inherently within us. It is an inborn, natural order, not created by human design. Only when we understand this can we sincerely follow the teachings of the sages.
Why are they called Great Sages and Worthies? Because their purpose is not for us to obey them forever. Their teachings guide us through the beginner’s stage. Once we cultivate to a certain level and elevate our state of mind, we will discover that we are originally the same as they are!
Buddha said: “All sentient beings will become Buddhas.” All are equal.
Throughout history and across cultures, all Great Sages and Worthies have passed down teachings of purity and equality.
Only by deeply reflecting on this truth can we truly benefit from it.
💠 5. Think of Helping Those in Urgent Need
We should always think about how to help those who are suffering.
In daily life, we must learn to be frugal — if we can save one dollar, we can use that one dollar to help someone in need.
When others face difficulties, we should offer our full support with all our heart and strength.
🕯️ 6. Reflect Internally to Guard Against One’s Own Evils
“Guard” means prevention — we must guard our own mind against the intrusion of wrong views and misguided thinking. Especially in today’s era, society values democracy, freedom, and openness. This global trend is understandable. However, we must still promote right understanding and right views, and uphold ethical and moral education to prevent the spread of deviant ideas.
Today, wrong and distorted views are widespread throughout the world — this is the root cause of social chaos and disasters. I greatly admire the government of Singapore; it is a government that truly takes responsibility for its people. When I first lectured in Singapore, my lectures were strictly supervised. The content of the teachings had to be reviewed and approved before being delivered. It is said that during our lectures, plainclothes officers were present to monitor. If the teachings were false, misleading, incited trouble, or undermined social unity or racial harmony, the lectures would be immediately stopped. This is a good thing!
We must understand that unrestricted freedom of speech and publication inevitably causes social disorder, because wrong views spread with no prevention. The reason the Chinese nation has survived for thousands of years is because emperors throughout history protected the people with right understanding and right views, preventing deviant views from spreading in society. This merit is tremendous.
These six guidelines are the framework for proper contemplation, and they represent right understanding and right views.
🌕 Daily Self-Reflection
We must examine and reflect on ourselves every single day and identify our faults.
If, for one day, we do not recognize our faults and instead assume we are already correct, that is a serious illness. If for one day there is no fault to correct, there will be no progress; without progress, there will inevitably be regression. There is no shortage of intelligent and talented people in this world—so why do their virtue and moral conduct not grow day by day? Why do their virtues and achievements not continue to expand? They are harmed by the mindset of “just getting by”, becoming complacent and careless in cultivating virtue, learning, and accomplishments, failing to put in sincere effort.
✨ Coming Next...
Next week in The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan Series #15: 🌺 We’ll uncover how those who cultivate goodness attract blessings, while selfishness inevitably brings misfortune.
✨ 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🌟 Why does Liao-Fan say destiny is “not constant,” and how does this understanding empower us?
Destiny is not fixed — it changes with our thoughts, conduct, and virtue. Liao-Fan outlived the lifespan predicted for him because he cultivated goodness instead of passively accepting fate. Understanding that “blessings and disasters are self-created” gives us agency: through moral discipline, humble reflection, and continuous virtue, we can reshape our own destiny.
2️⃣🍃 Why is humility considered the foundation of changing fate?
Liao-Fan taught his son to be humble regardless of circumstances:
— When honored, imagine being unknown.
— When successful, imagine adversity.
— When wealthy, imagine poverty.
— When respected, remain cautious and fearful of arrogance.
Humility prevents pride, protects virtue, and keeps the mind receptive to self-correction. Because arrogance leads to loss and humility brings benefit, this attitude is essential for transforming one’s destiny.3️⃣🪷 What are the Six Standards for Right Thought, and why are they central to destiny transformation?
The Six Standards — reflecting on ancestral virtue, protecting family faults, repaying the nation, blessing the family, helping those in need, and guarding one’s own mind — establish a complete framework for moral clarity. These contemplations align with Buddhist “Right Thought,” ensuring that one’s inner orientation is ethical, grateful, compassionate, and disciplined. Right Thought leads to Right Action, and Right Action reshapes destiny.
4️⃣🏮 How does each of the Six Standards guide everyday moral life?
Each standard grounds virtue in a practical direction:
— Upward: Carry forward ancestral virtue and repay the nation.
— Downward: Bring harmony and blessing to one’s family.
— Outward: Help those in urgent need.
— Inward: Guard against wrong views and personal evils.
Together, they cultivate gratitude, harmony, responsibility, and self-correction — qualities that naturally generate blessings and dissolve misfortune.5️⃣🌓 Why is daily self-reflection necessary, and what happens if we fail to examine ourselves?
Without daily reflection, faults remain unseen and therefore uncorrected. A single day without recognizing mistakes means a day without progress — and without progress, regression inevitably follows. Many talented people fail not for lack of ability, but because they “coast,” becoming complacent, careless, or morally stagnant. Honest self-examination is the engine of continuous growth and the safeguard against decline.
📚 Source: Venerable Master Chin Kung’s lecture on The Four Lessons of Liao-Fan, delivered on April 16, 2001, on Phoenix TV