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In the “Book of Changes” it states: “One should get close to fortunes and avoid disasters.” If everything is predestined, how can one get close to the good and avoid the bad?
Yuan Liaofan was born during the Ming Dynasty, in about 1550, in Jiangsu Province, Wujiang County. Liaofan was from a poor family so he wanted to study medicine to make a living and better himself. One day he met a skillful fortune-teller who told him that he would pass three low level exams the following year; he would be a minor official for three years; be childless; and die of a natural death at the age of 53.
The following year he did indeed pass three small exams, and 20 years later, everything the fortune-teller had said had come true. That convinced Liaofan that a person’s fate is predetermined and cannot be changed.
Then, one day, Liaofan met a high level Zen Buddhist, who said to him, “You are remarkable. Normally ordinary people have a lot of distractions on their minds, but you have meditated for three days without any distraction.” Thus, Liaofan told the Buddhist monk about what the fortune-teller had told him those many years ago. The Zen monk laughingly said, “I had mistaken you as a hero, but you are just an ordinary person.” He said fate can only limit ordinary people, but not people doing great deeds or committing extreme evil. The Zen monk then explained to Liaofan the principle of cause and effect, of good and evil karma, and the principles of “One can create one’s destiny and fortune.”
Thus, Liaofan decided that he could change his life’s course after all. He knelt in front of a Buddha and repented his mistakes. He promised to do 3,000 kind deeds and recorded his deeds every day and corrected his mistakes one by one. After about two years, he had advanced and had altered what the fortune-teller had predicted. After 10 years, he had completed 3,000 good deeds. By then, he had advanced many times in his career.
At that time, Liaofan had recognised the benefits of doing good deeds, so he vowed to do another 3,000 kind deeds and hoped to have a son. Soon after, he had a son, whom he called Tian-Chi Yuan. Liaofan then decided to read the Buddha Scripture every day and continue to do good deeds. He died at the age of 74.
At 69, he wrote four lessons to teach his son and he explained that although one’s fate is predestined, one can change it by doing good deeds.
Philosopher Jacques Mono said: “In the infinite space of the universe, no one has the obligation to provide humanity with its destiny. Mankind must make a decision in choosing Heaven above or Hell below.” This statement is only half correct. Human beings can choose how to live in the present life, but the fate of this life results from the actions of many past lives. Human beings are confined to their destiny, unless they do great deeds or commit extreme evil, which will change their predetermined patterns.
From - http://en.kanzhongguo.com/ancient_wisdom/how_one_can_change_one_s_destiny.html
