..续本文上一页, displeased, thinking it is unfair. And we wonder about the future. At some time or another, we have probably all asked questions like, "Why do these things happen

　　 Why was I born

　　 Why do these good/ bad things happen to me instead of others

　　 Why are some people born so rich

　　 Why are some people so poor

　　 " There are reasons. They are not accidents. There are reasons for everything.

　　Can The Future Be Foretold

　　Many Chinese people in the olden times, and even nowadays, are very interested in fortunetelling. "What”s my future

　　" They want to go find out, and so there are many fortunetellers around. Few of them even seem to be somewhat accurate. But nobody is a hundred percent accurate all the time. Now in the western world, in these modern times, how do we view this

　　 Is it a superstition

　　 Can future really be foretold

　　 We shall soon understand.

　　In the Ming Dynasty there was a well-known man named Yuan, Liao Fan. When he was about five or six years old, he met a fortuneteller, who foretold his life. He said, "You will take a government examination when you are eighteen. You will get this grade and pass. You will then obtain a certain position in the government." He even knew how much salary Liao Fan would get. "But," he continued, "you will only go this far. You will not be able to get very high in the government. You will get married at this age. You will have no children. And then, you will die at the age of fifty-three."

　　This is a true story. As Liao Fan grew up, everything that was foretold came true. When he took his government examinations, he got exactly the same grades, position, and salary that the fortuneteller predicted. He was amazed. "So life is predestined," he thought to himself. "What”s the point in making an effort then

　　" So he came to believe that life and the future were all predetermined. How else was it possible for someone to foretell your future

　　 "Things will just turn out the way it is supposed to. What would be the point of trying

　　" He stopped striving and took an easy life. He started traveling and sightseeing all over China.

　　One day he came upon a mountain. In that mountain was a monastery where a renowned Chan (Zen) master lived. He went in and saw the Chan master sitting in meditation. So Liao Fan sat down in meditation also. They sat that way for three days and three nights without moving. The Chan master was quite surprised. "This is no ordinary person," he thought. As we all know, having just sat through a half-an-hour session, that this was no easy feat!

　　The Chan master asked Liao Fan, "What experiences have you had in your life

　　 How can you sit there without raising a single thought

　　 You are very calm."

　　Liao Fan told the master about the fortune-teller and his predictions, and then added, "I came to the realization that everything in life is predetermined. What is the point of doing anything

　　 What is the point in raising any thought

　　 I just take life as it comes. Things will run their own course."

　　Upon hearing this, the Chan master laughed at him. "And here I thought you were someone extraordinary. Actually, you are only an ordinary man. Quite ordinary."

　　Liao Fan was a bit upset. He was bright. At the age of eighteen, he passed his official exams, and received a fairly decent governmental post. Back in those days, this also was not an easy task! He did quite well for himself and was proud of the fact too.

　　He asked, "Why do you say that I am an ordinary person

　　"

　　"When you were six, someone predicted your life. It”s been twenty years since, and what he predicted is still true. This means that you are common like the rest," the Chan master”s replied. "Ordinary people”s lives can be foretold while exceptional ones cannot be. For the very virtuous and very immoral people,…

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