Stories from History: Doing Good Deeds Earns a Deity's Respect

People That Do Good Deeds Earn a Deity's Respect

Mr. Zhang Quaiya was a Chengdu City official. One night he dreamt that he was invited by a deity to visit. While they were talking, someone delivered a message: “Mr. Huang Jianji from the West Gate has arrived.” Then a person wearing Taoist clothes entered the room. The deity immediately greeted him with great respect.

The next morning, Mr. Zhang searched everywhere and finally found Mr. Huang Jianji and invited him to his office. Looking at him, Mr. Zhang realized that this person was exactly the same man he had seen in his dream. He asked Mr. Huang, “What good deeds have you done? Why would a deity respect you?”

Mr. Huang responded, “I haven't done any really meaningful good deed except for buying wheat at the regular price when it was ripe. I then sold it at the original price to people the following year when they were having a hard time. I sold it for the same price that I bought it. I lost nothing by doing so, but it solved the crisis.” After hearing what Mr. Huang said, Mr. Zhang sighed. He had his employee help Mr. Huang to a seat and then bowed to him deeply.

“A deity will respect a person who does good things for others. We should let everyone know about the good deeds that Mr. Huang has done. Let people know that doing good deeds will earn the deities' respect. Hopefully, more people will follow suit.”

A Selfish Man Is Killed by Thunder, a Kind Man Is Rewarded with a Son

Dr. Sun Simiao, an ancient medical expert, was a renowned physician in the Tang Dynasty. He devoted his whole life to medicine. He authored many books, including Qian Jin Fang and Qian Jin Yi Fang. Those books have been passed down through the generations.

Dr. Sun coincidentally saved the life of a dragon. To repay Dr. Sun's kindness, the dragon offered him a medical prescription used in the Dragon Palace. Dr. Sun applied it in his medical practice and it worked very well. Then he compiled it into his book, Qian Jin Fang, and engraved it on a stone to pass on to later generations.

Another person heard about this. To reap huge profits, he used his official authority to seize the stone. Then he planned to use a special method to copy the prescription from the engraved stone. He was going to print the prescription and sell it. However, he accidentally crushed the stone. Soon after that, the man was killed by thunder.

Later, a kind person hired the original craftsman to re-inscribe the prescription on a stone. This is how the precious Qian Jin Fang could be passed on to later generations.

One night, this kind man had a dream. Dr. Sun told him in the dream, “Supposedly, you are predestined not to have a son. Because of your good deed, a distinguished son will be bestowed upon you.” Not long after this dream, his wife became pregnant and gave birth to a boy. His son became a magnificent person when he grew up.

The selfish person who crushed the engraved stone only thought of his own self interest, while the altruistic person who re-inscribed the prescription only thought of others. Ironically, the selfish person ended up with nothing and the kind person unexpectedly benefited from his own good deed.

Eliminating Bad Decrees Without a Trace

During the Xuande years of the Ming Dynasty, many eunuchs were sent out into the Indian Ocean to hunt for precious treasures. The cost was extremely high and many people died on the trips. During the Tianshun years, someone suggested that the emperor resume the treasure hunt. The emperor thus assigned Military Chief Xiang Zhong to study the files regarding the treasure hunt and develop a new plan.

At that time, Mr. Liu Daxia was in charge of maintaining documents. When he heard the news, he hid the files from Xiang's staff. The project was thus suspended because no file was available for reference.

Later, when Xiang Zhong asked the file-keepers about the missing treasure hunt files, Mr. Liu smiled and said, “Hunting for treasure in the Indian Ocean was a bad project. The files should be destroyed even if they still exist today. Why do you ask for them?” Mr. Xiang suddenly awakened and paid Mr. Liu great respect. He also apologized to Mr. Liu, saying, “Your good deed has moved the Heavens. You deserve to have my position!” In fact, Mr. Liu was later promoted to become CPIC Sima and his offspring also served as high officials.

“To promote Mr. Liu's good deed, every detrimental document should be destroyed. More importantly, those books that promote lewdness and robbery and blaspheme Buddha Law are sinful documents. To avoid damaging later generations, they should definitely be destroyed!”

(The above historical stories were extracted from the Qing Dynasty Chou Anshi Handbook)