PureInsight | September 18, 2013
[PureInsight.org] There once was a merchant named Wang Zhiren in Anhui province. He still had no children by the age of thirty. One day, a fortuneteller told him, “This October you will have a huge tribulation that might cost you your life. You should really be careful to avoid it!” Mr. Wang has always admired the ability of this fortuneteller and trusted it without a doubt. He immediately rushed to Suzhou province. He took back trade loans and rented a house in Suzhou to live there temporarily to hide from the tribulation on the advice of the fortuneteller.
One night, Mr. Wang went for a stroll around outside and saw that a woman had attempted suicide by jumping into a river. Mr. Wang was anxious when he saw this and wanted to save her. In a hurry, he took out ten liangs[1] of silver, raised it above his head, and yelled to the several shipping boats on the side of the river, “There is a woman who fell into the water over there. I will reward ten liangs of silver to whichever boat owner saves her!” After the boat owners heard the yell, they all quickly rowed their boats over to save her.
Simultaneously two boat owners arrived to pick up the woman and together they brought her to the side of the river. Luckily she was saved in time and did not lose her life. Mr. Wang was an honest gentleman and quickly took out ten liangs of silver and gave them to the two boat owners to fulfill his promise.
After the woman recovered, Mr. Wang was still worried about her. He asked her, “May I ask you madam, what irresolvable issues did you have that made you seek suicide?!” The woman replied with tears in her eyes, “My husband works for someone who was short of silver and paid my husband’s salary with a pig instead. Yesterday when my husband was away running some errands, a person from out of town came to our village to buy a pig. I sold him the pig for ten liangs of silver. After selling it I felt happy and thought the price was high. Later when my cousin came to my house, he saw that the silver was fake! I was afraid that my husband would blame me when he came back home and I felt how meaningless living this painful life is, so I thought I should just kill myself and be done with it!”
After Mr. Wang finished listening, he felt a strong sense of empathy. He took out enough silver to cover the cost of the pig and gave it to the woman without hesitation. He told her to go home and live a happy life. The woman brought the silver back home and told her husband the whole story but her husband did not believe her. The couple rushed to Mr. Wang’s residence to confirm it.
By then Mr. Wang was already asleep. He awoke to knocking on the door and a woman saying loudly, “I am the woman who fell into the water and then you saved me. I came especially to thank you Mr. Wang! Please open the door.” After Mr. Wang finished listening, he responded sternly, “You are a young married woman and I am a lone guest. It is improper for men and women to touch each other’s hand in passing objects[2]. How could we meet late at night?!” Her husband’s doubt disappeared immediately after hearing this. He was deeply touched and loudly said, “Sir, you are a really honest gentlemen. Please don’t misunderstand, the two of us are both here together to thank you for your sacrifices to help us!”
Mr. Wang suddenly understood and quickly put on his clothes to go outside. Right after he opened the door the wall of the bedroom unexpectedly toppled onto his bed and the bed was instantly crushed! The couple breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this and then formally thanked Mr. Wang’s kindness.
After October had passed, Mr. Wang fell at ease since he knew he already escaped from the tribulation. After returning home to Anhui, he saw that fortuneteller again. The fortuneteller was astonished when he saw him and said, “I haven’t seen you in months but your appearance has been entirely altered. You have been reborn; your “yin de” wrinkle has suddenly appeared on your entire face. I assume that you have done a great compassionate deed of saving lives. Based on your current appearance you will have infinite fortune in the future!”
Afterwards Mr. Wang’s wife gave birth to eleven sons and every single one was virtuous, caring, and respectful. Mr. Wang also enjoyed the high age of ninety-six and he was happy and healthy throughout his whole life. Looking at this example one can see that karmic retribution is actually true. As long as something has a cause, it will have an outcome. This example of heaven rewarding fortune to Mr. Wang for his compassion and virtue has fully proven this point. This is just like farmers planting seeds; planting beans produces beans and planting melons produces melons.
But, some people in today’s society always think that their own life is more valuable than that of others and their own affairs are more important than anything else. When they encounter good deeds and are supposed to give a helping hand, they think of various excuses to avoid it. By the end of life, they make a large amount of money through business but they do not accumulate any virtue. How can this kind of person have the fortune to turn calamities into blessings or gain fortune during tribulations? Especially some officials of the Department of Public Security under the current violent totalitarian regime in China, who brutally persecute innocent people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance—if they don’t stop immediately and correct all of their previous mistakes, they will regret it when retribution falls from heaven. It is not being alarmist to say: harming others is harming oneself and benefiting others is benefiting oneself. Since that is the case, one should quickly start putting in efforts to benefit others and gain fortune to benefit oneself!
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/119191
[1] one liang is around 31.25 grams
[2] “It is improper for men and women to touch each other’s hand in passing objects” is a traditional Chinese phrase.
