From last issue: Ming Laowu saw his sworn brother come right before his child was born, and so he knew there was no way to escape cause and effect. He named the child Sancheng (“three tenths”). His meaning was, “When you collect the debt, just take thirty percent.” When Sancheng grew up, he indulged in eating, drinking, gambling, visiting prostitutes, and taking drugs.

Ming Laowu knew that his son “Three Tenths” was not even going to keep “one tenth,” and that in the future he would surely destroy the family, so he said, “My son! If you become broke in the future and you have to sell the house, you should tear it down and sell it in pieces. Don’t sell the whole house at once. If you sell it in pieces, you will still have more money than you can use in one lifetime.” But his son didn’t understand what he meant by tearing it down and selling it in pieces. Why did he tell his son to do that? Because if his son tore down the house, he would find four large ingots under each brick. In those days, everything was very inexpensive. One or two ingots could buy many things. Under the bases of the pillars were silver pieces that served as the foundation of the house. If he tore down just one pillar, there would be enough silver to support him for his whole life. Ming Laowu had planned everything very thoughtfully, so he told his son, “You should tear it down and sell it in pieces.” What he didn’t foresee was that Sancheng’s reaction would be: “You want me to tear it down and sell it in pieces? Well, I’ll do just the opposite.” And so he sold the whole house. He sold it at a very low price, too. For example, suppose he sold it for five million dollars. If the buyer tore down the house, it could have turned out to be worth more than fifty million dollars. That’s how great the difference was.

Therefore, instead of making our own calculations, it would be better to follow the reckonings of heaven. No matter how well you may plan in advance, if Heaven is not on your side, your plans are useless. For example, you may be trying to think of ways to make the country rich and prosperous, but suddenly there’s an earthquake, and all the houses are ruined, and lives and properties are lost. Or, when a hurricane strikes, do you see how many thousands of houses are blown over? How much property is lost? How many people are hurt? Seeing this, do you still wish to strike it rich? Ha! Human schemes are no match for the plans that Heaven has in store for us!  So there is a saying: “Do not aim too high, for everything has its own way to go. Our fate is predestined. What need is there for shrewd and cunning plans?” Sancheng used up all the wealth of Ming Laowu and became penniless. It is really “just as is the cause, so will be the effect.” There is no way you can fail to believe in causes, conditions, effects, and retributions.

A critique in verse says:
Seeing profit, he forgot about righteousness.
Without scruples, he hurt people.
A son named Sancheng was born to him;
This prodigal son came to collect a debt:
In gambling, he wished to lose
And was furious when he won.
His assets and properties had been abundant,
Yet there was hardly any place to bury his body.

Seeing profit, he forgot about righteousness. When he saw benefit, he forgot his sense of right and honor.  When he saw the money, thoughts of malice arose. Seeing profit, he forgot about morality. He hurt people without scruple. When he harmed people, he had no fear at all. At the time he was not afraid of the cause and effect and the retribution, so he did it without scruple at all. He was not afraid of the cause and effect of what he had done. A son named Sancheng was born to him. When his son was born, he knew his son was coming to collect a debt from him, so he said, “You can take 30%, but leave the remaining 70% to me!” What he never expected was that his son took 100%. He took it all. This prodigal son came to collect a debt. This was a prodigal son. No matter how much money you had, it wasn’t enough for him to spend.

In gambling, he wished to lose. He (the son) was fond of gambling. He indulged in eating, drinking, fooling around with women, gambling, and taking drugs. When he gambled, he preferred to lose and didn’t want to win. You could say that he was really a great giver, a great philanthropist, right? See, he would give away whatever he wanted, and take what he didn’t want. Therefore, in gambling he was willing to lose. And was furious when he won. If he won, he would scold the person who was gambling on his behalf. He wouldn’t even bother to go take a look. He would just lay there, smoking opium and scolding that person. That’s the kind of son that Ming Laowu had. So you see, if you hurt others, you are just hurting yourself. His assets and properties had been abundant. Alhough he had owned a great deal of property, when it came time for Ming Laowu to die, he didn’t even have any place to bury his corpse. Yet there was hardly any place to bury his body. “Hardly any” means there was a lack of space; there was none at all. You don’t even have enough land to bury yourself. If you don’t even have enough land for a burial ground when you die, what was the use of obtaining the treasure?

Another verse says:
Deep in the mountains and valleys, there is an efficacious medicine;
Forming a partnership, they walked together all over the mountain.
Suddenly encountering a rare treasure, he became selfish
And instantly conceived a malicious plot to push the other over a cliff.
He raised his son Sancheng, who collected the debt of blood,
And built hundreds of mansions in which to enjoy his old age.
Who could have known the outcome would be like bubbles and shadows?
Ming Wu was filled with regret as he wept without stop.

Deep in the mountains and valleys, there is an efficacious medicine. There was an elixir of immortality there. Forming a partnership, they walked together all over the mountain. They searched all through the mountains for it. Suddenly encountering a rare treasure, he became selfish. He gave rise to a selfish thought. And instantly conceived a malicious plot to push the other over a cliff.He pushed his partner over an overhanging precipice, so that all the bones of his body were smashed.

He raised his son Sancheng, who collected the debt of blood. His son came to demand the debt he owed. Basically, Ming Laowu’s son should have killed him by making him fall, but was he actually killed by a fall? It’s not known. If Ming Laowu wasn’t killed by a fall, then it could be said that his son was easy on him and collected a lighter debt, only taking away what was not his to begin with. As for whether his son pushed him off the top of a tall building, making him fall to his death, this is something we do not know.

And built hundreds of mansions in which to enjoy his old age. He built over a hundred mansions, hoping to enjoy the happiness of his old age. Who could have known the outcome would be like bubbles and shadows? Who could have known that the final outcome would be just like a bubble in the water or a shadow—false and unreal? Ming Wu was filled with regret as he wept without stop. It was only when he was about to die that Ming Laowu realized he had done something wrong, and so he died crying.

Therefore you should not want to make money. You should amass virtue, not money, for your descendants. You shouldn’t just want to buy houses for them. If you can buy them some virtue instead, that would be good.

(The End)