Chapter 11: The Greater Trend Cannot Be Changed, but the Lesser Trends Can

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Chapter 11: The Greater Trend Cannot Be Changed, but the Lesser Trends Can

“Turning one’s luck around.” Chen Yuan repeated the phrase. “What do you think it means to turn someone’s luck around?”

Yu Shenliu ventured, “Changing someone from having bad luck and running into trouble at every turn to having everything go their way?” After all, aren’t things like pixiu ornaments that are said to attract wealth, which are sold everywhere nowadays, basically meant to do the same thing? They’re all supposed to bring people better luck.

Chen Yuan nodded, then shook his head. “There’s a big difference. Although turning one’s luck around can simply be understood as changing someone’s bad luck into good luck, in reality, even changing bad luck into good luck can be done in different ways.

“Metaphysics is all about the Dao. Simply put, the Dao is the principle that all things in the world must follow. Only by following this principle can the world continue to develop. Later, the Dao was divided into the Heavenly Dao and the Great Dao. To put it simply, the Heavenly Dao is like school rules, while the Great Dao is like the law. Most of us are students who haven’t graduated yet, so we have to follow both the school rules and the law. Those who practice metaphysics believe in following Heaven’s will and acting accordingly. That’s what it means. The established rules exist to maintain the entire world, so naturally, we must follow them.”

Yu Shenliu’s first reaction to this was to think of another phrase: “going against Heaven’s will.” Wasn’t fortune-telling and the like itself considered an act of going against Heaven by revealing its secrets? Then why did Chen Yuan say that metaphysics was all about following Heaven’s will? Although he had his doubts, he didn’t ask. He simply waited for Chen Yuan to continue explaining.

“Under the Heavenly Dao, everything a person does has its cause and effect. The concept of cause and effect isn’t unique to Buddhism. The belief that good and evil will be rewarded accordingly has always been deeply rooted in our culture. From the perspective of those who practice metaphysics, everything you do, every action you take, affects your circumstances. This effect may not appear immediately and may only manifest after some time. Everyone has both good and bad causes. Good causes lead to good results, so naturally, everything goes smoothly and as desired. Bad causes lead to bad results, so life becomes full of setbacks and troubles.”

“Fortune-telling is actually using a mechanism we still cannot understand to calculate the causes a person has accumulated in the past and determine the resulting course of their fate.”

Leaning over the back of his seat, Huo Jian listened to Chen Yuan for a while before immediately catching on. “So you mean that even if someone temporarily turns their luck around, if their causes haven’t changed, they’ll still have to face the consequences they’re destined to get? Even if they avoid them this time, they can’t avoid them for the rest of their life?”

Chen Yuan nodded. “You could put it that way, but it’s not quite that simple. If absolutely nothing could be changed, then what would be the point of those of us who study metaphysics?”

“There’s a saying that under the Heavenly Dao, the greater trend cannot be changed, but the lesser trends can. Have you heard it before?”

“Everyone’s blessings are fixed, but how do we measure those blessings? How do you compare a happy family with having enough money to live comfortably? Which counts for more, and which counts for less? These are things we simply can’t measure precisely. And that’s where the lesser trends can be changed. For example, when someone was having bad luck, people in ancient times would bathe with pomelo leaves to wash away the bad luck. That was one way of changing the lesser trend.”

“So, if those so-called luck-changing objects really do work, they’re only changing minor aspects of someone’s luck. They can’t have much of an effect. At most, they’re just the icing on the cake.”

“And if you use other methods, feng shui or something else, to drastically alter your luck, whatever you owe will eventually have to be repaid.”

“You reap what you sow. So if you want everything to go smoothly and live a peaceful, harmonious life, you have to learn to plant good causes for yourself.”

“Mr. Yu has an excellent fate. He’s only going through a bit of unpleasantness for the time being, so there’s no need to rush to change this minor aspect of his luck. After all, too much brings loss, and things tend to reverse when they reach their extreme. With such a good fate, having a few minor setbacks is actually a good thing.”

Huo Jian listened to Chen Yuan’s explanation, completely fascinated. It all sounded so amazing. He wanted to ask more questions, but for a while, he couldn’t think of what to ask. After mulling it over for a long time, he finally scratched his head and thought of something. “If you plant good causes and reap good results, does that mean you’ll have a good fate if you do more good deeds in your everyday life?”

Chen Yuan answered firmly, “Yes. That’s why people often talk about ‘doing good deeds and accumulating virtue.’ In reality, they’re hoping to plant good causes and reap good results. That’s also why the only true way to change someone’s fate is to do more good deeds. I don’t need to go into detail. There are plenty of folk tales about people changing their fate through good deeds, such as Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons .” It was a classic work in which Yuan Liaofan recounts how he changed the course of his supposedly predetermined fate through cultivating virtue and doing good deeds.

Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons? Huo Jian silently made a note of the title, planning to find it and read it later. But he wasn’t done with his questions. “Then what counts as a good deed? Uh, helping an old lady cross the street or returning money you found?” Simply saying “good deeds” was far too broad. There was no way to break it down.

“Help the poor and the vulnerable, and make things easier for others. Put yourself in their shoes and treat others well. Take responsibility for what you should, and do what you ought to do. Be sincere, upright, and kind.” Chen Yuan spoke in the same tone and with the same demeanor as always, yet in Yu Shenliu’s eyes, everything he said and did fit these words perfectly.

“Have reverence in your heart. Revere life, nature, and the laws of the world. Have trust in your heart. Trust those who can and cannot be trusted. Have righteousness in your heart. Even if everyone else is drunk, remain sober. Have compassion in your heart. Don’t speak cruel or hurtful words. Don’t talk about others behind their backs. Even when dealing with someone less capable than you, treat them with respect. Don’t lose your temper, don’t become wildly elated, and don’t sink into despair.”

“Pure and kind.” Chen Yuan summed it up in those three words. After finishing his thoughts, he suddenly added, “But that’s just my own opinion. There are many forms of goodness. As long as you have the heart to do good, that’s enough.”

The almost sacred, sermon-like atmosphere was suddenly shattered when Huo Jian said weakly, “Master, I think what you’re describing is a sage, isn’t it? Don’t lose your temper, don’t become wildly elated, don’t sink into despair? Who can actually do that? Anyone who’s human is bound to have those emotions.”

Yu Shenliu had the same thought. What Chen Yuan had described sounded like an extremely lofty ideal, but in his view, much of it was unrealistic. Having spent years in government, Yu Shenliu was the typical sort of person who never let his emotions show, but even he would never claim that he never lost his temper, became wildly elated, or sank into despair. In that regard, he was just an ordinary person who happened to be better at hiding it.

After discussing so many serious things, Chen Yuan also consciously lightened his tone. “We’re all human, so of course it’s impossible to do all of this perfectly. But at least we can strive toward it, can’t we?”

Having already accepted what Chen Yuan had said, a smile appeared on Yu Shenliu’s face. “So Chen Yuan used to be as impulsive and carefree as Xiao Jian?”

He was joking, and Huo Jian immediately protested. “Uncle! What do you mean, ‘as impulsive and carefree as me’?”

“Wasn’t it? You came all the way to Jincheng by yourself without thinking things through, and in the end, Chen Yuan still had to take care of you.” If Huo Jian had met someone with bad intentions instead of Chen Yuan, who knew how badly the kid might have ended up.

“I’m fated to meet my master, so of course we were bound to cross paths!” Huo Jian immediately used the theory of cause and effect as his shield, sounding completely justified. Then he grew curious again. “Master, were you like this when you were young, too?”

Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head. “Of course I had my share of growing up. I’m only human, after all. I was mischievous enough as a child to give my master a headache for quite some time. I gradually learned better as I grew up.” After all, it would have been strange if a boy had never been mischievous as a child. Chen Yuan had caused the old Daoist no shortage of trouble back then, but the old Daoist had reacted much as Chen Yuan did now: whatever Chen Yuan got himself into was simply destined by cause and effect, so why worry about it? After a few incidents like that, Chen Yuan gradually became more well-behaved.

“You have a master too?” Huo Jian’s eyes immediately widened. “No way!” Weren’t people like Chen Yuan, great masters of metaphysics, supposed to be self-taught or something?

“Of course. This knowledge is passed down from master to disciple.” There were so many people in the world, and Chen Yuan certainly wasn’t the only one with the aptitude to study metaphysics. But he could never have come this far without the old Daoist’s guidance.

After chatting for a little longer, Yu Shenliu finally stopped the car.

“We’re here,” he said.

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