Legend of Gold Mountain Living Buddha 10 - Living Buddha Talks about Fate 活佛谈命

(Chinese and English subtitles) Written by Master Optimist , 金山活佛神異錄, 樂觀法師(1902~1987) 著
Subtitles:
There are many people in the world who like fortune-telling things. Especially we Chinese women are more superstitious in this concept. There are often some very stingy women.
However, they do not hesitate to spend money on the fortune-teller. It seems that everything is arranged by fate, and only the fortune-teller knows the fate. There are countless people who do this kind of delusion.
I remember that when I lived with the Living Buddha in the Hu family in Nanjing, the elder Mrs. Hu was the most superstitious about fortune-telling. From time to time, she would go to the Confucius Temple to tell fortunes for her daughter-in-law. At that time, there was a famous fortune teller in Confucius Temple named ‘Iron Abacus’. According to the legend of ordinary people, it is very efficacious for the 'iron abacus' to see people's appearance and tell fortune. It is simply said that he is like a living deity.
So at that time, some dignitaries, ladies and madam, all happily went to find the iron abacus to the fortune-telling, Mrs. Hu is naturally one of the major customers of 'Iron Abacus'.
Every time she came back from fortune-telling, as usual, she described to her family vividly about it with gusto.
When it came to good things, she smiled, as if ‘gold ingots’ would fall from the sky tomorrow, and she will become a millionaire. When it comes to the bad, she sighs with resentment, as if the disaster is imminent.
Once, Mrs. Hu's eldest grandson, Dadong Hu, was about to get engaged. Of course, she has to go to the iron abacus to figure out this important event to see if it was compatible with the woman's fate. She came back with boundless joy after fortune-telling.
The iron abacus told her the fate arranged by their eight characters (an arrangement of birth date and time) were naturally matched. They would be noble, and nothing can stop it. In the future, they will have five boys and two girls. It is really a "seven children reunion", wealth and longevity, and there are inexhaustible benefits. It turns out the rule of iron abacus, five yuan for fortune telling the whole year, ten yuan for fortune telling based on the eight characters.
Because Mrs. Hu heard that her granddaughter-in-law had a great fortune based on her eight characters, she was happy for a while and took out another ten yuan as a bonus for the iron abacus. When Mrs. Hu talked about fortune-telling, the living Buddha and I were listening quietly by the side. After Mrs. Hu finished speaking, the Living Buddha laughed and said, "I can also tell fortunes!" Everyone thought he was joking, but after a while, the living Buddha showed a serious expression and said, "I can really tell fortunes."
The old lady Hu said with a smile, "Then, I will tell you my eight characters, and may you calculate my old fate?"
The living Buddha said as if joking: "I don't want to tell one or two people's fortune. I want to tell many people's fortune. It's better let me tell fortune for all the people in the world." Before waiting for his words finished, Mrs. Hu immediately asked, "What is it about? How do you calculate?"
The Living Buddha said: "Of course it makes sense, I naturally have my algorithm. Those fortune-tellers, he thinks that people in the world have their own fortunes, and they are different, but I think they are the same, Not only is the fate of a human being the same as that of everyone, but the fates of birds and beasts, even fish and insects are also the same as those of humans. However, they are different in appearance.”
The old lady Hu shouted: "Living Buddha, the more you talk, the more magical it is. How is that possible? The Living Buddha said, "I take it seriously." The old lady Hu said with a smile, "Then, would you calculate the fate of the world." The Living Buddha nodded and said, "Easy! Easy! If you want me to do the math, I will." Then, he closed his eyes and stopped talking. At this time, everyone became anxious and shouted, "Living Buddha, please calculate!"
After a while, the Living Buddha opened his eyes and said seriously: "When I do fortune-telling, I do not arrange the eight characters jiǎ, yǐ, bǐng, dīng, wù, jǐ, gēng, xīn. I calculate people's fate, there is only one word, this word is called ‘karma’. Ordinary people say ‘destiny’ Buddha said is ‘karma’.
You all think that this person who can speak, dress and eat, and walk is a living being. Buddha said it is a ‘retribution body’, Because of karma caused by past deeds, there is now this body that receives retribution. There are two kinds of karma, 'pure karma' and 'defiled karma'. Pure karma is namely good karma, and defiled karma is namely bad karma. The good karma done in the past will now be rewarded with good. The bad karma done in the past will now be rewarded with evil. If there were both good and bad karma in the past, both good and bad karma will be received now.