Liao-Fan's Four Lessons了凡四训

Liao-Fan's Four Lessons is a book written by Yuan Liaofan, was a Chinese official during the Ming Dynasty, born in present-day Wujiang County, Jiangsu Province. Yuan wrote the book to teach his son, Yuan Tian-Chi.The principal idea behind these lessons is that destiny can be changed through proper cultivation of kindness and humility. Thus, one should not be bound by fate, but by one's own actions.

Yuan Liaofan was told by a Taoist monk surnamed Kong that he would only live to the age of 53 and have no son. At first, he disregarded this monk's words as farcical nonsense, but as Kong's other predictions began to occur with great accuracy, he then proactively made an effort to rewrite his fate. In relating his own life experience in changing destiny, Yuan, at the age of 69, wrote and taught these four lessons to his son.

The first lesson shows how to create destiny. The second lesson explains the ways to reform. The third reveals the ways to cultivate kindness and the fourth discloses the benefits of the virtue of humility.

The book, still in circulation after more than 400 years, is said to be a useful foundation in learning both Confucianism and Buddhism.

《了凡四训》是古代著名劝善书，作者是明朝著名官员、思想家袁黄。全文通过立命之学、改过之法、积善之方、谦德之效分四个部分来讲解如何改变命运。作者以亲身经历，讲述了改变命运的过程。原本为教训自己的儿子，故取名《训子文》；其后为启迪世人，遂改今名。

袁黄（1533-1606），初名表，后改名黄，字庆远，又字坤仪、仪甫，初号学海，后改了凡，后人常以其号了凡称之。袁了凡是明朝重要思想家，是迄今所知中国第一位具名的善书作者。他的《了凡四训》融会禅学与理学，劝人积善改过，强调从治心入手的自我修养，提倡记功过格，在社会上流行一时。