CHAQUE PENSÉE EST CONNUE DU CIEL ET DE LA TERRE

Hello. From the memory of Chingu, I welcome you. A window on traditional Chinese culture, ancient stories and their profound wisdom to offer inspiration to the young and the old. An invitation for a journey towards authenticity, goodness and tolerance. Each thought is known from heaven and earth. The ancients in China often used the saying according to which a thought in the heart is known both from heaven and earth to remind people that good and evil will have their just consequences. Even something apparently as insignificant as a single thought will lead to certain results in our lives. Duplicity is what is most repulsive in the eyes of the deities. Wang Yong-yu was a Confucian scholar of Yi Zhou from the Ming Dynasty. He was honest, a man of few words and firmly believed in the gods and the Buddhas. Wang had two classmates, Yu Lin and Zhou Ji. According to appearances, Yu was a refined gentleman and a filial child who always considered himself a virtuous gentleman. Zhou, on the other hand, was considered a pitiful candidate for the imperial exam and his attempts were not exceptional either. Thus, when Zhou won first place in the provincial exam, everyone was surprised. One day, Wang saw a deity in his dream. He asked the deity about Yu's prospects for the imperial exam. The deity told him that Yu would not succeed because he always criticized others internally, even if he was courteous on the surface. Thus, while Yu seemed to be behaving well, he actually had a war of kindness in his heart. The deity also told Wang that Yu was also like that with his parents. He agreed with them on the surface, but in reality, he only had indifference towards them. He also liked to speak harshly of others behind their backs while pretending to be a virtuous gentleman. The deity said that this kind of person who was deceitful and hypocritical is what the gods most despise. Thus, Yu would be punished by heaven and would fail the imperial exam. The good deeds of the ancestors bring blessings to their descendants. Wang also questioned the deity about Yu's success in the exam. The deity told him that Yu's grandfather and father were officials, but that they had never violated the law for personal gain or behaved indecently towards women. The three generations of the Yu family behaved decently and never took advantage of others. In addition, his great-grandfather had written the Bai Zhen Shuo on the 100 forms of tolerance to teach people to be good, and many were inspired by this teaching. Thanks to his virtuous actions, his descendants have benefited from blessings for more than 60 years. Although very few people know their virtuous acts, the deity knows everything in detail and has rewarded and blessed his great-grandfather, making the Yu family prosper for three generations, the deity told Wang. Yu's success in the imperial exam is only the beginning of all the blessings he deserves. Wang then questioned the deity about his own future. As long as you think your words and your actions are good and kind, you will naturally have a bright future. If your thoughts, your words and your actions are bad and perverse, then you will surely have a dangerous future, the deity told him. Wang remembered what the deity had told him and tried to be a good person. In the end, he brilliantly passed the imperial exam and effectively failed. As the saying goes, we reap what we sow. The Litueran robber became immortal thanks to a virtuous life. Litueran was the owner of a store that managed a cereal warehouse under the Tang dynasty. He was integral and diligent, and always committed to his duty. The cereal store was originally managed by his father. When he was 15, his father was traveling out of town for business, so he gave up the store to Li. Even though Li was the store owner, he always let his customers weigh the grain themselves. Li followed the same practice regardless of the fluctuation in the price of the cereal market. In addition, he only took 2 cents of profit for each sale in order to raise his family. However, his family never lacked food or clothing. Li's father was amazed to see how well his son managed the store. Usually, cereal stores always used a larger measuring box when they bought stock and a smaller one when they sold it. I always use the same size of box for buying or selling. It's already a very fair practice, said his father. But you even let people measure themselves. You are better than me. You only take a minimum profit, and yet our family leads a comfortable life. This shows that the divine sees everything and that you are protected. There was a court official of the same name, Li Zhuo, who served as prime minister under the reigns of Emperor Wen Zhong and Emperor Wu Zhong of the Tang Dynasty. Later, he was appointed as envoy of Huainan, Tietou. When the returnee Li Zhuo learned that the new envoy of Tietou was also called Li Zhuo, he changed his name to Li Quan. One night, Li Zhuo, the first minister and envoy of Tietou, had a dream in which he came to the cave of Huai'an, where there were flowers in full bloom and a succession of beautiful pavilions. During a walk, he arrived at a pavilion where he saw a smooth stone wall on which three golden characters were engraved. Xin, Jin, Bang. List of the Immortals. He saw that his own name appeared on this list. The first minister thought to himself, I have an eminent official position with ample merit and virtue. Now I am really part of the Immortals. As he was enthusiastic about what he saw, two fair boys came out of behind the stone wall and said, This Li Zhuo is not you, but a returnee in Jiangyang under your jurisdiction. When Li Zhuo woke up the next day, he decided to pay a visit to the other Li Zhuo and finally found Li Quan, who was previously called Li Zhuo. The first minister sent a beautiful car to invite the other Li Zhuo to his residence and arranged for him to rest in a quiet room dedicated to spiritual practice. He then took a bath before officially meeting Li Zhuo, calling him his Taoist brother. He also told his entire family to serve Li Zhuo respectfully and to pay homage to him morning and evening. The first minister took Li Zhuo as his master. Li Zhuo was already 70 years old at that time, but he looked dignified and handsome. His long beard was white and attractive. The exceptional courteous treatment he received from the family of the first minister made more than one of the inhabitants of the city smile. He is only the owner of a cereal store. Yes, running a cereal store is nothing special, but Li Zhuo is really a great man, said another. More than a month had passed. One day, Prime Minister Li asked Li Zhuo, then I asked a question. He told Li Zhuo that he had had a nightmare and had seen his name on the list of immortals. This is why I invited you to my residence and treat you like my master. I sincerely hope that you can teach me Taoism, said the Prime Minister. I know nothing about Taoism and have never taken a lexicon, said Li Zhuo to the Prime Minister. But the Prime Minister did not believe him and continued to beg Li Zhuo to teach him. Finally, Li Zhuo told the Prime Minister that he was only the owner of a store and gave him details about how he ran his store. Prime Minister Li finally understood why Li Zhuo's name was on the list of immortal names. You let your customers weigh what they sell or buy for many years. It seems trivial, but it is something really difficult to do and it is not something that ordinary people can do. The virtues you have accumulated by doing it are incomparable, he said. The Prime Minister also told Li Zhuo what he had awakened to through this experience. Everything that happens in this world, every meal we eat or every rest we take is known from heaven. As long as we accumulate virtues, even if we come from an insignificant environment, we will be protected by the gods and his name will appear among the immortals. The divine reminds people how they should behave. The local population was surprised by the way the Prime Minister treated Li Zhuo, with courtesy and respect. At the age of 100, Li Zhuo always looked in good health and light on his feet. Three days after his death, he ascended to heaven and became immortal. From the memory of Jingo, thank you for listening to this podcast. It was a pleasure to meet you for other stories.