A treasured Chinese classic that has profoundly influenced generations for over 400 years.
Liao-Fan's Four Lessons brings together the essence of the three great traditions of Chinese thought: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The compassion of Buddhism, the spiritual freedom of Taoism, and the practical engagement of Confucianism come together to form one of the finest expressions of traditional Chinese wisdom. Highly recommended by many influential figures, the book has been praised as a "treasured family legacy" that has profoundly influenced Chinese people for more than 400 years.
The book was written by Yuan Liao-Fan, a scholar-official of the Ming Dynasty, originally as a collection of teachings for his son, Yuan Tianqi. It explains how to understand the true nature of destiny, distinguish between good and evil, correct one's faults and cultivate virtue, practice good deeds, accumulate merit, remain humble, and experience the positive results that follow. Yuan Liao-Fan also used his own experience of transforming his destiny as a real-life example. Reading this book can broaden one's perspective, strengthen confidence and courage, and inspire us to follow Mr. Liao-Fan's example by actively transforming our own destiny.
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The book has been highly recommended by influential figures including Zeng Guofan, Hu Shih, Master Yinguang, Venerable Master Chin Kung, Kazuo Inamori, and Master Hsing Yun. It is a rare and valuable work that can benefit individuals, uplift society, and positively influence social values.
The original Liao-Fan's Four Lessons was written in Classical Chinese, which can be difficult for modern readers to understand. In the early years of the Republic of China, Mr. Huang Zhihai painstakingly created a detailed explanation in vernacular Chinese so that more people could benefit from the book. His efforts were truly thoughtful and invaluable. Mr. Huang's vernacular commentary became widely circulated and is rich and comprehensive in content. However, its great level of detail can also make it somewhat lengthy. Since modern readers often have less patience for lengthy texts, this may reduce their interest in reading the book and, indirectly, lessen the influence of such a valuable work, which would be a great pity.
Liao-Fan Dharma Promotion Association recognized this issue and therefore undertook the task of reorganizing, editing, and republishing the material in a format that would be easier and more enjoyable to read. With generous support from benefactors, the revised and abridged vernacular edition of Liao-Fan's Four Lessons was also professionally recorded as the "Liao-Fan's Four Lessons Audiobook." The vernacular edition serves as the narration script for the audiobook. We hope that everyone who reads or listens to it can learn from Mr. Liao-Fan's spirit of transforming his own destiny, thereby creating a brighter future for themselves, society, their country, and ultimately all humanity.
Various audiobook editions in different languages had already circulated widely before this version was produced. The audiobook prepared by the Liao-Fan Dharma Promotion Association features professional Mandarin narration by Li Jizhun and other voice professionals, together with relaxing music and additional voice production that make the presentation even more engaging. It is one of the finest audiobook versions we have encountered. Therefore, we also hope to contribute in our own modest way by making it available as a free download that can be opened with FileMaker Go
, allowing more people to listen to this audiobook conveniently and, through its teachings, gain lasting benefits throughout their lives.
We sincerely hope this will be helpful to you.
The original work was written in Classical Chinese by Yuan Liao-Fan, a jinshi scholar of the Ming Dynasty;
Mr. Huang Zhihai rendered and explained it in vernacular Chinese in the early Republic of China period;
The Liao-Fan Dharma Promotion Association compiled and produced the audiobook edition;
This app was developed by MINGYI Ltd.
Recommendations for Liao-Fan's Four Lessons by Notable Figures
```During the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan regarded this book as the first essential book on life wisdom that his children, nephews, and younger family members should read.
The eminent modern Buddhist master Yinguang strongly promoted this book throughout his life and supported the printing and distribution of more than one million copies. He also personally wrote a preface for the book.
The renowned scholar Hu Shih regarded it as an important representative work for the study of the intellectual history of medieval China.
The renowned Japanese Sinologist and scholar of Yangming philosophy, Masahiro Yasuoka, recommended that the Emperor of Japan and successive prime ministers regard this book as a "guide to governing a nation" and study it repeatedly, carefully, and thoroughly. He also praised it as "a great body of learning for taking active control of one's life." The book had a profound influence not only on young people in Japan during the Meiji period, but has continued to influence senior figures in Japan's political and business communities.
Kazuo Inamori, widely known as one of Japan's greatest management thinkers, had the good fortune to encounter Liao-Fan's Four Lessons early in his life. He repeatedly praised the book and regarded it as an important guide for living.
Contemporary Buddhist teacher Professor Chin Kung lectured on Liao-Fan's Four Lessons many times and once said: "If there is one book that should be read more than 300 times, it is Liao-Fan's Four Lessons. This book had an enormous influence on me and can be said to have influenced my entire life. I love this book deeply and read it often."
Teacher Cai Lixu said: Studying the principles in this book carefully can bring tremendous benefits to individuals and families alike. Life is like a game of chess. If we want to play this game of life well, Liao-Fan's Four Lessons can serve as an invaluable guide.
v1.2 Version Notes
1. The audiobook supports
iPhone and iPad only and requires FileMaker Go (search for "FileMaker" in the App Store and install the latest available version). It is free, contains no advertisements, and can be used permanently, making it convenient to listen while commuting or whenever you have free time.
2.
Supported features include Play and Pause, as well as 10-second and 50-second forward or backward skipping to help you quickly find a passage you would like to hear again. You can also tap any chapter in the list to begin playing that chapter immediately.
3.
By default, playback is continuous after you press the Play button, and background playback is supported. However, please note that as long as your iPhone is not set to lock the screen automatically, playback will automatically continue to the next chapter after each chapter finishes. Otherwise, playback will pause when the current chapter ends and resume automatically when you unlock the screen and return to the app.
4. Each chapter includes a Vernacular Chinese button that displays the corresponding modern-language text. However, beginning with Chapter 2, the available text does not appear to match the audiobook narration word for word. If anyone has collected vernacular transcripts for each chapter that precisely match the audio narration, we would greatly appreciate it if you could share them with us so that we can update the content.
5. The previous download was no longer working, so the download link has been updated.
Installation
Step 1: Install the free Claris FileMaker Go App
Claris FileMaker Go, commonly referred to simply as FileMaker Go, can be thought of as something similar to Acrobat Reader. Instead of opening PDF files, however, it serves as an iOS client for opening completed FileMaker database apps. See Notes 1 & 2 below. You only need to install it once on your iPhone or iPad. Please
click here to go directly to the App Store installation page, then download and install "Claris FileMaker Go." If you have already installed it, you may skip this step.
Note 1: FileMaker Go provides the interface required to open and manage FileMaker apps. Once it is installed, you can open or connect to any app created with FileMaker Pro whose file extension is .fmp12.
Note 2: FileMaker is now part of Claris, an Apple subsidiary specializing in business database solutions. FileMaker could already be installed and used during the Apple II era. Today, the platform has evolved into a cross-platform database system and can also be used to build AI-powered applications.
See the new features in FileMaker 19 for more information.
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Step 2: Download "了凡四訓電子書.fmp12" as shown below, and the installation is complete
Using Chrome on an iPhone or iPad as an example, tap the button below to download the file. Once the download is complete, follow the steps shown in the image below to copy it to FileMaker Go 2024 . The app will then open automatically. When you see the audiobook screen, simply press the Play button to begin listening.
Alternatively, open the Camera app on your iPhone and scan the QR Code below to download the file.
The file is hosted on Google Cloud. If you see the message 【Download anyway】, you can safely proceed with the download. We guarantee that the file is virus-free.
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