Fortune Telling

Written by dhammacaro

Many people believe in fortune telling and rely on it so much that they get themselves into difficulty. Believe it or not, if we believe and rely on something too much, we can easily get stuck; life cannot move on. There is a Chinese story that illustrates this well. Here is the story:

There once was a man who believed in fortune-telling and based his life on it. Whatever he wanted to do, he firstly had to double-check in his almanac. He not only believed in fortune-telling but also taught it to his family, to his only son. One day he wanted to go out to do some business. He checked the almanac. It said that he should not go outdoors. So he tried to go out by the window. When doing this he fell down and broke his leg. He shouted to his son, saying, “Son I have broken my leg! Can you take me to see a doctor?” The son replied, “One moment Dad!” After a short while he shouted back, “Sorry Dad, it is not a good day to see a doctor! Let’s wait until tomorrow, that will be a good day to see a doctor!” There was nothing the father could do or say. He had to wait in pain until the next day as his son had instructed.

From the story, it becomes evident that life can get stuck if we believe and rely on something too much. What happens if we do? First of all we begin to lack self-confidence. Secondly, we have to depend on others and lastly we become conditioned. Life without confidence, independence and conditioned is difficult, insecure, dependent and unreliable. We should live by knowledge and education alone. What is good about knowledge and education? These are good because knowledge allows us to know what to do and education trains us in what to do, so that we can be successful in our affairs.

It can be said that knowledge and education pave the way to happiness, success, and prosperity.