Yan Zi was the Prime Minister of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States (476 B.C. to 221 B.C.). Assisting the king and aristocrats of the State of Qi for dozens of years, Yan Zi did not avoid criticizing the king's faults frankly, and he administrated the country with honesty, uprightness, and selflessness. Free from corruption, he left behind numerous touching and inspiring stories.

"...However, what you thought about was how to catch up with me quickly when you fell behind, and you worried about being caught by me when you were ahead. In the course of a carriage driving competition, one will be either ahead or behind. But no matter where you were, your mind was on me. How, then, could you concentrate on controlling the horse? That is exactly the reason you fell behind."

It became the first book to be a compulsory read at many private schools. Intellects throughout history have thought highly of the book. I am citing a part of its contents here to give readers a flavour of the divine culture of China, in which people respect heaven and comply with their fate, and emphasize respect and morality. This way we can understand the standard that ancient people have lived by.

The main ingredient was the fat from mutton but the process of obtaining it was tricky because it was not supposed to congeal. The emperor asked an imperial official in charge of food at Guanglu Temple on how to obtain the fat. The official was not sure and sought advice from another official by the name of Hao Chujun. Hao Chujun thought about it and remembered that the Emperor could not take an animals life. So he came up with a plan.

A fisherman lived in Wu Lin District of Wuhan. One day, he paddled a boat along a river. The boat was floating and floating. He did not know how far and how long he had been floating, until all of a sudden, he found himself going into a paradise full of peach blossoms. Grasslands were situated on both banks of the river, where the fresh green grass was set off by the luxuriant peach blossoms.

Tang Suei replied: "When someone hates me, this is something I must know. If I owe someone, then I must try to repay him. If someone misunderstands me, then I should kindly clarify myself. I should not harbor hatred toward others, and I must be forgiving in order to dissolve that in my heart. But in the process of dissolving it, I must avoid bringing frustration and anxiety to others."

The watermelon is not only a popular fruit in summer, its juice and skin can also be used as medicines. The Ben Cao Gang Mu says that the watermelon "can relieve thirst and heat, cure a dry and painful throat, help urination, is good for constipation and resolves alcoholism". Traditional Chinese medicine calls the watermelon skin the jade cloth with a sweet taste and cold nature, which can cure a swollen throat and apotheosis. The root and leaves of the watermelon can be used to treat diarrhea and intestinal inflammation.

These two men held different attitudes towards the gifts they received. Li Shiheng took them lightly and didn't pay much attention to them, and he lost nothing. Meanwhile Yu Ying took great care of his possessions and gained nothing.

Everyone likes to be with superior people and it is easy to be sincere with them. However, it is much harder to deal with inferior people. The mentality of ordinary people is that if you are nice to me, then I'll be nice to you; if you are not nice to me, why should I be nice to you? In that way, when we see that others are having a problem, we point it out bluntly. As a consequence, this will make the inferior man angry and look for the opportunity to retaliate.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Jing Gong, King of the Qi State, went sightseeing up on Niu Mountain. When Qi Gong looked to the North, he saw the capitol and the palace. He sighted and said, "How beautiful my kingdom is! The trees and vegetation are so lush! I am getting older, day by day, but what can I do? If people could live forever, that would really be nice!" His two imperial officials, Shi Kong and Liang Qiu, also shed tears...

Later Liu Zhuang was enthroned as Emperor Mingdi. Even as an emperor, he still treated his teacher, Huan Rong, with respect and honor. At 80, Huan Rong felt he was too old and sought to resign from his official duty, but Emperor Mingdi did not grant the request and instead bestowed more rewards upon him.

The Emperor had a dream: a beautiful woman wearing a high chignon and a gown with loose sleeves went to the bedroom and bowed: "I am the dragon girl in Ling Bo Pond and have gained merit by guarding the dragon palace. Since the Emperor is proficient in music, could you please give a composition to our dragon family?" So the Emperor composed the Tune of Dancing on Water with Hu Qin. When he woke up, he was still able to remember the tune and practiced the music with the imperial musicians.

When he returned to this world, he asked his wife whether she had once stolen a chicken from her neighbour. His wife denied it in the beginning. When he told his wife what he had seen in the nether world, she admitted it. She explained that because the chicken ate the grain she had spread outside to dry she accidentally killed it. She was afraid of being rebuked by her neighbour so she hid the chicken to conceal what she had done.

Wei Ba, a high ranking official during the Eastern Han Dynasty of ancient China and came from a place called Juyang. He was born into a family that was well educated and knew right from wrong. For generations, there were many high ranking officials in his family. In dealing with people, Wei Ba followed one simply principle: Be generous and forgiving.

Zheng Xuan and Fu Zishen were contemporary scholars, noted for their knowledge of ancient classics and history. They had never met each other prior to the above encounter. But, on finding Fu's ideas so similar to his own, Zheng Xuan unconditionally offered support by giving away his own completed work, hence enabling Fu to complete the mammoth task.

Three days later, the boat had taken Zhang Qing to his hometown safely. Looking afar, Zhang Qing saw ten familiar big wooden boxes lined up neatly on the wharf. He felt very strange and jumped onto the shore quickly. He went over to check it out. They were his cases indeed, what good luck! A letter was placed on top of one of the cases, and the weight on the letter was the lost pair of glasses.

Bingji, a prime minister in the Han dynasty of ancient China, was known for his kindness towards others. Once, when his chauffeur followed him out, the chauffeur was so drunk that he vomited on the prime minister's vehicle. Bingji's manager wanted to fire the chauffeur, but Bingji said: "Would anyone hire him if they find out that he was drunk and got fired? Let forget about it. After all, he only soiled the car cushion."

Emperor Xuan Di felt another intense pain in his head. Emperor Xuan Di failed to realise it was karmic retribution and did not admit his fault in torturing the maid-in-waiting. Instead, he became all the more enraged and shouted, "She is my nemesis!" He had the maid-in-waiting cut into two pieces at the waist. As soon as she died, Emperor Xuan Di was in agony because of a sudden stomach and lower back pain.

One morning, the provincial official came to Liu's home for a visit and Liu told him, "I'd prefer to set up a banquet for you. However, it may take too much of your time and interfere with your official business. So, let me treat you to a meal. My wife is out of town, and we don't have anyone to prepare anything special. How about a simple meal?" The official could not decline the invitation since it was from his teacher.

During the period of Emperor Daizong, there was another long drought and Bukong was again asked to pray for rain. The Emperor also said: "If it rains within three days, it is the monk's supernatural power; if it rains only after three days, then it is just due to nature's spontaneous reasons." Bukong accepted the imperial decree and built an altar. It rained heavily the next day.

Upon hearing this, Heng Rong was not happy. He said, "You are my student and it is still as though you don't even know me? I have been doing research all my life. I appreciate the Tao for gentlemen and do not want to be an official. I accepted the emperor's appointment because the emperor is wise and he has helped to make the world peaceful. You have not been an official for long, yet you've learned political trickery and flattery. You even try to teach me such things. I truly feel sorry for you."

Once, King Wen of Chu was given a hunting dog named Ruhuang and sharp bamboo sticks called Wanlu. He fashioned arrows and then he and his dog went on a three month hunt to Yumenze. He met up with three beautiful women from the Danyang State and stayed with them for a year. His playboy days were in full swing. It was rumoured that for King Wen, his dog, sharp arrows, and the Danyang beauties came first before the affairs of Chu.

On New Year's Eve, he had a dream in which two men in black called him into a magnificent, official hall. In the centre of the hall, an emperor sat on a chair and two officials dressed in red stood at his sides, holding a long paper with many names on it. The emperor was writing on the list with a brush pen. After he was done writing, one of the red-robed officials called Wang by name to come in.

On the way, several hundred miles past Hangu Pass, Liu Yi discovered that an official had died of illness by the roadside. Mr. Liu thereupon traded his horse for a coffin and took off his own clothes to wrap the corpse and place it in the coffin.

Yan Ying had already met Luan Ying by then. He told King Zhuang, "Luan Ying is cunning and dishonest. I noticed it when he first talked with me. Just now, I saw that he was full of flattery to you and had no words of sincerity. He is acting this way because he has some ulterior motives. As King, you should be on your guard."

One day at the Imperial Court, Emperor Zhong Zong said to Seng Jia, "The capital city has had no rain at all for several months. I am very worried about it and expect your mercy to resolve the problem." Seng Jia held a bottle of water and sprayed it towards the four corners. Soon afterwards, black clouds gathered overhead and a heavy rain covered the land. Zhong Zong was so happy that he ordered that the name of the temple where Seng Jia resided be changed to Lin Huai Temple.

The situation was critical. Some proposed to close the city gates and defend it with their blood. Some advised to borrow troops from neighboring counties to defeat the rebels. Kong Yong said to his subordinates, "Our city is now isolated and is very weak inside. Defending the city can hardly last long, while borrowing troops is like trying to put out fire with remote water. Let me talk to them in person and try to persuade them. Perhaps they will retreat. If that's the case, it will be like exchanging weapons for silk cloth."

Download song here: http://www.yellowexpress.nu/three_words.php
The 13th of May 2007 is world Falun Dafa Day. As a way of showing our appreciation towards the practice we published this song. We want with this song pay homage to the core principles of Falun Gong Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. By following these principles millions and millions of people have raised their morality, regained better health and uplifted their spirits.

Zhuge Liang did not force him. Instead he took a walk around his army camps with Meng Huo. He then asked Meng Huo, "What do you think of my army?" Meng Huo said arrogantly, "I failed because I was not clear about the weaknesses of your army. After you showed me your army today, I have to say that it is not that impressive. It would not be that difficult to defeat you." Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "Since you think this way, then go back and prepare better next time. We will have another battle."

Shi Dao Xian originally came from the State of Kang Ju of the Western Region of ancient China. He had used to be a travelling businessman. One day, he attended a senior Buddha monk's lecture and became awakened. He sank his treasure ship into the river, said his farewells to his wife and children and became a monk at the Bamboo Wood Temple in Guan Kou. At the tonsure ceremony, he swore to the public, "I'll not leave the temple until I become enlightened."

Balang had no choice but to divorce his wife. He told her, "Please go back to your parents. I will seek shelter from an old friend in Xinzhou and hope to turn things around a little. If I'm lucky, I will come back for you." Before he set off, he swore to the heavens: "I have to leave now because I have owed too much debt. If things get better for me and I come back in the future, I will pay double all my debts."

In the early morning the tiger approached the north side of the tree. It seemed to be quite surprised and happy to see Faan, slowly approaching his feet. Faan recited sutras and taught the tiger the precepts. The tiger seemed to listen attentively without the slightest movement. After a while it left. At daybreak, the villagers rushed to the tree and found Faan unharmed. Seeing that he wasn't killed by the tiger they thought he was an immortal.

Many Chinese emperors longed for immortality and sought medicine and other means to attain everlasting life. On one occasion someone paid tribute to Emperor Kangxi by presenting him the book Secrets of Obtaining Elixir and Long Life. Kangxi refused to read it. He said, "Birth and death are part of the human condition. As Zhu Xi¹ said, 'Heaven and earth circle in turn, like that of day and night.'

The ancient Chinese believed in the unity of heaven and man and that man's rise and fall reflects the changes in the cosmos. In the dynasties of the past, the official historians always set aside one chapter in their history books to describe how the changes of the cosmos corresponded to the rise and fall of their dynasties. The historians did this in order to alert people and to urge the kings and emperors to respect heaven, which would bring benefits to the people.

Dao Shun didn't have any savings and he only ate one meal a day. The rest of the time he meditated. Snakes and rats often hid under his bed and lived in peace with each other. Once a tiger came to his cottage and Dao Shun spoke about the dharma to it. Once a person came to visit him. When he saw the tiger, he turned around and left. He told Dao Shun he 'd come back when the tiger left. Dao Shun Told the tiger: "I will have a visitor coming tomorrow so you will have to go somewhere else for the day."

Taoist priest Mai Daolu was originally a eunuch in the Song dynasty. Once he went out to buy some lumber for the palace. When he rode past Xishuimen at the capital, he saw a dead beggar lying by the riverbank. There were a worn out mat and a short cane beside the beggar. Daolu bought a shirt and a pair of pants, hempen sandals, and a scarf and buried the beggar.

Many people cannot stand for these kinds of things. Shaozi gave away his own interests to others without argument or resentment. It was not cowardly behaviour, but the result of his forbearance and broad mind. Only a person with moral integrity and knowledge behaves in such a manner. The story spread in the royal court and in society. History has recorded that Shaozi was known for his virtue. Three governments offered him positions, but he refused.

During the reign of Emperor Wenzuan of the Qi dyansty, Sengan cultivated on Wangwu Mountain and had two dozen disciples following him. When he began to teach the Nirvana Sutra, a female pheasant would crawl over to the side of a seat to listen. When the monks were having a meal, it would go out to search for food. No matter whether it was day or night, it would come to listen to the dharma. But, strangely, the pheasant stopped coming before Sengan finished volume three of the sutra. Everyone thought it was odd.