The *Ledger of Merits and Demerits* is a traditional Chinese moral self-accounting system, originated from Neo-Confucianism, especially popular in Ming and Qing dynasties.
A person records his good deeds (merits) and bad deeds (demerits) in a ledger, often assigning point values to each action. By regularly reviewing and balancing the score, they aim to improve moral conduct, accumulate merit, and avoid demerit. It was used by both ordinary people and scholars as a practical method of self-cultivation.
The best known story associated with Ledger of Merits and Demerits is probably *The Four Admonitions of Liaofan*.
*The Four Admonitions of Liaofan* is a book on moral instruction written by Yuan Liaofan (1533–1606CE) of the Ming Dynasty. Drawing on Yuan Liaofan’s own experiences, the book explains how one can change one’s destiny by practising virtue and accumulating merit.
In his youth, Yuan Liaofan encountered a fortune-teller who predicted his future, detailing when he would pass the imperial examinations, what rank he would achieve, when he would take up a government post, when his life would end, and whether he would have children. At first, Yuan Liaofan was sceptical; yet, over the following twenty years, every prediction came true with remarkable accuracy. This led him to become a firm believer in fatalism, convinced that ‘honour, disgrace, life and death are all predetermined’, and from then on he lost all ambition to better himself. Later, he met the eminent monk Master Yungu, who taught him that one’s destiny can be altered and presented him with a ‘Ledger of Merits and Demerits’. Consequently, Yuan Liaofan began to actively reform his ways and turn towards virtue, accumulating good karma. He vowed to perform three thousand good deeds to alter his destiny. The life originally foretold by the fortune-teller was completely transformed through his efforts to practise virtue and change his fate. For instance, whilst the fortune-teller had predicted he would die at the age of fifty-three without a son, he subsequently had a son and lived to the age of seventy-four.
#57 功过格与《了凡四训》
功过格是起源于宋理学家的一种道德修行工具，在明清时期尤其流行。修行者以表格形式记录自己每日的善行（功）与恶行（过），并赋予每条行为相应的分数。通过逐日记录、月底结算，来检视自己的道德进步，激励行善改过，是传统中国自我修养的重要方法之一。
《了凡四训》是明代袁了凡（1533-1606年）所著的一部劝善书, 这本书以袁了凡自身的经历为例，讲述了如何通过行善积德来改变命运的道理。
袁了凡年轻时遇到一位算命先生，预测了袁了凡的未来，把他什么时候考取功名，能考第几名，什么时候当官，什么时候寿尽，有没有孩子等都作了预测。一开始袁了凡不太相信，但是此后的二十年，每一次都十分精确地应验了，这让他笃信了宿命论，认为“荣辱生死，皆有定数”，从此没有了上进之心。 后来他遇到高僧云谷禅师，云谷禅师教导他命运是可以改变的，并送给他一本功过格。于是袁了凡开始积极改过向善，积累善业，许愿做三千件善事改命。原本算命先生所算定的一生，在努力行善改命后，完全改变了，比如算命先生预测他五十三岁死亡，无子，后来他有了一个儿子，而且活到了七十四岁。