Session 25: The Dragon King Follows Foolish Advice and Violates the Heavenly Laws
- liz zhang
- Apr 19
- 1 min read
In this session, we witness how the Dragon King, despite his celestial role, breaks heavenly laws by acting on misguided advice from his generals. Later, he comes to recognize the wisdom and extraordinary insight of a soothsayer, and in desperation, turns to the Tang Emperor for help.
Session Focus:
We will explore why the soothsayer was able to predict the precise time and quantity of rain—and why those celestial arrangements were unchangeable. We’ll also reflect on how the Dragon King, though powerful, acted out of ignorance, ultimately violating divine order by placing trust in foolish counsel.
Key Questions for contemplation:
Q1: What do we know about the soothsayer’s background?
Why was he held in such high regard across the country?
Q2: Why did the Dragon King feel confident enough to wager with the soothsayer?
Did he actually believe in the soothsayer’s predictions about the timing and quantity of rainfall?
Why or why not?
Q3: What was the Dragon King's reaction upon receiving the imperial decree?
Why did he choose to follow his general’s advice instead of complying?
Q4: When the Dragon King smashed the soothsayer’s stall, why did the soothsayer remain calm?
How was he able to recognize the Dragon King, even in disguise?
Q5: What caused the Dragon King to kneel before the soothsayer after hearing his words?
Q6: What is the deepest lesson you’ve taken from this story?
I am Nobu, currently living in Prague.
Once a gentle man said, "Your attitude means psychological qualities… psychological qualities are manifestations. Knowledgeable is not necessarily wise. Wisdom contains expanded knowledge."
This session taught me a lesson on the consequences of a polluted attitude.
The dragon king represents a knowledgeable individual, who believed he knew more than the soothsayer because he was given powerful responsibilities above the human world. However, he overlooked the fact that there were much more things (larger systems) than he knew; how such attitude was formed within the dragon king? I notice that he was very reactive to his subordinates; dragon king's reactive behaviors like our habits, and the subordinates like our sensors (eyes, ears, nose, tongue,…
I am Chuan, living in Prague of Czech Republic.
“All the effects of nature are only the mathematical consequences of a small number of immutable laws.”
This sentence was perfectly illustrated by a story we read in the recent reading session.
Yuan Shoucheng, a master of astronomy and astrology, was able to accurately calculate the time and amount of rainfall. He predicted:
“Tomorrow the clouds will gather at mid−morning; late in the morning there will be thunder; at noon it will start to rain; and in the early afternoon the rain will finish, after 3 feet 3.48 inches have fallen.”
The River Dragon King, being the deity in charge of rainfall, was indignant when he heard this. He thought: “I…