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A Taoist Tale:

One day Effort said to Destiny, "My achievements are greater than yours."

Destiny did not agree. He challenged Effort immediately. "What have you done to make your achievements surpass mine?"

Effort said, "Whether someone live long or dies young, is rich or poor, will succeed or fail depends on me."

Destiny said at once, "Old P'eng's intelligence did not match the emperors Yao's and Shun's, but he lived a long and healthy life. On the other hand, Yen-hui, Confucius's best student, died when he was eighteen. Confucius's virtue far surpassed the fudl lords', but compared to them he was destitute and poor. The emperor Shang-t'sou was cruel and immoral but lived a prosperous and long life. On the other hand, his minsters who were virtuous met with violent deaths. There was a man who sacrificed his own fortune to allow his brother a chance to be employed by the lord of Cheng. He remained poor and unknown for the rest of his life. Then there was another man who had niether virtue nor ability who became the lord of Ch'i. How about Po-yi and Shuch-i, who starved to death in the mountains because they would not compromise their integrity and honor to serve an enemy lord? What can you say about corrupt official who are rich, or honest, hard working people who are poor?"

Effort had not expected this barrage of evidence against his assertion. He frowned, but Destiny continued, "If you are as effective as you say, then why don't you make the hard-working people rich? Why don't you give virtuous people a long life? Why are the intelligent and able people not employed, and why do stupid people occupy important places in government?"

Effort had no more to say in the face of these challenges, so sheepishly he said to Destiny, "You are right. I do not have much effect after all. But I daresay a lot of things happen the way they do because you've been up to mischief, twisting people's destiny around and enjoying it!"

Destiny then said, "I cannot force the directions of things. I merely open doors for them to go through. If something is going straight, I liet it follow the straight path; if something takes a turn I do not hinder it. No none, not you or I, can direct the path of things. Long life or short, rich or poor, success or failure, fortune or misfortune, all come about by themselves. How can I direct events or even know where things would end up?"

- Lieh-tzu translated by Eva Wong