So You have watched the Ne Zha Cartoon Movie and he said "My fate / life is up to me, not God / Heaven / Sky (我命由我不由天) "..
Let's find out the origin and get deeper into the source of Ancient Taoist Texts.
To understand this topic, 1st You need to know the Chinese Character “命” :
- 命运 - Destiny
- 寿命 / 生命 - Life Span / Life
In the 16th volume of "Bao Pu Zi Nei Pian" ("The Master Who Embraces Simplicity" Inner Chapters) - "Huang Bai" (Yellow White), he wrote: " The inscription on the tortoise shell says: My 'life span' is in my hands , not in the sky. It will take millions of years for the elixir to turn into gold."《抱朴子内篇》卷十六《黄白》：“龟甲文曰：我命在我不在天，还丹成金亿万年。”
Extra Information: "Bao Pu Zi Nei Pian" （抱朴子内篇）cover topics about gods and ghosts, medicine prescriptions , and marvels, transformations, maintenance of life, extension of life span, exorcising evils, and banishing misfortune.
Wu Zhen - Zi Yang Zhen Ren - Zhang Bo Duan's "Wuzhen·64 Quatrains" - Medicine takes shape only when it meets the air; the way lies in the void and is in harmony with nature. Once I swallow a pill of magic, I realize that my 'life span' is not determined by heaven.” 悟真 - 紫阳真人张伯端《悟真·绝句六十四首》- “药逢气类方成象，道在虚无合自然，一粒灵丹吞入腹，始知我命不由天。”
Extra Info: The Wuzhen Pian ( 悟真篇) - 'Folios on Awakening to Reality/Perfection' is a 1075 Taoist classic on Neidan-style internal alchemy. Its author Zhang Bo Duan (張伯端; 987?–1082) was a Song dynasty scholar of the Three teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism).
The Taoist book "Inscription on the Return of True Qi to the Origin" once explained this declaration as follows: "The life and death of a person is up to him. If a person can understand the way of nature, exercise the Qi of Yuan-He, swallow the two scenes externally, take the five buds internally, control all spirits with movement, and calm the five internal organs, then cold, heat, hunger and thirst cannot invade, and the five weapons and sharp blades cannot approach. Life and death are in the hands, and changes are determined by the heart. The earth cannot bury it, and the sky cannot kill it. This is my life, which is up to me, not up to heaven." 道书《真气还元铭》曾对这一宣言作了如下阐释：“言人性命生死，由人自己。人若能知自然之道，运动元和之气，外吞二景，内服五芽，动制百灵，静安五脏，则寒温饥渴不能侵，五兵白刃不能近。死生在手，变化由心，地不能埋，天不能煞。此之为我命在我也，不在于天。”
The “My Life” chapter of the “ Western Ascension Sutra ” says: “My life is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven and earth. I do not see, hear, or know, and my spirit does not leave my body. I am as old as the Tao. I share the same energy with heaven and earth and govern myself, guarding my fundamental nature.” Wei Chu xuan, a Taoist priest in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, commented: “Heaven and earth and I are both endowed with the same nature of energy. We are each one thing. How can we give birth to my life? I only need to abandon my heart and mind, cut off my ears and eyes, and guard the same fundamental energy. Then I will be as old as the Tao.” 《西升经》中《我命章》说：“我命在我，不属天地。我不视不听不知，神不出身，与道同久。吾与天地分一气而治，自守根本也。” 北周道士韦处玄注解说：“天地与我俱禀自然一气之所性，各是一物耳，焉能生我命乎？我但去心知，绝耳目，各守根本之一气，则与道同久矣。”
The Differences between then and now..
In Ancient time, the “命” in the sentence means 'Life Span (生命)', therefore the actual original meaning of "我命由我不由天" in Ancient Time is "My Life Span depends on my own personal health and spiritual cultivation, not depends on Sky (Heaven) ".
It is only in this Modern Days, the Chinese Folks （and Chinese Medias） twisted the meaning of “命” from the sentence into "命运" (Fate / Destiny) and it becomes " My fate / destiny depends on me, not Sky （Heaven)".
Base on Taoist Sorcery, it is not wrong either...
Taoist Sorcery exists for the purpose of twisting the fate / destiny. It can help turns someone's bad luck into good luck (with Positive Taoist Sorcery Rituals / Spells), likewise, Taoist Sorcerers can also destroy someone's Good Luck into Bad Luck, by performing Black Magic Spells onto Someone.
The Four Lessons of Liao Fan (了凡四訓)
An Ancient Chinese Book by the title "The Four Lessons of Liao Fan" (了凡四訓) is a family precept written by Yuan Liao Fan (1533-1606) of the Ming Dynasty to his son. The principal idea behind these lessons is that destiny can be changed through proper cultivation of kindness and humility. Thus, one should not be bound by fate, but by one's own actions.
Conclusion: Whether it is Your Life Span or Your own Fate & Destiny, You have the power to control, if You know the "methods" of personal cultivation , or else, You can still blame "upstairs".