What is the name of the Chinese philosopher that believed in the capability of altering you destiny?

He is a Chinese philosopher. I remember from my Chinese civilization course that he believed in predestination and having accepted the fact that he was destined to be something he viewed that irregardless of what he did he would somehow reach that destiny anyways. He chose then to go to a monk temple and spent a long time in meditation. After a long time the monk amazed of his ability to blank out his mind and achieve so much peace of mind asks him how he was capable of doing so. He tells him because thought is irrelevant if the outcome of action or inaction thought or no thought is unchanging. The monk gets angry at him and tells him that actions affect destiny in that one that is destined for good things may alter it for worse if he/she is a bad person and vice versa. He wrote about his philosophy and shared it with his son. Who is this guy?