No 63 of Living Life Series
(1) What constitutes a temple?
A temple is the people as stated in the anniversary message of 1983.
That the sky is the roof of a temple is mentioned in the 1983 message of Lord Bo Tien.
Towards the last part of this message, He stated that the followers are the pillars of a temple.
(2) Also in the 1983 message,
A temple’s doctrine should not be hijacked by or be given a back seat behind sectional interests of people.
The crux of the issue is the doctrine and not the person or leader relaying it. We should not discount what is being said just because we do not find the person or leader saying so credible in character or to our taste.
Followers should not misconstrue human relationships as practices of a temple. A temple activities geared towards worldly networking and seeking recognition and rapport with community bodies at human level should not be equated as primary temple activities or practices. There is need to give more emphasis to temple spiritual activities and practices, more so than activities to satisfy or meet human relationships both at temple level and at level of community.
He also advised all not to confuse spiritual craft, observances and rituals with the Doctrine. We should not equate traditions, rituals, mystic or psychic experiences or knowledge as spiritual doctrine.
A heavenly saint is present in a temple because of what that temple is for and not because of sectional interests of people there. The sky or heaven is the roof of a temple. There is no need for large crowds or fanfare to welcome the patron saint.
If the sky is the roof, there is no need to be concerned if there are people, for ‘when the sun shines people will come to work, and when moon appears, the people will rest’ Thus said the emissary of Lord Bo Tien in 1984
What is important is aptly surmised thus. As long as the hearts of followers are pure, there is no need for large crowds and fanfare
(3) In 1984, He compared His descent to be like a flower. ‘A saint's presence in a temple is comparable to a flower because the flower is pure and created by nature.’ He further added that ‘Ants and insects cannot be stopped from coming to the flower for nectar. This is not the wrong doing of the flower’
A Saint must welcome all to come to him for his divine nectar. No one should even consider blaming the saint for those with wrong inclination coming for the nectar alone, and not the mission or the salvation of the soul.
(4) In1981, He said thus, ‘During my anniversary events, many come to see but few sincerely come to pray.' This is likely the case for many temples.
He further added that many had wanted to join a temple's mission, and yet were unsuccessful. Monetary considerations alone cannot procure this privilege or happiness, and yet the faithful followers of a temple can have this. They must be thankful to be fated by the destiny of past lives to take part in the thrusts of a temple in their life time.
The lord saint also added that the doctrine and reflections should be valued and put into practice by nucleus group who are already with Him. In time, the group would disseminate the doctrine and reflections to all temples in 49 corners of the world. This is the mission beyond the following at his physical temple. The real temple is the world with the sky as the roof and religions as the pillars. All under heaven are in this universal temple.
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The Living Life Series is dedicated to Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). The doctrine is in His image. The image is the doctrine. He who sees, understands and effects the doctrine sees and knows Him. He who does not see, know and effect the doctrine sees not and knows not the saint even if the saint or His image is beside him. The far may be near and the near may be far. Let the doctrine and the saint be part of our life. The lord saint in your life can be any heavenly saint of any religion, sect or school. The doctrine of truth is behind all and this is the Inner Truth that leads all (regardless of their religious affiliation or even if none) to inner peace and heaven on earth here and now and not just in the after life. The ideal worship and devotion is to know and effect the doctrine of God and the saints. The best gospel is the gospel of life. We learn from our life and the lives of others. The true temple is the world we live in. The sky is the roof of the temple and religions and sects are the pillars of the temple. All under Heaven are in the temple. Needless to say that all the saints we know are in this temple. Ji Gong Posat too is no exception. The whole wide world and web is the temple and must be regarded as a sacred place --- a temple for living and learning. It is more important that everyone that counts plays a role in this universal temple if due focus is to be given to the Mission of Heaven. Men must not be distracted by the agenda of men and end up serving the mission of man. That would be a far cry from the Mission of Heaven. We worship God and saints, not man however good that man may be. There should be no hero worshiping or idolizing of man whether he is a charismatic pastor, priest, monk, medium or lay leader. We don't even idol worship the image of any saint but reflect on what the image stands for. - the doctrine in the image. Omitofo 阿弥陀佛!.
