No 91 of Living Life Series 1
In life we need to take things in our stride. In life we need to contend with the present and the future. In life we cannot just stick to old ways and appear to live in the past. If we use the old typewriter rather than the computer and printer, this will be an example of sticking to old ways. If there are better ways of delivering the written word in print, let this be so. Otherwise we will be left behind and be irrelevant to society. We will be ancient and be history.
In religions, there are essential doctrines and there are traditions or rituals to reinforce devotion and commitment to the doctrines.
Doctrines remain the same, but organised religion elaborates on them with views of the years added on like layers of lapis cake. This resulted in religion proliferating as diverse sects and denominations.
The early doctrines of the founder of a religion will be the basics, but through the years, this needs to be explained and delivered differently to people of different eras. This expands on the original, and what would have been simple and motivating becomes profound and complex to extent of being confusing.
Lord Bo Tien wants to bring back the simple and yet idealistic spirit and motive of religion, which prevail during a founder’s time. There is no need to start any new religion, and His Mission is just to do what all religions set out to do – to help people to lead better lives and to incline them towards God. To do so, there is need to show that all religions are based on the same basic truth that we need to save souls and assist those who are in difficulties. All religions are based on Divinity or God.
Religious institutions tend to contend with too much standard practices or traditions accumulated layer over layer through the centuries. While most change with the time and incorporate ways befitting the present, Chinese temples seem to be resistant to change, and if change is not the norm, then oblivion may well be the case. These practices or traditions are not the doctrine but the ancient institutional habits to hold on to the people of past eras.
Lord Bo Tien while upholding that the inner truth is the same for all religions descended to do His part by starting a temple to show that even with relatively ancient traditional temples, there is the same inner truth. He wants His temple to lead by example, rather than follow in others example.
Temples tend to project stagnation in time by continuing centuries old practices such as use of joss sticks, joss papers etc. These have played meaningful roles in past eras. Joss sticks were equivalent of perfume. Then mosquitoes were rampant and smoke from incense smokes away mosquitoes so that groups may gather in prayers or hear sermons. Candles were the rave in centuries past when there was no electricity and no electric bulbs.
Even during the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, there were no joss sticks and candles or even proper calendars. People then have to go by the phase of the moon to know when to go to attend sermons. Hence new moon and full moon become religious days.
Know what is doctrine, and what are traditions.
Traditions can change and need to change to stay relevant and meaningful for present day society or the temple will be only for the old and traditional few. Go for the doctrine and not the traditions. Let not traditions hold us down, blind us to progress and render us unable to reach out to the world.
The inner truth of life does not change, and it is what the doctrine is all about. Focus in life should be on principles of the inner truth. This is the doctrine of life behind and common to the sects and religions of the day.
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