No 17 of Living Life Series 1
A buddhist monk once built a wall for his temple with his bare hands using donated bricks and cement. Two bricks out of many were not evenly laid. At first he was taken aback.
But many who saw his handiwork saw the whole wall as his good work. The two bricks did not mar the good job and the effectiveness of the wall.
What lesson do we learn from this? Plenty.
If we are perfectionist and run down or tear down or re-do what we have done, it would be unwise.
If we are worried that we cannot make it and do not do the job, that would be unwise as well.
The learned monk did the job and that is what counts. Even if there were two unevenly laid bricks, he had done the job.
This is true in all domain and spectrum of life. We should not pay heed to blemishes in life which cannot be remedied unless we start all over again only to have other blemishes.
Just move on in life and do what we can. Do not find fault over so-called blemishes. Adopt holistic and overview helicopter approach. Do what we can and go for the next best thing. this is better way to add value to life.
Do not re-do and get stuck in the mud of the past. Lament not but move on in the present and to the future. Do not try to rebuilt the past and let the present die on us. Live in the present. There are certainly more we can do and need to do.
Lord Bo Tien's pose with left hand in salutation bids to move on in life. His feet balancing and on top of elements tell us to neither harbor inaction from fear of doing a job nor overindulging in it to point of frustration and unwarranted sense of dejection and failure even when in fact the job was completed. Live life but not relive the past. Move on for more in life. We can however learn from the past.
The approach balancing the yin and yang as depicted in the image of Lord Bo Tien yields peace in life and heaven here and now as well as in afterlife. This is not a new approach and the lrod saint is not starting a new religion or sect. He is merely restating the inner truth behind all religions and if we know Him, He would like us to know that in whatever religion or none we are in, we can have that inner peace.
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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!.
