No 5 of Living Life Series 1
Who do we help in life after helping our self? Do we help only the good ones or the bad ones? The thinking or norm is that we stay clear of the bad for they may harm us. This is true for many as it is better to associate with only the wise as many of us are weak in wisdom as well and may falter with the company of the bad.
But it may be necessary to look deeper into the issue. The bad after all are the ones who need help most. They should not be castigated as demons and cast as untouchables to be in corner of hell on earth. However if we are not strong in spirit and not rich in spiritual ballast, we will not be of service to ourselves and it would be foolhardy to try to redeem and help the bad.
But if we can, we should. But why not focus our service on the good ones who need help and leave the bad alone? If this be the case, then those in hell will be in eternal hell. There is however no eternal hell and those in hell can be reborn based on past good of previous life say as man when their time is due. Posats like Ksitigarba go to deepest level of hell to enlighten the beings there and there were significant some who entered the stream of sainthood while still sojourning in hell. Saints like Lord Bo Tien balance their service to all both good and the not-so-good. By right, it is not right to classify someone as bad, evil or a demon. All are learning and can be more good.
We should be like the lord saint depicted in His image with both feet balancing the elements - the good and the not-so-good. We should help all, both the good and not-so-good. We should do so in the balanced way and taking into consideration our own needs and capacity.
To help the very not-so-good, we must be good enough. Otherwise, we will sink with them rather than save them from being sunk in life. Whilst saints can do more for the not-so-good, we obviously can do less.
The balance point of how much to concentrate on the not-so-good and on the good depends on our capacity and potential of goodness. How steady are we in the first instance?
Saints like Lord Bo Tien have no problem and that is why they are comfortable with ants and insects amongst men coming to them like ants and insects to flowers.
Such people are even given opportunities to leadership and clergy but if they still falter, what next? Blame not the flower when ants come to it. Ants amongst men have their good and not-so-good sides.
If we are good enough to be saints of sorts, we must live life in service to self and all, both the good and those not good. But the balancing point or proportion shifts and differs based on how good we are. This is certainly food for thought.
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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!.
