No 31 of Living Life Series 1
Which way do you prefer to lead your life?
(1) When we go away from this life, we neither bring along our family nor our wealth. We bring along only our thoughts and the deeds, which we have done.
(2) When we live, we have friends and we have fellowship, but when we leave, we leave alone.
(3) When we live, we see not the friends and mentors of the other world, but when we leave they are there for us if we are deserving enough.
(4) When we are together, we think we can be so for eternity, but the truth is that this cannot be so and our togetherness is no eternity.
(5) Whosoever follows Lord Bo Tien should practise the way He taught. This way helps us not only spiritually but also in worldly sense. We lead an amply fulfilling life in this world but yet carry on spiritual development as the main focus of life. When kingdom comes, we have spiritual fulfilment beyond the life we have on earth. While alive, we have worldly joys. We also have our spiritual joy as the same way taught by the Lord helps us in both ways both spiritual and worldly. Beyond the mundane life, we continue to experience spiritual rapture.
(6) There is no renunciation of the world but renunciation of the ego, which brings to us the woes of man.
(7) Lead the worldly life with spiritual focus so that our worldly life will be a boon for spiritual fulfilment and not a bane for ourselves and for others.
(8) Leading the worldly life in self-centred way of ego leads to more clinging and more ego.
(9) Leading the worldly life with saintly deportment leads to freeing us from the devil of ego and allows us to have joy of peace and calmness of mind.
(10) What is the way, which requires us to be mindful of what stirs in our mind. There is the positive and the negative. Be neutral to be aware and be control of both, and not to be carried away by both.
(11) In other words, do not be affected by the yin and yang of life while living in the world of yin and yang. Do not run from the worldly life but live the spiritual life within the worldly life. In other words, do not run from the yin and yang of life but live the life of yin and yang unaffected by both (as portrayed by the image of Lord Bo Tien with feet balancing the yin and yang). Then you would have taken life head on, and not run away from life. What is needed is to handle them, not to avoid them. We do not run away from worldly life. We tackle the spiritual life without giving up the worldly life, for the way which gives us spiritual fulfilment brings us worldly blessings to help us to more spiritual joys.
(12) When kingdom comes we have a meaningful worldly life, but we also have rich spiritual life, which carries on in the life beyond.
(13) This is the way advised by Lord Bo Tien. This way brings us both types of joy, worldly sufficiency enough to facilitate spiritual richness. This is the benefit of the spiritualists.
(14) The way of the non-spiritualists may bring only worldly indulgence, and clinging for more and more to try to satisfy the bottomless pit of ego and craving. At life’s end, they wallow in wanting and spiritual poverty, and go empty handed to life beyond.
(15) Which way would you prefer to lead your life? Dear friend, adopt the way advised by Lord Bo Tien, and lead the spiritual life but carry on with the mundane world for the same spiritual modus operandi brings primary spiritual gains and secondary material benefits to facilitate more spiritual development. This is the way of the wise. Only those foolish enough not to see this light go for primary material gains thinking that they can live in eternal indulgence of the ego.
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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!.
