No 93 of Living Life Series 1
The flower beautiful in appearance is only beautiful from the exterior but the internal parts may not be beautiful (refer to starting paragraph of 1983 anniversary message of Lord Bo Tien --- Lord Bo Tien's 1983 Anniversary Message )
Nature is beautiful and yet not perfect.
Men too are capable of beautiful deeds and thoughts, but men are made up of both good and bad within even the same man.
Men should not judge men. Only heaven is fit to do so through God’s representatives like Lord Bo Tien.
Lord Bo Tien’s name reveals that He is the ‘Bo’ or martial, military executor or mission executor. ‘Tien’ means heaven or divinity. He is therefore One who executes the Mission of Heaven, the will of God in the battlefield of life where beings undergo pains of rebirths and need to be united with God. (Please refer to late Senior Bro. Chong Sim’s write-out)
Nature is also not permanent. The flower is no exception. It will wither.
Beautiful things do not last.
Unpleasant events too are not permanent.
The ship of life can be tossed and periled by a storm, but every storm must eventually come to an end.
The calmness of the sea is so long as the next storm is yet to be.
Every being has its share of ups and downs, alternating between storms and calm.
Where there is worldly joy, sadness and pain must follow. This imperfection and impermanence are hallmarks that characterise life, and the cycle of rebirths. Such would be nature of existence until the day beings are pure enough to be united with God.
Do not yearn for and be attached to worldly joys. Do not be derailed by worldly pains. Stay focus on spiritual cultivation and go about life without denying or renouncing worldly life (including its fleeting joys) and yet be unaffected by worldly life.
The nature of life is such that there is apparent beauty but no perfection; there is inevitable impermanence until the day when beings can be united with God in Heaven.
The Mission of God is to deliver beings from imperfection and impermanence of life of rebirths to be united with God in Heaven.
Lord Bo Tien is One who executes the Mission of Heaven. As befitting his sainthood, he never says he is the only one and our temple prayer reflects this.
“ To all heavenly saints we greatly adore, and thy glory is in the thought of men. We seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come”
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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!.
