No 99 of Living Life Series 1
Ever wondered why in your life some things just come easily while for some others you have to work your heart out before you can get them. Some things come to you easily with prayers but not others. Some things we somehow cannot have. Why? How effective are prayers? Do heavenly saints exist and are they effective? Can they help us? Why don't they free every one from hell be it hell on earth in this very life of ours or the many levels of Hell? The answer below is perhaps no answer but gives some insight, otherwise the writer will be fully enlightened. All of us are learning and have to learn from life - the gospel of life!
We had some guidance from lord saint* that there are three ways we can get blessings. We worked for them and be blessing to ourselves. We get help from fellow brethren and they are blessings to us. We pray to Heaven for saints to bless us.
All saints like Lord Bo Tien remind us that there is the element of fate and by stroke of fate some things just come easily to us but not others. Every person is different in life from another because of fate.
But what is fate? Fate is self created by our past actions and deeds, be it past lives or the past of present life. If this be so, then we can actively change fate by creating actions which will change or at least modify fate. God helps those who helped themselves but what if we cannot help ourselves at all. That we cannot love ourselves at all cannot be the case. No matter how down and out we are, we must love ourselves and take note of the pluses and minuses in our life and move on. Don't give up or be frustrated. Frustrations will only forment more frustrations. That is why those who are down and out appear perhaps by force of habit to continue to be in bad luck and be down and out. They resign themselves to fate - a four letter word.
What is critically lacking for those who lament that they have bad fate is self love. They do not love themselves to appreciate their life situation, both the good and not so good. Only when we love ourselves can we tap into the love of Heaven but even then, there will always be the element of fate.
Of course, we can exert control over life and how we steer our life. Then again why not heaven do things for us and steer our life. The latter cannot be as we are not puppets and we can think, do and feel. As we think so we will be. We are what we made ourselves to be. God and saints can provide blessings but we need to do the walking of life ourselves.
At each stage of life, there are things we need to do and overcome. What God and saints can do for us is to clear the way and make other issues not be added problems so that we can focus on the issue or issues at hand. Somehow, God and his heavenly saints will help us but we must live the various stages of life ourselves. The term crossing divine gate or door is used. We cross from one gate to enter another phase of life with another gate to tackle. There are divine lessons we have to learn with each stage.
Some things in life we need to learn and learn them well and not that Heaven is indifferent or harsh to us. We are fated to learn so to speak but we are not fated to fail to learn unless we give up and choose to be helpless. Fate means we have to learn to come to terms or cross obstacles in life. These are worldly obstacles but if fate be the case for us to have obstacles, then they are spiritual obstacles. Saints are god sent as they can alter life such that we need to tackle less obstacles and only the important ones at any one time. They clear the way so that we need only to handle the one or two lessons in life for each stage. But remember that Heavenly saints help those who help themselves. Heaven helps everyone but not everyone can receive help if they do not love and help themselves
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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!.
