No 111 of Living Life Series 1
Lord Bo Tien has reminded us to be like the pillar which is made up of various elements. The elements may be very different from one another eg sand, cement, paint, tiles. But together, they make up the concrete pillar which is very much different from the individual elements that make up the pillar.
Members and devotees of a temple may be as different as the elements that make up the pillar but when they work together, they form the pillar of strength for the mission to “help those in difficulties and to save souls”, to bring all from wrong to right, and to be eventually with God and saints. Everyone has his or her own attributes or strengths and if these are pulled together, the mission is as sturdy as the pillar. The individual strengths complement and augment.
The Lord has made reference to the flower. The flower is beautiful but the individual parts of the flower are not. The parts are also not identical and vastly different, but put together as flower, they give us the beauty of the flower.
A lone candle flame may serve purpose to provide light .Candles come in various forms and colours. The magic of candle flames is magnified many times when we could amass them together to treat us with more light and sight.
The above three examples of flower, candles and pillar are used by Lord Bo Tien to teach us the lessons of life and truth Everyone has their individual and somewhat unique strengths and if there is amassing of these strengths, there is collective synergy.
The Lord also reminded us of need to shine the way for others to bring them to God. Each one is a candle flame but the light emitted is limited even for the better of the flames. But the amassing of candle flames emits light so much more to light up the way for others. But do not expect all candle flames to be alike. They need to be different in hues shapes and size to complement and augment.
We should not champion one set of practices and deride others practices or culture in a place like a temple for each set of practices do serve the needs of particular section of followers. They could co-exist and enrich the temple to bring people together to do the work of God.
At level of world religions, the different religions may differ in approach but together they complement and augment to bring more to God, just like the candles, parts of flower, and materials that make up the concrete pillar.
The various saints in Heaven do work together to complement and synergise. They are divine and beyond ego and individualism.
At the social level, the various nations big and small must co-exist and complement one another to bring about a better world.
With each life experience, we learn some values of God, and a collection of various experiences will be so much more enriching. We can learn from our life and from the life of others to draw lessons that will help us to bring us closer to God and, likewise, to help us to help others.
We have learnt from Buddha that many drops of water can contribute to a mighty ocean. Whatever good or merits we have as individuals if pulled together can make up the mighty ocean of merits to help those in difficulties and to save souls. Definitely the ocean of merits is preferred to the drops.
Even the yin and yang as depicted in the pakua reaffirms above principles of collectiveness. Yin and yang must co-exist and in dynamic balance. The wise one balances and is master of the yin and yang. The close proximity and binding of yin and yang embodies the spirit of collective interdependence.
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