LIVING LIFE SERIES 1

A BO TIEN (武天) MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED ON 28TH SEPT 2010 BY INNER TRUTH NETIZEN 2. THE MISSION IS TO SHOW THE WAY TO HOPE, INNER PEACE AND ULTIMATELY SALVATION FOR ALL BEINGS. THE PURPOSE IS TO SAVE SOULS. IT IS WAY BEYOND NORMAL GOOD WORK LIKE CHARITY AND WELFARE ACTIVITIES. NO ONE SHALL BE SAVED BY GOOD WORKS ALONE BUT BY MORE THAN GOOD WORK. THERE IS NEED TO BE IMBUED WITH THE BASIC DOCTRINE COMMON TO AND BEHIND ALL RELIGIONS AND SECTS. LIVE IN DOCTRINE. DOCTRINE IN LIFE IS PARAMOUNT.

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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!.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

What we need to know on truth.

No 182 of Living Life Series 1

“Many people seek the Truth of Ancient Wisdom; yet the Profound Truth is so simple but difficult to perceive.”

Truth, brethren, is simple. Simple as it is and as it should be, men do find it difficult to perceive and to realise. Men expect it to be abstract, having been entwined by the complexities of life. Truth has been there since time began. As such, it is as ancient as time. The sages of the past, present and future had, have and will bear testimony to the wisdom of Truth. Truth is therefore not just ancient but of ancient wisdom.

Many of us today are like the blind men and the elephant. We cannot perceive Truth in its totality. We tend to experience individual feel or glimpses of Truth. We are somehow blinded by the worldly life we lead and by the constant, habitual and reflex urge to foolishly inflate our self-centred ego.

Like the muddy pool with wild stirrings of undercurrents, our mind is muddied by undercurrents of worldly life. Only the wise can eradicate the undercurrents and still the mind to be like the calm and mirror-like pool.

Brethren, Truth is about life. Why do we exist? What are we living for? Why must life come to an end? Have we really to be reborn time and again? Questions like these abound and can go on ad-infinitum.

Our blindness to Truth requires that Truth be packaged to us in various forms. Thus we have the various religions and the various sects within a religion. These are safeguards to ensure that more people can have the opportunity to chance upon Truth and realise its real essence.

Lord Bo Tien has time and again reiterated that all religions are good. They speak the same Truth in different ways. They are like pillars to the House of Truth. They present Truth in its various facets and spell out spiritual norms and values in more down-to-earth ways, and in more ways than one, so as to enable Truth to reach out to more people.

One may comb through volumes of religious texts, but, if one does not realise the true nature of life, or what others may term as God’s design, one will always be far from Truth. Such a person, though presented with Truth, will fail to see Truth. He has eyes and yet he does not see. He perceives not the Truth around him.

Truth is. It always and ever will be. Like sugar, we need to taste Truth to really know its taste, to really know what is Truth. To put it in another way, we may say that the taste of the pudding is in eating it. Being presented with it is not enough.

Much more need to be said on the approach to Truth. Remember that Truth is religion and religion is Truth. Truth is about life, and life is about Truth. What is needed is the will to reach out to it. This requires effort, mindfulness, and single-minded determination. We must come to grips with the true nature of our day-to-day life, and at the same time not deny life itself. There is no renunciation of life as such, but of the roots of attachment---namely, selfishness, ill will and false views.

The wise one does more for others than for himself, for he realises the folly of the ego. The more he serves others, the closer he is to Truth or to Godliness. Truth is to be lived and experienced. It is not an entity to be read and debated upon.

Such is Truth to be realised by the wise. The wise is satisfied with life as it unfurls, for he has seen the Truth in his daily life. Lord Bo Tien speaks to us through events in our life – through life events as such.

Lest you forget

Do not make the mistake of idolizing any man who tells you about the Word. He is in the same boat as you even if religion refers to him as a religious leader. Mere mention of a religious leader is as good as encouraging idolising of that man. Why must there be hierarchy in religion? Hierarchy is conventional but may end up as liability rather than a necessity or asset. There should be no caste or hierarchy system in religion. No one is to be considered above another in religion. A religious leader or follower is a servant to serve you and not a leader to be idolised. Do not put him on the pedestal and make a monster out of him.

MAY ALL BE WELL AND HAPPY

May all be well and happy. May they have peace. May our departed friends and kins be well, happy and have divine peace. The main writer wishes the best for all for those near and far. Our kins may be far when they had passed on to better lives but they are near though far. He remembers and wishes his parents Mr Siow Soo Koh and Mdm Tay Hung Siang, his uncles and aunties like Mr Tay Koon Huay, his cousins like Mr Tay Chong Sim and his friends like Mr Philip Png well and have abundance of life. May they be rich in spirit for without such ancestors, there will be no posterity - no us and no you and me. They have blessed us and we must blessed them in return forever and ever.