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!.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Be at peace now and not wait till kingdom come to try to rest in peace

No 287 of Living Life Series 1

By nature, we will tend to be restless and be tossed around by the polarities of worldly contingencies, like praise blame, gain loss, joy and sorrow.

We get lost in the heat of the moment and cannot keep our cool. Sometimes we run away from the heat only to face more of the heat in other ways. We are not at rest and not at peace.

We must not wait till death to rest in peace but must be able to rest in peace in every moment of our life.

We must remain still and yet move along in life.

Our mind must be calm, peaceful and clear so that we will be able to handle all contingencies and see things as they are.

There is need to get a good look at life at each moment and see life as a whole from the outside and not see life from within the complexities of life as they unfurl. We will get caught in the throes and tribulations as well as the triumphs of life.

It is good to see the interplay of the ups and downs, the positives and the negatives, the high moments and the low-down moments, the assets and the liabilities but without being upset or jubilant.

To do so, we must get out and see the totality of events and feelings as they play out in our life day by day and moment by moment.

Then, we have better chance of cultivating that sense of calm amidst highs and lows. This is what correct beneficial mindfulness is all about and should be.

Otherwise, mindfulness will cause disquiet and unrest and create more of turmoil and storms in our minds --- worse still devastating tsunami.

Buddhists refer to this variously as equanimity, momentary peaceful joy or 'piti' as well as 'jhana' or rapture.

From the perspective of Inner Truth Message by Lord Bo Tien, this is referred collectively under one simple term --- Inner Peace.

This is the why and the how of getting peace in life, each waking and sleeping moment so that we can rest in peace now and tomorrow and not wait till kingdom come.

Be at peace now and not wait till kingdom come to try to rest in peace.

Practice and force of habit make for perfection and we will be resting in peace always even before kingdom comes.

If we cannot do so, then our last thought moment when kingdom comes will be by chance and likely not within our control. We will likely have fear and tears.

Be at peace always and ever more and free yourself from fear and tears come what may even in this moment and for every moment of your life. This is better than having a priest or monk to pray for our deliverance at our last moment. We deliver ourselves every moment of our life to the peace that is of the Holy Spirit.

Cheers and be at peace now and not wait to try to have peace at the final moment of our life. This is the way to have heaven here and now and the heaven in the afterlife as well. Isn't this as simple as it should be though profound to those lost in the ups and downs of life - the yin and yang.

But peace and heaven here and now or in the afterlife will only be wishful thinking and illusive like the rainbow if we do not make the effort here and now, if we do not make our own efforts and think that God and saints will do the job for us. God helps those who help themselves.

Yes, God and saints can help us to have peace now and then in many ways but for more abiding peace, we must cultivate the habit and be peaceful.

God and saints have near infinite loving kindness which is effected as the Holy Spirit. They are like the great oceans and when we are part of the ocean (Holy Spirit), we can more readily have peace but we must stay within the fold and to qualify to be within the fold by being peaceful. Otherwise, we will stay at the fringe or even beyond the fringe.

People in churches and temples keep going to such places at times every day of the week so as to have fellowship. They are the faithful who try their level best at least to stay within the fringe but self help is necessary and as important, if not more so, otherwise, they are at the fringe or too near the fringe.

Why ? It is simply because their peace is not stable enough, being dependent on faith, the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of fellow men.

But fortunately or unfortunately, when we are but mere novices and learners, we need to hold on to faith, the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of fellow men.

Each of us is like a particle of sand and can be blown around. For now and for most of us, we need to be sand in the concrete pillar of faith, the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of fellow men. This is the analogy given by saints like Lord Bo Tien.

Marble image of Lord Bo Tien which evokes peace

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.