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, October 16, 2011

The yin yang cross to divine peace

No 307 of Living Life Series 1

There is much said about the need to live the doctrine in our life and make the doctrine the guiding light in life. Life is full of learning experiences and the doctrine is life and life is the living gospel. Lord Bo Tien has been reiterating this to us like all other saints

Lord Bo Tien

To the Chinese, there is the reality of the universe around oneself and the need to realise that if one knows the universe around oneself, one will know oneself better and vice versa. The idea is to be at peace with life and with the universe be it one's own individual life or the world one is in.

But the problem is that there is flux, there is change and every problem solved is not the end all but the beginning of more problems or issues to handle. One cannot stand still but has to move on with life and be part of the ups and downs of life.

The ancient sages refer to this as yin and yang. Yin may be regarded as the phoenix and yang the dragon, but English translation may refer to yin as the negative and yang the positive, but this will give the wrong connotation that yang is good and yin is bad.

But the reality is that either is both good and bad. For example, too much of worldly or material attributes like wealth and status can bring woes and yet is good. Being lacking in material or worldly attributes like wealth is bad but can be good as we do not have issues that comes from too much. The rich may be poor and the poor may be rich. This is often attributed to Lord Jesus. The far may be near and the near may be far from divinity or what is true peace in life. This Lord Bo Tien has been telling us. So what should one go for and how to make life meaningful and peaceful so that life is rewarding come what may.

Buddha refers to craving or wanting more and more. This is the yang aspect. He also refers to the other extreme of going for nothing and denying or torturing oneself, asceticism. This is the yin element. Buddha advocates rightly that both extremes are false ways or views and lead to miseries or to put it in the words of ancient Chinese sages, no peace at all. So Lord Buddha teaches the Middle Way to steer clear of the two by having worldly sustenance and trappings -- enough earthly comforts before there is both health and comforts ample to go for spiritual enlightenment.

This is similar to Tao Way that says one cannot have only yin or only yang. One must go for balance of the two to have harmony with the universe and to be at peace in life here and now and not just for enlightenment in the life hereafter.

If one wants goodness in life one must not go for the sky. One cannot give up either in despair or otherwise. One must be in harmony with one's life events and circumstances and move on, improve oneself in life and make do if we cannot have more.

That is the only way to have continuous good out of life and that will be good. One must be at peace with life and more good one will have that way. To do so, one must not go for the sky or withdraw from life.

One simply needs to be at peace with life and flow along but not be kicked by the polarities, the ups and downs or what the Chinese sages refer to as the yin and yang. When there is harmony of yin and yang, there is peace in life and in the world. This applies to every aspect in our life. This is the Tao principle and found in all aspects of Chinese culture.

A couple has marital bliss if there is harmony of yin and yang. This does not mean that the wife is all yin and the husband is all yang. For even in yang, there is yin and even in yin there is yang. There is also relative yin and yang. Spouses cannot be identical in thinking and interests to same level. But the sum of the attributes of a couple must complement and make one whole like in the wholeness seen in the pakua (bagua)

Lord Bo Tien has through the late P. Philip in the book Lord Bo Tien's Guidance" edited by Senior Bro Pete of Bo Tien Temple referred to figure of a man with the head depicting God or Divinity above and the feet depicting men below.

Page 15 of book Lord Bo Tien's Guidance

Both hands outstretched on either side depict the yin and the yang. We need both hands to work as one. We need to be at peace with yin and yang and to have harmony of both so as to have peace in life on earth in order to be with God and Divinity above.

Incidentally isn't the cross so symbolic of Christian culture identical to the figure of man with outstretched arms? To inner truth netizen 2, this may be referred to the yin yang cross to divine peace. The top end of cross represents God and Divinity. The lower end represents Man and the two arms the yin and the yang. Man must handle yin and yang in balanced way like the horizontal arms of the cross in order to be at peace and be with God and saints.

Peace be with one and all regardless of religious inclinations or even if none. One must understand that there is some basic truth principles common to all belief systems. This the lord saint Lord Bo Tien refers to as the Inner Truth.

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.