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!.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Make the best of Tao out of life

No 503 of Living Life Series 1

The problems of men are many and plentiful. This did the lord saint Lord Bo Tien say. One problem follows another and this is so frequent and can be trying. This is attributed to the nature of life and is in a way due to man himself. Often, it is because man is not at peace and that can be the critical issue.

Lord Bo Tien image depicts the peace
through the balancing of the yin and yang
as portrayed by feet on elements

Men go to a temple for solace but ask for worldly blessings instead, thinking that these will be the solution. Saints answer their prayers and may even give them what they want.

But alas, peace can still be elusive. Men must learn to be contented and moderate the ups and downs of life, the yin and yang that come their way in life. Men must love life as it unfurls and not lament and want more out of life. Only then will there be semblance of peace that saints talk about.

What is bad are not worldly trappings but the attitude of men towards life. They must neither want more and more nor deny them. They must cultivate Tao within and have the peace come what may.

What one can have or cannot have are just consequences of what one does and of one's fate or karma. More or less of worldly trappings may not be either good or bad. The worldly trappings should not dictate our spirit in life and our love for life as man.

Buddha did say specifically that "Rare indeed is birth as man. Strive on with diligence." Treasure it and make life work for us and not that we work for life. Amen - that is so and so be it.

Lord Buddha

Life as man is best for Tao or Way. Live longer to perfect Tao - the balancing of yin and yang to be atop them and not to be submerged by them. We may not come this way again.

While men exasperated by the trials and tribulations of life may wish to call it a day, men must live as long as they can to cultivate Tao or peace of mind, come what may. Their next lives even as men may not be congenial for Tao.

Longer life will facilitate more time for cultivation of Tao so that at the last thought moment, there is better chance of the habit of peaceful mind coming naturally. Then the person can transit to better state in afterlife. Thus, there is every compelling reason to prolong life, to live as long as we can so that we can have more time to cultivate Tao to higher level.

As stressed by Lord Buddha, men should not waste time. Do not postpone to next life and do not procrastinate. We may never come this way again and we may never be man as well. Do not neglect Tao.

Tao has to do with the spirit - the mind or heart. This is best stressed by Ji Gong. "What matters is not what we do or what goes through the gut but what is in the heart."

Ji Gong full of peace from the heart

Tao will influence the last thought moment which Buddhists believe is critical in deciding the next rebirth at point of death. With regards to the concept of the last thought moment, whether the last thought moment determines rebirth and how to have control of the last thought moment are matters of speculation to the skeptics.

But what matters is the force of good habit of cultivating moment-to-moment peace. Good habit counts and go a long way. This no one will deny and all will concur.

Tao after all is all about having peace of mind while going about life but there must be no denial or indulgence of life. We should neither indulge in the thought of dying nor live as though we will never die. Just live in the moment, learn and be enriched by the past and be ready for the future.

If still unsteady, seek the shelter and guidance of saints for if our life is sheltered, it will glow more steadily without flickering like a candle flame. This saints like Lord Bo Tien will tell us

Those who associate with man of Tao stand to gain from peaceful nature of that man and indirectly imbibe the peace that the man exudes. They gain the peace passively from the positive practitioner of Tao.

Lao Tse

Lao Tse in old age even retired from life as palace librarian to go into the wilderness beyond the palace frontier to further cultivate Tao. It was not that he had not cultivated Tao but he wanted to cultivate more intensively in his advanced age. At the frontier, the frontier guard requested that he wrote down his thoughts - the Tao Te Ching. Those who associated with him could imbibe the peace he exuded. The frontier guard obviously did.

Lao Tse rode buffalo into the wilderness

Likewise if we associate with men of Tao and heavenly saints, we can imbibe the peace they exude. Some religions refer to this as the Holy Spirit.

Omitofo. May all beings be well and happy. May peace and love be with all.

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.