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!.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Wise, Woe or Wow

No 592 of Living Life Series 1

Mission orientated men must be level headed. As missionaries they must show sincerity honesty and integrity. They must be mindful of how others perceive them.

They must neither go for the wow factor nor the woe factor as selling points for their mission message.

Never must they say that life is misery even if there is misery for that will put people off and instill fear.

It is also imperative that they must never be too forceful and push things down peoples' throats and say that they must believe or face consequences of hell fire for that will be like coercion by fear.

These two are the woe factors that missionaries must steer clear off. That way they will win over more hearts than lose more than they could win.

On the other hand, they must not swing to the wow factor by painting picture perfect paradise. All men need to do is to just believe in and worship a saint.

Men would at times take the bait and go for the easy way. Worse, they might expect more than that - more than reality and would be crushed by disappointment that the dream paradise is not what they imagine or perceive. They would be let down by the high hopes they are made to have.

Pure Land approaches too might at times risk giving high hopes and give rise to unrealistic dreams. This however is rare and far between. On the contrary, many are thankful that saints of Pure Land inject hope and peace into daily life.

This motivates some to go further in daily cultivation of inner peace in life. The afterlife is far from their minds and is not as real as the here and now. They go for the inner peace in life here and now with hope for more tomorrow.

Missionaries should be sincere and want to help but not oversell. They must take the middle ground and steer clear from the woe and wow approaches. This will be more balanced and that more correct and peaceful way which the sages of old in China referred to as Tao - the balancing of the yin and yang extremes.

This is naturally the wise approach though not the cool approach as opposed to the woe and wow approaches. There is always the choice of wise, woe and wow. Well, need more be said.

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.